Shadowing Practice: British Accent Shadowing | Mansfield Park – Part 1 | British Accent Practice & Reading Aloud (C1–C2) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

153 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hello and welcome to British Accent Shadowing.
2
I'm Ashley Howard, a UK voice coach, and among many things, I help people with pronunciation, intonation and accent.
3
Today, we're working with an extract from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, a classic of English literature,
4
known for its precision, subtle humour and social insight.
5
This passage sits at around C1 to C2 level, meaning the language is advanced,
6
with longer sentence structures and nuanced meaning.
7
It's ideal for developing a natural British accent,
8
improving connected speech, and refining your sense of intonation, phrasing, and expressive delivery.
9
I'll read the passage once at natural pace, then we'll go through it line by line so you can shadow and repeat after me,
10
helping you build clarity, rhythm and confidence in your spoken English.
11
You can also download the free PDF of today's passage with vocabulary notes using the link in the description below.
12
Let's begin.
13
About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon, with only 7 ,000 pounds,
14
had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram of Mansfield Park in the county of Northampton,
15
and to be thereby raised to the rank of a Baronet's Lady with all the comforts
16
and consequences of a handsome house and large income.
17
All Huntingdon exclaimed on the greatness of the match, and her uncle, the lawyer himself,
18
allowed her to be at least three thousand pounds short of any equitable claim to it.
19
She had two sisters to be benefited by her elevation, and such of their acquaintance,
20
as thought Miss Ward and Miss Francis quite as handsome as Miss Maria, did not scruple to predict their marrying with almost equal advantage.
21
but there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.
22
Miss Ward, at the end of half a dozen years, found herself obliged to be attached to the Reverend Mr Norris,
23
a friend of her brother -in -law, with scarcely any private fortune, and Miss Frances fared yet worse.
24
Miss Ward's match, indeed, when it came to the point, was not contemptible.
25
Sir Thomas being happily able to give his friend an income in the living of Mansfield,
26
and Mr. and Mrs. Norris began their career of conjugal felicity with very little less than a thousand a year.
27
But Mrs Frances married, in the common phrase, to disoblige her family and by fixing on a lieutenant of marines,
28
without education, fortune or connections, did it very thoroughly.
29
She could hardly have made a more untoward choice.
30
Sir Thomas Bertram had interest, which, from principle as well as pride,
31
from a general wish of doing right and a desire of seeing all that were connected with him in situations of respectability,
32
he would have been glad to exert for the advantage of Lady Bertram's sister.
33
time to devise any other method of assisting them, an absolute breach between the sisters had taken place.
34
It was the natural result of the conduct of each party, and such as a very imprudent marriage almost always produces.
35
To save herself from useless remonstrance, Mrs Price never wrote to her family on the subject till actually married.
36
Lady Bertram, who was a woman of very tranquil feelings, and a temper remarkably easy and indolent,
37
would have contented herself with merely giving up her sister and thinking no more of the matter,
38
But Mrs Norris had a spirit of activity, which could not be satisfied till she had written a long and angry letter to Fanny,
39
to point out the folly of her conduct, and threaten her with all its possible ill consequences.
40
Mrs Price, in her turn, was injured and angry and an answer which comprehended each sister in its bitterness,
41
and bestowed such very disrespectful reflections on the pride of Sir Thomas, as Mrs Norris could not possibly keep to herself,
42
put an end to all intercourse between them for a considerable period.
43
Now copy after me.
44
If you're really serious about speaking this way, you need to check out my 12 -week Pronunciation Roadmap course,
45
a step -by -step programme with expert coaching and easy practice routines to speak with a clear, contemporary standard British accent.
46
The link's in the description below.
47
About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon with only £7 ,000 Have the good luck!
48
to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram. of Mansfield Park.
49
in the county of Northampton.
50
Thank you and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet's lady.
51
with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.
52
All Huntingdon exclaimed: on the greatness of the match,
53
and her uncle, The lawyer, himself.
54
allowed her to be at least three thousand pounds short of any equitable claim to it.
55
She had two sisters Thank you.
56
to be benefited, by her elevation,
57
and such of their acquaintance as thought Miss Ward. and Miss Frances.
58
quite as handsome as Miss Maria,
59
did not scruple to predict They're marrying with almost equal advantage.
60
but there certainly are not so many men of large fortune,
61
in the world As there are pretty women, to deserve them.
62
Miss Ward, Thank you.
63
At the end of half a dozen years,
64
found herself obliged, to be attached.
65
to the Reverend Mr Norris.
66
A friend of her brother -in -law, with scarcely any private fortune,
67
and Miss Frances fared yet worse.
68
Thank you.
69
Miss Ward's match, indeed.
70
when it came to the point. was not contemptible.
71
Sir Thomas, being happily able,
72
to give his friend and income in the living of Mansfield.
73
and Mr and Mrs Norris began their career of conjugal felicity, with very little less.
74
than a thousand a year.
75
But Miss Frances married In the common phrase, Thank you to disoblige her family.
76
and by fixing on a lieutenant of Marines.
77
without education, Fortune All connections. did it very thoroughly.
78
she could hardly have made.
79
a more untoward choice.
80
Sir Thomas Bertram had interest. Which?
81
From principle, as well as pride.
82
from a general wish of doing right, and a desire of seeing all,
83
that were connected with him,
84
in situations of respectability, He would have been glad.
85
to exert for the advantage of Lady Bertram's sister.
86
but her husband's profession was such as no interest. could reach.
87
and before he had time, to devise any other method,
88
of assisting them An absolute breach.
89
Between the sisters... had taken place.
90
It was the natural result of the conduct of each party and such.
91
as a very imprudent marriage.
92
almost always produces.
93
to save herself, from useless remonstrance Mrs Price?
94
Never wrote to her family on the subject till actually married,
95
Lady Bertram who was a woman of very tranquil feelings and a temper
96
remarkably easy and indolent, would have contented herself with merely giving up her sister.
97
and thinking no more, of the matter. But Mrs Norris?
98
had a spirit of activity which could not be satisfied.
99
till she had written...
100
a long and angry letter,
101
to Fanny, to point out Hmm.
102
The folly. of her conduct.
103
and threaten her with all its possible ill consequences.
104
Mrs Price In her turn, was injured, and angry.
105
And an answer: which comprehended each sister in its bitterness.
106
and bestowed such very disrespectful reflections On the pride of Sir Thomas
107
as Mrs Norris could not possibly keep to herself.
108
Oh.
109
Put an end. to all intercourse.
110
between them. for a considerable period.
111
Thank you.
112
Now speak with me at the same time.
113
Before we continue, check out my British Accent training books: 12 hours of audio,
114
accessible on your phone, thousands of practice words and sentences,
115
and over 300 pages, covering every vowel and consonant and aspect of intonation.
116
There's a link in the description and in the pinned comment.
117
About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon,
118
with only £7 ,000, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram of Mansfield Park in the county of Northampton,
119
and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet's lady with all the comforts
120
and consequences of a handsome house and large income.
121
All Huntingdon exclaimed on the greatness of the match, and her uncle, the lawyer himself,
122
allowed her to be at least three thousand pounds short of any equitable claim to it.
123
She had two sisters to be benefited by her elevation, and such of their acquaintance,
124
as thought Miss Ward and Miss Francis quite as handsome as Miss Maria, did not scruple to predict their marrying with almost equal advantage.
125
But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.
126
Miss Ward, at the end of half a dozen years, found herself obliged to be attached to the Reverend Mr Norris,
127
a friend of her brother -in -law, with scarcely any private fortune, and Miss Frances fared yet worse.
128
their career of conjugal felicity with very little less than a thousand a year.
129
But Mrs Frances married, in the common phrase, to disoblige her family and by fixing on a lieutenant of marines,
130
without education, fortune or connections, did it very thoroughly.
131
She could hardly have made a more untoward choice.
132
Sir Thomas Bertram had interest, which, from principle as well as pride,
133
from a general wish of doing right and a desire of seeing all that were connected with him in situations of respectability,
134
he would have been glad to exert for the advantage of Lady Bertram's sister.
135
time to devise any other method of assisting them, an absolute breach between the sisters had taken place.
136
It was the natural result of the conduct of each party, and such as a very imprudent marriage almost always produces.
137
To save herself from useless remonstrance, Mrs Price never wrote to her family on the subject till actually married.
138
Lady Bertram, who was a woman of very tranquil feelings and a temper remarkably easy and indolent,
139
would have contented herself with merely giving up her sister and thinking no more of the matter.
140
But Mrs Norris had a spirit of activity, which could not be satisfied till she had written a long and angry letter to Fanny,
141
to point out the folly of her conduct, and threaten her with all its possible ill consequences.
142
Mrs Price, in her turn, was injured and angry.
143
and an answer which comprehended each sister in its bitterness, and bestowed such very disrespectful reflections on the pride of Sir Thomas,
144
as Mrs Norris could not possibly keep to herself, put an end to all intercourse between them for a considerable period.
145
Great work today!
146
Shadowing a passage like Mansfield Park is a powerful way to develop rhythm,
147
stress patterns and expressive flow of British English.
148
Working with advanced texts like this helps you move beyond accuracy into natural, confident speech.
149
If this session helped you, please subscribe.
150
It really supports the channel and helps more learners discover these lessons.
151
And if you'd like more episodes more often, you can also join as a channel member using the link in the description.
152
Your support makes it possible for me to keep creating these resources.
153
Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next British accent shadowing session.

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Scan QR
Scan QR
Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Same Channel

British Accent Shadowing Animal Farm by George Orwell English Speaking Practice CEFR B2–C1C1
1

British Accent Shadowing Animal Farm by George Orwell English Speaking Practice CEFR B2–C1

Daily ConversationUniversity Students
Shadowing British English | 1984 by George Orwell – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation PracticeC1
1

Shadowing British English | 1984 by George Orwell – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation Practice

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
British Accent Shadowing | Jane Eyre | Learn RP Pronunciation – Part 1B2
1

British Accent Shadowing | Jane Eyre | Learn RP Pronunciation – Part 1

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | The North Wind and the Sun by Aesop | British Pronunciation A2–B1B1
6

British Accent Shadowing | The North Wind and the Sun by Aesop | British Pronunciation A2–B1

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | The Wind in the Willows | Learn RP Pronunciation with Classic LiteratureB2
4

British Accent Shadowing | The Wind in the Willows | Learn RP Pronunciation with Classic Literature

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
Guess the quote for #shadowing the RP #Britishenglish #accent - #accenttrainingB1
3

Guess the quote for #shadowing the RP #Britishenglish #accent - #accenttraining

British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
British Accent Shadowing | The Railway Children by E. Nesbit | RP Pronunciation Practice (B2–C1)C1
3

British Accent Shadowing | The Railway Children by E. Nesbit | RP Pronunciation Practice (B2–C1)

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
British Accent Shadowing The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter | British Accent Practice A2–B1B1
1

British Accent Shadowing The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter | British Accent Practice A2–B1

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepKidsDaily Conversation
British Accent Shadowing | Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie | Received Pronunciation Accent (B2-C1)C1
3

British Accent Shadowing | Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie | Received Pronunciation Accent (B2-C1)

British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
British Accent Shadowing | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Learn RP Pronunciation – Part 1C1
6

British Accent Shadowing | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Learn RP Pronunciation – Part 1

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | Sherlock Holmes | RP Pronunciation Practice – Part 1C1
6

British Accent Shadowing | Sherlock Holmes | RP Pronunciation Practice – Part 1

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy | Reading Aloud (B2-C1)C1
2

British Accent Shadowing | The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy | Reading Aloud (B2-C1)

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde | British Pronunciation B2–C1 | Read by Ashley HowardC1
5

British Accent Shadowing | Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde | British Pronunciation B2–C1 | Read by Ashley Howard

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | Sense and Sensibility – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation Practice (P, T & K)B2
4

British Accent Shadowing | Sense and Sensibility – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation Practice (P, T & K)

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | Vanity Fair by William Thackeray – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation PracticeC1
3

British Accent Shadowing | Vanity Fair by William Thackeray – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation Practice

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | Town Mouse & Country Mouse by Aesop | Spoken English A2–B1B1
6

British Accent Shadowing | Town Mouse & Country Mouse by Aesop | Spoken English A2–B1

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishDaily Conversation
British Accent Shadowing | Pride and Prejudice | Learn RP Pronunciation – Part 1C1
21

British Accent Shadowing | Pride and Prejudice | Learn RP Pronunciation – Part 1

British AccentUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James | British Accent Practice (C1–C2)C2
46

British Accent Shadowing | The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James | British Accent Practice (C1–C2)

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
British Accent Shadowing | Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne | Accent and Intonation Practice (C2)C2
34

British Accent Shadowing | Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne | Accent and Intonation Practice (C2)

British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU

Recommend Video

Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 1 [Audiobook]C1
1
67 sentences

Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 1 [Audiobook]

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 👪Part of a Community👪 B1 - B2 | Level 4 - 5 | British English AccentB2
5
156 sentences

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 👪Part of a Community👪 B1 - B2 | Level 4 - 5 | British English Accent

British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
How to Learn a British Accent *Fast* (Modern RP)B2
2
157 sentences

How to Learn a British Accent *Fast* (Modern RP)

British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
5-Day English Shadowing Challenge | Day 2: GrammarB2
5
188 sentences

5-Day English Shadowing Challenge | Day 2: Grammar

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishHigh School Students
Shadowing is AMAZING!! 🌟 | Learn My British Accent 🇬🇧| ADVANCED 🤓C1
4
138 sentences

Shadowing is AMAZING!! 🌟 | Learn My British Accent 🇬🇧| ADVANCED 🤓

British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
Princess Diana helps you train your British Accent + Phonetic subtitles #RoyalFamily C1
8
53 sentences

Princess Diana helps you train your British Accent + Phonetic subtitles #RoyalFamily

Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
If you can understand this FAST English, your English is ADVANCED (C1-C2 Listening Test)C2
17
305 sentences

If you can understand this FAST English, your English is ADVANCED (C1-C2 Listening Test)

British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Edward Ferrars comes to Norland - Sense & Sensibility (1995) subs ES/PT-BRC1
2
57 sentences

Edward Ferrars comes to Norland - Sense & Sensibility (1995) subs ES/PT-BR

British AccentCambridge Exam PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Shadowing English with Meryl Streep | American Accent Practice & Fluency ExercisesB2
11
60 sentences

Shadowing English with Meryl Streep | American Accent Practice & Fluency Exercises

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
Jane Eyre - Chapter 1C1
3
140 sentences

Jane Eyre - Chapter 1

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 153 sentences and 1867 words to shadow. The speech runs for 20:42. The speaker talks slowly, about 90 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
fortune noun/ˈfɔːtjuːn/Destiny, especially favorable.
handsome adjective/ˈhæn.səm/Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly
accent noun/ækˈsɛnt/A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to…
consequence noun/ˈkɑn.sɪ.kwəns/An effect; something that follows a cause as a result.
shadow noun/ˈʃædəʊ̯/A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
connect verb/kəˈnɛkt/To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
pound noun/ˈpaʊ̯nd/A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
phrase noun/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/A short written or spoken expression.
passage noun/ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning.
uncle noun/ˈʌŋ.kl̩/The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
lieutenant noun/l(j)uˈtɛn.ənt/In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant" or as the…
rank noun/ˈɹæŋk/A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers.
assist verb/əˈsɪst/To help.
comfort noun/ˈkʌm.fət/Contentment, ease.
marry verb/ˈmæɹi/To enter into the conjugal or connubial state; to take a husband or a wife.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordMeaning
give up verbTo surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
point out verbTo identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body.
check out verbTo record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
go through verbTo travel from one end of something to the other.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “th” sounds: thirty /ˈθɝti/, thoroughly /ˈθʌɹ.ə.li/, thereby /ðɛɹˈbaɪ/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/
  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, reflection /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/, elevation /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, profession /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/
  • Long words — get the stress right: considerable /kənˈsɪdəɹəbl̩/, remarkably /ɹɪˈmɑɹkəbli/, disrespectful /dɪs.ɹɪˈspɛkt.fəl/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, accuracy /ˈæk.jɚ.ə.si/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like fortune, handsome, accent.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itbe benefited · be attached · were connected
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhave made

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 →