Shadowing Practice: Bamboo - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Bamboo is the most incredible plant in the world because we can use them for everything.
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We have bamboo more than 200 varieties all over the world in Southeast Asian country.
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If we go back about 30 years back, bamboo is in our life.
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We use bamboo for building houses, for making tools, make food, make everything.
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When we have bamboo, that means we have everything.
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And bamboo can grow back very fast.
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Every year, they double, triple very fast after that.
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So it's the natural resources that they produce faster than anything.
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we can also eat the young shoot of bamboo like this
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it is the best food for us for many many generations
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so bamboo is the miracle plant we start to use more bamboo in building more
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and more now this building is adobe house but we make the whole roof with bamboo.
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It lasts very long.
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It's very beautiful and very cool.
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So bamboo can be used for everything.
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Now I think it's important to go back to bamboo
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because they grow back very fast and it's so cheap and it's so easy.
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So good to eat them too.
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There are many way to grow bamboo but the old way
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that people did in the past it is to dig up the root of the stem any stem of bamboo
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that still look green we can use them pull them up
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like this you can dig them up the at least you need to get the roots like it
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if you have roots like this they always survive they will not die easily This is the old way of planting bamboo.
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In the past people grow a lot of bamboo everywhere
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but the technique the easy technique is just dig up the
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root like this from the bamboo clump just one piece of this
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and bury them underground and then they grow back again so it lasts for many many years.
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Bamboo is very easy to grow.
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The best time to grow bamboo is the beginning of rainy season
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because if you grow in dry season we need to water them all the time.
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If we start in the beginning of rainy season we don't need to water at all they just grow by themselves.
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Dig a small hole the depth is about 8 centimeters and then
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put the bamboo stem in there cover with dirt very well
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and then step on it make it very packed and tight
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so it will not move that's all another technique how to
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grow bamboo is just cut the stem the branches of the bamboo like the one
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that stick out like this we cut them and
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we can cut only the stem or we can cut the whole joy of it
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and then we can plant them like that
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this is the part that we can grow them so if we have the branches and a joint like this
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they will grow back or sometimes you can cut only the branches no joint it's okay too
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but to have like this they grow faster so either way is fine
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the technique to grow is similar to the same technique the
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first technique just dig a hole in the ground first not too deep
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or maybe about five centimeters or up to eight centimeters is okay
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and then we put the bamboo in there
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and cover with the dirt very well
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and then step on it pack it very tight
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so to prevent moving is very important part of it because
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when the bamboo start to have roots
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if we move them the root will be break
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so they can die after that but if we make it tight
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or put some stick around to make a fence around it
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so nobody will not check it
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so it will survive for sure after we plant them we need to make sure
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that the soil will not dry up
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we need to water them if it's too dry that's why
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when we grow in rainy season they always have rain the soil always wet
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so they will survive for sure only one month we can
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see the new shoot start to grow from the joint of the bamboo that's mean
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if we can see the new shoot come out like this that's mean the roots underground start to grow too
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so they will not die for sure if we don't check them if we don't move them.
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This one has no new shoot come out yet.
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That means they don't have root yet but they're not dyed because they're still green.
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Soon they're gonna grow back.
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This is how much it can grow in six months.
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So bamboo they grow so fast if we take care of them well
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and then if you have very good soil even have enough compost of food they even faster than this
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bamboo grow faster than we think another way to propagate the bamboo is we cut under the branches
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where it stick with the stem like this.
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We use the metal blade, metal saw, cut them about two-thirds of it, almost break off, but not break off.
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That's good enough.
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And then we can use dirt to wrap around it.
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We call grafting.
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Then we put the compost or dirt on top of the plastic, a piece of plastic like this.
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And then wrap around where we cut them.
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wrap very well and then tie it with the rope
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or the string very well both sides
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and then this technique is it's very quick we can leave it like this for seven days
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and then when we come back we can see the roots the new root grow inside after
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that we just cut them break them apart and we can plant them
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but before we plant them it's good to nurse them in the nursery area first
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or if you want to sell them in the market we can put in the plastic bag.
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After we see the root, we just put in the plastic bag like this.
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So this is ready to bring it anywhere and sell it.
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So crafting to make the seedling of bamboo is very good business.
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Everywhere in Thailand, you can buy many kinds of bamboo like this.
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So it's easy way to make money.
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How to harvest bamboo to use to make house, to make tools, to make everything?
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What we need to know is the young bamboo like this.
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If it look green like this, that means this bamboo is younger than one year.
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But if the color look like this, look dark color like this.
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That means it's older than one year, older than two years.
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If the bamboo older than two years, we can cut them and use them.
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It will last long.
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There's no bug eating.
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But if it's young like this, the young one look green and you can see the bark wrap around it.
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So this kind of bamboo, if you use them, the bugs gonna eat them
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so it will not last really long so
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when we harvest bamboo we need to know we cut the old bamboo
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and the most important thing is the bamboo have to be
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harvest at the end of the dry season this is the best time to harvest bamboo
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because they will last longer the bugs will not eat them If we harvest in rainy season, a lot of bugs love it.
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Bamboo save a lot of food in the stem during rainy season and then they will use them during the dry season.
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But at the end of dry season, all the food will run down.
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So they have no food in the stem.
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Bug will not love it because no food in there.
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If we harvest bamboo that older than 2 years and then harvest them at the end of dry season,
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it will last more than 50 years.
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But if not, we need to soak with borax and boric acid.
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The recipe that we use is 1 kg of boric acid and borax and 20 liters of water.
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Then we soak bamboo in there 7 days.
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After soak for 7 days, we take it out and dry them.
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And then we can use them.
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It will last more than 40 years.
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It lasts very long.
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So no bugs, nothing to disturb bamboo is good for building another way
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that we use bamboo is eat them as the bamboo shoot is
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the very delicious food because it tastes sweet a little bit sweet it tastes good but raw bamboo is bitter.
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Most of bamboo can be eaten.
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It's edible mostly.
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But some kind of bamboo can be very bitter.
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Some kind is not bitter.
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But before we eat bamboo, we always cook them first, boil them for at least half an hour and the bitterness will go away.
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We pour the water out
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and then we can eat them after
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that we can use them for cooking in different way sometimes we like to grill them first
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so it will peel off the layer that wrap around the bamboo easily
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because the hair around the layer is very itchy sometimes
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but we need to boil them after
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that we can chop them scrape them like this to make it smaller piece
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and then we boil them after that
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and then we can eat we can cook it with any
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recipe is good there are many way to slide them thin to make them become a long strip
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so different way of cooking we need different shape of bamboo
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and then we can boil them again after
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that this is bamboo salad is only garlic onion chilies
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and mint and fish sauce mixed together it tastes
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so good it's simple
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but good we eat bamboo almost every week here is normal
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food for us sometimes we just boil the whole bamboo in a big pot
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for a while and then we just peel them off
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and eat them like this
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so bamboo shoot is everywhere in Thailand people eat a lot
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of them bamboo used to play very big roles in our
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life in the past it become everything you become houses it become tools it become basket bucket
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and trays and everything it become food So,
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after the plastic came, people forgot the bamboo.
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And when we started to use more plastic, we had more problems, we had more garbage, we had more health problems also,
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and then we had to spend more money.
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I think it's not too late to think about going back, going back to bamboo.
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Bamboo is here.
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Bamboo is waiting for us.
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They're ready to propagate more.
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Why This Bamboo Video Is Great for English Speaking Practice
The video’s conversational tone and focus on everyday topics make it ideal for building fluency. The speaker uses simple, repetitive language—like "bamboo can be used for everything"—which mirrors how native speakers often emphasize key points. This structure helps learners grasp natural rhythm and intonation, critical for IELTS speaking practice and real-world communication. Plus, the practical content (growing and using bamboo) keeps learners engaged, making it easier to stay focused during practice.
Breaking Down Natural Speech Patterns
Let’s look at a few lines to see why they sound authentic: 1. "If we go back about 30 years back, bamboo is in our life." The repetition of "back" is a common casual speech trait, showing that perfect grammar isn’t always necessary for clarity. 2. "Every year, they double, triple very fast after that." The lack of conjunctions ("double and triple") is typical in spoken English, where speed and flow matter more than formality. 3. "Dig a small hole the depth is about 8 centimeters." This run-on sentence reflects how people speak without pausing to structure sentences perfectly, a key pattern to mimic for naturalness. These examples show that spoken English is flexible, and learning to replicate such nuances improves pronunciation and fluency.
A Simple Shadowing Routine for This Video
Use the shadowing technique to practice: Start by watching the video once to understand the content. Then, play a 5-second clip, pause, and repeat it immediately, mimicking the speaker’s tone, speed, and stress. Record yourself and compare it to the original—note differences in pronunciation (e.g., "bamboo" vs. "bam-boo") and intonation. For better results, use a shadowing site that lets you slow down the audio. Focus on 2-3 minutes daily; over time, you’ll notice your speech becoming more natural. This routine is especially effective for improving English pronunciation and building confidence for tests like IELTS. Remember, consistency is key—even 10 minutes a day with this video can make a big difference.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is just cut · can be eaten |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | faster than · younger than · older than |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most incredible · the best · the most important |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will not die · will not move · will grow |
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.