Shadowing Practice: [ALL ABOARD READING] THE BIG SNOWBALL - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A1 speaking lesson is built on the video “[ALL ABOARD READING] THE BIG SNOWBALL”. This video has 14 sentences and 154 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:56. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| hungry adjective | /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ | Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| knock verb | /nɑk/ | To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood. |
| duck noun | /dʌk/ | Any of certain aquatic birds of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet, distinguished from swans and geese by generally being smaller and… |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| cone noun | /ˈkoʊn/ | A surface of revolution formed by rotating a segment of a line around another line that intersects the first line. |
| feather noun | /ˈfɛðə/ | A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display. |
| snowball noun | /ˈsnoʊbɔl/ | A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow… |
| sled noun | /ˈslɛd/ | A small, light vehicle with runners, used recreationally, mostly by children, for sliding down snow-covered hills; no draft animal pulls it. |
| cream noun | /kɹiːm/ | The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder. |
| snow noun | /snoʊ̯/ | The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation… |
| truck noun | /tɹʌk/ | A small wheel or roller, specifically the wheel of a gun carriage. |
| blow verb | /bloʊ/ | To produce an air current. |
| dollar noun | /ˈdɑ.lɚ/ | Official designation for currency in some parts of the world, including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and elsewhere… |
| hat noun | /hæ̞ʔ/ | A covering for the head, often in the approximate form of a cone, dome or cylinder closed at its top end, and sometimes having a brim and other decoration. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go over verb | To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze. |
| go past verb | To elapse. (said of time) |
| throw off verb | To confuse; especially, to lose a pursuer. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was falling |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll see |
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like hungry, chase, knock.
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.