Shadowing Practice: AEE - This Episode Is Textbook All Ears English - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
280 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
2
Hey, Michelle, doing great.
3
How are you today?
4
I'm good.
5
Lindsay, what's your favorite kind of book to read?
6
Oh, I really like reading novels.
7
Right now I'm reading
8
Wild by Cheryl Strayed, the story of the woman that hikes the Pacific Crest Trail.
9
It's a great one.
10
And she's such a good writer, actually.
11
You're rereading it, right?
12
Yes.
13
Yes.
14
Wow.
15
That's great.
16
Are you finding different things from when you read it the first time.
17
Is this your second time or more?
18
It's the second time.
19
Yeah.
20
It is interesting to kind of, I am finding, I'm kind of taking it in differently.
21
My perspective is different from 10 or 15 years ago when I read it before.
22
So yeah, it is really interesting.
23
Do you like to read textbooks?
24
I can't say I do, Michelle. Do you?
25
No, I can't imagine just, you know, the end of the night trying to relax, you know, glass of wine and a textbook.
26
No, thanks.
27
Exactly.
28
But today we are going to talk about the word textbook
29
and we're going to talk about a really interesting way to use it.
30
That's not how you would think.
31
Yeah.
32
It's not boring.
33
Like reading a textbook.
34
It's actually kind of slangy and fun.
35
I actually, I really like it.
36
Yeah, exactly.
37
So we're going to show our listeners, let our listeners in on a little secret of how to be natural in English.
38
But first I do want to remind our listeners, Michelle, where is a great where's the best place to consume
39
this podcast oh it's on our app lindsey we have a really great app that's available for android
40
and ios and gosh you can get
41
so much over here including your personal power
42
or uh playlist of words right now your personal power list vocabulary words yes yeah exactly you can get transcripts
43
that you can follow along with it's just great, Lindsay.
44
And what else do we want to say about our app?
45
Well, we now have these special role plays.
46
They are vocabulary recap role plays at the end of each week.
47
They're only in the app.
48
So you won't see them if you're listening in another podcast player or YouTube.
49
You do need to be in the app and you do need to be a premium member to see those.
50
But what we do is we take all the vocabulary words
51
that were highlighted from the week in the transcripts in the app
52
and we put them into one vocab one really cool role play
53
so you see it in a new context
54
and this is what we need to learn a new word is see new contexts for words all right
55
that's great yeah i love it i love just mixing everything together to to finish off the week
56
so to get
57
that app guys go to allearsenglish .com app
58
that's a p p all right sounds good we'll see you guys over there All right.
59
So Lindsay, do you hear people use the word textbook when they're not talking about an actual textbook?
60
I definitely do, Michelle.
61
That's why I'm glad we're talking about this today.
62
So I'm excited to explain to our listeners how to do that, how to use it in more of a slang way, a commentary.
63
Yeah.
64
I've been meaning to do this episode for a while.
65
It always kind of enters.
66
I think it's one of those things where I hear it
67
and I think should do an episode and I hear it again.
68
And then finally, I'm glad I remembered to do it.
69
So this is a really fun one.
70
So when you use textbook in a different way, that doesn't actually mean a textbook.
71
It's used to describe people and their behavior or how something is done.
72
Sometimes it's a good thing.
73
Sometimes it's bad.
74
But it's mostly just saying something is exactly what is expected or what someone would imagine or how some would act.
75
The idea is that it is what you would see in a textbook, right?
76
So if you look up, you know, how something about English in a textbook,
77
the idea is that's what you would find if there were a textbook on this subject.
78
Exactly.
79
I love this.
80
And you can hear this in so many different places, right?
81
We have some examples
82
and then maybe we have some examples from our lives
83
it just comes up all the time from different directions right exactly
84
so instead of a long -winded explanation like i just gave let's give some examples yeah
85
that was kind of long but it was good yeah
86
that was a very long -winded strange explanation sorry guys well here's an example this problem is not
87
that complicated it's actually pretty textbook we have to remember our clients and their needs.
88
That must be our guide.
89
Okay.
90
So it's a standard problem.
91
Okay.
92
Standard.
93
That's a really good way to describe it.
94
Standard.
95
Yep.
96
It's like, this is the problem that we studied in marketing school, right?
97
For example, business school.
98
Right.
99
Okay.
100
Right. And textbook.
101
I need it in a textbook, right?
102
So it could be that something actually would have been in a textbook, but here we go.
103
Here's another one.
104
Her behavior is you textbook teenager right now i won't think anything of it textbook teenager i love it
105
that's so funny oh your kids are heading in that direction michelle get ready
106
so what does that mean
107
when i say textbook teenager don't scare me lindsay you kind of expect from a teenager a little angsty
108
when i think of teenagers i mean obviously not everyone
109
but i mean i had this you know
110
this time especially more pre -teen years early teen like 11 12 13 14 angsty, railing against their parents a little bit,
111
rebelling against their parents, talking back.
112
Right.
113
Right.
114
Right.
115
Yeah.
116
And sometimes I think as a parent, you know, it's probably pretty easy to get offended by this.
117
But so that's why somebody might say, oh, it's textbook teenager, you know, meaning they'll grow out of that.
118
This is what always happens.
119
Right.
120
Totally.
121
It's exactly what we would expect from a teenager.
122
So it's kind of a reassuring
123
when you say this to someone it normalizes what they're going through what they're dealing with yeah
124
or what's another example the eye exam didn't reveal anything
125
that wasn't textbook i think we know how to handle
126
this now sometimes you don't want to hear like for example a few weeks ago
127
i had a bout with shingles
128
which i thought was something like 80 year old women god but apparently you can get it at any age
129
and i had it on my face and it was
130
so painful and awful and i did a telehealth appointment and I thought I had hives.
131
I thought I had hives.
132
And as soon as I got on the call, the doctor saw my face and he said, Oh, this is textbook shingles.
133
It's just one side of your, of your body.
134
That's the last thing I want to hear.
135
But that is another place we might hear it from a doctor.
136
Um, they're literally saying like, this is what I studied in medical school.
137
This is a perfect presentation.
138
I know exactly what this is right you
139
and yeah you might hear also i think people in the mental health industry using this right um
140
that you know the way it it's textbook uh ocd it's textbook you know sure sure sure something like
141
that as opposed to maybe a more complicated diagnosis where maybe it's a combination of things
142
or they're not sure
143
or they're what do they call it differential diagnoses where there are other things
144
that it could be I'm not a doctor but you know
145
so this that's the opposite of this this is
146
when something is very clearly expected or kind of the presentation of something a behavior
147
or a condition right yeah exactly all right Michelle we are back
148
so how else might we express this
149
if we want to say the same thing but we don't want to always say textbook textbook
150
Well, this goes back to what you said in the beginning, standard, right?
151
So you could also say typical, standard or typical, but you could say this all looks pretty standard to me.
152
No surprises here.
153
Yep. Or quintessential.
154
Now I like this one.
155
It's a little more, has more personality.
156
I think, um, they are the quintessential cute family.
157
So much fun to be around.
158
Yeah.
159
Yeah.
160
We could do another episode on that word because that one is high level, Michelle.
161
That is definitely.
162
Or a classic.
163
You could say, this is classic
164
Tiffany late again.
165
I like that one too.
166
I like it.
167
This is what she does, right?
168
Tiffany might not love it when you say that, but what feels most natural to you, Michelle?
169
Which of these?
170
I think classic or textbook.
171
What do you think?
172
Yeah.
173
I like classic too, especially for a person.
174
This is classic you know whoever john he's doing this again
175
this is something i expect to see from him it's what he does lindsay do you have an example
176
that you can think of that's textbook in your life or
177
or what is textbook lindsay or textbook michelle do we have anything that we can think of
178
textbook lindsay is definitely coming up with lots of big ideas
179
and then getting very and trying to uh trying to execute on all of them
180
and getting stressed out that i can't get them all done you know, I love, I get like this dreaminess in this dreamy state.
181
We could do this.
182
We could do that.
183
We could do it all at the same time.
184
We don't need to wait.
185
No, we could do them all.
186
That is textbook, Lindsay.
187
What about textbook?
188
Yeah, it's good.
189
What about you, Michelle?
190
Textbook Michelle is, um, is, uh, saying that it's a good idea to go to sleep early tonight
191
and then it's 1 30 in the morning and I'm still awake.
192
You're scrolling Instagram or something.
193
Yeah.
194
Uh, so that's textbook Michelle.
195
Got it.
196
Okay.
197
Yeah.
198
You've shared with us before that you're a night owl. So interesting.
199
All right, good.
200
Yeah.
201
All right.
202
Let's do a role play.
203
So here we are reviewing notes that our friend took for us in class.
204
Okay, here we go.
205
Can you read this?
206
No. Wow, this is really textbook Michael.
207
I can never read his handwriting.
208
Yeah, it seems pretty standard to me.
209
Well, I'm just thankful for the notes.
210
Seems like this was a quintessential boring lecture.
211
Seems that way.
212
Classic for this professor.
213
That's true.
214
Yeah, very common conversation you might have with college friends, right?
215
Did you often in college have friends take notes for you and skip class or did you?
216
Oh, no, no. I'm not a class skipper.
217
No. What about you?
218
No, of course not.
219
Are you kidding me?
220
I think we're the goody two shoes.
221
We're the goody goodies.
222
Yeah.
223
No, I didn't skip class in college.
224
Nope.
225
I needed to be there taking the notes.
226
Yeah, exactly.
227
Exactly.
228
All right.
229
All right.
230
So you said, you said, can you read this?
231
And I said, no. And then you said, wow, this is really textbook Michael.
232
I can never read his handwriting.
233
So what are you saying here about Michael?
234
That we all know that he has terrible handwriting.
235
So we kind of expected it.
236
Yes, exactly.
237
And then what did I say?
238
You said, yep, seems pretty standard. So, yep.
239
Nice.
240
And then we brought in this word that I love, which is quintessential.
241
Seems like this was the quintessential boring lecture.
242
So maybe the professor is very known for these boring lectures, right?
243
He's got a reputation around campus.
244
Exactly.
245
And that's why you said, seems that way, classic for this professor.
246
Yes.
247
I love this conversation.
248
Really good.
249
Really good.
250
Yeah.
251
Where else can our listeners go, Michelle, to keep listening to Allers English today?
252
Guys, go on over to episode 2366.
253
That was Don't Blow Off This English Vocabulary Episode.
254
Excellent.
255
Where should we leave our listeners?
256
This is just a really interesting way to connect.
257
I mean, we were talking about it a little bit in the beginning it can be used to reassure someone of something.
258
It can be used to poke fun of something.
259
So there's just a lot of ways that you can use this to actually connect.
260
You can even use it to poke fun at yourself.
261
So this is very versatile, this word and this idea.
262
And it's definitely a good idea to give it a try.
263
But I wouldn't say everything is textbook, right?
264
We don't want to overdo it.
265
Yeah.
266
And there's a little bit, I think this is a fantastic word.
267
Be a little bit careful when you're, you're talking about people because maybe they're trying to change.
268
And if you're, oh, that's textbook you, you did it again, but they're actually trying to change, then that could be hurtful.
269
But generally I think this is used in a pretty harmless way.
270
Don't you think?
271
Yeah.
272
I think so.
273
I think so. But yeah.
274
So give it a try and yeah, let us know how it goes.
275
All right, Michelle, you have a great day.
276
I'll talk to you soon.
277
All right.
278
Bye.
279
Bye.
280
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
Same Channel
B11
2463 - Like a Moth to a Flame Share Your Temptations in English
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C12
2608 - How to Sound Smart When You Comment on Art with the Word Cascade
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
AEE - Can You Use “Yet” With Past Simple Tense?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
2401 - How to Be a More Interesting Storyteller in English
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2389 - Everyday English You Should Use Every Day
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
2710 - Should You Tell Someone They're Aging Like a Fine Wine?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
2623 - Whatever Happens, You Should Be Using This Vocabulary!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
2703 - A More Interesting Way to Say You're Interested
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
2684 - Intimidated by Classic Literature? 3 Tips to Overcome It With Rebecca Schinsky
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B26
2177 - Are You Behind the Times? English Idioms Inspired by Dinosaurs
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B28
Great scott! This connection is strong!
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
AEE - Are You Making This Common Native Speaker Error?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2700 - What Would You Do for a Million Dollars?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
Vocabulary to show frustration!
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B214
Don’t Bite My Head Off! Anger Idioms in English
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
AEE - What is Lookism and What Can We Do About It?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2709 - When Ugly Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B29
2 Idioms You May Be Saying Incorrectly
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
2712 - Confused By English Vocabulary? What Now?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B24
Go off! You're doing great!
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B16
385 sentences
Real Life English Conversations to Sound More Natural | Podcast to Learn English!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
393 sentences
Chatterbox #311 – The Taylor Swift effect
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
261 sentences
Can't Remember Vocabulary? Do This Today | ENGLISH PODCAST
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B13
20 sentences
Learn Australian English FREE with The Aussie English Podcast
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
290 sentences
7k
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
210 sentences
The Power of English for Personal Growth | English Podcast | Simple English Podcast
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1439 sentences
Daisy's Big Day | English listening lesson | Bonus 76
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
423 sentences
Practice Shadowing in English for 30 Days | Day 5 Podcast Conversation Challenge
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
161 sentences
Learn English by Listening and Answering Questions | English Conversation Practice
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
326 sentences
【地道英式Podcast】提升英語最快的方法：打造你的英文腦，擺脫翻譯思維|學習必聽攻略！|聽懂英語、敢說出口，一次解決學習痛點｜B1聽力Podcast|Mind the Gap系列
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “AEE - This Episode Is Textbook All Ears English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: textbook, Michelle, exactly, word, Lindsay. This video has 60 sentences and 2328 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:51. The speaker talks fast, about 181 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| textbook noun | /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/ | A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges. |
| teenager noun | /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ | A person between thirteen and nineteen years old (inclusive). |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| listener noun | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| lecture noun | /ˈlɛk.t͡ʃə/ | A spoken lesson or exposition, usually delivered to a group. |
| handwriting noun | /ˈhændɹaɪtɪŋ/ | The act or process of writing done with the hand, rather than typed or word-processed. |
| complicated adjective | /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ | Difficult or convoluted. |
| explanation noun | /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ | The act or process of explaining. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| presentation noun | /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/ | The act of presenting, or something presented. |
| skip verb | /skɪp/ | To move by hopping on alternate feet. |
| diagnosis noun | /daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ | The process of, or an instance of, identification of the nature and cause of a medical condition or illness. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| transcript noun | /ˈtɹæn.skɹɪpt/ | Something which has been transcribed; a writing or composition consisting of the same words as the original; a written copy. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| blow off verb | To vent, usually, to reduce pressure in a container. | |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| finish off verb | To finish completely. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| grow out of verb | To emerge from (something); to take a particular shape as a result of (something); to come to exist from (an origin). | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
| stress out verb | To become stressed. |
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 | were highlighted · is expected · is used |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might say · might hear · might not love |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should do · should we leave |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm reading · You're rereading · Are you finding |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 52 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, they're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, shoe /ˈʃu/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
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 textbook, teenager, bore.
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.