Shadowing Practice: [Audio] Basic IELTS Listening - 57 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Exercise 5.
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Christmas Activities.
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Listen to the talk and complete the notes.
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Write no more than three words for each answer.
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The Christmas season begins very early in Britain.
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By the end of October, you may see Christmas decorations in the streets and Christmas cards and gifts in the shops.
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Traditionally, people start to decorate their houses a week or two before the 25th of December, which is Christmas Day.
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There are a lot of traditions connected with Christmas.
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The most important one is the giving of presents.
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Family members wrap up their gifts and leave them at the bottom of the Christmas tree to be found on Christmas morning.
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Children leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their bed on Christmas Eve,
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the 24th of December, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and bring them small presents,
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fruit, and nuts.
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They are not usually disappointed.
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Sometimes on Christmas Day, the family will sit down to a big turkey dinner and Christmas pudding.
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Later, in the afternoon,
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they may watch the Queen on television as she delivers her traditional Christmas message to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
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If they have room for even more food, they may enjoy a piece of Christmas cake or eat a hot mince pie.
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The 26th of December is also a public holiday,
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Boxing Day, and this is the time to visit Visit friends and relatives or watch football.

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "[Audio] Basic IELTS Listening - 57" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.