Shadowing Practice: [Audio] Basic IELTS Listening - 05 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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35 sentences
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Exercise 2.
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Where are they from?
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Task A.
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Look at the map of Britain.
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Please listen and write down the people's names next to the place where they come from.
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1. My name is Kevin Smith, K -E -V -I -N, and I come from Edinburgh.
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Edinburgh is a very beautiful city.
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You're welcome to my city!
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2. My name is Sue Jenkins.
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S -U -E, Sue.
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I come from Newcastle.
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3. I'm Peter White.
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P -E -T -E -R, Peter.
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And I'm from Liverpool.
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Liverpool is one of Britain's major ports and has an important shipbuilding industry.
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4. I'm Sally Green, S -A -L -L -Y, Sally, from Glasgow.
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5. My name is Richard Lee, R -I -C -H -A -R -D, Richard, and I'm from Cardiff.
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6. I'm Mary Snow, M -A -R -Y, Mary, and I teach in London.
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7. Hi, I'm Steve Hansen, S -T -E -V -E, Steve.
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I come from Manchester University.
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Manchester is one of the large industrial centres as well.
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8. Hello, I'm James Smith, J -A -M -E -S, James, from Belfast.
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Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.
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It's a beautiful city and is well known for its shipbuilding.
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9. Hi, this is my friend Linda from Nottingham.
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She studies at Nottingham University.
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10. Hello, nice to meet you.
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I'm Chris from Cambridge University.
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Now listen to the additional information.
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1. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, and it's the centre of government and commercial life.
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The famous castle and international festival attract thousands of visitors.
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2. Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee are the chief cities in Scotland.
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3. Aberdeen is Scotland's chief fishing port.
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4. Cardiff, Swansea and Newport are the chief urban centres in Wales.
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5. Belfast is the centre of Northern Ireland.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “[Audio] Basic IELTS Listening - 05”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: centre, Belfast, Edinburgh, chief. This video has 35 sentences and 278 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:00. The speaker talks slowly, about 92 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 67% 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:

WordPronunciationMeaning
castle noun/ˈkɑːsəl/A large residential building or compound that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king. Also, a house or…
attract verb/əˈtɹækt/To pull toward without touching.
visitor noun/ˈvɪzɪtɚ/Someone who visits someone else; someone staying as a guest.
shipbuilding nounThe construction of ships.
exercise noun/ˈɛk.sə.saɪz/Any activity designed to develop or hone a skill or ability.
teach verb/ˈtiːt͡ʃ/To pass on knowledge to.
task noun/tæsk/A piece of work done as part of one’s duties.
urban adjective/ˈɝ.bən/Of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or happening or located in, a city or town; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of life in such a place, especially when…
centre noun/ˈsɛntəː/Australia, UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa standard spelling of center.
port noun/poɹt/A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.
hello/hɛˈloʊ/A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
welcome/ˈwɛl.kəm/Greeting given upon someone's arrival.
additional adjective/əˈdɪ.ʃə.nəl/Supplemental or added to something.
commercial adjective/kəˈmɜː.ʃəl/Of or pertaining to commerce.
fish noun/ˈfɪʃ/A typically cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills; any vertebrate that is not a tetrapod.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordMeaning
write down verbTo produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: additional /əˈdɪ.ʃə.nəl/, commercial /kəˈmɜː.ʃəl/, fish /ˈfɪʃ/
  • Long words — get the stress right: additional /əˈdɪ.ʃə.nəl/, industrial /ɪnˈdʌs.tɹi.əl/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like castle, attract, visitor.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →