Shadowing Practice: Chapter 7 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Chapter 7 Friday, an evening out.
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In the afternoon, I'm back in my office, writing emails, checking messages, doing the paperwork.
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The phone rings.
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My Sally Hawker mobile.
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Hey, Shirley, Geoff here.
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Can I come and see you?
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Sure.
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He arrives ten minutes later.
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Big happy smile.
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His eyes don't look worried now.
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Got some news, he says happily.
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I wanted you to be the first to know.
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Oh, that's nice, I say.
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Is it exciting news?
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He laughs.
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It is for Clayton Electrics.
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We've got the Blanding's house contract, I heard this afternoon.
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Wow!
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That's great news!
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Well done, I say.
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So, Spark and Flash didn't do a quotation, or they just didn't get it?
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What happened?
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I don't know, says Jeff, but I did two quotations.
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I put one on the office computer on Wednesday, you know, when you told me to,
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but I did a second quotation with much better prices.
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I didn't put that on any office computer or send it by email.
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I put it on paper and sent it by motorbike messenger.
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Nobody in the office ever saw that quotation.
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I laugh.
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Very clever!
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I didn't think of that.
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And did ICBC like those prices then?
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He looks at me.
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You opened the file in the night and read the quotation, didn't you?
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You knew it was ICBC.
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Of course, I read it, I say.
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I needed to know.
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Huh, Jeff says.
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Well, Shirley Holmes, Sally Hawker, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?
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A big thank you dinner.
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Bread and olives at the Athena restaurant, I say.
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He smiles.
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He has a really nice smile.
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There's a little French restaurant near Richmond Bridge, right by the river.
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Very good food.
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They don't do bread and olives.
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We're meeting at seven o'clock.
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At home, I'm getting ready when I suddenly remember.
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It's Friday night.
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Saeed's chicken dinner.
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I phone Layla, but Saeed answers the phone.
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He's home early because he's doing the cooking.
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This is going to be difficult.
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I say, I'm really sorry, but I can't come tonight.
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I'm meeting a client.
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On Friday evening, Said says, that was last Friday, Leila told me.
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The client wants me to have dinner with him, to say thank you, I said.
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You never do that usually, Shirley.
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You never have dinner with clients.
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Clients are work, you say, not friends to have dinner with.
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But this client has very beautiful brown eyes, Saheed.
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I just want to look into his eyes one more time.
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I enjoy teasing Saheed.
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Suddenly, he understands.
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Ah, okay, this client has nice brown eyes, but can he cook a chicken dinner?
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Of course not, I say.
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Your chicken dinners are the best in London, Saeed, and I want some.
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Can you keep some for me?
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Can I come round on Saturday?
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Eight o'clock, he says, and don't be late.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: dinner, client, quotation, Friday, eyes. This video has 72 sentences and 484 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:58. The speaker talks slowly, about 81 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 80% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| quotation noun | /kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/ | A fragment of a human expression that is repeated by somebody else, for example from literature or a famous speech. |
| olive noun | /ˈɑ.lɪv/ | A tree of species Olea europaea cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| clever adjective | /ˈklɛv.ɚ/ | Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept. |
| happily adverb | /ˈhæp.ə.li/ | In a happy or cheerful manner; with happiness. |
| messenger noun | /ˈmɛs.ən.d͡ʒɚ/ | One who brings messages. |
| paperwork noun | /ˈpeɪ.pɚˌwɝk/ | Routine work involving written documents. |
| tease verb | /tiːz/ | To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material). |
| excite verb | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement. |
| motorbike verb | /ˈmoʊtɚˌbaɪk/ | To ride a motorbike; to travel by motorbike. |
| client noun | /ˈklaɪ.ənt/ | A customer, a buyer or receiver of goods or services. |
| smile verb | /ˈsmaɪl/ | To have (a smile) on one's face. |
| suddenly adverb | /ˈsʌd.ən.li/ | Happening quickly and with little or no warning; in a sudden manner. |
| email noun | /ˈiˌmeɪl/ | A system for sending messages and datas by means of a computer network, primarily the Internet, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and the Internet… |
| restaurant noun | /ˈɹɛst(ə)ˌɹɑnt/ | An eating establishment in which diners are served food, usually by waiters at their tables but sometimes (as in a fast food restaurant) at a counter. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Can I come and see you?
- I didn't think of that.
- We're meeting at seven o'clock.
- At home, I'm getting ready when I suddenly remember.
- Can you keep some for me?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, don't, I'm. 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 quotation, olive, arrive.
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.