Shadowing Practice: American English Connected Reading | Moving to a new place - Learn English Speaking with Video
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100 sentences
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Hey, what's up?
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It's Alex.
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Today, let's look at the connected sounds in this short passage
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where I'm describing how I moved from one apartment to another many years ago.
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Let's take a look.
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When I moved houses, when I moved houses, so here, when I connect,
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we kind of add the I to the N.
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When I moved houses, my first step, my first step, we take the T out of first,
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so it's just first step.
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My first step was to get rid of all the stuff I didn't need.
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My first step was to, so to turns into to, get rid of, get rid of all.
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So here the T in get turns into a glottal stop, get rid of all of all we connect of
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and all together get rid of all the stuff I didn't need stuff I didn't need didn't need
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so here that T and didn't turns into nothing we completely take it out
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and we say didn't need get rid of all the stuff
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I didn't need I threw out a bunch of old clothes I threw out out we have a little tap there.
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Outta.
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Outta.
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I threw out a.
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I threw out a bunch of old clothes.
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A bunch of old clothes.
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So people sometimes say buncha old clothes.
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Buncha old.
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But the rule that I tend to follow in my own speech is that if there's a vowel after of, I keep the v there.
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A bunch of old clothes.
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A bunch of old clothes.
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A bunch of old clothes.
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In very, very rapid speech, sometimes I do probably say a bunch of old clothes.
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A bunch of old clothes.
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Clothes, by the way, we drop the th.
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It's a lot easier to say if we just say clothes, the same pronunciation as close the door.
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A bunch of old clothes and a couple little kitchen things.
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Anna, we take off the d in and, and a couple little, couple little we connect the two L sounds in couple little
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and a couple little kitchen things I threw out a bunch of old clothes
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and a couple little kitchen things I asked around
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and found someone to buy the old guitars I never played I asked around me around mmm
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so and turns to just mmm and we connect it to that D in around.
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I asked around -en.
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Around -en.
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That D kind of turns into an N without saying any vowel there.
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Also, asked.
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There's no K sound when I say it quickly.
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Asked around -en.
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Found someone.
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Found someone.
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We drop the D in found.
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I asked around -en.
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Found someone to buy the old guitars I never played. To buy.
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To buy turns into to buy.
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It's a reduced vowel there on to.
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Found someone to buy the old, the old, we add a ya here between the old, the old guitars I never played.
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I took a look at some of my.
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I took a look at some of my.
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Took a look at.
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So here uh and at connect to the previous word, and the vowel in at turns into a very weak i sound.
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Took a look at, look at.
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I took a look at some of my, some of my.
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So here, of turns into just a, we drop the v sound.
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Some of my cheapest furniture, cheapest furniture.
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Here the t gets dropped from cheapest.
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Now, in some cases, I might choose to say cheapest furniture to specifically say the T just
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so that it's clear what I'm saying.
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Cheapest is not a super common word, and in these cases, if you're saying a slightly rare word,
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it's a little bit more common to say it with the full pronunciation instead of the reduced pronunciation, just so that the other people can hear you clearly.
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Cheapest furniture or cheapest furniture. And decided.
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So here the D gets dropped from and.
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And decided it was too damaged to take along.
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It was.
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We have a glottal stop here for the T in it.
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Decided it was.
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It was too damaged to. To.
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So here damaged to turns into damaged to.
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Damaged to.
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We kind of connect the to into damaged connect the d
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and the t together and then we take that vowel in to
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and change it into to again too damaged to take along then i organized all my other little odds and ends
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then i organized then i just the same as when i from the beginning Then I, just the same as when I,
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from the beginning, we simply connect the N and the I.
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Then I organized, then I organized all my other,
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then I organized all my other little odds and ends.
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Other little odds and ends.
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Again, we take off that D in and.
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All my other little odds and ends into boxes.
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Then I organized all my other little odds and ends into boxes, so they'd be easier, so they'd be easier,
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connect be and easier because that's the same vowel sound, so they'd be, they'd be, that D in they'd turns into that B in B,
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they'd be easier, so they'd be easier to pack in the car, easier to, again we're taking that to and we're connecting it to the previous word,
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be easier to pack, easier to, easier to pack in the car.
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Finally, we connect in and the by turning the N into that TH shape where your tongue goes between your teeth.
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In the car.
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Easier to pack in the car.
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Now I'll read through it all again, but before I do, make sure that if you're interested in this kind of lesson, you check out the premium contents that I've put in the description and in comments below.
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This text is actually from one of my premium videos, and I've shortened it to match this format.
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In the premium contents, you can see even more discussion about this text, and a lot more of it,
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plus discussion about the vocabulary, intonation, and the usage.
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Check it out, but now let's get back to that reading.
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When I moved houses, my first step was to get rid of all the stuff I didn't need.
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I threw out a bunch of old clothes and a couple little kitchen things.
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I asked around and found someone to buy the old guitars I never played.
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I took a look at some of my cheapest furniture and decided it was too damaged to take along.
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Then I organized all my other little odds and ends into boxes so they'd be easier to pack in the car.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 100 sentences and 1114 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:08. The speaker talks at a natural 156 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| cloth noun | /klɒθ/ | A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes… |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| odd adjective | /ɑd/ | Differing from what is usual, ordinary or expected. |
| furniture noun | /ˈfɝ.nɪ.t͡ʃɚ/ | Large movable item(s), usually in a room, which enhance(s) the room's characteristics, functionally or decoratively. |
| guitar noun | /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ | A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). |
| premium noun | /ˈpɹiː.miː.əm/ | A prize or award. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| outta | /ˈaʊtə/ | Out of. |
| format noun | /ˈfɔːɹ.mæt/ | The layout of a publication or document. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| rapid adjective | /ˈɹæp.ɪd/ | Very swift or quick. |
| passage noun | /ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/ | A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning. |
| usage noun | /ˈjuːsɪd͡ʒ/ | A custom or established practice. |
| 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. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ask around verb | To enquire of different people about something. | |
| throw out verb | /ˈθɹəʊ ˌaʊt/ | To discard; to dispense with something; to throw away. |
| take off verb | To remove. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| read through verb | To thoroughly read something to check or proofread it. |
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 | I've put · I've shortened |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | my cheapest |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm describing · I'm saying · you're saying |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 27 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, they'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, shorten /ˈʃɔɹtn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/
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 cloth, connect, organize.
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.