Shadowing Practice: ASEAN explained in 5 minutes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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47 sentences
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What is ASEAN?
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN for short, is an association that today consists of 10
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Southeast Asian states.
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In 1967, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore founded ASEAN.
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The aim was to improve economic, political and social cooperation.
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And also to balance political conflicts between these countries that existed as a consequence of decolonization.
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During Cold War, Asia members wanted to contain the influence of communism in the region.
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Times changed, old enemies became new partners and in the second half of the 1990s Vietnam,
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Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia joined ASEAN.
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The collapse of the USSR, the founding of the World Trade Organization
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and a financial crisis in Asia prompted members to deepen their relations and adapt to the new situation.
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In the 2000s, free trade agreements were concluded with India, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
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In the future, the entire region will be merged into one large free trade zone.
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Since 2001, the ASEAN Summit takes place annually.
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It is a meeting of the heads of state and government where current problems are discussed and solutions are worked out.
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In 2008, the ASEAN Charter came into force, giving the association the status of a legal person.
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Principles of non -intervention and consensual decision -taking remained unchanged by the charter.
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Decisions are generally made by consensus no member can be forced to something.
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As a result, the group rarely appears to be closed.
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Nowadays.
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Today, ASEAN is based on three pillars.
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As a political and security community to ensure peace.
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As an economic community with a strong domestic market.
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And as a social and cultural community, including a common identity.
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Challenges and solutions.
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ASEAN faces a number of social and environmental challenges.
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Countries such as Vietnam or the Philippines are particularly vulnerable to climate change and already feel its impact today.
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Coal production.
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Nevertheless, member states plan to meet the energy demand by making primarily use of climate -damaging coal.
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Indonesia plans to build 117 new coal -fired power plants by 2025.
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Myanmar invests in gigantic hydroelectric power plants and coal.
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Laos builds stands on the Mekong.
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The result is that Vietnam loses water in the Mekong Delta.
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However, fossil fuels for example are not necessary to cover the lack of energy.
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Renewable energy sources ranging from biomass to solar energy and wind power have enormous potentials in the region.
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They too would promote the local economy and provide sustainable jobs.
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Problem – The Haze
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Large areas of precious rainforest are burnt down for palm oil plantations and cattle feed cultivation all over Indonesia.
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The smog of these fires covers large parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
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Pollution continues, even though in 2003 a smog agreement in the ASEAN came into force, which should reduce forest fires,
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environmental degradation and air pollution.
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As such problems cross borders, ASEAN must tackle them in a joint effort and think beyond borders.
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This can be done for example by taking up the suggestions made by CSOs, civil society organizations aiming at installing a fourth pillar
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the environmental pillar it must ensure
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that the ecological limits are taken into account in the growth debate only in case civil society is informed transparently
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and gets much more involved acting free from state repression social and environmental justice can arise.
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Serve people rather than profit.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “ASEAN explained in 5 minutes”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Asean, Indonesia, environmental, member, energy. This video has 35 sentences and 574 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:04. The speaker talks at a steady 113 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 77% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| pillar noun | /ˈpɪlɚ/ | A large post, often used as supporting architecture. |
| relation noun | /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ | The manner in which two things may be associated. |
| cooperation noun | /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of cooperating. |
| pollution noun | /pəˈluʃən/ | Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc. |
| primarily adverb | /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.ɹə.li/ | Of a primary or central nature, first and foremost. |
| rarely adverb | /ˈɹɛəɹli/ | Not occurring at a regular interval; seldom; not often. |
| priority noun | /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/ | An item's relative importance. |
| objective noun | /ɒbˈd͡ʒɛk.tɪv/ | A material object that physically exists. |
| principle noun | /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ | A fundamental assumption, fundamental law or guiding belief. |
| invest verb | /ɪnˈvɛst/ | To spend money, time, or energy on something, especially for some benefit or purpose; used with in. |
| intervention noun | /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/ | The action of intervening; interfering in some course of events. |
| enormous adjective | /ɪˈnɔː.məs/ | Extremely large; greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc. |
| nevertheless adverb | /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/ | In spite of what preceded; yet. |
| palm noun | /pɑm/ | The inner and somewhat concave part of the human hand or other primate hand that extends from the wrist to the bases of the fingers. |
| suggestion noun | /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/ | Something suggested (with subsequent adposition being for) |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| take up verb | To pick up. | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: relation /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/, cooperation /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, pollution /pəˈluʃən/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: cooperation /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, primarily /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.ɹə.li/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, nevertheless /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/
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 pillar, relation, cooperation.
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.