Shadowing Practice: Classic Movie Scenes: LA LA LAND (2016) // Argument // Script-to-Screen - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
How's the play going?
2
Um...I'm nervous.
3
You are?
4
Why? Because.
5
What if people show up?
6
Pishikaka.
7
You're nervous about what they think?
8
I'm nervous to do it.
9
I'm nervous to get up on a stage and perform for people.
10
I mean, I don't need to say that to you.
11
It's gonna be incredible.
12
You don't get it.
13
But I'm terrified.
14
They should be so lucky to see it.
15
I can't wait.
16
I can. When do you leave?
17
The morning?
18
Yeah.
19
6.45.
20
Oh.
21
Boise.
22
Boise?
23
Boise. To Boise.
24
You should come. To Boise?
25
Yeah, you can knock that off your bucket list.
26
Oh, that would be really exciting.
27
I wish I could.
28
What are you doing after the tour?
29
Why can't you?
30
Come to Boise?
31
Yeah.
32
Because I have to rehearse.
33
Yeah, but can't you rehearse anywhere?
34
Anywhere you are?
35
I mean, I guess.
36
Um, well, all my stuff is here, and it's in two weeks, so I don't really think that would be...
37
Okay.
38
Best idea right now, but...
39
I wish I could.
40
We're just gonna have to try and see each other, you know?
41
Just never see each other.
42
I know, but when are you done?
43
What do you mean?
44
I mean...
45
When you finish with the whole tour.
46
But after we finish, we're gonna go and record, and then we go back on tour.
47
You know, we tour so we can make the record, so we can go back and tour the record.
48
So it's like the long haul.
49
What do you mean the long haul?
50
I mean the long haul, like you're gonna stay in this band for a long time. On tour.
51
I mean, what did you think I was gonna do?
52
I don't...
53
I hadn't really thought it through.
54
I didn't know that the band... was so important.
55
You didn't think it would be successful?
56
Um...
57
No, that's not really what I mean.
58
I just mean that you...
59
I mean, you're gonna be on tour for, what, months now?
60
Years?
61
Yeah, I don't be...
62
This is it.
63
I mean, this is...
64
It could feasibly be...
65
I could be on tour with this for a couple years at least, just this record.
66
Do you like the music you're playing?
67
I don't...
68
I don't know what.. what it matters.
69
Well, it matters, because if you're gonna give up your dream, I think it matters that you like what you're playing on the road for years.
70
Do you like the music I'm playing?
71
Yeah.
72
I do.
73
I just didn't think that you did.
74
I didn't think that you did.
75
Yeah, well, you know, it's the...
76
You said Keith is the worst, and now you're gonna be on tour with him for years, so I just didn't...
77
I don't know what you're doing right now.
78
I didn't know if you were happy.
79
Why are you doing this?
80
I thought you wanted me to do this.
81
It just sounds like now you don't want me to do it.
82
What do you mean, I wanted you to do this?
83
This is what you wanted for me.
84
To be in this band?
85
To be in a band, to have a steady job, you know?
86
To be, you know.
87
Of course I wanted you to have a steady job, so that you could take care of yourself and your life and you could start your club.
88
Yeah, so I'm doing that.
89
So I don't understand.
90
Like, why aren't we celebrating?
91
Why aren't you starting your club?
92
You said yourself no one wants to go to that club.
93
No one wants to go to a club called Chicken on a Sting.
94
So change the name.
95
Well, no one likes jazz.
96
Not even you.
97
I do like jazz now because of you.
98
And this is what I thought you wanted me to do.
99
What am I supposed to do?
100
Go back to playing Jingle Bells?
101
I'm not saying that.
102
I'm saying why don't you take what you've made and start the club?
103
People will want to go to it because you're passionate about it and people love what other people are passionate about.
104
You remind people of what they've done.
105
Not in my experience.
106
Well, whatever, alright?
107
I mean, it's just time to grow up.
108
You know?
109
I have a steady job, this is what I'm doing, and now all of a sudden if you had these problems, I wish you would have said them earlier before I signed on the goddamn dotted line.
110
I'm pointing out that you had a dream that you followed that you were sticking to.
111
This is the dream!
112
This is the dream!
113
This is not your dream!
114
It's not yours, Rain.
115
The guys like me worked their whole lives to be in something that's successful, that people like.
116
You know?
117
I mean, I'm finally in something that people enjoy.
118
Since when do you care about being liked?
119
Why do you care so much about being liked?
120
You're an actress!
121
What are you talking about?
122
Thank you.
123
Maybe you just liked me when I was on my ass because it made you feel better about yourself. Are you kidding?
124
No. I
125
don't know. so
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Classic Movie Scenes: LA LA LAND (2016) // Argument // Script-to-Screen”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: tour, Boise, dream, club, nervous. This video has 124 sentences and 864 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:47. The speaker talks at a steady 149 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 40 of its 124 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bind verb | /ˈbaɪ̯nd/ | To tie; to confine by any ligature. |
| steady adjective | /ˈstɪdi/ | Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm. |
| haul verb | /hɔl/ | To transport by drawing or pulling, as with horses or oxen, or a motor vehicle. |
| jazz noun | /d͡ʒæz/ | A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time… |
| passionate adjective | /ˈpæʃənɪt/ | Fired with intense feeling. |
| actress noun | /ˈæk.tɹɪs/ | A female who performs on the stage or in films. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| knock verb | /nɑk/ | To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood. |
| bucket noun | /ˈbʌkɪt/ | A container made of rigid material, often with a handle, used to carry liquids or small items. |
| rehearse verb | /ɹɪˈhɝs/ | To repeat, as what has been already said; to tell over again; to recite. |
| dotted adjective | /ˈdɑtɪd/ | Made up of a series of dots. |
| excite verb | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement. |
| feasibly adverb | /ˈfiːzɪb(ə)li/ | In a feasible manner |
| terrify verb | /ˈtɛɹɪfaɪ/ | To frighten greatly; to fill with terror. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. |
| go back on verb | To be treacherous or faithless to; to betray. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| point out verb | To identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body. |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You're nervous about what they think?
- You didn't think it would be successful?
- Do you like the music you're playing?
- Do you like the music I'm playing?
- Why aren't you starting your club?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've made · they've done |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being liked |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 57 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. 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 bind, steady, haul.
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.