Shadowing Practice: Breakfast Time - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 18 sentences and 89 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:42. The speaker talks at a steady 128 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| strawberry noun | /ˈstɹɔˌbɛɹi/ | The sweet, usually red, edible accessory fruit of certain plants of the genus Fragaria. |
| hungry adjective | /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ | Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food. |
| juice noun | /d͡ʒuːs/ | A liquid made from plant, especially fruit. |
| brush noun | /bɹʌʃ/ | An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including… |
| cereal noun | /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/ | A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains. |
| yummy adjective | /ˈjʌm.i/ | Delicious. |
| pancake noun | /ˈpæn.keɪk/ | An thin batter cake similar to a crepe, typically unleavened. |
| milk verb | /mɪlk/ | To express milk from (a mammal, especially a cow). |
| breakfast noun | /ˈbɹeɪkˌfæst/ | The first meal of the day, usually eaten in the morning. |
| yellow adjective | /ˈjɛloʊ/ | Of a yellow hue. |
| lunch noun | /lʌnt͡ʃ/ | A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day. |
| orange noun | /ˈɒɹɪnd͡ʒ/ | An evergreen tree of the genus Citrus such as Citrus sinensis which yields oranges (the fruit). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
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 strawberry, hungry, juice.
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.









