Shadowing Practice: Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. This video has 36 sentences and 261 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:47. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 6 of its 36 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| breast noun | /bɹɛst/ | Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands; also the analogous organs in males. |
| textbook noun | /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/ | A coursebook, a formal manual of instruction in a specific subject, especially one for use in schools or colleges. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| lifetime noun | /ˈlaɪf.taɪm/ | The duration of the life of someone or something. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| survival noun | /sɚˈvaɪ.vəl/ | The fact or act of surviving; continued existence or life. |
| faculty noun | /ˈfæk.əl.ti/ | The academic staff at schools, colleges, universities or not-for-profit research institutes, as opposed to the students or support staff. |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
| deadly adjective | /ˈdɛdli/ | Causing death; lethal. |
| detection noun | /dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/ | The act or process of detecting, uncovering, or finding out, the discovery of something new, hidden, or disguised. |
| calculation noun | /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/ | The act or process of calculating. |
| obsolete adjective | /ˈɑbsəlit/ | No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer, better, or more fashionable); outmoded. |
| chemotherapy noun | /ˌkiːməʊˈθɛɹəpi/ | Any chemical treatment intended to be therapeutic with respect to a disease state. |
| diagnose verb | /ˈdaɪ.əɡˌnoʊs/ | To determine which disease is causing a sick person's signs and symptoms; to find the diagnosis. |
| boneless adjective | Without bones, especially as pertaining to meat or poultry prepared for eating. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| show off verb | To exhibit the best attributes of something. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: detection /dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/, calculation /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: chemotherapy /ˌkiːməʊˈθɛɹəpi/, oncologist /ɒŋˈkɒləd͡ʒɪst/
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 breast, textbook, topic.
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.