Shadowing Practice: california // lana del rey - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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One, two, three, four
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You
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don't ever have to Be stronger than you really are When you're lying in my arms
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Baby, you don't ever have to
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Go faster than your fastest pace Or faster than my fastest cars I shouldn't have done it,
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but I read it in your letter
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You said to a friend
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that you wish you were doing better I wanted to reach out but I never said a thing
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I shouldn't have done it
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but I read it in your letter You said to a friend that you wish you were doing better
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I wanted to call you but I didn't say a thing Two,
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three, four Oh, I'll pick you up If you come back to America
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Just hit me up
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Cause this is crazy love
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I'll catch you on the flip side If you come back to California You should just hit me up
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We'll do whatever you want Travel wherever,
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how far We'll hit up all the old places We'll have a party We'll dance till dawn
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I'll pick up all of your vows And all of your rolling stones Your favorite liquor off the top shelf
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I'll throw a party All night long You don't ever have to
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Be stronger than you really are When you're lying in my arms And honey You don't ever have to
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Act cooler than you think you should You're brighter than the brightest stars You're scared to win,
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scared to lose I heard the war was over if you really choose The one in and around you
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You hate the heat, you've got the blues Changing like the weather,
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oh that's so like you The same thing that moves you Three,
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four Oh, I'll pick you up If you come back to America Just hit me up
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Cause this is crazy love
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I'll catch you on the flip side If you come back to California You should just hit me up
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We'll do whatever you want Travel wherever,
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how far We'll hit up all the old places We'll have a party We'll dance till dawn
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I'll pick up all of your hopes and all of your rolling stones Your favorite liquor of the top cell
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I'll throw a party all night long Oh,
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I'll pick you up If you come back to America Just hit me up
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Cause this is crazy love
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I'll catch you on the flip side If you come back to California You should just hit me up
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 34 sentences and 416 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:59. The speaker talks slowly, about 84 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| flip verb | /flɪp/ | To throw so as to turn over. |
| dawn noun | /dɔːn/ | The morning twilight period immediately before sunrise. |
| wherever | /(h)wɛɹˈɛvɚ/ | Regardless of the place in, at or to which. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| liquor noun | /ˈlɪk.ɚ/ | A liquid obtained by cooking meat or vegetables (or both). |
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| pace noun | /peɪs/ | A step taken with the foot. |
| honey noun | /ˈhʌni/ | A sweet, viscous, gold-colored fluid produced from plant nectar by bees, and often consumed by humans. |
| shelf noun | /ʃɛlf/ | A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects. |
| vow noun | /vaʊ/ | A solemn promise to perform some act, or behave in a specified manner, especially a promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order. |
| bright adjective | /ˈbɹaɪ̯t/ | Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant. |
| favourite adjective | /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/ | Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.) |
| stronger adjective | /stɹɔŋɡɚ/ | Said of one proposition with respect to another one: that the former entails the latter, but the latter does not entail the former. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hit up verb | To visit with or contact someone, especially with a definite purpose. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| reach out verb | To extend one's hand(s) forward; to reach for something. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 30 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, we'll, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 flip, dawn, wherever.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | shouldn't have · should just hit · should You |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | stronger than · faster than · cooler than |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were doing |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll pick · I'll catch · We'll do |
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.