Shadowing Practice: Adjust Your Ears to Fast English - Learn English Speaking with Video

In this short session, I'm going to help you train your ears to understand real, fast American English speech.

We're going to go over some reductions, some connected speech, we're going to go over some slang words,

some idioms, everything that will help you understand native speakers like myself when we're speaking quickly and casually in conversation.

If you want more lessons like this one, make sure to visit EnglishWithKayla.com.

Now, let's get started with the lesson.

Let's start out with some repeating and we're going to listen once.

Try to think of what I'm saying before you see the text on screen.

I'll say the phrase a second time with the text on screen

and then I want you to imitate my tone and my connected speech.

Let's get started.

I was going to text you back.

Nice job.

Make sure you're repeating out loud, you're practicing this video in a space where you can do that.

The phrase is, I was going to text you back.

Now we tend to have connected speech here when we say text you, text you, text you, text you.

I was going to text you back.

So here you is sounding more like chew, text you back.

Go ahead and practice that one more time.

I was going to text you back.

What have you been up to?

Here, we're saying, what have you been up to?

Here, we're using the reduction, or when we write it, we're using the contraction to say, what have, what have, instead of, what have you been up to?

What have you been up to?

And sometimes when I say this quickly, you don't even hear the, what have, you hear just what you've been up to what have you been up to

so let's try it one more time go ahead and repeat what have you been up to

nice job that's a really common way to greet someone

and ask how they've been i don't know if it's worth it i don't know if it's worth it Here,

I don't know if it's worth it.

What could you be talking about here?

Maybe you're talking about you don't know

if something's worth the amount of money it is or the amount of effort it takes.

Whatever it might be, here we're changing I don't know to I don't know.

I don't know.

I don't know if it's worth it.

Let's try it one more time.

Go ahead and repeat.

I don't know if it's worth it.

Nice.

You gotta be kidding me.

So this phrase, it's used when you're kind of frustrated or annoyed with a situation.

I actually say this all the time to my friends or to my husband.

Again, it's really kind of a negative phrase and it's used in a more casual, informal environment.

But here you say, you gotta, you gotta, instead of you have got to be kidding me.

I can't even say the whole phrase.

You have got to be kidding me.

I say, you gotta be kidding me.

You gotta.

So here again, more connected speech.

Go ahead and repeat.

You gotta be kidding me.

Nice.

If you repeated that out loud, you're definitely sounding more American in your English.

Let's move on to the next phrase.

I'm just trying to figure it out.

Here, the main reduction that we hear is I'm just trying to, tryna, tryna.

Again, a lot of times in English, I'm sure you're very familiar with it, English speakers will say ta instead of to, and here it all comes into one word.

I'm just tryna, tryna, tryna.

So go ahead and practice that once more repeating.

I'm just trying to figure it out.

nice job let's move on to the next portion of this lesson let's go over a few natural English expressions

that I think are a little tricky for English learners

but they also just help you sound more natural

and speed up your English a bit the first one

that threw me off that threw me off we use this phrase just to say

that something was unexpected or super confusing to you it just you off.

The next phrase, running a little behind.

I'm running a little behind.

This means you're running a little late or behind the schedule that you had planned.

If you're at a restaurant and they say, sorry, your reservation is going to take a little bit longer.

We're running a little behind means behind schedule.

I'll keep you posted.

This phrase, it's super useful to say that you're going to keep someone updated on a situation or a project.

So you can use this in your personal life like I'll keep you posted on how this date goes

or at work I'll keep you posted on the project that's

not really my thing that's not really my thing this phrase

it means you're not really interested in something sports that's not really my thing

or you could say oh Chinese food that's not really my

thing meaning you're just not interested in it you don't typically like it

or enjoy it or you could say oh that's totally my thing this means

that this is something that really interests you and that you usually like or partake in.

I'm still getting the hang of it.

If you say that you are getting the hang of something, it means you're getting used to it or you're getting good at it.

We use this phrase when we're talking about learning a new skill

or practicing something new at work or any sort of process that we're getting used to.

We're getting the hang of it.

Now, get your ears ready maybe get a pencil or get ready to type.

I'm going to say a phrase or a sentence in English, something that I would actually say in my everyday life.

And I want you to try to copy it down and figure out the words that I'm saying.

I'm going to say it three times and I'm going to make sure

that every time I say it maybe a little bit differently, maybe slightly.

It might sound similar, but I'll try to change it up

and then we'll put the text on screen and I'll say it slowly and explain anything that needs to be explained.

Are you ready?

100

Let's go.

101

She ended up backing out.

102

She ended up backing out.

103

She ended up backing out. Are you ready?

104

She ended up backing out.

105

If someone backs out, it means they canceled plans or they changed their mind on something last minute.

106

She ended up backing out.

107

I'm wiped out after today.

108

I'm wiped out after today.

109

I'm wiped out after today.

110

Pause if you need to.

111

Think about what I just said.

112

The phrase is wiped out.

113

I'm wiped out after today.

114

If you are wiped out, it's just an expression that means you are exhausted or very tired.

115

He totally brushed it off.

116

He totally brushed it off.

117

he totally brushed it off are you ready he totally brushed it off

118

if you brush something off it means you kind of just ignore it

119

or forget about it very casually so if someone says something rude to you

120

and you just say well I don't care you kind of

121

brush off their rude comment we're just hanging out tonight we're just hanging out tonight we're just hanging out tonight

122

the phrase the sentence here is we're just hanging out tonight

123

and it comes together really quickly we're just hanging out hang

124

in hanging out we're just hanging out tonight this just means you're just relaxing

125

or just you know having a casual time getting together as

126

friends nothing formal at all here are some shortened words

127

or some slang that i think you should know that will really help your ears listen to fast English.

128

The first one is app or apps.

129

You might already know this means an application on your phone or on your computer.

130

Sometimes we can say, do you want to get apps?

131

Meaning do you want to get appetizers at a restaurant for dinner?

132

So these would be the small plates that you kind of share together before the main dish of a meal.

133

Do you want to get apps or what app is that?

134

Meaning what application on your phone is it?

135

Sometimes in English we say pics instead of pictures you want

136

to go take some pics with your friends this just means take pictures usually on your phone

137

or on a camera have you ever heard someone say that's

138

legit do you think that's legit this is short for legitimate

139

so we use this as a way to say legitimate like

140

in a more formal sense like is this paper legit is

141

that document legit meaning is it real or

142

if you want to just kind of compliment someone sometimes it's slang to say oh that was

143

so legit like it was really good it was really well

144

done sometimes formally people will shorten conversation as convo like we

145

had a convo earlier about this it's just it can be used formally

146

or informally convo for conversation i see it a lot in

147

writing as well fam can be shortened for family you might

148

say to someone oh how's your fam doing my fam's doing

149

good it's used not in a really cool slang way

150

but just a shortened way to say family

151

so people my age especially men will say oh they're my bro that's my bro over there

152

that means their friend they could literally mean their brother

153

but i noticed that younger kids girls

154

and boys as a slang phrase is just kind of a goofy way of greeting each other

155

or you know saying like what are you doing they go bruh bruh

156

so bruh or bro can mean a lot of of different things here

157

but usually it just means friend or fa or like your family

158

or it can mean like what are you talking about bruh

159

in the uk they will say holiday for a vacation here in the united states we don't often use holiday

160

but we do say vacay instead of vacation

161

and finally one of my last shortened words on here is

162

comfy instead of comfortable are you comfy i'm comfy this is just a shortened way to say comfortable

163

and i think a lot of native english speakers don't even

164

realize this is the shortened version we just use this word

165

so often like that was

166

so comfy good job taking your english to the next level by training your ears with this lesson

167

if you want to learn more with me kayla make sure

168

to visit englishwithkayla.com you could subscribe to my monthly membership where

169

i'll teach you every week a new lesson you'll get the guides on a pdf

170

and a quiz and access to my community to ask me more questions about these words

171

and phrases thank you so much for watching and

172

if you're in the mood make sure to watch another video that's on screen

173

so i can teach you more english i'll see you guys in the next lesson goodbye

📺 Same Channel

✨ Recommend Video

Why You Cannot Understand Native Speakers Even When You Know The Words

3,153

19 sentences

Why You Cannot Understand Native Speakers Even When You Know The Words

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

295 sentences

20 Phrases to Start Speaking English Today | Real English Conversation Practice | English Podcast

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

183 sentences

Repeat-After-Me + SHADOWING English Speaking Practice

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

222 sentences

How To Contract TO BE | Australian Pronunciation Lesson

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

88 sentences

Lesson 2 - Speak English Clearly! The Imitation Technique

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

456 sentences

Improve Your English Listening Skills IN 30 MINUTES!

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

142 sentences

English Intonation Essentials

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

70 sentences

Hear it & Say it: Listen and Repeat English Sentences for Speaking Practice

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

36 sentences

How to train your ears to understand English

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

694 sentences

Easy English Podcast For Learning English Conversation 35 Minutes of Real English Listening Practice

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

198 sentences

American rhythm practice with a metronome exercise

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

193 sentences

Reductions & Contractions in English | Speak Faster and Understand Natives

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Adjust Your Ears to Fast English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: phrase, text, english. This video has 173 sentences and 1922 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:13. The speaker talks at a natural 171 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% 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
phrase noun	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	A short written or spoken expression.
shorten verb	/ˈʃɔɹtn̩/	To make shorter; to abbreviate.
wipe verb	/waɪp/	To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.)
brush noun	/bɹʌʃ/	An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including…
sling noun	/ˈslɪŋ/	An instrument for throwing stones or other missiles, consisting of a short strap with two strings fastened to its ends, or with a string fastened to one end…
legit adjective	/lɪˈd͡ʒɪt/	Legitimate; legal; allowed by the rules; valid.
comfy adjective	/ˈkʌm.fi/	Comfortable.
convo noun	/ˈkɑnvoʊ/	A conversation.
casually adverb	/ˈkæʒuəli/	In a casual manner.
greet verb	/ɡɹiːt/	To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.
formally adverb	/ˈfɔː.mə.li/	In a formal manner.
pic noun	/pɪk/	A picture, especially a photographic image.
legitimate adjective	/lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/	In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
casual adjective	/ˈkæʒ(u)əl/	Happening by chance.
rude adjective	/ɹuːd/	Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
back out verb		To reverse (a vehicle) from a confined space.
wipe out verb		To destroy (especially, a large number or complete set of people or things); to obliterate.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
go ahead verb	/ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/	To proceed with; to begin.
go over verb		To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze.
brush off verb		To disregard (something), to dismiss or ignore (someone), as unimportant.
come together verb	/ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/	To assemble; to congregate; to combine.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

What have you been up to?
Here, we're saying, what have you been up to?
I don't know if it's worth it.
What could you be talking about here?
Meaning what application on your phone is it?

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	was unexpected · be explained · is wiped
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've been · they've been
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	might be · might sound · might already know
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	we're speaking · I'm saying · you're repeating

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 89 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shorten /ˈʃɔɹtn̩/, brush /bɹʌʃ/, casually /ˈkæʒuəli/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, contraction /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/
Long words — get the stress right: legitimate /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/, appetizer /ˈæpɪˌtaɪzə/, reservation /ˌɹɛz.ɚˈveɪ.ʃən/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like phrase, shorten, wipe.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Adjust Your Ears to Fast English - Learn English Speaking with Video

25 Phrases You Need to Understand TV Shows and Movies

15 Important English Phrasal Verbs

Learn English Useful Phrases for Daily Conversation watching Gilmore Girls

18 Natural English Phrases You’ll Actually Use in Conversation

19 English Sentences That Make You Sound Like a Native

19 Phrases Native English Speakers Use Every Day

19 Phrases Native English Speakers Use Every Day

61 English Phrases to Sound More Natural & Confident

Strong English Words You Should Be Using

Why You Cannot Understand Native Speakers Even When You Know The Words

20 Phrases to Start Speaking English Today | Real English Conversation Practice | English Podcast

Repeat-After-Me + SHADOWING English Speaking Practice

How To Contract TO BE | Australian Pronunciation Lesson

Lesson 2 - Speak English Clearly! The Imitation Technique

Improve Your English Listening Skills IN 30 MINUTES!

English Intonation Essentials

Hear it & Say it: Listen and Repeat English Sentences for Speaking Practice

How to train your ears to understand English

Easy English Podcast For Learning English Conversation 35 Minutes of Real English Listening Practice

American rhythm practice with a metronome exercise

Reductions & Contractions in English | Speak Faster and Understand Natives

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?