Shadowing Practice: AEE - Are You Making This Common Native Speaker Error? - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

454 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

Hello, Lindsay.

Happy Halloween.

Yes.

Happy Halloween.

Are you planning to dress up this year, Aubrey?

Are you going to any parties or trick -or -treating maybe?

I genuinely look forward to Halloween every year.

It's one of my favorite holidays.

We always do a big party in our cul -de -sac.

So instead of like answering the door for trick -or -treaters,

we have bowls of candy on a table and they come and get the candy and we are like,

we're having a chili cook -off and we have a fire pit and it's like a big block party kind of.

It's very fun.

That sounds so fun.

Oh my gosh.

That's so great.

Yeah.

This year we, the plan is for us all to be on roller skates.

We're doing like a eighties theme roller derby or dressing eighties and wearing roller skates.

I might do that cause I own roller blades and I don't really want to buy roller skates.

So I'll probably be on roller blades.

Roller blades are cool.

It's just the nineties version of roller skates, right?

Yes.

It works.

I love that.

Yeah.

We're thinking about doing now that we have our son, maybe like a Scooby -Doo thing

or something a theme where we can all be you know part of the fit like we can all

you can go together as a family costume with our dog

so fun i want to see a photo lindsey of your baby in the halloween costume

there's nothing cuter than a baby in a halloween costume oh i know it's

so cute and dogs too don't forget about dogs right also

if your dog and your baby are in matching costumes

that would be that'll break the internet oh that's a great idea oh that's a great idea all right

so looking forward to tonight.

It's on a Saturday, which is fun.

But what are we talking about in today's episode, Aubrey?

Yes.

So you might've noticed I snuck in genuinely.

I genuinely look forward to Halloween every year.

And we're talking about an error we hear a lot in English.

This is very common.

Native speakers do this as well, where when they mean to say disingenuous, they say disingenuine.

And we understand why, because of course we have the movie, the word genuine.

And genuous isn't a word.

So this is a strange thing about English vocabulary that's sort of setting people up to make this mistake.

Yeah.

We can't always just add a dis, for example, or an un and have it be the opposite word.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy.

Exactly.

So Aubrey, where do we start today?

I mean, before we get any further in the episode, we want to remind you guys to hit the follow button.

If you love our show, we're going to explain really more high level words today.

So get ready for it.

We cover the whole spectrum in terms of what you need to learn in English to connect.

That's what we're all about here at All Airs English.

Exactly.

So hit follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

And yeah, this is interesting.

We're going to dive into these words today, genuine, and it's opposite, disingenuous, and help you avoid this very common error,

as well as a couple of synonyms and expressions for both.

Yeah.

So then Aubrey, here's a good question, right?

Are you good at judging when someone's being disingenuous or how do you know when they are?

That's a great question.

I feel like I am right.

I feel like I can tell if someone's being dishonest or, um, even telling white lies, you can see it in their facial expressions.

They often won't make eye contact if they're, you know, so what about you?

Well, yeah.

And that's, yeah, I think I have to know the person pretty well,

though, to know, because I think people have their own style sometimes when they're telling the truth and when they're lying.

But it's so interesting you said eye contact, which is so culturally different, right?

If you go to other parts of the world, you know, making eye contact might be a sign of disrespect in a way.

So that's really interesting.

But side point.

But I think in American culture, eye contact is a typical hallmark of someone's hiding something if they're not doing it.

If they're looking to the side, if they won't meet your eyes then often

you're like what are you hiding yeah yeah

this reminds me of this tv show lie to me did you ever see

that it's a few years old now

but it's about someone who works for the government fbi

or someone who's sort of an expert in this in detecting lies

and it goes into sort of the science of it

and different facial expressions and how they're read or the words people use

and i loved that show i found it really fascinating i wonder if you could probably still find it on streaming.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Because in real time, life just moves so fast, right?

And we don't have the time to slow things down and study the facial expression, right?

Right.

You can't be like, okay, say that again and let me really study your face to see if you're being genuine.

Exactly.

So let's start more by breaking down the word genuine then, right?

So let's go into that, Aubrey.

What do we need to know?

100

Yeah.

101

So genuine means real, sincere, honest, authentic, not fake, not pretending right so we use it to describe people

102

but also emotions or reactions right so it's not just about

103

if a person's being genuine it's also

104

if you're you know what you're feeling is a genuine emotion

105

or if people are being honest about their genuine reactions and emotions.

106

Yeah, a genuine compliment is what we want.

107

We don't want a fake compliment, a forced compliment.

108

We want genuine intentions and people, and it shows your humanity when you're genuine, when you're authentic, right?

109

So for example, she gave me a genuine compliment about my cooking.

110

It felt real.

111

Maybe it was really specific.

112

It wasn't like prefabricated or templated or something like

113

that sometimes we can feel that right

114

when a compliment doesn't feel genuine maybe they're telling us what we think

115

that what they think we want to hear we can tell

116

when it's genuine yeah

117

so what would be an example of a genuine compliment Aubrey here oh maybe like

118

or a phrase I love this photo of you you can tell your smile is genuine

119

so that's another example of it but yeah

120

if someone is complimenting a photo

121

and they give you specifics of what they like about it then it's going to feel more genuine

122

and also tone of voice too don't you think i guess

123

if someone's a really good liar they can fake

124

that tone of voice because they know what it has to sound like

125

but usually you can hear uh how genuine someone is in their tone yes often

126

when we're listening to podcasts or tv shows and you feel

127

that you're like oh i don't know

128

if i trust this person they might be lying

129

because you're you hear that their tone isn't genuine yeah

130

and i think the word authentic is kind of a cousin

131

of genuine in terms of meaning right like on this show we're pretty authentic we're pretty genuine

132

because a lot of this stuff we do have some things prepared for today's episode for example

133

but a lot of this comes out spontaneously as we think through what we're showing you guys exactly

134

so we're just sharing genuine facts about our lives

135

that might have to do with what we're teaching

136

and then another thing i think of is um that something that someone has a genuine laugh,

137

if you're like, oh, that was a genuine laugh to a joke versus like a courtesy laugh

138

when you can feel that they're just laughing to save your feelings.

139

Yeah, for sure. For sure.

140

You can tell laughing is a good place where you could tell if it's spontaneous or just pre -prepared in a way.

141

Um, yeah.

142

What else Aubrey?

143

Yeah.

144

So also of course to talk about people being genuine

145

you might say i really feel like mia is genuine um

146

and then you'd give details about you know like we were saying

147

if you feel like their tone is usually real

148

and they're being their authentic self yeah or you could say he's super successful

149

but still very genuine and down to earth oh yeah

150

so similar words authentic there you go i didn't even see this in our plans well

151

that was a spontaneous surprise too that was very genuine my surprise exactly um yeah

152

so the the cousin word here is authentic this is again real

153

and true to yourself not fake um i guess

154

this might be a little bit more modern more trendy

155

i guess authentic does is kind of in the spotlight instead of having a moment

156

it was the word of the year a couple of years ago right like 2016

157

or something yeah hearing it more on social media and things

158

but it really has a very similar meaning you might call someone genuine

159

it means they're authentic yeah a lot of times after

160

it became the word of the year you heard a lot of like business coaches

161

and bloggers trying like saying it in a very inauthentic way like be authentic

162

this is now very inauthentic to say that

163

because how can we make sure we sound authentic like well

164

you've already ruined it exactly um yeah can be used to talk about someone's personality behavior the way they express themselves,

165

maybe their branding, their social media accounts.

166

Yeah, we might say people online seem more authentic when they show imperfections.

167

That's a good point, right?

168

When you show vulnerability, when you're willing to show that you make mistakes, then it feels like you're being more authentic.

169

We have this expression, what you see is what you get.

170

So if you were to see the person in social media and then you were to meet them in person,

171

it'd be the exact same experience right there's nothing that changes yes

172

and sometimes i have a funny story about this there was a peloton instructor who i won't name

173

but right before the classes that go live they're like you know instructing the camera crew

174

and the personality was so different

175

when they didn't i think they didn't realize the class was live yet

176

and it was so interesting

177

and then sort of their persona as an instructor once it's recorded was really different i was like

178

that was interesting I got a glimpse of their authentic self

179

there for a second it makes sense a lot of people kind of put on this like professional persona

180

but I was fascinated I'm like oh that's interesting that's fascinating yeah

181

that is fascinating wow that would be so cool to be able to see

182

that for all the influencers that you follow

183

or all I don't know I guess with actors it's different

184

because obviously we're playing a character I'm so curious how often

185

that happens that what we're seeing on the screen is actually really different from how they are at home

186

or yeah interesting or how they treat very employees

187

or treat co -workers that's interesting for sure and then

188

so another way of saying this you know maybe

189

you see someone behind the scenes they're very real they're very honest emotionally truthful not fake

190

so that other word

191

that means the same thing is real yeah

192

this is really casual conversational right um we use this very widely maybe

193

if we feel like authentic and genuine or a little too polished

194

or professional sounding then we might just say real instead yeah

195

so again we can use this to describe people emotions reactions all of the things

196

that we mentioned before

197

and it's definitely could describe a personality quality oh she's great she's very real yes right

198

or you might say to someone thanks for being real with me about this situation

199

or about the feedback right

200

if you feel like someone instead of pulling punches they're giving

201

you the real facts right no surprises no faking anything

202

or you could say i like him because he's just

203

so real okay so that's really a common thing that we use in native natural English.

204

Yes.

205

Hey, quick question.

206

Do you want to feel more confident when you speak English?

207

If so, we made a free guide for you.

208

It'll help you avoid those common mistakes and start speaking more naturally in real conversations.

209

Go grab it in the description below.

210

And if this is helpful for you, make sure that you like and subscribe.

211

We're here five times a week to help you connect in English.

212

So let's go back to the word disingenuous.

213

And again, what's the mistake that we hear sometimes out in the native speaking world?

214

Yeah.

215

The tricky thing is the opposite of genuine is not disingenuine.

216

That word doesn't actually exist, even though I'm sure you've all heard it before, because this is such a common error.

217

The opposite is actually disingenuous.

218

This is one of those tricks that English likes to pull on us because genuous is not a word.

219

Don't be tricked.

220

Don't be tricked.

221

Not after listening to today's episode, right, Aubrey?

222

No. Exactly.

223

Yeah.

224

Now you know.

225

Yep.

226

So what does disingenuous mean then?

227

Yeah.

228

So it means to pretend to be sincere, honest, innocent, unaware when you're actually not, right?

229

This is that sort of putting on a persona.

230

We would call that person disingenuous.

231

Yeah.

232

So it's not as much about lying.

233

It's more about being a certain way, like being misleading, Exactly.

234

Being performative is a word we'll use a lot.

235

Performative.

236

Great word.

237

We'll see this a lot maybe with relationships.

238

If someone accuses their partner of being performative, it's like you're not really being real with the feelings.

239

Instead, you're trying to be what I would want or what someone would expect.

240

Pretending not to know something when you do know it, right?

241

Or hiding your true intentions.

242

So it's a sneaky little sneaky being disingenuous, don't you think?

243

Definitely.

244

Yeah, this is not a positive character trait, at least not in the United States.

245

And yeah, it definitely seems like we don't really want to be around people who are disingenuous because it's dishonest.

246

and that's a good point that you it's important that you said

247

that not in the united states right so

248

so much of this could be cultural in terms of what a cultural culture values

249

and nothing is right or wrong it's just think about your own culture

250

and how this

251

and we'll give some more examples here how this behavior is

252

looked at might be looked at in a different way who knows right maybe

253

this could be considered a positive care if it's necessary to put on a certain persona for work,

254

yeah, then it would be seen as a skill, almost like acting, right?

255

We're seeing actors on the screen who are able to convince us that they are something they're not, and that we respect.

256

Or maybe you live in a culture where there's a lot of hierarchy or a lot of rituals or something,

257

and it's important to have that performative behavior to some extent.

258

I don't know.

259

I don't makes sense yeah interesting yeah

260

so let's give some examples yeah go ahead

261

so for example it felt disingenuous when he apologized

262

and then repeated the same behavior this is a good example someone will apologize

263

but then just do it again you're like that apology was not genuine

264

right or she asked the question in a disingenuous way like she already knew the answer okay

265

so maybe she's asking the question to flatter someone right

266

when she already knows the answer is just trying to get close to someone or impress someone.

267

Right.

268

Or to criticize.

269

Sometimes someone will do this.

270

Or to criticize.

271

Yeah.

272

If they're asking a question, they already know the answer, but the tone is there where they're actually criticizing someone.

273

Interesting.

274

Ah.

275

Okay.

276

What are some other similar words to disingenuous, Aubrey?

277

All right.

278

So first of all, insincere, right?

279

Not expressing true feelings.

280

This is more about a lack of being emotionally honest.

281

Like his apology was, uh, definitely insincere.

282

Yes.

283

Or her excuse for missing dinner sounded insincere.

284

Yeah.

285

This is interesting.

286

A very similar meaning to disingenuous and that word is a little less common.

287

Um, disingenuous, right?

288

Um, we might say Bye.

289

um, insincere or this next one fake.

290

If we're being more casual, if it's just a conversation.

291

Yeah.

292

This is very casual, right?

293

It's not real.

294

It's not authentic.

295

Again, you'll hear this in everyday conversation.

296

Um, we use it a lot.

297

Okay.

298

So for example, I stopped talking to her because she seemed fake.

299

Yeah.

300

And this is interesting when we use this to describe a person, it might not be clear right away what is meant by that,

301

but it kind of means they're not being their authentic self.

302

Maybe they're telling people what they think they want to hear

303

and then saying something else about them behind their back and would call them fake, a fake friend.

304

Yeah.

305

Or he acts differently around different groups of friends.

306

It feels fake.

307

Yeah.

308

Interesting.

309

Interesting.

310

Did you feel like when you lived in New York, people felt fake or did they feel pretty real, pretty authentic?

311

I feel like people in New York are pretty authentic.

312

They're pretty authentic.

313

They're not worried about impressing anyone.

314

Yeah.

315

They're not going to be fake.

316

I think you're right.

317

I think, I think we're LA has known more for that a little bit,

318

or maybe it has been historically i mean it's the city of hollywood right um

319

but it also depends on the person right sure this is interesting too

320

because we shared that real means the same as authentic

321

but unreal is not the opposite in this way right

322

you couldn't be like he feels really unreal in the same way

323

that you could say he feels fake that has such a different meaning

324

so that's one sort of note here to not just automatically use opposites of words it just doesn't always work that way.

325

That could be a whole other episode, Aubrey.

326

Guys, hit follow if you love that idea.

327

We can explain exactly what unreal means and how it's used, right?

328

Yeah, we use that a few different ways.

329

How it's really not the opposite.

330

This is unreal, right?

331

Totally different from real, okay?

332

Interesting.

333

Okay, what else do we need to know before our role play, Aubrey?

334

Yeah, this is interesting.

335

Just one quick note that when we're talking about a person being fake, We can say this and we're talking about their personality,

336

but if we're talking about an object or an item being fake, then we could also say knockoff, right?

337

For example, like a purse, you could be like, this might be a knockoff.

338

I don't think it's a real Chanel purse.

339

And then you could say, I think it's fake, but it's interesting.

340

You could not call a person a knockoff.

341

So that's the same when we have these symbol, like synonyms, we might use one to describe a person, but not an item or vice versa.

342

and definitely can't call um like fake leather disingenuous right a leather jacket yeah

343

that's really important to know um yeah you can't call a person a knock off don't do

344

that um what else Aubrey so let's go into a role play

345

so here we are friends we're talking about people

346

we met at a party last night all right perfect

347

I'll start us out what did you think of Jason from the party last night?

348

Honestly, he seemed kind of disingenuous to me.

349

Oh, really?

350

Why?

351

Well, I don't know.

352

The way he complimented everyone just felt a little fake.

353

Oh, yeah.

354

I actually noticed that too.

355

He acted interested in my work, but then it seemed a bit insincere.

356

Exactly.

357

But his girlfriend, Maya, she felt super authentic and easy to talk to.

358

Totally.

359

She was just real.

360

She wasn't pretending or trying too hard.

361

That's probably why everyone naturally gathered around her instead of Jason.

362

Yeah.

363

People can tell when someone's being genuine.

364

Yeah.

365

And it can be hard to, you know, sometimes it's not so much that people are being disingenuous.

366

Maybe they're just nervous, right?

367

And they come off as disingenuous or are scripted, rehearsed or something.

368

That's a good point.

369

But it's just nervousness, anxiety or something.

370

Right.

371

There's sometimes I think we do make the mistake of reading into someone's tone or actions and maybe they just feel nervous.

372

They're meeting people for the first time and that's not that they're disingenuous or insincere.

373

They just are uncomfortable.

374

Exactly.

375

So give people a little bit of a break, right?

376

Um, so let's go through this.

377

So first you said, what did you think of Jason from the party last night?

378

And I said, what?

379

He seemed kind of disingenuous to me.

380

And then this is interesting because you were saying he was complimenting everyone and it felt fake.

381

This I could get, this would be, you know, if you hear me,

382

especially if maybe he compliments you and then you hear him compliment several other people,

383

the exact same compliment, something like that you'd be like not sure he means

384

that at this point you want to be careful there complimenting someone totally fine

385

but if you're complimenting everyone at the same party or turning around

386

and talking to someone's hearing over your shoulder um not

387

so good yeah that's gonna feel really fake

388

which is what you said the way he complimented everyone felt a little fake

389

and then i'm like oh yeah it seemed a bit insincere

390

so if we're overhearing this and it's you know not believable at that point.

391

Or this was interesting too, when you were saying he, oh, I was saying he acted interested in my work, but it seemed insincere.

392

This is kind of tricky too.

393

If you are wanting to know more about someone's work, that's one thing.

394

But if you are sort of feigning interest that people can feel that, right?

395

Yes.

396

Feigning interest.

397

That's a great bonus word for today to feign interest.

398

Good one.

399

And then we talked about Maya who feels very different, right?

400

She felt super authentic and easy to talk to and you agreed.

401

Yeah.

402

I said she was just real.

403

Yeah.

404

And I think we use that word the most often.

405

It's much more casual and it's just like, she just felt like she was being herself.

406

She wasn't trying to impress anyone.

407

Exactly.

408

And then we finished up by saying, you said, well, I said, uh, that's probably why everyone gathered around her instead of Jason.

409

And then he said, yeah, people can tell when someone's being genuine.

410

Yeah.

411

Yeah.

412

And that's really true.

413

Right.

414

When you're at, and I like what you said though.

415

I think that's a good connection takeaway here as well to not prejudge people, to give someone the benefit of the doubt and recognize,

416

especially if you're meeting someone for the first time, instead of assuming someone's being disingenuous, recognizing that they might just be nervous.

417

Yes.

418

Totally.

419

So give them that, give them a little slack, cut them a little slack as you say, right?

420

I love that.

421

All right.

422

Go over right now, guys, to episode 26, 18, jeopardize, endanger, compromise.

423

Oh my, fun title.

424

Yes.

425

That's a heavy one.

426

Those are important words to know.

427

And we've already talked about the connection takeaway.

428

Give people a little bit of a break, get to know them, see if your theory or your thesis proves true, right?

429

May not prove true, right?

430

Yes.

431

Love that.

432

And also I think one more takeaway just to be your authentic self, right?

433

I'm sure this would not be the first time you've heard that, but don't stress so much about this mistake.

434

Even native speakers make this extremely common mistake, but when you are having your conversations in English, try to avoid those scripted answers, right?

435

And just be yourself and worry more about the connection.

436

Yeah.

437

I mean, exactly.

438

And that's why, so if you place your attention on a more important goal, which we believe is connection.

439

Yes.

440

Um, naturally like your energy can't go in two places at once.

441

You can either choose to focus on your mistakes and get locked into a sense of paralysis.

442

Oh my God, I made that grammar mistake.

443

Or you can choose to shift that attention 30 degrees to the left or the right and focus on connection.

444

So you make the choice, but if you're listening to this show, we think you're on board.

445

Absolutely.

446

Yes.

447

Awesome.

448

Thanks, Lindsay.

449

I will see you.

450

All right.

451

Sounds good.

452

Talk soon, Aubrey.

453

Take care.

454

You

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence

IPA PracticeMaster every sound

VocabularyBuild your word bank

Vocab GameLearn while playing

Scan QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Same Channel

2684 - Intimidated by Classic Literature? 3 Tips to Overcome It With Rebecca Schinsky

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

2177 - Are You Behind the Times? English Idioms Inspired by Dinosaurs

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

Great scott! This connection is strong!

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

2700 - What Would You Do for a Million Dollars?

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

Vocabulary to show frustration!

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

Don’t Bite My Head Off! Anger Idioms in English

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

AEE - What is Lookism and What Can We Do About It?

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

2709 - When Ugly Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

2 Idioms You May Be Saying Incorrectly

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

2712 - Confused By English Vocabulary? What Now?

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

FOR YOU

Recommend Video

461 sentences

Halloween in North America | English Podcast Conversation (B2)

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

30 sentences

SEtalk: Your Accent Is Not a Mistake

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

228 sentences

Improve your spoken English in 10 minutes.

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

142 sentences

Can You Understand REAL British English? 🇬🇧 Autumn Vlog

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

1037 sentences

Fix These English Mistakes Before They Become Habits | B1–B2 English Podcast

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

153 sentences

Talk About Holidays & Traditions in English (B1-B2) | Cultural Differences, Sequence & Comparison

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

230 sentences

An Elegant Halloween at Rosewood Manor 🍂 | English Listening Practice

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

298 sentences

The Real History of Halloween Will Surprise You || English Listening Practice ✅

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

149 sentences

The Real Reason You’re Stuck in English

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

459 sentences

English Podcast for Learning English | Real English Conversation Practice | Slow Down Without Guilt

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “AEE - Are You Making This Common Native Speaker Error?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: genuine, authentic, word, fake, disingenuous. This video has 44 sentences and 4291 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:12. The speaker talks fast, about 193 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 77 of its 44 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
genuine adjective	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.juˌɪn/	Belonging to, or proceeding from the original stock; native.
authentic adjective	/ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/	Of the same origin as claimed; genuine.
compliment noun	/ˈkɑmpləmənt/	An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
roller noun	/ˈɹoʊlɚ/	Any rotating cylindrical device that is part of a machine, especially one used to apply or reduce pressure.
tone noun	/ˈtəʊn/	A specific pitch.
trick noun	/ˈtɹɪk/	Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
pretend verb	/pɹəˈtɛnd/	To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
casual adjective	/ˈkæʒ(u)əl/	Happening by chance.
emotion noun	/ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/	A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data.
costume noun	/ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/	A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.
skate noun	/skeɪt/	A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice.
persona noun	/pɝˈsoʊnə/	A social role.
unreal adjective	/ʌnˈɹi.əl/	Not real or substantial; having no actual presence in reality; lacking the characteristics of reality.
naturally adverb	/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/	In a natural manner.
blade noun	/bleɪd/	The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look forward to verb		To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
break down verb		To stop functioning.
come off verb		To become detached.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
dress up verb		To put on special or fancy clothes.
finish up verb		To complete the last details of a task.
go ahead verb	/ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/	To proceed with; to begin.
go back to verb		To stem from; to originate in.

Sentences worth repeating

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

Are you going to any parties or trick-or-treating, maybe?
It's one of my favorite holidays.
Did you ever see that?
I'll have to look for it.
What do we need to know?

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	be tricked · might be looked · could be considered
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've already ruined · has known · has been
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	Saturday, which is · contact, which is · someone who works

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 132 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, we're, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, leather /ˈlɛðɚ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, thesis /ˈθisɪs/, inauthentic /ˌɪnɔˈθɛn.tɪk/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, facial /ˈfeɪ.ʃəl/, intentions /ɪnˈtɛnʃənz/, emotionally /ɪˈməʊʃənəli/
Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, apology /əˈpɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, emotionally /ɪˈməʊʃənəli/

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 genuine, authentic, compliment.

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: AEE - Are You Making This Common Native Speaker Error? - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Download App

2463 - Like a Moth to a Flame Share Your Temptations in English

2716 - This is Us Breaking Down English Grammar

AEE - This Episode Is Textbook All Ears English

2608 - How to Sound Smart When You Comment on Art with the Word Cascade

AEE - Can You Use “Yet” With Past Simple Tense?

2401 - How to Be a More Interesting Storyteller in English

2389 - Everyday English You Should Use Every Day

2710 - Should You Tell Someone They're Aging Like a Fine Wine?

2623 - Whatever Happens, You Should Be Using This Vocabulary!

2703 - A More Interesting Way to Say You're Interested

2684 - Intimidated by Classic Literature? 3 Tips to Overcome It With Rebecca Schinsky

2177 - Are You Behind the Times? English Idioms Inspired by Dinosaurs

Great scott! This connection is strong!

2700 - What Would You Do for a Million Dollars?

Vocabulary to show frustration!

Don’t Bite My Head Off! Anger Idioms in English

AEE - What is Lookism and What Can We Do About It?

2709 - When Ugly Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means

2 Idioms You May Be Saying Incorrectly

2712 - Confused By English Vocabulary? What Now?

Halloween in North America | English Podcast Conversation (B2)

SEtalk: Your Accent Is Not a Mistake

Improve your spoken English in 10 minutes.

Can You Understand REAL British English? 🇬🇧 Autumn Vlog

Fix These English Mistakes Before They Become Habits | B1–B2 English Podcast

Talk About Holidays & Traditions in English (B1-B2) | Cultural Differences, Sequence & Comparison

An Elegant Halloween at Rosewood Manor 🍂 | English Listening Practice

The Real History of Halloween Will Surprise You || English Listening Practice ✅

The Real Reason You’re Stuck in English

English Podcast for Learning English | Real English Conversation Practice | Slow Down Without Guilt

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?