Shadowing Practice: #backtoschool tips on forming a relationship with your #preschool students. #teachers #firstday - Learn English Speaking with Video
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29 sentences
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Hey everyone, it's Cheryl from Teaching Two and Three-Year-Olds.
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During the first weeks of school,
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it is so important that you establish that relationship with your students and build the trust that is so important, so needed.
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And one of the ways that we do this, we started this about five years ago, is that we break up our, we have 10 students in our class,
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but during the first week of school, we have five come on Tuesday and the other five come on Thursday.
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this makes it so much nicer I wish we would have started this a long time ago
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because it allows us to get to know the children better
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because there's not as many of them we have a lot more one-on-one with them
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and especially if we have separation issues
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which we always do in our twos class always there's always
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going to be some teary children who have a hard time saying because for some of them, they've never left their parents before.
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So I like that we have less so I can really focus on that.
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And during that time, I also can't stress enough, just watching, observing, getting to know what they're interested in.
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And once you find out what that is, bring more of that into the classroom.
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Last year, I had a little guy who had a hard time saying goodbye to his mom.
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But I found out that he had the biggest love for elephants.
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So I brought elephants into the classroom.
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Another child who had a hard time loved cars, construction cars especially.
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So I set up a little construction area.
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It didn't take much, just on a shelf that he could go to.
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It helped him so much.
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Finding out what they love is so important because you're bringing them in.
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You're engaging them with what they feel comfortable with.
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Meanwhile, you're listening to them and slowly getting to know them better.
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And you're forming that very, very important bond that you will have throughout the school year.
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Those are just some tips that I do that I have found have really helped kick off the school year more successfully.
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And if you want more tips, make sure to find my back to school prep playlist,
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because that has all the videos I've done on getting my classroom ready for back to school.
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Thanks for watching.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “tips on forming a relationship with your students”. This video has 29 sentences and 403 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:27. The speaker talks at a natural 165 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| elephant noun | /ˈɛlɪfənt/ | A large mammal of the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and native to Africa and Asia. |
| meanwhile adverb | /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ | During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place. |
| establish verb | /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/ | To make stable or firm; to confirm. |
| successfully adverb | /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/ | In a successful manner; with success; without failing. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| goodbye | /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ | Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing. |
| separation noun | /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of disuniting two or more things, or the condition of being separated. |
| observe verb | /əbˈzɜːv/ | To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail. |
| shelf noun | /ʃɛlf/ | A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects. |
| distress noun | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. |
| playlist noun | /ˈpleɪˌlɪst/ | A list of recorded songs scheduled to be played on a radio station. |
| preposition noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/ | Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense… |
| teary adjective | /ˈtɪɚi/ | Of a person, having eyes filled with tears; inclined to cry. |
| twos noun | /tuz/ | A reserves team. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. | |
| kick off verb | To make the first kick in a game or part of a game. | |
| set up verb | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | To make ready for use. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | they've never left · have found · I've done |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | children who have · guy who had |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're bringing · You're engaging · you're listening |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, can't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: establish /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/, separation /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, shelf /ʃɛlf/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: successfully /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/, separation /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like classroom, elephant, meanwhile.
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.