Shadowing Practice: ACADEMY STARS 3 UNIT 7 THE OLD DONKEY - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “ACADEMY STARS 3 UNIT 7 THE OLD DONKEY”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: donkey, animals, cat, road, stood. This video has 49 sentences and 317 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:54. The speaker talks slowly, about 81 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 83% 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
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| donkey noun | /ˈdɑŋ.ki/ | A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse. |
| kindly adverb | /ˈkaɪn(d)li/ | In a kind manner, out of kindness. |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| farmer noun | /ˈfɑɹ.mɚ/ | A person who works the land and/or who keeps livestock; anyone engaged in agriculture on a farm. |
| gate noun | /ˈɡeɪ̯t/ | A doorlike structure outside a house. |
| sadly adverb | /ˈsædli/ | In a sad manner; sorrowfully. |
| happily adverb | /ˈhæp.ə.li/ | In a happy or cheerful manner; with happiness. |
| angrily adverb | /ˈæŋ.ɡɹə.li/ | In an angry manner; under the influence of anger. |
| meow | /miˈaʊ/ | Used to indicate the cry of a cat. |
| woof noun | /wʊf/ | The set of yarns carried by the shuttle of a loom which are placed crosswise at right angles to and interlaced with the warp; the weft. |
| slowly adverb | /ˈsloʊli/ | At a slow pace. |
| strange adjective | /stɹeɪnd͡ʒ/ | Not normal; odd, unusual, surprising, out of the ordinary, often with a negative connotation. |
| noise noun | /ˈnoɪ̯z/ | Various sounds, usually unwanted or unpleasant. |
| jump verb | /d͡ʒʌmp/ | To propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum causes the body to become airborne. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, can't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 donkey, kindly, clock.
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.