The speaker keeps coming back to these words: hole, hurt, jellyfish. This video has 80 sentences and 334 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:53. The speaker talks at a steady 116 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. 21 of its 80 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 14 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
privacy noun	/ˈpɹaɪ.və.si/	The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others.
nope	/noʊp/	No.
dig verb	/dɪɡ/	To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More…
soda noun	/ˈsoʊdə/	Sodium bicarbonate.
holocaust noun	/ˈhɑl.əˌkɔst/	An offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.
sting verb	/ˈstɪŋ/	To hurt, usually by introducing poison or a sharp point, or both.
sweetie noun	/ˈswi.ti/	A person who is much loved.
jellyfish noun	/ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/	An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
abandoner noun	/əˈbændənɚ/	One who abandons.
ammonia noun	/əˈmoʊn.jə/	A gaseous, toxic compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, NH₃, with a pungent smell and taste.
hole noun	/hoʊl/	A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure.
shower noun	/ˈʃaʊ.ɚ/	A brief fall of precipitation (spell of rain, or a similar fall of snow, sleet, or cascade); burst of hefty precipitation.
blame verb	/bleɪm/	To assert or consider that someone is the cause of something negative; to place blame; to attribute responsibility (for something negative or for doing…
boyfriend noun	/ˈbɔɪˌfɹɛnd/	A male partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
dry up verb	To become dry (often of weather); to lose water.
go out verb	To leave, especially a building.

Sentences worth repeating

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

I'm gonna take a shower.
Sweetie, what are you talking about?
Don't you want to stay here and talk about it?
Would you go out with me?
We want to take you back to the house?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming	gonna take · gonna have
Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary	need to be · have to pee

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: jellyfish /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/, shower /ˈʃaʊ.ɚ/

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 privacy, nope, dig.

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 →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson