Shadowing Practice: Aj Hoge | Burning Man Conversation - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
Hey Terrence, so how'd you spend your Labor Day weekend?
2
I spent my Labor Day weekend not doing anything except wishing I was at Burning Man.
3
I had plans to go, but they fell through.
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Oh man, that sucks because I know that you've really enjoyed it in the past.
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Yeah, as you know, I've gone quite a few years in a row, but this year I couldn't make it.
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You know, but I guess the saving grace about it is
7
that I'm not in the heat and I really can't stand the dust.
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Oh, yeah, I know.
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I hear that the heat and the dust can be overwhelming.
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I've had some friends who have gone in past years
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and they didn't prepare enough and they said they were in over their heads.
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Oh yeah, it's definitely the kind of thing that
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It helps to know what you're getting into With the conditions and just what to expect
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Because no amount of description can really
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Help with what you're going to experience I was talking with a friend of mine who lives in Canada And I mentioned
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Burning Man, he'd never heard it
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And he was like, what's it about?
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And wanted me to describe it
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And I realized that I'm not really able to describe it to him
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Because I've never been Yeah, it's one of those things it's kind of hard to describe.
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I mean, the first time you go, you really can't, you really can't believe your eyes, what you see.
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I mean, just all of the people and all the effort they put into it, all the creativity, it's really something to behold.
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So, um, how would you describe it though?
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Like I would describe it just as a, just really large festival where basically anything goes,
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anything you want to do is accepted.
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Um, any way you want to express yourself, it's okay.
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Whether it's how you dress, what you say, the kind of music you want to play, anything.
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Yeah, I've heard there's some pretty wild outfits.
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People just dress up as crazy as they possibly can.
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Yeah, you never know what people are going to do.
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I never cease to be amazed with what I'm going to see there.
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Nice, that's great.
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How long is it?
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Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.
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But like I said, I've gone five years, and the process of going does get a little old.
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The first time I went, I definitely had that first -time blown -away feeling.
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But then after a while, subsequent years, it's not quite as exciting and fresh.
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So you start to maybe focus a little more on some of the discomforts.
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You have no creature comforts when you're there.
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Yeah, and the traffic's out of hand, too.
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I hear you end up sitting in traffic jams for hours.
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You can.
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You can, especially towards the end of the week when everybody's in a rush to get there.
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It absolutely can be that way.
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When do people start getting there?
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Some people go as early as the week before.
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They really want to get there and maximize their time.
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You can be up there basically for nine days.
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Was that people who want to build structures and stuff?
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Yeah, definitely.
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There's some people that can actually go even before it starts and they can, you know, if you're building a special art project,
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you could get there as early as a month beforehand.
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But the people that are there setting up big camps, they tend to get there probably like nine days beforehand.
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It sounds like it's just like a really artistic event, like where everyone's just trying to express themselves and their artistic sides
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and showing off their art and stuff and just acting a little crazy.
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Absolutely.
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Absolutely.
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It's definitely an environment where it's in the fact that it's in the desert.
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It just adds to the just surreal atmosphere of it.
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I mean, you're there
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and you might as well be on the moon with the with the costumes and people just totally trick out their cars.
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Yeah.
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And then what do they do at the end?
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Like, I know they burn something, but I'm not even sure what it is, because, like I said, I've never been there.
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Yeah, it's kind of this it's kind of the culmination of the event.
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It's why it's called Burning Man.
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There's this giant man that's basically burned.
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I mean, it's kind of this tribal festival that reaches a fever pitch, lots of fire dancers, people just basically going crazy.
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What's the man made out of?
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Made of wood.
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Oh, okay.
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Made of wood.
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And then there's definitely some neon light on him
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because the event is kind of surrounding a middle area and the man is in the middle.
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and that Saturday night, which is on Labor Day weekend, pretty much the entire place kind of just surrounds it
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and that's when it all starts and then it finishes with him getting burned down
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and the place just reaches a fever pitch at that point.
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Yeah, I hear that it becomes, with the number of people there, it becomes one of the largest towns in all of Nevada for that weekend.
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Yeah, I know it's top 10.
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Yeah, definitely.
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It's a real good experience.
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Yeah, you know, I'd really like to go next year, but I'm going to plan for it, but you never know what can come up,
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so I'll just have to see how it goes.
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Maybe I'll see you out there.
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Yeah, well, if I go, you'll definitely be one of the first ones to know.
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Awesome.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: definitely, describe, weekend. This video has 86 sentences and 946 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:11. The speaker talks fast, about 182 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pitch noun | /pɪt͡ʃ/ | A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand. |
| dust noun | /dʌst/ | Fine, dry particles of matter found in the air and covering the surface of objects, typically consisting of soil lifted up by the wind, pollen, hair, fiber… |
| fever noun | /ˈfivɚ/ | A higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease. |
| artistic adjective | /ɑɹˈtɪs.tɪk/ | Having or revealing creative skill. |
| surround verb | /səˈɹaʊnd/ | To encircle something or simultaneously extend in all directions. |
| beforehand adverb | /bɪˈfɔɹhænd/ | At an earlier or preceding time. |
| rush verb | /ɹʌʃ/ | To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| atmosphere noun | /ˈætməsˌfɪɹ/ | The gases surrounding the Earth or any astronomical body. |
| suck verb | /sʌk/ | To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast). |
| comfort noun | /ˈkʌm.fət/ | Contentment, ease. |
| desert noun | /ˈdɛz.ɚt/ | A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland. |
| subsequent adjective | /ˈsʌbsɪkwənt/ | Following in time; coming or being after something else at any time, indefinitely. |
| outfit noun | /ˈaʊtfɪt/ | A set of clothing (with accessories). |
| costume noun | /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/ | A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| blow away verb | To cause to go away by blowing, or by wind. | |
| burn down verb | To cause (a structure) to burn to nothing. | |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| dress up verb | To put on special or fancy clothes. | |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| fall through verb | To be unsuccessful, come to nothing; to be cancelled; not to proceed. | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| make out of verb | To construct from; to create (something) using (a material or substance). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You have no creature comforts when you're there.
- What's the man made out of?
- Maybe I'll see you out there.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've really enjoyed · I've gone · I've had |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | friends who have · people who want · people that can |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is accepted · be amazed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 29 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, culmination /ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: creativity /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/, culmination /ˌkʌl.mɪˈneɪ.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 pitch, dust, fever.
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.