Shadowing Practice: A1 English Listening Practice - My International Family - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hey everybody, welcome to this A1 English listening practice video.
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Hey everybody, welcome to this A1 English listening practice video.
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Why is this A1?
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Well, it's A1 because I am going to talk slowly and use simpler language than you would normally hear in other videos,
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but just know that some words and phrases that I use will be new for you or hard to understand for you.
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In my opinion, the goal of an A1 listening practice video is to help you get to an A2 level.
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It's not meant to keep you at A1.
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So in this A1 listening practice video, I'll probably use words and phrases that are a little bit of a higher level
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because this is going to help you get accustomed to more difficult English.
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Because remember, the goal with a practice video for A1 English learners is to help them reach the next level, A2.
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So, yes, I'm going to use language and phrases that aren't technically A1, but that doesn't matter.
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This is good exposure for you to become exposed to harder language so you can reach the next level in your listening comprehension.
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And of course, I can also talk about more interesting things if I can use language that's a little bit challenging for an A1 learner.
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So it keeps the videos interesting as well.
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So today's topic is a little bit different from normal.
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Recently, I've done a lot of videos about language learning.
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Today's video is still somewhat related to language learning, but not quite, not exactly.
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I'm going to talk about my international family.
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This is an interesting topic for me,
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and I'm sure many of you will want to know a little bit about my family and the international aspect of my family.
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So that's what I'm going to talk about today in a slow and clear way so you can practice your listening.
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Before we continue,
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I want to mention that if you want my listening training to help you understand native speakers better when they speak fast,
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and if you want my pronunciation training so you can speak and pronounce things more like a native speaker, then make sure to check out my membership.
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because I offer a lot of training and I help
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you become more comfortable with understanding and pronouncing the sounds of English.
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So that link is down below in the description.
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So let me talk about my international family now.
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My wife is from Mexico, from Guadalajara, Mexico.
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And I met her many years ago when I traveled to Mexico to study Spanish.
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I went to a language school to study Spanish, but I also took that trip to have fun and to explore another country.
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So I stayed there for five weeks and I met my wife at the language school where I was studying.
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She was studying English because if I remember correctly, she was going to take her TOEFL test, I think.
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And I was studying Spanish.
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And at that school,
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they had this conversation class where the locals who were
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learning English could talk to the foreigners who were learning Spanish.
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So I was able to meet my wife at this school and three years later, we got married.
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So before that, before we got married, we lived in different countries.
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I lived in the US and she lived in Mexico for three years.
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we were in a long distance relationship, as we call it.
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So that wasn't easy, but we did it.
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And I visited her many times in Mexico while we were dating, meaning while we were in a relationship before we were married.
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And she visited me in the U.S.
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as well.
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And when we got married, we had two weddings, not two marriages.
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I can only get married once, but we had two wedding celebrations, one in Mexico and one in the U.S.
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And then after we got married,
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I moved to Mexico and I had to adapt to a completely different culture and lifestyle.
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I had to to adapt to the customs in Mexico and the culture, the differences in the culture there.
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It wasn't simple.
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It was a little complicated.
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But the three years prior to that,
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meaning before that,
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I became more accustomed to Mexican culture because I
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talked to my wife every day on the phone and learned more about the country.
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So I was able to adapt, but it was a little hard, of course.
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And my wife and I both had to go through immigration processes.
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I became a resident in Mexico and my wife became a resident here in the U.S.
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And it's not fun to deal with immigration processes.
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It's not easy to go through those processes, but my wife did that.
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For me, it was easier in Mexico.
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And then we moved to the U.S.
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Now we live in the U.S.
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And my wife has adapted to the customs here, the culture here.
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So now it's her turn to live in a foreign country and adapt to the different culture.
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So before we moved here, my son was born in Mexico.
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So, he was born in Guadalajara, and my daughter was actually born here.
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So, my son was born in Mexico, but my daughter was born in California.
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But now, they both have dual citizenship.
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This means that they are citizens of Mexico and citizens of the United States.
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So both of them have dual citizenship, as we say.
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My children will both be bilingual.
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My son is already bilingual.
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He speaks English and Spanish, but he's very young, so he still needs to learn a lot.
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He doesn't speak like an adult yet.
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He's still learning how to speak.
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So it's really fun to watch him learn both languages.
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languages.
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He is developing his skills in English and in Spanish.
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It's really interesting to watch this happen.
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My daughter is still too young to talk, so she doesn't speak English
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or Spanish, but she will because my wife speaks to her in Spanish and I speak to her in English.
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So she will also be bilingual.
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My family, we visit Mexico regularly.
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We visit Mexico every year or maybe twice a year.
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So Mexico is still very important to my family.
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My wife's parents live there and I lived there for years, six years I think.
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So it's a part of me.
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What I'm trying to say is I have spent a lot of time in Mexico, so it's like my second home, right?
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So we visit Mexico regularly, but of course we live in the U.S.
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And because Because we live here, we have more American customs, but also some Mexican customs.
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For example, we eat lunch more like at the same time that people in Mexico eat lunch,
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or sometimes even later.
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But that's just one example.
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There are other Mexican customs that we also have,
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but we live in the US now, so most of our customs, our habits, are more habits and customs from here.
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So there are many good things about having an international family, but there are also challenges of course.
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It's not the easiest thing.
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Okay.
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However, I am very thankful that I have my international family.
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perfect for me and I am very thankful for my situation,
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my wife, my children, my experiences with them and living in Mexico.
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So for me, it is really interesting and fun and cool to have this international family.
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But it's not for everyone.
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For many people, it would be challenging to have this type of family.
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But I hope that you enjoyed this video.
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Remember that if you need my training to help you understand English better
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and pronounce words and phrases better, more like a native speaker,
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then make sure to sign up for my membership so you can get my specialized training.
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Okay?
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That link is down below.
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All right.
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I hope you enjoyed this A1 listening practice video.
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maybe it was a little challenging for you, but that's good.
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Watch it again and again and again until you can understand everything.
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All right, I'll talk to you in the next video.
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Why practice speaking with this video?

This A1 English listening practice video titled "My International Family" offers a unique opportunity for learners to enhance their speaking skills in a comforting context. The speaker shares personal stories about his family, which not only makes the content relatable but also engages viewers emotionally. Practicing speaking through this context helps learners connect the language to real-life situations. It encourages them to express their own family experiences, which is a great method for building confidence.

Additionally, utilizing a variety of phrases and expressions in the video prepares learners for the IELTS speaking practice environment, where personal anecdotes are often required. By shadowing the speaker, learners can improve their fluency and pronunciation, making their speaking sound more natural and fluent.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In the video, the speaker uses several key grammatical structures that can enhance learners' understanding and speaking skills:

  • Past Simple Tense: "I met my wife at the language school" illustrates how to narrate past experiences.
  • Present Perfect Tense: "I have spent a lot of time in Mexico" is useful for discussing life experiences and their relevance to the present.
  • Conditionals: Phrases like "if you want my listening training" help learners understand how to express possibilities and conditions.
  • Comparative Structures: "It was a little complicated" provides a way to describe experiences in a nuanced manner, enhancing vocabulary.

By practicing these structures, learners can improve both their spoken and written English, vital for mastering tests like the IELTS.

Common Pronunciation Traps

While watching the video, learners may encounter several pronunciation challenges. The speaker often uses words that can be tricky for non-native speakers due to their speed and blending with surrounding sounds:

  • “Mexico”: The pronunciation can sometimes throw off learners; it should be pronounced as /ˈmɛksɪkoʊ/.
  • “bilingual”: This word is commonly mispronounced; the correct pronunciation is /baɪˈlɪŋɡwəl/.
  • “adapt”: Focus on the clear ‘d’ sound, as many learners may drop it when speaking quickly.
  • “immigration”: Pay attention to the correct syllable stress: it’s im-mi-'gra-tion.

Practicing these words through the shadowspeaks method can significantly boost learners' pronunciation. Consider using a shadowing app or shadowing site for additional practice, allowing you to repeat after the speaker effectively, aiding your journey to learn English with YouTube content.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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