Shadowing Practice: BEFORE SUNSET || Car Conversation Scene - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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I was thinking, for me it's better I don't romanticize things as much anymore.
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I was suffering so much all the time.
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I still have lots of dreams, but they're not in regard to my love life.
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It doesn't make me sad, it's just the way it is.
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Is that why you're in a relationship with somebody who's never around?
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Yes, obviously, I can't deal with the day-to-day life of a relationship.
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Yeah, we have, you know, this exciting time together, and then he leaves and I miss him, but at least I'm not dying inside.
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When someone is always around me, I'm like suffocating.
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No, wait.
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You just said that you need to love and be loved.
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Yeah, but when I do, it quickly makes me nauseous.
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It's a disaster.
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I mean, I'm really happy only when I'm on my own.
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Even being alone, it's better than sitting next to a lover and feeling lonely.
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It's not so easy for me to be all romantic.
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You start off that way, and after you've been screwed over a few times, you forget about all your delusional ideas, ideas and you just take what comes into your life.
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That's not even true.
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I haven't been screwed over.
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I've just had too many blah relationships.
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They weren't mean.
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They cared for me, but there were no real connection or excitement.
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At least not from my side.
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God, I'm sorry.
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Is it really that bad?
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It's not, right?
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You know, it's not even that.
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I was fine until I read your fucking book.
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It stirred It reminded me how genuinely romantic I was, how I had so much hope in things.
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And now it's like, I don't believe in anything that relates to love.
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I don't feel things for people anymore.
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In a way, I put all my romanticism into that one night and I was never able to feel all this again.
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Like, somehow this night took things away from me and I expressed them to you and you took them with you.
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It made me feel cold, like if love wasn't for me.
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I don't believe that.
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I don't believe that.
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You know what?
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Reality and love are almost contradictory for me.
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It's funny.
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Every single of my exes, then they're married.
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Men go out with me, we break up, and then they get married.
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And later they call me to thank me for teaching them what love is.
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Oh, God.
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And that I taught them to care and respect women.
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Wait.
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I think I'm one of those guys.
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You know, I want to kill them!
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Why didn't they ask me to marry them?
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I would have said no, but at least they could have asked!
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But it's my fault.
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I know it's my fault because I never felt it was the right man.
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Never!
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But what does it mean, the right man, the love of your life?
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The concept is absurd.
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The idea that we can only be complete with another person is evil, right?
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Can I talk?
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You know, I guess I've been heartbroken too many times, and then I recovered.
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So now, you know, from the start, I make no effort, because I know it's not gonna work out.
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I know it's not gonna work out.
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You can't do that.
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You can't live your life trying to avoid pain at the expensive...
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Okay, you know what?
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Lose our words.
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I've gotta get away from you.
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Stop the car.
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I wanna get out.
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No, no, no, no. Don't get out.
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Keep talking.
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Don't touch me, you know, I want to get on a cab.
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Monsieur, arrêtez-vous.
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Non, non, c'est bon, au feu, là.
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Non, non, non, non, non, keep going.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you'll practice English speaking skills by exploring a conversation about relationships and personal perspectives on love. The transcript includes candid expressions of feelings, making it a rich resource for shadowing practice. By engaging with the dialogue, you’ll enhance your ability to understand nuanced emotional topics while improving your pronunciation and intonation. The focus will be on developing your shadow speech abilities through repeated listening and speaking.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Romanticize: To make something seem more appealing or attractive than it is.
  • Day-to-day life: The typical activities or experiences of everyday living.
  • Suffocating: Feeling overwhelmed or trapped in a situation.
  • Connection: A bond or understanding between people.
  • Delusional ideas: Unfounded beliefs or perceptions about reality.
  • Cold: Emotionally distant or unresponsive.
  • Reality: The state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to how they may appear.
  • Respect: To hold in high regard or value someone’s feelings and rights.

Practice Tips

To effectively implement the shadowing technique using this video transcript, follow these tips:

  • Start by watching the video without trying to speak. Focus on understanding the context and emotions expressed.
  • Use a shadowing app to play short segments of the dialogue, pausing after each line. Try to repeat what you hear, mimicking the native speakers' pronunciation and rhythm.
  • Pay close attention to the emotional tone in the conversation. Notice how the speakers express feelings such as frustration and nostalgia, and try to replicate that in your shadow speak.
  • Practice with a partner or alone by reading the transcript aloud. This will help reinforce your vocabulary and improve your fluency.
  • Try recording yourself while practicing. Listen back to compare your pronunciation and intonation with the original dialogue. This will help you refine your english speaking practice skills.

By consistently integrating these practice techniques, you will become more comfortable discussing complex emotional topics and improve your overall speaking fluency.

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.