Shadowing Practice: Antibiotics: Cell Wall Synthesis Inhibitors: Part 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Antibiotics: Cell Wall Synthesis Inhibitors: Part 1”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: penicillin, cell, bacteria, treat, gram. This video has 320 sentences and 3467 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:08. The speaker talks at a natural 157 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 76% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| gram noun | /ˈɡɹæm/ | A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g. |
| beta noun | /ˈbeɪtə/ | The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental… |
| bind verb | /ˈbaɪ̯nd/ | To tie; to confine by any ligature. |
| enzyme noun | /ˈɛn.zaɪm/ | A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function. |
| acid noun | /ˈæsɪd/ | A sour substance. |
| antibiotic noun | /ˌæn.taɪ.baɪˈɑ.tɪk/ | Any substance that can destroy or inhibit the growth of bacteria and similar microorganisms, generally transported by the lymphatic system. |
| infection noun | /ɪnˈfɛkʃən/ | The act or process of infecting. |
| layer noun | /ˈleɪ̯ɚ/ | A single thickness of some material covering a surface. |
| resistant adjective | /ɹəˈzɪstənt/ | Which makes resistance or offers opposition. |
| disrupt verb | /dɪsˈɹʌpt/ | To throw into confusion or disorder. |
| stimulate verb | /ˈstɪm.jəˌleɪt/ | To encourage into action. |
| mechanism noun | /ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəm/ | Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power. |
| leak noun | /liːk/ | A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape. |
| membrane noun | /ˈmɛm.bɹeɪn/ | A mechanical, thin, flat flexible part that can deform or vibrate when excited by an external force. |
| pneumonia noun | /njuˈməʊniə/ | Inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria or other infectious microorganisms. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| go over verb | To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze. | |
| cut up verb | To cut upward. | |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. | |
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. | |
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- We're not going to cover all of them.
- Let's say here's a bacteria and here's a bacteria.
- You see this little orange guy just kind of sitting down?
- Why do you want to give that?
- You know what these orange structures are called?
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 | is incorporated · is called · be called |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've done · have become · have they become |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | ring which is · structures which is · there, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 61 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, they're, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, thick /θɪk/, synthesis /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/, pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/, synthesize /ˈsɪnθəsaɪz/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: infection /ɪnˈfɛkʃən/, infectious /ɪnˈfɛk.ʃəs/, flush /ˈflʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: antibiotic /ˌæn.taɪ.baɪˈɑ.tɪk/, mechanism /ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəm/, derivative /dɪˈɹɪvətɪv/, tuberculosis /tʃuːˌbɜː(ɹ)kjʊˈləʊsɪs/, integrity /ɪnˈtɛɡɹəti/
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 gram, beta, bind.
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.

















