Shadowing Practice: CELPIP SPEAKING - TASK 8 - 2026 SAMPLES - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello there!
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This lesson is all about Speaking Task 8, Describing an Unusual Situation.
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For this task, you get 30 seconds to prepare and your speaking time is 60 seconds.
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Listen to each sample answer first.
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Then, pause the video and try to do the task yourself.
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It's okay to borrow words or phrases from the sample answer.
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That's how we learn and improve.
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All right, let's begin.
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You see an unusual situation or picture.
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Call your friend Jill and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Jill, it's me.
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You won't believe what I'm looking at right now, so I had to call you.
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There's a professional-looking woman in a sharp brown business suit, calmly riding a unicycle down the street, as if it's the most normal commute in the world.
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She's confidently balancing while sipping coffee, wearing bright green headphones and carrying a briefcase in one hand.
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Surprisingly, she looks completely relaxed and focused, despite the obvious difficulty of what she's doing.
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People around her seem slightly confused yet impressed.
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Honestly, it's both hilarious and oddly inspiring.
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Anyway, I just wanted to share this moment.
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I'll talk to you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or picture.
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Call your friend Mark and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Mark, it's me.
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I had to call because this scene is honestly unbelievable.
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There's a man stuck inside what looks like a rusted car frame, half buried in wet sand on a deserted beach beach.
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He's wearing sunglasses and a winter hat, which feels completely out of place given the sunny weather.
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Calmly, he's resting one arm on the roof as if he's relaxing, not trapped.
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The abandoned surroundings and twisted metal make the situation look dangerous, yet he appears strangely composed.
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It almost feels like the aftermath of an accident mixed with a photo shoot.
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Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about this bizarre sight.
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I'll call you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or picture.
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Call your friend Sarah and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Sarah, it's me.
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I had to call because the situation is surprisingly unusual.
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Joel.
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I'm looking at a very young child sitting at a kitchen table, seriously working on a laptop like a miniature engineer.
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He's staring at the screen with intense concentration, as if he's on a tight deadline.
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What's even stranger is that the table is cluttered with tools, mechanical parts, and what appears to be a model rocket or machine.
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Although it's clearly a home kitchen, it feels more like a high-tech workshop.
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Honestly, the contrast between his age and his focused behavior is fascinating.
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Anyway, I just wanted to share this odd moment.
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Talk to you soon.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or a picture.
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Call your friend Anna and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Anna, it's me.
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I had to call because this office scene is absolutely chaotic.
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Right in front of me, a woman is sitting at her desk with her arms raised in shock while papers are flying everywhere.
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Behind her, one co-worker is yelling excitedly through a megaphone and another looks thrilled, as if something dramatic just happened.
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Although it's a modern professional office, the atmosphere feels more like a celebration or a prank gone wrong.
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Everyone seems overly energetic and emotionally charged, which is very unusual for a workplace.
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Honestly, it looks stressful, but strangely entertaining at the same time.
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Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about this madness.
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I'll talk to you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or a picture.
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Call your friend Lisa and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Lisa, it's me.
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I had to call because what I'm seeing in the supermarket is truly bizarre.
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A woman and a small child are calmly shopping, but both of them have paper bags covering their heads with only tiny eye holes cut out.
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The woman is confidently pushing a basket and holding the child's hand, as if nothing is strange at all.
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Meanwhile, the shelves are fully stocked, and other shoppers are behaving normally in the background.
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The contrast is hilarious and slightly unsettling.
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It almost feels like some kind of silent protest or social experiment.
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Honestly, I've never seen anything like this before.
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Anyway, I just wanted to share this unusual moment.
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I'll talk to you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or a picture.
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Call your friend Emma and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Emma, it's me.
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I had to call because the situation is completely unbelievable.
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There's a man standing in the middle of a swimming pool, fully dressed in a business suit, and he looks absolutely thrilled.
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He's holding a laptop in one hand and a smartphone in the other, stretching his arms out like he's celebrating a huge success.
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Even though the water is up to his waist and his clothes are clearly soaked, he seems energetic and carefree.
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The contrast between the formal work items and the relaxed pool setting is shocking.
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It almost looks like he's celebrating work-life balance in the most extreme way possible.
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Anyway, I just wanted to share this crazy sight.
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I'll call you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or picture.
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Call your friend Jason and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Jason, it's me.
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you won't believe this, but I had to call immediately.
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In this image, a fit, athletic woman is exercising energetically with dumbbells, lifting her knee as if she's mid-workout.
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However, the truly bizarre part is that a hamburger with arms and legs is chasing her.
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The burger looks animated and determined, almost aggressive, as if it's trying to catch her.
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Meanwhile, the woman seems surprised yet alert, clearly trying to escape temptation.
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The scene feels exaggerated and symbolic, like a visual metaphor for unhealthy cravings attacking a healthy lifestyle.
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It's funny, ironic, and surprisingly dramatic.
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Anyways, I just wanted to share this strange sight.
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I'll talk to you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or a picture.
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Call your friend Alex and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Alex, it's me.
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I had to call because the scene is pure chaos.
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There's a woman standing in her living room, completely tangled in electrical cords, and she's screaming in frustration.
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One cord is wrapped tightly around her torso, another is stretched across the room, and she's gripping what looks like a vacuum hose, like it personally betrayed her.
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A floor lamp has been dragged sideways, halfway collapsing, and the cables are pulling everything out of place.
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To make it worse, there's an ironing board piled high with laundry in the background.
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Honestly, it's stressful, hilarious, and painfully relatable all at once.
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Anyway, I just needed to tell someone.
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I'll talk to you later.
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Bye.
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You see an unusual situation or a picture.
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Call your friend Kevin and describe in detail what the picture looks like or what the unusual situation is.
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Hi Kevin, it's me.
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I just had to call because this scene in the supermarket is completely surreal.
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I'm looking at an adult and a young child casually grocery shopping, but both of them are wearing full protective gear.
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The child has on a gas mask and a bright orange jacket, while the adult is dressed in what looks like a hazmat suit,
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calmly holding a shopping basket.
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Although the store is brightly lit and fully stocked, their outfits suggest a serious emergency.
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Strangely enough, they seem relaxed and routine, as if this were totally normal.
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The contrast is unsettling, yet fascinating.
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Anyway, I just wanted to share this bizarre moment.
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We'll talk to you later.
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Bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “CELPIP SPEAKING - TASK 8 - 2026 SAMPLES”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: unusual, situation, picture, describe, detail. This video has 122 sentences and 1366 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:10. The speaker talks at a steady 112 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| calmly adverb | /ˈkɑː(ɹ)m.li/ | In a calm manner; coolly. |
| bizarre adjective | /bɪˈzɑː(ɹ)/ | Strangely unconventional; highly unusual and different from common experience, often in an extravagant, fantastic, and/or conspicuous way. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| strangely adverb | /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒli/ | In a strange or coincidental manner. |
| surprisingly adverb | /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/ | In a way that causes surprise because it is unexpected, or unusual. |
| hilarious adjective | /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/ | Very funny; causing great merriment and laughter. |
| confidently adverb | /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/ | In a confident manner; with confidence; with strong assurance; positively. |
| fascinate verb | /ˈfæsɪneɪt/ | To evoke an intense interest or attraction in someone. |
| unsettling adjective | That makes one troubled or uneasy; disquieting or distressing. | |
| energetic adjective | /ˌɛn.əɹˈdʒɛt.ɪk/ | Possessing or pertaining to energy. |
| thrill verb | /θɹɪl/ | To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to (figuratively) electrify; to experience such a sensation. |
| supermarket noun | /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/ | A large self-service store that sells groceries and, usually, medications, household goods, and/or clothing. |
| stressful adjective | /ˈstɹɛsfəl/ | Irritating; causing stress. |
| cord noun | /ˈkoɹd/ | A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example). |
| basket noun | /ˈbæskɪt/ | A lightweight woven container, generally round, open at the top, and tapering toward the bottom. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cut out verb | To refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- That's how we learn and improve.
- I'll talk to you later.
- Honestly, I've never seen anything like this before.
- We'll talk to you later.
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 | is cluttered · is wrapped · has been dragged |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've never seen · has been dragged |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most normal · the most extreme |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm looking · is sitting · is yelling |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm, won't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thrill /θɹɪl/, unhealthy /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/, aftermath /ˈæf.tɚˌmæθ/, athletic /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shopper /ˈʃɑ.pɚ/, casually /ˈkæʒuəli/, temptation /ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/, frustration /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, shelf /ʃɛlf/
- Long words — get the stress right: surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/, energetic /ˌɛn.əɹˈdʒɛt.ɪk/, supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/
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 calmly, bizarre, relax.
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.