Shadowing Practice: Age gap too big to be buddies?#shorts #sitcom #funny - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
Same Channel
Recommend Video
B2Girl Teases Friend For Having Poor BF | @DramatizeMe
B2Joey's Girlfriend Wears Thongs (Kinda) | Friends
B2Sue’s Struggling with College | The Middle
B2The Gay Best Friend
B220 mins of my favorite funniest moments (20k subs milestone) | How I Met Your Mother
B2Once I became rich, my friend and I...#shorts
B2EAVESDROPPING (the show) | Ep. 135 | This might be the hottest top you own
B2Amy is jealous of Penny
B2Blind Dating Horrible But Hot Girls
B2Ross Gets His Teeth Whitened | Friends
B2Seinfeld: Not That There's Anything Wrong With That (Clip) | TBS
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Age gap too big to be buddies?”. This video has 52 sentences and 388 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:56. The speaker talks fast, about 200 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 13 of its 52 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 12 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| moustache noun | /ˈmʌstæʃ/ | A growth of facial hair between the nose and the upper lip. |
| bruise noun | /bɹuz/ | A purplish mark on the skin due to leakage of blood from capillaries under the surface that have been damaged by a blow. |
| shovel noun | /ˈʃʌv.əl/ | A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for… |
| sidestep verb | /ˈsaɪdˌstɛp/ | To step to the side. |
| spatula noun | /ˈspætjʊlə/ | A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food. |
| hog noun | /hɔɡ/ | Any animal belonging to the Suidae family of mammals, especially the pig, the warthog, and the boar. |
| cigar noun | /sɪˈɡɑɹ/ | A cylinder of tobacco rolled and wrapped with an outer covering of tobacco leaves, intended to be smoked. |
| glove noun | /ɡlʌv/ | An item of clothing, covering all or part of the hand and fingers, but usually allowing independent movement of the fingers. |
| starter noun | /ˈstɑɹ.tɚ/ | Someone who starts, or who starts something. |
| nerve noun | /nɝv/ | A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics. |
| flip verb | /flɪp/ | To throw so as to turn over. |
| rubber noun | /ˈɹʌbɚ/ | Pliable material derived from the sap of the rubber tree; a hydrocarbon biopolymer of isoprene. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come over verb | To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse. |
| 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:
- Do you know we can see you from here?
- Joey, why didn't you grow a mustache?
- He is so much cooler than our dads?
- Ow, ow, what are you kicking me for?
- You guys see me as a dad?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, we're, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: moustache /ˈmʌstæʃ/, shovel /ˈʃʌv.əl/
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 moustache, bruise, shovel.
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.