Shadowing Practice: Asking Your Manager for a Day Off - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
Um, hi, Mr. Brooks. Do you have a minute?
2
Sure, Emma! Come in and sit down.
3
Thanks. Well... I have a small question.
4
Of course. So, what's up?
5
Can I take next Friday off?
6
Next Friday? Oh, is everything okay?
7
Yes! My sister is getting married!
8
Wow, that's wonderful news! Congratulations!
9
Thank you! The wedding is on Friday afternoon.
10
And I need to help her all morning.
11
Okay, let me look at my planner.
12
Hmm... oh no. Friday is a busy day.
13
Really? What's happening on Friday?
14
We have a big meeting with our new client.
15
And you wrote the report for them, remember?
16
Oh no, you're right. I forgot about that.
17
Well... what about Thursday? Can we move the meeting?
18
Thursday? Hmm, I'm not sure...
19
Wait! The client asked for Thursday last week!
20
Really? That's perfect!
21
But Thursday is one day earlier. Is the report ready?
22
Don't worry. I can finish it on Wednesday.
23
And Sam can answer my emails on Friday.
24
Great. Then you can have Friday off.
25
Oh, thank you so much! You're the best boss!
26
Ha, I know! Just send me the report on Wednesday.
27
I will. I promise.
28
And have a wonderful time at the wedding!
29
Thanks! I'll bring you some wedding cake!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Asking Your Manager for a Day Off”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Friday, Thursday, wedding. This video has 29 sentences and 208 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:47. The speaker talks at a steady 117 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 13 of its 29 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| planner noun | /ˈplænɚ/ | One who plans. |
| client noun | /ˈklaɪ.ənt/ | A customer, a buyer or receiver of goods or services. |
| email noun | /ˈiˌmeɪl/ | A system for sending messages and datas by means of a computer network, primarily the Internet, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and the Internet… |
| cake noun | /keɪk/ | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| wedding noun | /ˈwɛdɪŋ/ | A marriage ceremony; a ritual officially celebrating the beginning of a marriage. |
| wonderful adjective | /ˈwʌndəfl̩/ | Tending to excite wonder; surprising, extraordinary. |
| earlier adverb | /ˈɝliɚ/ | previously; before now; sooner |
| minute noun | /ˈmɪnɪt/ | A unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds). |
| sister noun | /ˈsɪs.tɚ/ | A daughter of the same parents as another person; a female sibling. |
| finish verb | /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ | To complete (something). |
| worry verb | /ˈwʌ.ɹi/ | To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt. |
| boss noun | /bɔs/ | One who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor. |
| afternoon noun | /ˌæf.tɚˈnun/ | The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm. |
| promise noun | /ˈpɹɑmɪs/ | An oath or affirmation; a vow. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Do you have a minute?
- Can we move the meeting?
- I'll bring you some wedding cake!
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 planner, client, email.
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.