Shadowing Practice: Can diet improve memory? BBC News Review - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Could apples, berries and cacao improve our memory as we get older?
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Could apples, berries and cacao improve our memory as we get older?
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This is News Review from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil.
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And I'm Beth.
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Make sure you watch to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about this story.
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Don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
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like this video and try the quiz on our website.
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Now the story.
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What you eat could improve your memory as you age.
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That's according to new research in the US that found people with a diet rich in flavanols
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may be less likely to lose their memory.
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The substance is found in tea,
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berries, apples and cacao, the seeds that chocolate is made from.
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But while some scientists think eating more dark chocolate could help,
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others say more research is needed.
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You've been looking at the headlines, Beth.
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What's the vocabulary?
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We have keep something at bay, stave off and drive.
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This is News Review from BBC Learning English.
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Let's look at our first headline.
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This is from the Mail Online.
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Six squares of dark chocolate a day may keep the memory loss at bay.
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So, this headline is suggesting that eating dark chocolate can help prevent you from losing your memory as you get older.
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The expression we are looking at is keep something at bay.
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It's quite a strange-sounding expression.
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What does it mean?
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Well, quite simply, it means to stop something bad or dangerous,
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harmful from happening to you.
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So, in this case, the harmful thing is memory loss.
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We want to prevent memory loss,
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so we want to keep it at bay.
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Yes.
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And this expression does have a wider use.
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It's not only about memory loss.
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No, it's not.
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We can use it for lots of harmful things,
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but it is often related to health.
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So, for example, washing your hands can keep infections at bay,
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or exercising can keep heart disease at bay.
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Yes.
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And take note, we can also use the word but hold instead of keep,
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hold something at bay, it means exactly the same thing.
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Let's look at that again.
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Let's look at our next headline.
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This is from The Guardian.
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Tea, apples and berries could stave off age-related memory loss, study suggests.
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Again, this headline is about preventing something bad from happening to us,
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in this case memory loss.
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The expression we're going to look at is stave off.
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Now, that word stave, that's an old-fashioned sounding word for a long stick, isn't it?
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It is, yeah.
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And it might help you to think about that long stick to understand this expression.
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So, Neil, imagine something is physically threatening you,
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maybe a pack of wild dogs,
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and you have a long stick.
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What are you going to do with it?
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Well, if a pack of wild dogs was attacking me,
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I would use that long stick to protect myself.
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Maybe I could wave it and the dogs would go away.
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That's a strong mental image.
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It might help you to remember the meaning of this phrasal verb,
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but actually we don't usually use stave off in a literal sense anymore.
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We don't, but it does have the same meaning.
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It just means to prevent something bad from happening,
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just like our first expression, keep something at bay.
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And again, this is something we often use with health.
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Some people say that drinking orange juice can stave off a cold.
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but we can also use it to mean prevent other general negative things.
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Yes.
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And one more interesting thing to note.
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Stave off is a phrasal verb,
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and it's the kind of phrasal verb that you can split in the middle.
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So, you can say, orange juice staves off colds,
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or you can say, orange juice staves colds off.
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Let's look at that again.
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Let's look at our next headline.
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This is from The Independent.
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Diet low in flavanols may drive age-related memory loss, scientists claim.
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So, this headline is looking at the same story,
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but from the opposite angle.
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It's saying that a diet low in flavanols – now,
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that's that substance that you find in apples,
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berries, tea and cacao – a diet low in that could cause memory loss.
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And the word we're looking at is drive,
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a familiar word used differently here.
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Yes, but we're not talking about cars here.
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So, drive actually has a wider meaning than the one we all know connected to cars and driving.
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It can also mean to force something in a certain direction.
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Yes.
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So, when the headline says that a diet low in flavanols drives memory loss,
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it means that that diet pushes in the direction of memory loss.
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And in the same way,
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when you drive a car,
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actually what you're doing is just forcing it to go in a certain direction.
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OK, let's look at that again.
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We've had keep something at bay – prevent something bad affecting you.
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Stave off – also prevent something bad affecting you.
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And drive – force in a certain direction.
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Did you know that exercise can also help our brains?
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To learn more, watch this episode of News Review.
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Don't forget to click here so that you can subscribe and never miss another video.
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Thanks for joining us.
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Bye.
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Bye.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice speaking English while exploring an interesting topic: how diet can impact memory as we age. Based on a recent study discussed in a BBC News Review, you will learn useful vocabulary and phrases related to health and nutrition. This lesson is excellent for those engaged in IELTS speaking practice or anyone seeking to learn English with YouTube videos. By the end of the lesson, you will be able to discuss diet, memory, and health in English with greater confidence.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Keep something at bay: To prevent something harmful from happening.
  • Stave off: To avoid or delay a negative outcome, such as memory loss.
  • Flavanols: Natural substances found in foods like tea, berries, and dark chocolate that may benefit brain health.
  • Age-related memory loss: Memory decline that commonly occurs as people get older.
  • Dark chocolate: A type of chocolate that may have health benefits, particularly for the brain.
  • Berries: Small, juicy fruits that are highly regarded for their nutritional value.
  • Prevent: To stop something from happening.
  • Health benefits: Positive effects of certain foods or activities on overall health.

Practice Tips

To improve your speaking skills using this video, consider using a shadowing app or the technique called shadow speak. This involves listening closely to Neil and Beth as they discuss the potential benefits of a healthy diet on memory. The pace of the conversation is steady, making it ideal for beginners and intermediate learners.

Here are a few specific tips:

  • Focus on intonation: Notice how Neil and Beth emphasize certain words related to health and memory. Mimic their intonation patterns to enhance your speaking flow.
  • Repeat key phrases: After hearing phrases like "keep something at bay" and "stave off," pause the video and repeat them. This repetition helps improve pronunciation and retention.
  • Record your voice: Use your shadowing app to record your voice while practicing. Listening back will allow you to identify areas for improvement.
  • Discuss the topic: After shadowing, find a study partner or use online forums to discuss the implications of diet on memory. Engaging in conversation will reinforce your learning.

By actively participating in this lesson and utilizing the discussed strategies, you can significantly enhance your English proficiency while gaining valuable knowledge about nutrition and memory.

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.

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