Shadowing Practice: Buying Things that Cost a Lot | practice English with Spotlight - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Welcome to Spotlight.
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I'm Liz Waid.
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And I'm Colin Lowther.
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Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.
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It is easier
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What do you think of when you hear the word 'luxury'?
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Some people may think of lying in the sand on a beautiful ocean beach.
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Others may think of sitting on a costly boat in the sun, enjoying a cold drink.
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These are experiences of luxury.
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But luxury also involves goods and services.
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Here are some real luxury goods that people can buy.
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A solid gold baby bed for 16 million dollars.
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Women's underwear covered in jewels.
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For $10 million.
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A brand name watch for $42 ,000.
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A popular handbag for $4 ,900.
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A martini drink for $1 ,000.
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A one -person dinner for $270.
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These are extreme examples of available luxury goods.
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Most people could never buy these expensive things. and do?
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What makes people want luxury?
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Is it good for us?
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Today's Spotlight is on luxury.
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To some people, luxury means excess.
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Or having more than what is necessary.
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To others, luxury means goods and services that cost a lot of money.
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In this case, Luxury can represent high quality.
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Or, it can also just represent the image of a particular brand name.
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- Yeah.
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The Oxford Dictionary defines luxury as both a state of being And as a thing.
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It says that luxury is "a state of living with ease and excess.
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And, it says, "Luxury is a thing that is not needed. but desired.
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Expensive And difficult to get.
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Bye.
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The global market for luxury goods and services is growing.
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Euromonitor reports that in five years,
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from 2010 to 2014, the luxury goods market grew 36%.
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It estimates that by 2019,
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The global market for luxury goods will have increased 88 % in 10 years.
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Thank you.
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So why are luxury goods so popular?
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especially since they are difficult to get.
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One of the reasons is because they are so difficult to get.
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It makes people feel like they have status, or a high position.
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that other people do not have.
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The website Psychology Today states: Thank you.
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Buyers purchase luxury goods for different reasons.
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One reason is that luxury goods give a sense of status and wealth.
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They help people feel exclusive.
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or More rare and special. than others.
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Luxury brand names want to stay exclusive, or only available to a few people.
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They encourage the sense that people who buy their products are better than others.
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If too many people have a particular product, it loses its appeal.
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Simon Peck is from the House of Luxury, a company that sells watches and jewels.
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Peck told the BBC: When the person who drives you around owns the same watch as you,
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It is time to look for something better.
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But not everyone wants luxury just to feel better than everyone else.
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Some people simply want to be like everyone else.
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Farnoosh Brock writes a blog on the internet.
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She wrote about her desire for luxury products.
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Brock travelled several times to Japan.
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There, she saw many women with expensive $5 ,000 bags.
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Then she wanted one.
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She wrote about it on her blog Prolific Living.
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She said that buying particular brands is very popular in Japan.
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place in society.
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The top Western brand names speak loudly in that culture.
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So naturally, everyone buys them.
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Possibly this is because everyone wants to belong - to be accepted as an equal.
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desire for a luxury bag.
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She writes: I really badly want a luxury Prada bag.
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Suppose I buy my Prada bag.
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Will I stop wanting the beautiful sunglasses that go with it?
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What about the perfect little black dress?
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pleased and satisfied.
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For other people, luxury is more about beauty.
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Writer Dana Thomas wrote a book about luxury.
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Thomas says that not all luxury is greed.
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She told the Luxury Society: Luxury is moral when it comes from creativity and not greed.
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When you create, to make something beautiful Then you are being mortal.
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Spiritual? and true Luxury does not have to only represent a fashionable brand.
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It can also represent high achievement in beauty and creativity.
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But you still need to have wealth to possess luxury.
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Buying and experiencing luxury puts a person in a rare group.
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Many many people in this world are poor.
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The World Bank reports that more than two billion people live in poverty.
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And more than one billion live in extreme poverty.
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The United Nations reports that almost half of the world's children live in extreme poverty.
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300 million children actually go to bed hungry.
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Every night, The inequality of people living in poverty and in luxury is very clear.
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And it brings up an important question. Is luxury morally wrong?
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Is it wrong to spend $16 million on a golden bed for a baby?
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Is it wrong to spend thousands of dollars on shoes?
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That money could buy food for very poor people.
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It could support schools.
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It could do many other things too.
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you Thank you.
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This is a complex debate.
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You may not be able to buy $5 ,000 shoes.
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But you may be able to spend $50,
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or $100, or possibly even $500.
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These are still large amounts of money.
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Any of those amounts could help a poor person.
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But you need shoes too.
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How can you tell what exact amount is morally right to spend?
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Christian teaching moves the question away from numbers and products.
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The Christian Bible does not say that having wealth is wrong.
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Or even that desire for beauty and comfort is wrong.
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It says, 'Keep your lives free from the love of money.' Be happy with what you have.
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For Jesus said, "I will never leave you." This teaching asks us to examine our hearts.
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Jesus' followers believe that they do not have to chase wealth.
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They can have money, but they should not love money.
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They believe that God will provide for their needs, including the presence of Jesus.
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The writer of this program was Jen Hawkins.
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The producer was Michio Ozaki.
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The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom.
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All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.
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You can listen to this program again, and read it on the Internet. at www.
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dot radioenglish .com dot net.
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This program is called "Buying Things That Cost A Lot." Tell us what you think about today's program.
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You can leave a comment on our website.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.
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Goodbye.
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Thank you.
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you
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Context & Background
In this video from Spotlight, hosts Liz Waid and Colin Lowther introduce the concept of luxury. They explore what luxury means to different people, highlighting that it can represent both excessive living and high-quality goods and services. While discussing extravagant examples, such as a solid gold baby bed and jewel-encrusted underwear, the speakers emphasize the emotional and social implications tied to luxury items. The dialogue also emphasizes the growing market for luxury goods, along with the psychological reasons for their appeal. Understanding these nuances can help English learners grasp complex vocabulary and expressions related to wealth, status, and consumer culture.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- Luxury goods: Items that are not necessary but highly desired for their quality and price.
- Status: A social or professional position that often comes with luxury items.
- State of living: Refers to one's lifestyle, particularly in terms of wealth and comfort.
- High position: A term used to describe someone of wealth or social standing.
- Exclusive: Something that is not easily accessible, often used to describe rare luxury items.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
If you're looking to improve your English pronunciation and speaking fluency, using a shadowing technique can be especially effective for understanding the nuances discussed in this video. Follow this structured approach:
- Select a Shadowspeak tool: Use a shadowing app to take advantage of replaying specific phrases. This allows you to hear the pronunciation distinctly.
- Listen first: Play the relevant sections of the video and listen to how Liz and Colin pronounce the key phrases. Pay attention to their intonation and rhythm.
- Shadow the speech: After hearing a sentence, pause the video and repeat what you heard immediately. This is where the concept of shadow speech kicks in; mimic their speech as closely as possible.
- Record yourself: Use the app to record your speech as you shadow. This will allow you to compare your pronunciation with that of the speakers.
- Review and improve: Listen to your recording and make note of areas that need improvement. Focus on difficult sounds and practicing them until they sound more natural, enhancing both your clarity and confidence.
As you practice with this shadow speak method, you'll notice significant progress in your ability to speak English fluently and accurately, making conversations about topics like luxury easier and more enjoyable.
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 | is not needed · be accepted · is greed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who buy · person who drives |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may think · may not be · may be |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | better than |
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.