Shadowing Practice: Bài 12 - Não Bộ Của Nam Và Nữ - Learn English Speaking with Video
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This is 6
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Minute English from bbclearningenglish .com.
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Hello and welcome to 6
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Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Finn and with me is Rob.
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Hello, Rob.
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Hi, Finn.
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Hi.
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Rob, I have a question for you.
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Are you good at reading maps?
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Well, I have to say I am.
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I really enjoy reading maps and I understand them well.
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That's interesting and today we're talking about new research into the differences between men's
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and women's brains and looking at some vocabulary about brains and thinking.
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Now, this research says that men are better at some things like reading maps.
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Yes, well, I say, I'm good at reading maps and even my wife would agree.
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She makes me do all the map reading in the car, really.
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But women are better at other things, like remembering faces.
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That's according to this research.
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And before we look at it, I have a question about this incredible and mysterious thing, the human brain.
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Rob, you're brainy.
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That is an intelligent guy.
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Thank you.
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But how much does the average human brain weigh?
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Is it a 1 .4 kilograms, b 2 .2 kilograms, or c 3 .6 kilograms, Rob?
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Hmm, I've to use my brain for this.
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I'm really racking my brains.
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That means to think very hard.
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Right, well, I think c 3 .6 kilograms.
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OK, we'll find out if you're right later on.
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Now, this research was by a team from the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
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They looked at the brains of nearly 1 ,000 men and women, and found they're wired differently.
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Yes, so they're connected in different ways.
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Now, let's listen to Dr Ruben Gurr talking about the connections in each hemisphere, each half or each side of the brain.
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Now, what's the difference between men and women?
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What we found was that in males, the stronger connections run within each hemisphere, within each half of the brain.
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In women, the stronger connections are between the two sides of the brain.
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So, men have better links, that's stronger connections, inside each half of the brain.
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So the connections inside the right hemisphere are good, and the connections inside the left hemisphere are good too.
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But women have stronger connections between each side.
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The links are better going from one side to the other, from left to right.
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But what does that mean?
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Well, they say these differences might explain why men are better at learning and performing a single task,
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like cycling or navigating – that's reading maps and finding your way around.
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And it explains why women are often better at multitasking – that's doing several things at once.
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And the research also showed that women are better at remembering words and faces and information about other people.
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And they also had longer attention spans.
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That means they could concentrate on a task for longer without becoming distracted.
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Rob?
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Rob?
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Rob, are you there?
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Oh, sorry.
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I was miles away.
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Right, you might be right, Finn, but not...
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About the attention spans.
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Yes.
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But not everyone agrees with this research.
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No, Professor Heidi Johansenberg from the University of Oxford says the connections inside the brain are not hardwired.
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Now, in other words, that means they're not permanently fixed and they keep changing.
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She said the brain is very complex,
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so you can't make generalisations about it generalisations are statements that are often true but based on a limited amount of information.
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But overall I think it's an interesting idea and we asked our audience on social media what they thought about the study.
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Cremildo from Mozambique said he's a man and agrees with a survey
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and he admires his mother who's able to do a lot of things by herself.
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Pen Pei from Thailand says it depends on the individual.
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Now, she's good at reading maps and multitasking, but don't ask her about language or driving.
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And Hannah Potkey from Iran agrees.
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She said it took her five times to pass her driving test.
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Now, Rob, earlier I asked you if you knew how heavy the human brain is on average.
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And I said C, a heavy 3 .6 kilograms.
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Very, very heavy brain and a lot heavier than the average human brain.
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Ah.
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The answer was in fact A, 1 .4 kilograms.
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Okay, fine.
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Mine is 3 .6.
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Yours is actually huge.
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I can see.
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Yes, you've just got a big head.
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This compares with the average of 7 kilograms for whales and 1 .4, the same, for dolphins.
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Now, Albert Einstein's brain was actually only 1 .2 kilograms, so that's lower than average.
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And it shows that size isn't everything.
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Now, Rob, before we go, would you remind us of today's brain -related words, please?
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Of course, we had brainy, rack my brains, hemisphere, navigating,
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multitasking, attention spans, hardwired, generalisations.
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Great!
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Thank you, Rob, and thanks everyone for listening.
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Join us again for more 6
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Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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Goodbye.
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Goodbye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Bài 12 - Não Bộ Của Nam Và Nữ”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: brain, Rob, kilograms, connections, map. This video has 90 sentences and 804 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:58. The speaker talks at a steady 135 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hemisphere noun | /ˈhɛmɪsfɪə/ | Half of the celestial sphere, as divided by either the ecliptic or the celestial equator . |
| span noun | /spæn/ | The full width of an open hand from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger used as an informal unit of length. |
| goodbye | /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ | Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing. |
| rack noun | /ɹæk/ | A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other. |
| navigate verb | /ˈnæv.ɪ.ɡeɪt/ | To plan, control and record the position and course of a vehicle, ship, aircraft, etc., on a journey; to follow a planned course. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| wire noun | /ˈwaɪɚ/ | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| intelligent adjective | /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/ | Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity, bright. |
| differently adverb | /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/ | In a different way. |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| mysterious adjective | /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/ | Of unknown origin. |
| permanently adverb | /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/ | In a permanent manner; lastingly. |
| concentrate verb | /ˈkɑn.sən.tɹeɪt/ | To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Are you good at reading maps?
- Hmm, I've to use my brain for this.
- I'm really racking my brains.
- Rob, are you there?
- Yes, you've just got a big head.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, they're, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, mysterious /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/, permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/
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 hemisphere, span, goodbye.
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.