Shadowing Practice: Barbie (2023) - The Revelation Monologue - Learn English Speaking with Video

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37 sentences

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I'm not pretty anymore.

What?

You're so pretty.

I'm not stereotypical Barbie pretty.

Note to the filmmakers, Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast, if you want to make this point.

You're beautiful.

It's not just that.

I'm not smart enough to be interesting.

You're so smart.

I can't do brain surgery.

I've never flown a plane.

I'm not the president.

No one on the Supreme Court is me.

I'm not good enough for anything.

It is literally impossible to be a woman.

You are so beautiful and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough.

Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

You have to be thin, but not too thin.

And you can never say you want to be thin.

You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin.

You have to have money, but you can't ask for money, because that's crass.

You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean.

You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas.

You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time.

You have to be a career woman, but also always be looking out for other people.

You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining.

You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or

that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood, but always stand out and always be grateful.

But never forget that the system is rigged, so find a way to acknowledge that, but also always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear,

never get out of line.

It's too hard.

It's too contradictory, and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you.

And it turns out, in fact, that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.

And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing a woman,

then I don't even know.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Barbie (2023) - The Revelation Monologue”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: thin, smart, supposed. This video has 37 sentences and 408 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:03. The speaker talks at a steady 134 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
thin adjective	/ˈθɪn/	Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
grateful adjective	/ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/	Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.
insane adjective	/ɪnˈseɪn/	Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad.
medal noun	/ˈmɛdəl/	A stamped metal disc used as a personal ornament, a charm, or a religious object.
extraordinary adjective	/ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/	Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual.
rude adjective	/ɹuːd/	Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous.
complain verb	/kəmˈpleɪn/	To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
acknowledge verb	/əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/	To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in.
selfish adjective	/ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/	Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
doll noun	/dɑl/	A small figure resembling a human being that is used as a toy.
threaten verb	/ˈθɹɛt.n̩/	To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
rig noun	/ɹɪɡ/	The rigging of a sailing ship or other such craft.
knot noun	/nɑt/	A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its…
accuse verb	/əˈkjuz/	To find fault with, blame, censure.
squash noun	/skwɔʃ/	Cucurbita maxima, including hubbard squash, great winter squash, buttercup squash, and some varieties of pumpkins.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
fall down verb	/fɔl ˈdaʊn/	To fall to the ground. To collapse.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
show off verb		To exhibit the best attributes of something.
stand out verb		To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.).

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I'm not smart enough to be interesting.
I can't do brain surgery.
I've never flown a plane.
I'm not good enough for anything.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: selfish /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/, squash /skwɔʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, contradictory /ˌkɑntɹəˈdɪktəɹi/, stereotypical /ˌstɛɹ.iː.əˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/

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 thin, grateful, insane.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Barbie (2023) - The Revelation Monologue - Learn English Speaking with Video

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