Shadowing Practice: Beyoncé - Drunk in Love (Explicit) ft. JAY Z - Learn English Speaking with Video

The ..

I've been drinking, I've been drinking

I get filthy when that liquor get it to me I've been thinking, I've been thinking Why can't I keep my fingers off it, baby?

I want you, nah, nah Why can't I keep my fingers off you baby I want you Na na

Cigars on ice, cigars on ice Feeling like an animal with these cameras all in my grill Flashing lights,

flashing lights You got me pity, pity, pity, baby Yeah I want you,

na na Can't keep your eyes off my bad air daddy Yeah,

I want you, na-na, drunk in love I want you,

na-na We woke up in the kitchen saying how the hell did this shit happen,

oh baby Drunk in love,

we be all night Last thing I remember is our beautiful bodies running off of that glue Drunk and love

We be all night Love

We be all night

And everything alright No complaints with my body so fluorescent under these lights Boy I'm drinking Walking in my locked 7-lit

I'm grubbin' on the road, grubbin' if you scared, call that ribbon Boy, I'm drinkin' Keep my brain right I'm on the brine, yeah, I gangsta white Do it,

she teased, he sweated out like wash rags He wet out, boy, I drank it I'm singin' On the mic to my

boy toys Then I fill the tub up halfway Then ride it with my surfboard Surfboard, surfboard, graining on that wood Graining,

graining on that wood I'm swerving on that, swerving, swerving on that Big body been serving all this Swerving, surfing all in this good,

good We woke up in the kitchen saying how the hell did this shit happen Drunk in love,

we be all night Last thing I remember is how beautiful But this grind and I've been a clue Drunk in love,

we be all night We be all night I'm nice right now

Hold up

I do say used to shit If I do say so myself If I do say so myself

If I do say so myself

Hold up Stumble all in the house Turn it back off all of that mouth

That you had all in the car Talkin' about you the baddest bitch Dust ball Talkin' about you be reppin'

that third I wanna see all the shit that I heard You know I slink, clink, eastwood Hope you can handle this curve Uh, foreplay in the foyer Fucked up my war haul Slip the

panties right to the side Ain't got the time to take Jaws off on sight

Catch a charge I might Beat the boxer like Mike In 97 I bite I'm Ike Turn up, turn up, baby, no I don't play Now eat the cake,

anime, say eat the cake, anime I'm nice, we gotta reach these heights You gon' need G3,

4, 5, 6 flights, sleep tight We sex again in the morning, your breakfast is my breakfast We gon' in,

we beat all night Oh, baby, all night Oh, baby,

all night You're never tired,

never tired I've been slipping, that's the only thing to keep it We on fire, we on fire

Didn't mean I still had liquor all of my entire I've been drinking watermelon I want your body right here Daddy,

I want you right now Can't keep your eyes off my body Daddy,

I want you We be all night, we be all night

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72 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Beyoncé - Drunk in Love (Explicit) ft. JAY Z”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: baby, drunk, swerving, drinking, boy. This video has 38 sentences and 582 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:59. The speaker talks slowly, about 97 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
swerve verb	/swɝv/	To go out of a straight line; to deflect.
surfboard noun	/ˈsɝfˌbɔɹd/	A shaped waterproof plank, usually made of wood or foam and reinforced plastic, used to surf on waves.
pity noun	/ˈpɪt.i/	A feeling of sympathy at the misfortune or suffering of someone or something.
grain noun	/ɡɹeɪn/	The harvested seeds of various grass food crops, especially wheat, maize, rye, barley, and rice.
cigar noun	/sɪˈɡɑɹ/	A cylinder of tobacco rolled and wrapped with an outer covering of tobacco leaves, intended to be smoked.
liquor noun	/ˈlɪk.ɚ/	A liquid obtained by cooking meat or vegetables (or both).
anime noun	/ˈæn.ɪ.meɪ/	An animated work that originated in Japan, regardless of the artistic style.
fluorescent adjective	/flɔˈɹɛsənt/	Of or relating to fluorescence.
foreplay verb	/ˈfɔː(ɹ)pleɪ/	To engage in foreplay.
gangster noun	/ˈɡæŋ.stəː/	A member of a criminal or street gang.
tease verb	/tiːz/	To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
panties noun		Underpants for women and girls.
boxer noun	/ˈbɑksɚ/	A participant in a boxing match; a fighter who boxes.
glue noun	/ɡlu/	A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides, used in solution as an adhesive; or any sticky adhesive substance.
filthy adjective	/ˈfɪlθi/	Covered with filth; very dirty.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
hold up verb	To wait or delay.
turn up verb	To show up; to appear suddenly or unexpectedly.
back off verb	To move backwards away from something.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	I've been drinking · I've been thinking · I've been slipping
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	I'm drinking · I'm swerving

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

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 swerve, surfboard, pity.

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: Beyoncé - Drunk in Love (Explicit) ft. JAY Z - Learn English Speaking with Video

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