Shadowing Practice: CELPIP Speaking Practice| Personal Experience - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Take a look at this woman.
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Take a look at this woman.
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She's taking the CELPIP exam and on the exam there's a question where she has to talk about a personal experience.
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Okay and she has one minute to answer the question.
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What should she say?
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Well in this lesson I'm going to tell you exactly what you should say for this question on the exam.
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Now if you want more lessons on CELPIP just click on the subscribe button right down there.
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Okay so here's the question.
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Talk about a great time you had with a family member or friend.
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Maybe you can talk about a party,
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something you did together at school,
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a time you traveled with a friend or anything else you can remember.
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What happened and why was it memorable?
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Okay, so we have lots of options here.
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Now, I think this is probably the easiest question on the IELTS,
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not the IELTS, sorry, on the CELPIP exam because you only have to tell a story for one minute.
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Okay, so it should be pretty easy.
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Okay, so you're going to tell a story about something that happened to you that was memorable.
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Okay, so you're going to use past tense verbs.
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Now this is very important.
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Okay, you're going to say something like this.
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Two years ago, my best friend and I went to Las Vegas on a vacation.
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We ate great food, we drank,
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we visited, we saw, we experienced.
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Okay, look at all those past tense verbs.
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I know lots of English learners who never use past tense verbs at all.
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Never.
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They never use past tense verbs.
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Okay, so you need to use past tense verbs if you want to do well on this question.
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When we're telling a story,
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we're talking about the past and we use these past tense verbs.
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Okay, so what should you talk about in your story?
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Well, you should say who,
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Who was in the story?
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What was the context?
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Okay, where was it?
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When was it?
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Okay, for example, you could say,
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two years ago, I went to Las Vegas with my friend on a vacation.
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Okay so in one sentence you answered all of these.
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Okay so that's what you should do.
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Your first sentence should answer all of these things.
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Okay so your first sentence is going to be the big picture.
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Who, what, where
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when then you're going to zoom in on what happened what happened you're going to give the details okay
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and you're going to to give the details in chronological order okay chronological means time
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so the order of time first this happened, then this, then this.
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For example, you could say,
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on the first day, we did such and such.
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Then on the second day,
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on the third day, that way it'll be easy for the person who's listening to your speaking,
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it'll be easy for them to follow your story.
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And they'll probably give you a good mark.
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Okay, so you're going to use words like then, after that, okay?
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Now, what strategy are you going to have when you answer this question?
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You have 30 seconds to think about something before you start speaking.
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Okay, so are you going to tell a real story or are you going to make up a story?
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What do you think is easier for you?
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Well, I would say if a story immediately comes to mind,
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then it would be easier to tell a real story.
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Like, let's say you see the question and you think,
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oh yeah, that time I was in Europe with my friend.
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Okay, I'll talk about that.
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Then it would probably be easier to tell a real story
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because then you don't have to think about making something up, right?
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But if you can't think of a real story,
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don't waste time trying to think about some experience you had.
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Just make something up, okay?
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Because you only have 30 seconds to prepare.
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So just make something up and then start taking notes what you're going to say.
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Okay, so I'm going to give you an example of how I would answer this question.
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Okay, remember, you only have one minute and you have 30 seconds to prepare.
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So I see the question.
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Okay, nothing is coming to my mind.
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I can't think of a real story that happens.
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So I need to make something up.
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Okay, so I'm going to say I went on a motorbike trip in Thailand with my friend.
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Okay, so I'm going to start taking notes.
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On the first day, we just relaxed and we got some massages.
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On the second day, we rented our motorbikes and we started our trip.
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On the third day, we had a crazy food experience.
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Okay, on the fourth day,
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my friend's motorbike broke down.
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Okay, 30 seconds is done.
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Now I need to start speaking.
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Okay, so I've got my stopwatch here.
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I'm going to start it so you can hear exactly how I would answer this question.
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Okay, ready?
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Take a deep breath.
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Okay, start.
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Two years ago, my friend and I went on a motorbike trip in Thailand.
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We started our trip in the city of Chiang Mai.
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When we got there, we were really tired on the first day.
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So we just relaxed and we went to get some Thai massages.
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On the second day, we rented our motorbikes and we started our trip.
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We drove from Chiang Mai up to the city of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.
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On the third day we had a really crazy experience.
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We stopped at a restaurant for lunch
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and my friend wanted to try some crazy Thai food
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so he ordered fried spiders but one of the spiders wasn't dead it was still alive
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and it was crawling around in the plate
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so my friend actually ate a living spider it was crazy on the okay
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so my time is up a minute I was going to say
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on the fourth day my friend's motorbike broke down and
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that sort of ruined our trip so we couldn't keep going our trip
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so we decided to end our trip
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and we just I don't know whatever I could say okay
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but this is good
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because I had enough to talk about now maybe it would have been a little bit better
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if I had looked at the time and said some sort of conclusion.
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Like, even though we had some frustrations with the motorbike breaking down,
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it was still a great trip that I'll remember forever.
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That would be a great ending.
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Okay, but I ran out of time.
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Okay, so, you know, I don't know.
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I think it's better to keep speaking for the full time than to end early.
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Like if you talk for 30 seconds and then you say,
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yeah, that was something I'll remember.
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That was a good trip.
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I had a good time with my family.
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And then you're done and you've got 30 seconds left.
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You're not going to get a good mark.
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I think you're going to get a better mark if you talk from beginning to end.
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even if you can't get a good conclusion in, like I did.
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Okay, so that's how I would answer it.
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But I want to know about you.
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Which personal experience would you talk about if you had to answer this question?
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What would your strategy be?
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What would you write?
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What would you take notes of in the 30 seconds?
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Okay, let me know down there in the comments and I'll see you over in the next episode of Mad English TV.
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Take care.
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Thank you.
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Context & Background
In the provided video on CELPIP speaking practice, the speaker focuses on how to effectively answer a personal experience question during the CELPIP exam, particularly about telling a story. The exam requires candidates to discuss memorable moments with friends or family, prompting them to utilize past tense verbs to narrate their experiences clearly and coherently. This approach helps students grasp the importance of structuring their responses in a way that's engaging and easy for the listener to follow.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “Two years ago, my best friend and I went to…” – Great for introducing your story.
- “We ate great food, we drank…” – Use this to describe enjoyable activities.
- “On the first day, we did such and such…” – Transitioning to specifics in your narrative.
- “Then on the second day…” – Helps show chronological order in storytelling.
- “It was memorable because…” – Concludes your story with personal insights.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively prepare for your CELPIP speaking section and improve your English pronunciation using shadow speech techniques, follow this detailed guide:
- Listening: Start by carefully listening to the video. Pay attention to how the speaker uses intonation and emphasizes key points.
- Repetition: Repeat phrases after the speaker. This is where shadowing comes in; mimic the pronunciation and rhythm of the speaker. This method, often referred to as shadowspeaks, aids in improving English pronunciation.
- Chunking: Break down the speaker’s sentences into manageable chunks. For example, take “Two years ago, my best friend and I went to Las Vegas” and practice this part before moving on to the next.
- Use of Past Tense: Make sure to focus on the use of past tense verbs in your storytelling. Create your own sentences using past tense to describe personal experiences, just like the speaker in the video.
- Practice Out Loud: Finally, practice speaking your story out loud, incorporating the learned phrases and past tense verbs. This will enhance not just your speaking skills but also your confidence during the CELPIP exam.
This structured approach will allow you to effectively convey your personal experiences while adhering to the exam’s requirements. Utilize your learning experiences on any shadowing site to further engage in this beneficial practice.
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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