Shadowing Practice: ABBA - I Have A Dream (Official Lyric Video) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “ABBA - I Have A Dream”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: dream, angels, cross. This video has 24 sentences and 203 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:24. Only 73% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| angel noun | /ˈeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəl/ | An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes. |
| tale noun | /ˈteɪl/ | A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story. |
| darkness noun | /ˈdɑɹk.nɪs/ | The state of being dark; lack of light; the absolute or comparative absence of light. |
| destination noun | /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/ | The place set for the end of a journey or to which something is sent; place or point aimed at. |
| fail verb | /feɪl/ | To be unsuccessful. |
| sing verb | /ˈsɪŋ/ | To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice. |
| mile noun | /maɪ̯l/ | The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet… |
| fantasy noun | /ˈfæntəsi/ | That which comes from one's imagination or the act of imagining things. |
| dream verb | /ˈdɹim/ | To see imaginary events in one's mind while sleeping. |
| cross noun | /kɹɑs/ | A geometrical figure consisting of two straight lines or bars intersecting each other such that at least one of them is bisected by the other. |
| wonder noun | /ˈwʌndɚ/ | A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise… |
| reality noun | /ɹiˈæləti/ | The state of being actual or real; realness. |
| push verb | /pʊʃ/ | To apply a force to (an object) such that it moves away from the person or thing applying the force. |
| wild adjective | /ˈwaɪ̯ld/ | Especially, being of the wild type: being of an unbroken ancestral line of undomesticated animals, as opposed to being feral, being an undomesticated animal… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| push through verb | To force (legislation or a plan) to be passed or agreed to or a decision to be reached. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, push /pʊʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, reality /ɹiˈæləti/
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 angel, tale, darkness.
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.