Shadowing Practice: Budget Review: Where Can We Cut Costs? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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36 sentences
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1
Thanks for making time, Graham.
2
I'd like to go through the third quarter figures.
3
Of course. I gather they're not brilliant.
4
Not quite. Revenue is up, but so are our costs.
5
In fact, our profit margin has dropped by four percent.
6
That's worse than I'd anticipated.
7
What's driving the increase?
8
Mainly energy bills and overtime payments.
9
The overtime was unavoidable, I'm afraid.
10
We were short-staffed for most of the summer.
11
I appreciate that, but it can't carry on.
12
We've already overspent the annual budget.
13
So where do you suggest we cut back?
14
I've identified three areas worth looking at.
15
Firstly, we could renegotiate with our main supplier.
16
We've been with them for years without a review.
17
Exactly. I reckon we could save around five percent.
18
I'll set up a meeting with them next week.
19
Secondly, the company cars are costing a fortune.
20
Half of them are barely being used.
21
That's true. We could switch to a shared pool.
22
That alone would save thirty thousand pounds a year.
23
And what's the third area?
24
Travel. A lot of those trips could be video calls.
25
The sales team won't be happy about that.
26
Perhaps not, but we have to be realistic.
27
Otherwise we'll be forced to freeze recruitment.
28
I'd much rather avoid that if possible.
29
What about investing in new equipment, though?
30
The old machines are pushing up our energy costs.
31
It's worth considering, provided it pays for itself.
32
Could you put together a rough estimate?
33
I'll have the numbers ready by the end of the month.
34
Lovely. Then we can present everything to the board.
35
Fingers crossed they'll see the bigger picture.
36
I'm sure they will, if the figures add up.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 36 sentences and 280 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:01. The speaker talks at a steady 139 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| overtime noun | /ˈoʊ.vɚˌtaɪm/ | Working time outside of one's regular hours. |
| finger noun | /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other… |
| thirty noun | /ˈθɝti/ | A commercial lasting 30 seconds. |
| invest verb | /ɪnˈvɛst/ | To spend money, time, or energy on something, especially for some benefit or purpose; used with in. |
| pound noun | /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ | A unit of weight in various measurement systems. |
| fortune noun | /ˈfɔːtjuːn/ | Destiny, especially favorable. |
| estimate noun | /ˈɛs.tɪ.mət/ | A rough calculation or assessment of the value, size, or cost of something. |
| margin noun | /ˈmɑɹ.d͡ʒɪn/ | The edge of the paper, typically left blank when printing but sometimes used for annotations etc. |
| gather verb | /ˈɡæðɚ/ | To collect normally separate things. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| recruitment noun | /rɪˈkruːt.mənt / | The process or art of finding candidates for a post in an organization, or recruits for the armed forces. |
| secondly adverb | /ˈsɛk.(ə)ndli/ | In the second place. |
| supplier noun | /səˈplaɪə/ | One who supplies; a provider. |
| reckon verb | /ˈɹɛkən/ | To count; to enumerate; to number; also, to compute; to calculate. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| add up verb | To take the sum of; to total. | |
| cut back verb | To reduce the amount of (something). | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| push up verb | To make (something) higher; to increase. | |
| put together verb | To assemble, construct, build, or formulate. | |
| set up verb | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | To make ready for use. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'd, I'll, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thirty /ˈθɝti/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/
- Long words — get the stress right: anticipate /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, unavoidable /ˌʌnəˈvɔɪdəbəl/
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 overtime, finger, thirty.
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.