Shadowing Practice: A1C Test for Measuring Blood Sugar Levels - Learn English Speaking with Video
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An A1c test is a blood test that can be used to estimate the average amount of glucose, or sugar, in your blood over the past three months.
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Other names for this test are HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin, and glycosylated hemoglobin.
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This test is often used to screen for or manage diabetes and prediabetes, conditions that can happen when your blood sugar is too high.
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In order to understand how the test works, it's important to know about red blood cells and how your blood sugar affects them.
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Most of the cells in your blood are called red blood cells.
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They are made in your bone marrow, which is the tissue in the center of your bones.
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From there, they travel to your lungs, where they pick up oxygen from the air you breathe in.
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This happens in tiny air sacs in your lungs, called alveoli.
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Here, oxygen attaches to proteins inside your red blood cells, called hemoglobin.
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Your red blood cells then deliver the oxygen to tissues throughout your body.
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After about three months, red blood cells wear out.
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As the worn-out cells pass through your liver and spleen, other types of blood cells,
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called macrophages, destroy them and remove them from your blood.
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Glucose in your blood can affect your red blood cells.
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After you eat, your body breaks down food into glucose and releases it into your blood.
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Your tissue cells take the glucose out of your blood and use it as their main source of energy.
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It's normal for some of the glucose in your blood to stick to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells.
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This process is called glycosylation.
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If your tissue cells aren't able to use the glucose, it can build up in the blood.
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This is called hyperglycemia.
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If you have high blood glucose, more of the hemoglobin in your red blood cells will have glucose stuck to it.
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An A1c test shows the percentage of red blood cells that have glucose attached to them.
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If your A1c numbers are higher, it means that your red blood cells were exposed to higher levels of blood glucose in the previous three months.
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The test shows results from this time period because glucose can only stick to hemoglobin while your red blood cells are alive,
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and they live for about three months.
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Higher than normal average blood glucose can mean you have diabetes.
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Your health care practitioner may recommend you get an A1c test if you are over 45 years old,
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are under 45 and have one or more risk factors for diabetes, or you had diabetes during pregnancy called gestational diabetes.
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During an A1c test, a healthcare professional, called a phlebotomist, will take a sample of blood from a vein in your arm
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or from one of your fingers using a small needle.
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At the lab, your blood sample will be tested to measure the amount of red blood cells
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that have glucose sticking to the hemoglobin in them.
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Your A1c numbers, which show the percentage of glucose-attached red blood cells, can be used to estimate your average blood glucose during the past three months.
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Your A1c test result may include a chart that shows estimated average blood glucose range based on A1c numbers.
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A normal A1c result means your blood sugar level is in the non-diabetic range.
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Or an A1c result may be considered normal for you, even if your blood sugar is slightly outside the non-diabetic range.
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This may happen because of your age or medical conditions you have, such as diabetes.
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An abnormally high A1c test result means your blood sugar has been too high over the past three months.
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You may be diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes if you haven't already been told you have it.
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Or, if you're living with diabetes, an abnormal result means your blood sugar is not well controlled.
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If your A1C result stays high, your healthcare practitioner will talk to you about how to manage your blood sugar.
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People with diabetes will need to have an A1C test at least twice a year.
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People with prediabetes will need to be tested every year or two, or as often as your healthcare practitioner recommends.
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If your A1C is normal but you had gestational diabetes, or you have risk factors for diabetes, then you will need the test every three years.
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To find out more about the A1C test, talk to your health care practitioner.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “A1C Test for Measuring Blood Sugar Levels”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: blood, cells, glucose, test, diabetes. This video has 46 sentences and 758 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:12. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| glucose noun | /ˈɡluː.kəʊz/ | A simple monosaccharide (sugar) with a molecular formula of C₆H₁₂O₆; a principle source of energy for cellular metabolism. |
| hemoglobin noun | /ˌhimoʊˈɡloʊbɪn/ | The iron-containing substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; it consists of a protein (globulin), and haem… |
| practitioner noun | /pɹækˈtɪʃənəɹ/ | A person who practices a profession or art, especially law or medicine. |
| prediabetes noun | The state in which blood glucose levels are above normal but have not reached those of diabetes. | |
| attach verb | /əˈtæt͡ʃ/ | To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively). |
| diabetic adjective | /daɪəˈbɛtɪk/ | Of or pertaining to diabetes, especially diabetes mellitus. |
| gestational adjective | Of or pertaining to gestation. | |
| abnormally adverb | /æbˈnɔɹ.mə.li/ | In an abnormal manner; in a way that deviates from a standard, norm, or average. |
| alveolus noun | /ælˈvi.əl.əs/ | Any of the many tiny air sacs in the lungs in which the bronchioles terminate and where oxygen and carbon dioxide are rapidly exchanged with the pulmonary… |
| diagnose verb | /ˈdaɪ.əɡˌnoʊs/ | To determine which disease is causing a sick person's signs and symptoms; to find the diagnosis. |
| glycated adjective | glycosylated | |
| glycosylated adjective | Describing a glycoside (but especially a glycoprotein) that has the sugar entity intact | |
| glycosylation noun | /ˌɡlaɪ.koʊ.səˈleɪ.ʃən/ | The reaction of a saccharide with a hydroxy or amino functional group to form a glycoside; especially the reaction with a protein or lipid to form a… |
| hyperglycemia noun | An unusually high concentration of sugar in the blood | |
| macrophage noun | /ˈmækɹɔʊː.feɪd͡ʒ/ | A white blood cell that phagocytizes necrotic cell debris and foreign material, including viruses, bacteria, and tattoo ink. It presents foreign antigens on… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| wear out verb | To cause (something) to become damaged, useless, or ineffective through continued use, especially hard, heavy, or careless use. |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| pass through verb | To go through, to travel through, to transit or lie across a place or from one place to another. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are called · are made · is called |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · haven't already been told |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as aren't, haven't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: practitioner /pɹækˈtɪʃənəɹ/, glycosylation /ˌɡlaɪ.koʊ.səˈleɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: hemoglobin /ˌhimoʊˈɡloʊbɪn/, practitioner /pɹækˈtɪʃənəɹ/, abnormally /æbˈnɔɹ.mə.li/, alveolus /ælˈvi.əl.əs/, glycosylation /ˌɡlaɪ.koʊ.səˈleɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like glucose, hemoglobin, practitioner.
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.