Shadowing Practice: Barack Obama: Yes We Can - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Thank you, New Hampshire!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Thank you.
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Thank you guys.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, New Hampshire.
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I love you back.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Well, thank you so much.
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I am still fired up and ready to go.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Well, first of all, I want to congratulate Senator Clinton on a hard-fought victory here in New Hampshire.
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She did an outstanding job.
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Give her a big round of applause.
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A few weeks ago, no one imagined that we'd have accomplished what we did here tonight in New Hampshire.
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No one could have imagined it.
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For most of this campaign, we were far behind.
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We always knew our climb would be steep.
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But in record numbers, you came out and you spoke up for change.
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And with your voices and your votes, you made it clear that at this moment,
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in this election, there is something happening in America.
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There is something happening when men and women in Des Moines and Davenport, in Lebanon and Concord, come out in the snows of January to wait in lines
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that stretch block after block because they believe in what this country can be.
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There is something happening.
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There is something happening when Americans who are young in age and in spirit, who have never participated in politics before,
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turn out in numbers we have never seen, because they know in their hearts that this time must be different.
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There's something happening when people vote not just for party that they belong to, but the votes, the hopes that they hold in common.
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that whether we are rich or poor, black or white, Latino or Asian, whether we hail from Iowa or New Hampshire,
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Nevada or South Carolina, we are ready to take this country in a fundamentally new direction.
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That's what's happening in America right now.
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Change is what's happening in America.
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We want change!
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We want change!
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You, all of you who are here tonight, all who put so much heart and soul and work into this campaign,
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You can be the new majority who can lead this nation out of a long political darkness.
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Democrats, independents, and Republicans who are tired of the division and distraction that has clouded Washington.
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Who know that we can disagree without being disagreeable.
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Who understand that if we mobilize our voices to challenge the money
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and influence an influence that stood in our way and challenged ourselves to reach for something better.
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There is no problem we cannot solve.
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There is no destiny that we cannot fulfill.
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Our new American majority can end the outrage of unaffordable, unavailable health care in our time.
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We can bring doctors and patients,
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workers and businesses, Democrats and Republicans together, and we can tell the drug and insurance industry that while they get a seat at the table,
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they don't get to buy every chair.
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Not this time.
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Not now.
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Our new majority can end the tax breaks for corporations
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that ship our jobs overseas and put a middle-class tax cut in the pockets of working Americans who deserve it.
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We can stop sending our children to schools with corridors of shame and start putting them on a pathway to success.
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We can stop talking about how great teachers are
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and start rewarding them for their greatness by giving them more pay and more support.
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We can do this with our new majority.
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We can harness the ingenuity of farmers and scientists,
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citizens and entrepreneurs to to free this nation from the tyranny of oil
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and save our planet from a point of no return.
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And when I am President of the United States, we will end this war in Iraq and bring our troops home.
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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Obama!
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We will end this war in Iraq.
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We will bring our troops home.
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We will finish the job against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
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We will care for our veterans.
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We will restore our moral standing in the world.
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And we will never use 9-11 as a way to scare up votes, because it is not a tactic to win an election.
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It is a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century.
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Terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease.
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All of the candidates in this race share these goals.
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All of the candidates in this race have good ideas.
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And all are patriots who serve this country honorably.
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But the reason our campaign has always been different,
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the reason we began this improbable journey almost a year ago,
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is because it's not just about what I will do as president.
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It is also about what you, the people who love this country,
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the citizens of the United States of America can do to change it.
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That's what this election is all about.
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That's why tonight belongs to you.
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It belongs to the organizers and the volunteers
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and the staff who believed in this journey and rallied so many others to join the cause.
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We know the battle ahead will be long.
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But always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way,
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nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
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We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics.
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And they will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks and months to come.
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We've been asked to pause for a reality check.
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We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
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But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
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For when we have faced down impossible odds, When we've been told we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try,
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or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.
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Yes, we can.
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Yes, we can.
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Yes, we can.
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Yes, we can.
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Yes, we can.
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Yes, we can!
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Yes, we can!
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It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
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Yes, we can.
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It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights.
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Yes, we can.
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It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
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Yes, we can.
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It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a President who chose the moon as our new frontier,
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and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land.
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Yes, we can to justice and equality.
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Yes, we can!
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Yes, we can!
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Yes, we can!
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Yes, we can!
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Yes, we can!
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Yes, we can to opportunity and prosperity.
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Yes, we can heal this nation.
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Yes, we can repair this world.
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Yes, we can.
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And so tomorrow, as we take the campaign south and west, as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg
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are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas, that the hopes of the little girl who goes to the crumbling school in Dillon
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are the same as the dreams the boy who learns on the streets of L.A.
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We will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggest, that we are one people,
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we are one nation, and together we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words
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that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea.
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Yes, we can.
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Thank you, New Hampshire.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Barack Obama: Yes We Can”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: obama, happening, America, Hampshire, nation. This video has 136 sentences and 1301 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:08. The speaker talks slowly, about 99 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| troop noun | /tɹup/ | A collection of people; a number; a multitude (in general). |
| creed noun | /kɹid/ | That which is believed; accepted doctrine, especially religious doctrine; a particular set of beliefs; any summary of principles or opinions professed or… |
| destiny noun | /ˈdɛs.tɪ.ni/ | That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will. |
| abolitionist noun | /ˌæ.bəˈlɪʃ.n̩.ɪst/ | A person favoring or advocating for the abolition of any particular institution or practice. |
| crumble verb | /ˈkɹʌmbəl/ | To fall apart; to disintegrate. |
| disagreeable adjective | /dɪsəˈɡɹi.əbəl/ | Causing repugnance; unpleasant to the feelings or senses; displeasing. |
| dishwasher noun | /ˈdɪʃˌwɑʃɚ/ | A machine for washing dishes. |
| dissonant adjective | /ˈdɪsənənt/ | Exhibiting dissonance; not agreeing; not harmonizing or melodizing. |
| honourably adverb | /ˈɑnəɹəbli/ | In an honourable manner. |
| improbable adjective | /ɪmˈpɹɑbəbl̩/ | Not likely to be true. |
| ingenuity noun | /ˌɪnd͡ʒəˈn(j)uːəti/ | The ability to solve difficult problems in original, clever, and inventive ways; ingeniousness. |
| mobilize verb | /ˈməʊbɪlʌɪz/ | To make something mobile. |
| mountaintop noun | /ˈmaʊnt(ɪ)nˌtɑp/ | The summit of a mountain. |
| plight noun | /plaɪt/ | A dire or unfortunate situation. |
| unaffordable adjective | Too expensive to be afforded. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come out in verb | to be afflicted by (a visible disruption of the body) | |
| face down verb | To confront; to abash by stern looks. | |
| sum up verb | To produce a total by adding. |
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 | have accomplished · have never participated · have never seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | have been told · We've been asked · We've been warned |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who love · women who reached |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as we've, can't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: abolitionist /ˌæ.bəˈlɪʃ.n̩.ɪst/, dishwasher /ˈdɪʃˌwɑʃɚ/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, shine /ʃaɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: abolitionist /ˌæ.bəˈlɪʃ.n̩.ɪst/, disagreeable /dɪsəˈɡɹi.əbəl/, honourably /ˈɑnəɹəbli/, ingenuity /ˌɪnd͡ʒəˈn(j)uːəti/, organizer /ˈɔɹɡənaɪzɚ/
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 troop, creed, destiny.
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.