Shadowing Practice: Cambridge 12 Test 2 Section 3 Listening - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Section 3 You will hear James, who is in the Scandinavian Studies Department at his university,
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talking to his tutor, Beth.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.
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Oh, good morning.
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You must be James.
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I'm Beth Cartwright.
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Please call me Beth.
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Thank you.
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Now, as this is your first tutorial since you started on the Scandinavian Studies course, I'd like to find out something about you.
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Why did you decide to take this course?
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Well, my mother is Danish, and although we always lived in England, she used to talk about her home a lot,
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and that made me want to visit Denmark.
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We hardly ever did, though.
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My mother usually went on her own.
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But whenever her relations or friends were in England, they always came to see us.
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I see.
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So I assume you already speak
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Danish, one of the languages you'll be studying?
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I can get by when I talk to people, though I'm not terribly accurate.
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Now, you probably know that you'll spend the third year of the course abroad.
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Have you had any thoughts about that?
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I'm really looking forward to it.
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And although Denmark seems the obvious place to go because of my family connections, I'd love to spend the time in Iceland.
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Oh, I'm sure it can be arranged.
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Do you have any plans for when you graduate?
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A lot of students go on to take a master's degree.
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I think the four years of the undergraduate course will be enough for me.
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I'm interested in journalism, and I quite like the idea of moving to Scandinavia and writing for magazines.
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I'd find that more creative than translating, which I suppose most graduates do.
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OK.
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Now, how are you finding the courses you're taking this term, James?
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Well, I'm really enjoying the one on Swedish cinema.
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That'll continue next term, but the one on Scandinavian literature that's running at the moment will be replaced by more specialised courses.
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Oh, and by the way, if you're interested in watching
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Danish television programmes, there's going to be a course on that the term after next.
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That sounds good.
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Have you started thinking about the literature paper that you have to write in the next few weeks?
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Yes.
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My first choice would be to do something on the Icelandic sagas.
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Hmm.
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The trouble with that is that a lot of people choose
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that topic and it can be difficult to get hold of the books you'll need.
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Why not leave that for another time?
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Right.
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You might find modern novels or nineteenth -century playwrights interesting.
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I've read or seen several plays in translation, so that would be a good idea.
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Fine.
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I'll put you down for that topic.
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Right.
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So what would you advise me to aim at in the paper?
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First, I suggest you avoid taking one writer and going into a great deal of detail.
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That approach certainly has its place, but I think you first need to get an understanding of the literature in the context of the society in
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which it was produced, who it was written for, how it was published, and so on.
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I also think that's more fruitful than placing it within the history of the genre.
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Okay, that sounds reasonable.
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Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.
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Could I ask for some advice about writing the paper I'm working on about the Vikings?
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I have to do that this week, and I'm a bit stuck. Of course.
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Have you decided yet what to write about?
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No, I haven't.
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There's so much that seems interesting.
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Viking settlement in other countries, trade, mythology.
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Well, what I suggest is that you read an assignment a student wrote last year, which is kept in the library.
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It's short and well -focused, and I'm sure you'll find it helpful.
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I'll give you the details in a moment.
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Textbooks usually cover so many topics, It can be very difficult to choose just one.
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OK.
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I've got a DVD of the film about the Vikings that came out earlier this year.
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Should I watch that again?
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If it's the one I am thinking of, I'd ignore it.
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It's more fantasy than reality.
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But I've got a recording of a documentary that you should watch.
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It makes some interesting and provocative points, which I think will help you to focus your topic.
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Right.
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So then should I work out an outline?
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Yes, just headings for different sections at this stage.
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And then you should start looking for suitable articles and books to draw on, and take notes which you organise according to those headings.
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I see.
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Then put short phrases and sentences as bullet points under each heading.
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Make sure that this skeleton makes sense and flows properly before writing up the paper in full.
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Okay.
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Thanks.
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That's very helpful.
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Now turn to Section 4.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Cambridge 12 Test 2 Section 3 Listening”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: topic, paper, Scandinavian, viking, Beth. This video has 85 sentences and 828 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:06. The speaker talks at a steady 117 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% 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:

WordPronunciationMeaning
topic noun/ˈtɑpɪk/A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
heading noun/ˈhɛdɪŋ/The title or topic of a document, article, chapter, or of a section thereof.
helpful adjective/ˈhɛlp.fl̩/Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.
ignore verb/ɪɡˈnɔː/To deliberately not listen or pay attention to.
carefully adverb/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/With care; attentively, circumspectly.
abroad adverb/əˈbɹɔːd/Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.
translation noun/tɹænzˈleɪʃən/The conversion of text from one language to another.
suitable adjective[ˈsjuː.tə.bɫ̩]Having sufficient or the required properties for a certain purpose or task; appropriate to a certain occasion.
documentary noun/ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/A film, TV program, publication etc. which presents a social, political, scientific or historical subject in a factual or informative manner.
relation noun/ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/The manner in which two things may be associated.
phrase noun/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/A short written or spoken expression.
bullet noun/ˈbʊlɪt/A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed.
assignment noun/əˈsaɪn.mənt/The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks.
cinema noun/ˈsɪn.ə.mə/A movie theatre, a movie house.
genre noun/ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
come out verb/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/To be discovered; to be revealed.
find out verbTo discover, as by asking or investigating.
look forward to verbTo anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
work out verb/ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/To calculate.
write up verb/ˈɹaɪ̯t ˌʌp/To produce by writing.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

  • Why did you decide to take this course?
  • Danish, one of the languages you'll be studying?
  • Have you had any thoughts about that?
  • Do you have any plans for when you graduate?
  • Have you decided yet what to write about?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowHave you had · Have you started · I've read
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itcan be arranged · will be replaced · was produced

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I'd, you'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “th” sounds: nineteenth /ˌnaɪnˈtiːnθ/, mythology /mɪˈθɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: translation /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/, relation /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/, genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/
  • Long words — get the stress right: documentary /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/, mythology /mɪˈθɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, provocative /pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like topic, heading, helpful.

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 →