Shadowing Practice: British Accent Training Exercise! MODERN RP (Shadowing Technique) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
152 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hello everyone!
2
My name is Dylan and welcome to a brand new video.
3
So today we are going to be using this shadowing technique to help you improve your British English speaking
4
and pronunciation whilst helping you to train your modern RP accent.
5
So how does it work?
6
Well, I will start by telling you a fascinating true story about the time
7
I was attacked by a horde of vicious monkeys whilst on holiday in Malaysia.
8
So I will tell you this same story three times.
9
For the first time, all you need to do is sit back, listen and enjoy.
10
For the second time, you will listen again.
11
But after each sentence, I want you to repeat what I have just said.
12
For this part, it's important to try and copy exactly how I say it.
13
It's the small details you need to focus on in order to really improve your British accent and speaking abilities.
14
Finally, for the third part, we will actually be reading the story together at the same time.
15
This is the shadowing technique.
16
Now, it is a bit of a challenge, but by doing this, it means you will be able to perfectly imitate a natural British accent,
17
which of course means that you are also speaking in a natural british accent
18
so feel free to repeat steps two
19
and three as many times as you need to before moving on
20
and as always guys with all of these exercises there's no pressure there's no rush
21
if you make a mistake don't worry
22
i'm not going to send a horde of wild vicious monkeys to your house to attack
23
you this is just you and i having a bit of fun
24
and helping you to improve your modern RP accent and speaking abilities.
25
Right guys, enjoy the story.
26
Very quickly guys, this video is going to be an excellent and free way to sound more British.
27
However, if you wish to improve your accent with my personal and real -time feedback and support,
28
you can now do so with my private one -to -one lessons.
29
The link is in the top comment.
30
Cheers.
31
Let me tell you a crazy story.
32
My tale began on a Monday morning in Kuala Lumpur.
33
The sun was shining and I wanted to do some sightseeing.
34
So I decided to visit the Batu Caves, a remarkable landmark famously filled with monkeys.
35
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
36
I hopped into a taxi and made my way there.
37
Upon arrival, I was instantly greeted by lots of people, lots of monkeys, and a stunning gold statue.
38
I then ventured into a temple and was blessed by a local Hindu.
39
But wait, was it a blessing or a curse?
40
After a steep walk up the stairs, I finally arrived at the caves.
41
And yeah, they were pretty cool to be honest.
42
Anyway, as I made my way back down the stairs, everything changed.
43
The once friendly monkeys started looking at me weirdly.
44
I tried to ignore it, but I could feel their stares becoming more and more fierce.
45
I could hear them following me.
46
Did one of them just say my name?
47
I knew I shouldn't have worn my banana -scented cologne.
48
I was nearly at the exit when it happened.
49
The vicious monkeys finally carried out their attack.
50
One of them had dressed up as a human and started throwing bananas in my direction.
51
This caused the other monkeys to swarm me, making escape impossible.
52
I had been truly outsmarted.
53
The monkeys were swarming and I was overwhelmed.
54
How would I escape.
55
And that is when I had my idea.
56
I bent down, picked up a banana, threw it up the stairs and back into the caves.
57
It was a big throw.
58
This gave me just enough time to make my way through the horde of distracted monkeys.
59
After five minutes of running, I was free.
60
I had made it Tal's alive.
61
That was a hard story for me to tell, so thank you so much for listening.
62
Right, it's now time to move on to part two.
63
Here, I'm going to read the story again, but after each sentence, I would like you to repeat what I have just said.
64
As mentioned, try to copy exactly how I say it.
65
I know that is quite hard, but it will help you to really train your accent, you know?
66
An accent is like a song, and you need to hit the right notes.
67
Now, feel free to repeat this part as many times as you need to,
68
and you can also play it at a slower speed if it helps.
69
Good luck.
70
Let me tell you a crazy story.
71
My tale began on a Monday morning in Kuala Lumpur.
72
The sun was shining and I wanted to do some sightseeing.
73
So, I decided to visit the Batu Caves,
74
a remarkable landmark famously filled with monkeys.
75
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
76
I hopped into a taxi and made my way there.
77
Upon arrival, I was instantly greeted by lots of people, lots of monkeys and a stunning gold statue.
78
I then ventured into a temple and was blessed by a local Hindu.
79
But wait, was it a blessing or a curse?
80
After a steep walk up the stairs, I finally arrived at the caves.
81
And yeah, they were pretty cool, to be honest.
82
Anyway, as I made my way back down the stairs, everything changed.
83
The once friendly monkeys started looking at me weirdly.
84
I tried to ignore it, but I could feel their stares becoming more and more fierce.
85
I could hear them following me.
86
Did one of them just say my name?
87
I knew I shouldn't have worn my banana -scented cologne.
88
home.
89
I was nearly at the exit when it happened.
90
The vicious monkeys finally carried out their attack.
91
one of them had dressed up as a human.
92
and started throwing bananas in my direction.
93
This caused the other monkeys to swarm me, making escape impossible.
94
I had been truly outsmarted.
95
The monkeys were swarming and I was overwhelmed found.
96
How would I escape?
97
And that is when I had my idea.
98
I bent down, picked up a banana, threw it up the stairs and back into the caves.
99
It was a big throw.
100
This gave me just enough time to make my way through the horde of distracted monkeys.
101
After 5 minutes of running, I was free.
102
I had made it out alive.
103
Right guys, time for the third and final part, the shadowing technique.
104
Here we will be reading the story together at the same time.
105
Now this section is quite challenging so take as long as you need to.
106
You can also go back and repeat step 2 as many times as you like which will make this a bit easier.
107
Try to copy my voice exactly and don't worry if you make a mistake, it's actually a good thing.
108
Enjoy!
109
Let me tell you a crazy story.
110
My tale began on a Monday morning in Kuala Lumpur.
111
The sun was shining and I wanted to do some sightseeing.
112
So I decided to visit the Batu Caves, a remarkable landmark famously filled with monkeys.
113
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
114
I hopped into a taxi and made my way there.
115
Upon arrival, I was instantly greeted by lots of people, lots of monkeys, and a stunning gold statue.
116
I then ventured into a temple and was blessed by a local Hindu.
117
But wait, was it a blessing or a curse?
118
After a steep walk up the stairs, I finally arrived at the caves.
119
And yeah, they were pretty cool, to be honest.
120
Anyway, as I made my way back down the stairs, everything changed.
121
The once -friendly monkeys started looking at me weirdly.
122
I tried to ignore it, but I could feel their stares becoming more and more fierce.
123
I could hear them following me.
124
Did one of them just say my name?
125
I knew I shouldn't have worn my banana -scented cologne.
126
I was nearly at the exit when it happened.
127
The vicious monkeys finally carried out their attack.
128
One of them had dressed up as a human and started throwing bananas in my direction.
129
This caused the other monkeys to swarm me, making escape impossible.
130
I had been truly outsmarted.
131
The monkeys were swarming and I was overwhelmed.
132
How would I escape?
133
And that is when I had my idea.
134
I bent down, picked up a banana, threw it up the stairs and back into the caves.
135
It was a big throw.
136
This gave me just enough time to make my way through the horde of distracted monkeys.
137
After five minutes of running, I was free.
138
I had made it house alive.
139
Right, everyone, well done for doing that.
140
The shadowing technique is not easy, so don't worry if you found that hard, it's supposed to be.
141
As mentioned, I would recommend repeating steps two
142
and three as many times as you need to until you feel 100 % confident
143
if you did enjoy today's video why not consider liking the video subscribing to the channel
144
and maybe even commenting down below it all makes a massive difference
145
if you would like to stay in touch i would recommend following my instagram
146
which is british education underscore my spotify where i post all of my videos
147
and that is british education
148
and you can also subscribe to my weekly newsletter it's completely free
149
and you will receive an exclusive video as soon as you sign up.
150
The link is in the top comment.
151
Right, I post new videos every single Friday so hopefully I'll see you guys then.
152
Thank you again for watching and until next time, cheers.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B110
Why your English still isn’t improving
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
C11
16 minutes of natural conversation | The British Podcast
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
If You Can Understand Him, Your English Is Incredible
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
Can you understand NATIVE British English conversation?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B13
Learn English With Me in a Korean Village
British AccentTravel EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B16
Everyday British English Conversations (Cafe) | British Accent Training
British AccentTravel EnglishDaily Conversation
B16
British Accent Training Exercise! MODERN RP (Shadowing Technique)
British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A27
20 Minutes of British English Listening & Speaking Practice | GET A BRITISH ACCENT!
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
How much REAL English can you understand? (native speed)
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A210
25 EVERYDAY Questions & Answers in a British Accent! (MODERN RP)
British AccentCambridge Exam PrepTeensDaily Conversation
B25
If You Can Understand Him, Your English Is Fluent
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C14
The British accent secret nobody talks about (Modern RP)
British AccentUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B25
Learn British English with a Short Story! (British Accent Listening Practice) 4K
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B24
If You Can Understand This, You’re Ready to Come to the UK
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B16
How to start thinking in English
British AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
C16
English Listening Practice - REAL Native Conversation! (B2 - C1)
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A212
Say These 80 DAILY WORDS in a British Accent! (MODERN RP)
British AccentCambridge Exam PrepTeensDaily Conversation
B213
If You Can Understand Him, Your English Is Perfect
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B15
The Truth About Moving to the UK
British AccentTravel EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
Learn English without even trying
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B21
664 sentences
5 Secrets for a Perfect "British" Accent! 🇬🇧
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B19,827
13 sentences
Master English Speaking Using Shadowing Technique #english
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2116
30 sentences
SEtalk: Your Accent Is Not a Mistake
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
172 sentences
How I Practice Shadowing for Better English | Zendaya Interview
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
68 sentences
Theo yc bạn Hương chúng ta có video để luyện shadowing #english #englishspeaking #shadowingenglish
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
160 sentences
Improve Your English Pronunciation in 3 Steps (British Accent)
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B17
310 sentences
23 Minutes of British English Listening Practice! (MODERN RP)
British AccentCambridge Exam PrepDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
314 sentences
Practice Speaking & Reading Out Loud With This English Shadowing Exercise
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
130 sentences
Don't Shadow English, Do THIS Instead
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C11
168 sentences
HOW TO DO A BRITISH ACCENT CONVINCINGLY (2) FOR AMERICAN ACTORS (Acting Coach NYC)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B213
60 sentences
Shadowing English with Meryl Streep | American Accent Practice & Fluency Exercises
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B2486 sentences
Say These 200 DAILY WORDS in a British Accent! (MODERN RP)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “British Accent Training Exercise! MODERN RP”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: monkeys, caves, banana, stairs, accent. This video has 152 sentences and 1635 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:39. The speaker talks slowly, about 98 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:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| monkey noun | /ˈmʌŋki/ | A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails… |
| cave noun | /keɪv/ | A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside. |
| stairs noun | /ˈstɛɹz/ | A contiguous set of steps connecting two floors. |
| banana noun | /bəˈnænə/ | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. |
| 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… |
| vicious adjective | /ˈvɪʃəs/ | Violent, destructive and cruel. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| ignore verb | /ɪɡˈnɔː/ | To deliberately not listen or pay attention to. |
| temple noun | /ˈtɛm.pl̩/ | A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith. |
| arrival noun | /əˈɹaɪ.vl̩/ | The act of arriving (reaching a certain place). |
| hop noun | /hɒp/ | A plant of species Humulus lupulus, native to northern Europe, female flowers of which are used to flavour many types of beer during brewing. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| exit noun | /ˈɛɡzət/ | An act of going out or going away, or leaving; a departure. |
| remarkable adjective | /ɹɪˈmɑɹ.kə.bl̩/ | Worthy of remark; notable; interesting. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| back down verb | To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have. | |
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
| dress up verb | To put on special or fancy clothes. | |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| sign up verb | To add a name to the list of people who are participating in something. | |
| sit back verb | To recline while still in a seated position, with one's back on the frame of the seat. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
- Did one of them just say my name?
- How would I escape?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was attacked · was instantly greeted · was blessed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have just said |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, shouldn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, shine /ʃaɪn/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
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 monkey, cave, stairs.
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.