Shadowing Practice: B2 English Listening Practice - Idioms in English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Hey everybody, welcome to this B2 English listening practice video.
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Hey everybody, welcome to this B2 English listening practice video.
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You can use this video to train your listening and comprehension as I speak.
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You ready?
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So today I'm going to talk about a few common idioms that we use in English.
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Idiomatic expressions play such an important role in any language, and so it's good to always be learning new ones.
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So without further ado, let's look at our first one.
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Once in a blue moon.
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I'm sure some of you have come across this expression at some point in your life, but But maybe you didn't quite understand it when it was said.
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If we say that something happens once in a blue moon, it means that this thing very rarely happens.
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So, for example, I could say, this type of event only takes place once in a blue moon.
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That just means that this type of event almost never happens.
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Alright, here's another idiom.
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To feel under the weather.
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This is an essential one that you should definitely learn.
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It simply means that you're feeling a little sick.
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You wouldn't use this expression if you were really sick or you had some really serious medical condition or something, but you can use it if you have a cold or something like that.
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So I might say, I'm going to have to skip tonight's party because I'm feeling a little under the weather.
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In fact, I'm actually feeling a little under the weather right now, because I've been having some issues with my throat and sinuses.
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Okay, the third idiom that we're going to look at is this one, stab someone in the back.
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This is another expression that you'll want to get down.
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It's universal, and I'm sure the expression is pretty similar in other languages, but it might be worded a little differently.
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So when you stab someone in the back, you betray them, more often than not in a pretty dramatic or brutal way.
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So for example, let's say I tell a really embarrassing personal secret to my good friend
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and then my good friend goes and tells a bunch of other people my secret.
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This would be considered him stabbing me in the back.
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Pretty straightforward, right?
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Alright, the next idiom is cold turkey.
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This is one of my personal favorites.
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The phrase cold turkey is used to show
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that someone quits a harmful habit immediately without any program or weaning off process to help.
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So if a man's been smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for the last 30 years and then just stops immediately, he quit cold turkey.
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Or if a drug addict suddenly throws away all his drugs and quits completely, he quit cold turkey.
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Don't ask me where this expression came from though.
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Alright, one more idiom.
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Born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
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Of course you can substitute his with any other possessive pronoun here.
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This idiom is often used to negatively describe someone who was born into a wealthy family.
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You wouldn't want to say this to somebody's face though.
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People usually say this when they're making disparaging remarks about somebody else.
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So you might hear someone say something like this.
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He doesn't even know what work is.
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He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
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So hopefully some of these idioms were new for you, so now you've got a few more native phrases in your arsenal.
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Okay, that's all for today.
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Leave a comment and try to use one of these idioms in your own sentence.
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I'll see you next time.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Practicing speaking with idiomatic expressions, as demonstrated in this video, allows you to enhance your comprehension and speaking skills simultaneously. By listening to a native speaker explain and use idioms in context, you gain insight into how these expressions reflect cultural nuances and everyday communication. This method not only keeps your learning engaging but also helps you improve English pronunciation and usage, making your conversations sound more natural and fluent. Regular exposure to idiomatic phrases like "once in a blue moon" or "feeling under the weather" will enrich your vocabulary and allow you to participate more confidently in social interactions.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

This video introduces several key idiomatic phrases that are essential for intermediate English learners. Here are a few structures to note:

  • Once in a blue moon - This expression shows frequency, letting you describe how rare an event is. It’s important to recognize the figurative language that makes everyday speech colorful.
  • To feel under the weather - A great example of a colloquial expression used to indicate mild illness. This phrase is useful when discussing personal health without getting too formal.
  • Stab someone in the back - This idiom illustrates betrayal dramatically. Understanding how to use it can enhance your conversational skills, especially when talking about relationships.
  • Quit cold turkey - This phrase conveys the immediacy of stopping a harmful habit. It highlights the use of verbs to depict instant actions, very relevant in discussions about personal change.
  • Born with a silver spoon in his mouth - This expression refers to wealth and privilege. It’s another example of how idioms can encapsulate complex ideas in just a few words.

Common Pronunciation Traps

When practicing with the idioms from this video, be aware of some common pronunciation challenges:

  • "Under the weather" - The transitional sounds between "under" and "the" can be tricky, affecting clarity. Ensure a smooth flow to maintain the natural rhythm of speech.
  • "Cold turkey" - The "l" in "cold" can be mistakenly omitted. Pay attention to articulating this sound to avoid confusion with similar sounding phrases.
  • "Silver spoon" - The linkage between "silver" and "spoon" sometimes leads to slurring. Practice saying them slowly at first so that you can later improve English pronunciation with confidence.

To further refine your speaking skills, consider using a shadowing app to repeat and practice these phrases. Shadowing is an effective technique that can help you adopt the native speaker's tone and rhythm while speaking. As you shadow, aim to mirror the intonation and pace, which can greatly enhance your fluency.

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.

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