Shadowing Practice: Article #22 My Worst Fear - Learn English via Listening Level 02 - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 29 sentences and 306 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:39. The speaker talks fast, about 186 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

13 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• swim /swɪm/ (verb) — To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
• lesson /ˈlɛs.ən/ (noun) — A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
• jacket /ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/ (noun) — A piece of clothing worn on the upper body outside a shirt or blouse, often waist length to thigh length.
• relax /ɹɪˈlæks/ (verb) — To make something loose.
• overcome /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/ (verb) — To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of.
• panic /ˈpænɪk/ (noun) — Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare.
• sink /ˈsɪŋk/ (verb) — To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance.
• shallow /ˈʃæloʊ/ (adjective) — Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.
• cough /kɔf/ (verb) — Sometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound)…
• float /fləʊt/ (verb) — To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).
• choke /t͡ʃoʊk/ (verb) — To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air…
• refresh /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/ (verb) — To renew or revitalize.
• lifeguard /ˈlaɪfˌɡɑɹd/ (noun) — A lifesaver: a rescuer, usually an expert swimmer, employed to save swimmers in trouble or near drowning at a body of water.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• deal with (verb) — To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject.
• go into (verb) — To get involved in; to investigate or explore.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shallow /ˈʃæloʊ/, refresh /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like swim, lesson, jacket.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video: