Shadowing Practice: An introduction to a lecture - Learn English Speaking with Video
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36 sentences
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This recording is from the British Council.
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Good afternoon, everyone.
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Welcome to the first lecture of our new course in Positive Psychology.
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While some people may associate psychology with looking at what's wrong with us and at what problems we have,
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there is much more to psychology than that.
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Positive psychology, for example, looks at how to help people become happier.
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This lecture begins with a question.
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What makes a happy life?
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Now, I'm going to give you one possible answer.
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A happy life is a life in which you are completely absorbed in what you do.
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Now, how does this compare with what you and your partner said?
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This answer comes from the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and the theory of flow.
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Csikszentmihalyi is a psychologist who has spent much of his professional life on the study of what makes people happy
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and how we can find happiness.
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Csikszentmihalyi suggests the theory that happiness is not caused by external events or things that happen to us.
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perception of these things and how we see these events either makes us happy or sad.
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In other words, if we want happiness, we have to actively look for it.
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However, this does not mean that we should always look for happiness.
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Csikszentmihalyi believed that our happiest moments happen when we are in a state of flow.
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The theory of flow can be summarized like this.
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When we are totally involved in or focused on what we are doing, we are in a state of flow.
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Csikszentmihalyi got the inspiration for this theory when he noticed how artists worked in a studio.
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They completely lost track of time.
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They didn't notice they were hungry or tired, and they could work for hours, even days, without stopping.
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Anyone I've spoken to who has experienced this state of concentration has said it's difficult to explain.
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The best way to explain it is that it is like being in a river
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and the flow of the water carries you away.
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For the rest of this lecture, I will explore this theory of flow in more detail.
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Well, first we will look at Csikszentmihalyi's life and how it influenced his ideas.
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Then we will look at the conditions that go with the state of flow.
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What creates flow exactly?
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Finally, we will look at activities that can help us achieve flow in our everyday lives.
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Will this course make you happy for life?
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Well maybe.
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Maybe.
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Right, let's get started.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 36 sentences and 413 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:08. The speaker talks at a steady 132 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| happiness noun | /ˈhæpinɪs/ | The emotion of being happy; joy; elation. |
| psychology noun | /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/ | The study of the human mind. |
| lecture noun | /ˈlɛk.t͡ʃə/ | A spoken lesson or exposition, usually delivered to a group. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| hungry adjective | /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ | Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food. |
| inspiration noun | /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The drawing of air into the lungs, accomplished in mammals by elevation of the chest walls and flattening of the diaphragm, as part of the act of breathing. |
| associate noun | /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/ | A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or employee. |
| explore verb | /ɪkˈsploɹ/ | To examine or investigate something systematically. |
| concentration noun | /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The act, process or ability of concentrating; the process of becoming concentrated, or the state of being concentrated. |
| actively adverb | /ˈæktɪvli/ | In an active manner. |
| perception noun | /pɚˈsɛpʃ(ə)n/ | The organisation, identification and interpretation of sensory information. |
| absorb verb | /æbˈsɔɹb/ | To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in… |
| psychologist noun | /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/ | An expert in the field of psychology. |
| summarize verb | /ˈsʌməˌɹaɪz/ | To prepare a summary of (something). |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, perception /pɚˈsɛpʃ(ə)n/
- Long words — get the stress right: psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, concentration /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/
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 happiness, psychology, lecture.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are completely absorbed · is not caused · can be summarized |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has spent · I've spoken |
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.