Shadowing Practice: At the Zoo: Tall and Short - Learn English Speaking with Video
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19 sentences
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1
Here we are, the zoo!
2
Hooray! Let's see the animals!
3
Look up, sweetheart. What's that?
4
Wow! The giraffe is so tall!
5
Yes. Her neck is very long.
6
Is the baby giraffe tall too?
7
No, the baby is short.
8
The elephant is tall and grey.
9
And the meerkats are short.
10
They stand up like me!
11
Look, Grandad! Pink flamingos!
12
They are tall, with long legs.
13
And the penguins are short.
14
Short and round. Waddle, waddle!
15
Grandad, you are tall.
16
And I am short...
17
Don't worry. One day you'll be tall.
18
Look! That monkey is short like me!
19
Ha! Yes, and he's happy too!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A1 speaking lesson is built on the video “At the Zoo: Tall and Short”. This video has 19 sentences and 102 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:04. The speaker talks slowly, about 96 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| grey adjective | /ɡɹeɪ/ | Commonwealth standard spelling of gray. |
| elephant noun | /ˈɛlɪfənt/ | A large mammal of the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and native to Africa and Asia. |
| monkey noun | /ˈmʌŋki/ | A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails… |
| penguin noun | /ˈpɛŋ.ɡwɪn/ | Any of several flightless sea birds, of the family Spheniscidae within the order Sphenisciformes, found in the Southern Hemisphere, marked by their usual… |
| sweetheart noun | /ˈswiːtˌhɑːt/ | A person who is always very kind. |
| giraffe noun | /d͡ʒəˈɹæf/ | A ruminant in the genus Giraffa of the African savannah with long legs, a highly elongated neck, yellow fur patterned with dark spots typically in the form of… |
| waddle verb | /ˈwɑd.əl/ | To walk with short steps, tilting the body from side to side. |
| flamingo noun | /fləˈmɪŋɡoʊ/ | A wading bird of the family Phoenicopteridae of the order Phoenicopteriformes. |
| meerkat noun | /ˈmɪəɹkæt/ | Suricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs. |
| tall adjective | /tɔl/ | Having great vertical extent (usually reckoned from the bottom of the feet to the very top of the head) when standing. (For instance, somebody with a height of… |
| leg noun | /ˈlɛɡ/ | A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land. |
| neck noun | /ˈnɛk/ | The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | you'll be |
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 grey, elephant, monkey.
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.