Shadowing Practice: C1 Advanced Marta, Gio and Anna - Learn English Speaking with Video

Good afternoon.

My name is Louise Green and this is Josie Maniscalco.

And your names are?

Marta.

Thank you.

Joe. And Anna.

Thank you.

Can I have your mark sheets please?

Thank you.

First of all we'd like to know something about you.

Martha, where do you live?

I live in Pesquera Borromeo, a small town in the outskirts of Milan.

And what do you do there?

I live there with my family, I play sports there and I hang out with my friends.

Jo, where do you live?

I live in Segrate, it's close to Milan.

It's pretty nice, especially nowadays because there's lots of things going on for the summer.

Thank you.

Anna, how long have you been studying English?

It has been a lot since when I was three years old, I think.

It's something that involves all my primary school and also nowadays I'm still studying English,

so it's something I bring with me since I was a little child.

Thank you.

Jo, how important is it for you to spend time with friends and family?

It has a great importance.

Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of time to spend with family and friends because I'm always working.

But the most important thing is to stay with them because that literally makes me relax and makes me feel better.

Thank you.

Martha, if you could change one thing about your life today, what would it be?

I would choose to live in another city.

I love Milan, but I would like to go abroad and spend my life abroad.

If you had more free time, what would you do with it?

I would sleep, this is for sure.

Why?

Because I have very little time to sleep.

There is so much to do in the house.

There's house work to do, there's a daughter to follow, there's the cooking and there's the ironing.

the usual things a woman has to do.

What sort of work would you like to do in the future, Anna?

That's a great question.

I don't know at the moment.

I'm still studying, of course, and the next year I will go to university.

So it's something that, it's a process.

I I don't know, I'm still searching for that.

Thank you.

In this part of the test, I'm going to give each of you three pictures.

I'd like you to talk about two of them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question briefly about your partner's pictures.

It's your turn first Martha, here are your pictures.

They show people working in different environments.

I'd like you to compare two of the pictures

and say what the people might find interesting about working in these environments and what problems they might experience there.

Alright?

In the first picture I see an astronaut that is in the space and he is working probably for a science company.

And in the third picture instead I see a group of men

that are cleaning what seems to be a clock on a tower.

And what people might find to be interesting about this is working in space is something

that a lot of people are interested in because it's something very cool also for kids.

And as for the one, the man cleaning, I think it would be interesting to be kind of flying in the air,

trying to clean the outside of a building.

And the problems might be for space, being away from home for a long time.

And I think it requires a physical experience as well.

And the problem for working, for cleaning buildings might be safety.

Thank you.

Which working environment do you think presents the greatest challenge, Jo?

I guess it's the first one, because you have to deal with solitude.

Really fascinating as a job, absolutely, being in space, experiencing something that nobody else can experience, but you are far away,

you can't take a train and go back home.

Thank you.

Now, here are your pictures, Jo.

They show people explaining things in different situations.

I'd like you to compare two of the pictures

and say why the people might be explaining these things and how difficult it might be to give a clear explanation.

Alright?

Alright.

Let's start from the second picture.

There is a tourist, I guess, who is asking for information.

And probably the two people are speaking a different language

because the blonde woman is trying to use body language to make the person understand what he has to do

or where he has to go.

Whereas in the second picture there is a coach.

is trying to explain what sort of a game, what sort of a strategy the players have to use to win the game.

The difficulty in the first one is language probably, because in order to make the person understand,

the language barrier may present problems.

The second picture, instead, the difficulty is different.

People who are playing in a game are lost in adrenaline, the fear, the excitement of the game,

this could cause a difficulty in understanding.

Thank you.

Anna, in which situation do you think a clear explanation is most necessary?

Maybe I think in the second picture, because for a tourist that it's in a foreign city,

is having a clear representation on what he has to do about where he has to go.

It's something really important I think.

Thank you.

Let's not get lost.

Now Anna, here are your pictures.

They show people looking at different things.

I'd like you to compare two of the pictures

and say why the people might be looking at these things

and how important it is for them to look at these things carefully.

100

Alright?

101

Okay, so I'll start from the second picture that shows a group of workers

102

that are watching a sort of map plan about what they are maybe building

103

and they are trying to understand how to do their work,

104

paying attention on how to do it and with all the specifics about that.

105

In the third picture there's a family that is watching a map,

106

maybe something about a sort of map of the city or of the countryside.

107

I can see cars behind them so it's something,

108

a sort of travel they are doing together.

109

Thank you.

110

Marta, who do you think needs to concentrate the most?

111

I believe that the workers building are the ones who have to concentrate the most

112

because it's very important for them to follow details very carefully in order to build something in the right way.

113

Thank you.

114

Now I'd like you to talk about something together for about three minutes.

115

Here are some things that have a great influence on people's lives together today and a question for you to discuss.

116

you have some time to look at the task.

117

Now talk to each other about how these things influence people's lives today.

118

Hello Marta, how do you think magazines and newspapers influence people's lives today?

119

I believe that reading news online but also on paper influence people

120

because they are reading about news that they think they are true but they might not be.

121

So they are influenced to think about what the writer of the newspaper or the magazine is thinking.

122

and so I think they influence a lot but more than magazines

123

and new paper I think that Internet and technology influence people's lives today.

124

Anna what do you think?

125

Yeah I totally agree with you I think that Internet

126

and technology are the main part of our life today everything is online

127

and our lives are online of course and it's something

128

that a person have to take care of just because all his life is

129

going around that area and it's something scary

130

and something you have to to pay attention on what do you what do you think Jo?

131

This is because you are two digital natives, I am definitely not.

132

So I think that school and college influence people's lives more.

133

Because it's not only internet and the web.

134

You meet people, you know people, you speak to people, you learn to deal with people.

135

Which is something very important.

136

And when you only use the internet and you keep people at a distance, you don't learn how to live.

137

So I definitely think that school and college is the greatest experience a person could have.

138

Do you agree?

139

Yes, but I also think that films

140

and TV have a large influence on people's life because more of the attitude of the characters in the movies, the TV, because we see them on television

141

and we want to be like them so we try to imitate them

142

so I think

143

that has a big influence on people's lives too yeah maybe something just to elude us about any pathetic life

144

and with a piece thick one but maybe family

145

and friends are the best way to be influenced so having person that loves us

146

it's something really important and that could have a huge influence on our lives.

147

What do you think, Jo?

148

I totally agree.

149

I think that family and friends and dialogue in particular,

150

sharing problems, sharing ideas, speaking about them, makes you understand a great deal of things things because

151

while you speak about these things you learn and

152

when you open up by opening up things are thought out

153

magically thank you now you have about two minutes to decide

154

which of these things you think will have the greatest long-term effect on people's lives

155

right shall I start yes can I say what I think yes right I guess school

156

and college because without school and college there is no possibility to choose a career

157

so I guess with family and friends of course school

158

and college has the longest the longest impact on a person's life what do you believe maybe more family

159

and friends that school and college in something

160

that could I don't develop themselves later and but family

161

and friends is something that is with you since you were kids

162

so it's something maybe more important more

163

that I have the greatest influence I find myself to agree more with Joe

164

because I think

165

that education has the most influence in the long term it gives you it forms you

166

and gives you what you think all your knowledge so I think

167

that school and college in the long term has the most influence on people's life

168

so shall we agree yeah my second choice but both are important both are no more Of course, yeah.

169

Also the education.

170

Thank you.

171

Some people say that money is the thing which influences people's lives most.

172

What do you think, Marta?

173

I think it is partially true.

174

Most of the people, their actions, what they do, their work, their aspirations are moved by money.

175

but I also think there is a majority of people who does not think about money

176

and values more family and other kinds of things but yeah there is a lot of people who thinks only about money.

177

Do you agree Anna?

178

Yeah I agree I think that money it's something that involves many of the choice of a person.

179

I think that maybe also choosing the career

180

or how to do with your work it's something

181

that has the money as the main thing to think of

182

so how about you Jen well money is important

183

because you can't go shopping you can't pay a rent you can't do anything about it

184

but I guess it depends on the person because there are things

185

which are more important than money for example I am a teacher teachers don't earn a lot of money

186

but I couldn't do anything else because I love my job

187

and I love the relationship with the kids so money is important

188

but it's definitely not everything what sort of influence do you

189

think teachers can have on their students a great influence because particularly in our days families are difficult.

190

There are split families, there are half brothers, half sisters.

191

Points of reference are really rare and sometimes a teacher doesn't only teach

192

but she becomes a sort of a counselor for the students.

193

So a teacher is very important.

194

Very often you are more like a social assistant rather than a teacher.

195

How do you think different weather conditions can influence the way we feel and act?

196

I think they have a great influence.

197

I speak personally if the weather is not great.

198

It's something that makes you, I don't know, sad, not satisfied with the day in general.

199

You with the wrong in the wrong way and you still feel unsatisfied

200

and I don't know it's something

201

that makes you to look me wrong I do agree

202

if it's sunny outside if it's summer it's warm you're happier you're more willing to do stuff

203

and to go around to go out the house whether

204

if it's raining it's cold you're more likely to stay at home and just be cozy.

205

There are a lot of health and fitness campaigns on TV these days.

206

How effective do you think these can be?

207

They can be very effective.

208

Maybe they create a sort of image of something, I don't know if perfect or not, you don't have to judge that,

209

but it's something that can influence in some ways a person person.

210

What do you think?

211

Well, we had COVID and lots of kids stayed home and they put on weight.

212

So they have become sort of lazy.

213

So they need to be challenged to do something more.

214

So these campaigns should aim at bringing these kids into a sort of physical mood and

215

work out otherwise they would have problems in future.

216

What do you believe?

217

Yeah, I agree.

218

It's useful for someone seeing a campaign, something to look at and work for.

219

Many people say that there should be much stricter controls on advertising online.

220

Do you agree?

221

Not necessarily I agree because I mean advertising nowadays sometimes is like okay,

222

it's not necessarily bad advertising so I don't think it should be strict to control.

223

It could be bad I think maybe.

224

Sometimes more control could be useful, no? and quantity because every now

225

and then these pop-ups come out and they are pretty bothering don't you think

226

so yeah yeah and also sometimes scary because they uh you realize

227

that everyone know what you are looking for what you are searching online and it's something that makes you

228

feel I don't know not so yeah maybe a little controlled do you think

229

that we would we shall continue to buy newspapers in the future I don't think

230

so of course you know that girl no but just

231

because nowadays all the news are online you it's faster you see the message on the screen of your phone

232

and It's more you get to buy a newspaper and read the news day by day in the morning.

233

I agree with Anna.

234

I know you do.

235

I mean, newspapers online are easier, faster, and I think they will disappear,

236

paper, newspaper, eventually, because not as many people read them nowadays.

237

so yeah listen I like sitting down with a cup of tea

238

and reading a newspaper I don't get the chance of doing it very often

239

but of course you are the digital natives and

240

and there is also the gossip area and reading gossip is also nice

241

and you like it too come on yeah but I know

242

but you could do that online too The time with a video is more interactive.

243

So you like videos?

244

Yes.

245

Yeah.

246

News with videos?

247

Yeah.

248

News with photos, I mean, makes the news more real.

249

More catching also.

250

Yeah.

251

If you read a news and you see a picture, you're more willing to actually read on a piece of paper, the article.

252

You don't feel in touch with what you're reading.

253

Thank you, that is the end of the test.

254

Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 254 sentences and 2706 words to shadow. The speech runs for 20:33. The speaker talks at a steady 132 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

nowadays /ˈnaʊ.ə.deɪz/ (adverb) — At the present time; in the current era.
compare /kəmˈpɛɚ/ (verb) — To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it…
difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/ (noun) — The state of being difficult, or hard to do.
necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ (adverb) — Inevitably; of necessity.
carefully /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ (adverb) — With care; attentively, circumspectly.
explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ (noun) — The act or process of explaining.
worker /ˈwɝ.kɚ/ (noun) — One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor.
abroad /əˈbɹɔːd/ (adverb) — Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.
scary /ˈskɛə.ɹi/ (adjective) — Causing fear or anxiety
involve /ɪnˈvɑlv/ (verb) — To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include.
strict /stɹɪkt/ (adjective) — Strained; drawn close; tight.
concentrate /ˈkɑn.sən.tɹeɪt/ (verb) — To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force.
gossip /ˈɡɑsɪp/ (noun) — Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.
earn /ɝn/ (verb) — To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work.
thick /θɪk/ (adjective) — Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
work in (verb) — To find time or space for, amid other things.
deal with (verb) — To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject.
do in (verb) — To kill or end; to defeat.
do with (verb) — Only used in to do with
open up (verb) — To open.
talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 38 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, pathetic /pəˈθɛtɪk/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, sheet /ʃit/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, partially /ˈpɑɹʃəli/, aspiration /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, interactive /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/

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 nowadays, compare, difficulty.

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	are lost · are influenced · be influenced
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	People who are · ones who have · people who does
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been · have become

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 →

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Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?