Shadowing Practice: All About Reptiles - Learn English Speaking with Video
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16 sentences
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Crocodiles, snakes, lizards, sea turtles, and terrapins.
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What do these fascinating animals have in common?
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They're all reptiles.
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More than 10 ,000 different species of reptiles have been named and described,
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which makes them the most diverse vertebrate group after fish.
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Reptiles are animals with bodies covered in scales.
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In some reptiles, like turtles, the scales are in the form of hard plates.
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Like mammals and birds, reptiles have lungs to take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
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In aquatic environments, reptiles like crocs,
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iguanas, sea snakes and sea turtles need to come to the surface to breathe.
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almost all reptiles reproduce by laying eggs but some like pit vipers are ovoviviparous
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which means the females produce eggs but they hatch inside the female
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when she then gives birth to live young reptiles are ectothermic this means their body temperature is dependent on the environment.
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It's why you often see reptiles lazing about in the sun.
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See ya!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “All About Reptiles”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: reptiles, turtles, sea. This video has 16 sentences and 160 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:52. The speaker talks slowly, about 86 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 73% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| turtle noun | /ˈtɝtl̩/ | Any land, aquatic, or semi-aquatic reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise. |
| egg noun | /ɛɡ/ | An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell… |
| snake noun | /sneɪk/ | Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptiles with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues. |
| dependent adjective | /dɪˈpɛndənt/ | Relying upon; depending upon. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| oxygen noun | /ˈɑksɪd͡ʒən/ | The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Sometimes called elemental… |
| diverse adjective | /daɪˈvɜːs/ | Consisting of different elements; various. |
| lung noun | /ˈlʌŋ/ | A biological organ of vertebrates that controls breathing and oxygenates the blood. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| hatch verb | /hæt͡ʃ/ | To emerge from an egg. |
| dioxide noun | /daɪˈɑksaɪd/ | Any oxide containing two oxygen atoms in each molecule. |
| lizard noun | /ˈlɪzɚd/ | Any reptile of the order Squamata that is not a snake or mosasaur—typically characterised by a rounded torso, a short neck with an elevated head, a long tail… |
| reproduce verb | /ˌɹi.pɹəˈdus/ | To produce an image or copy of. |
| aquatic adjective | /əˈkwɑ.tɪk/ | Relating to water; living in or near water, taking place in water. |
| reptile noun | /ˈɹɛp.taɪl/ | A (typically scaly and egg-laying) cold-blooded vertebrate tetrapod animal, of the class Reptilia (excluding birds), such as a lizard, turtle, snake… |
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 | have been named |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | have been named |
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 turtle, egg, snake.
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.