Shadowing Practice: Climate Change Debate | Natalie Bennett | Opposition (8/8) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
And I now look to Natalie Bennett to close the case for the opposition.
2
Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, and thank you everyone, both fellow speakers and floor, for what I think has been an excellent debate.
3
Although I will think perhaps unconventionally I have to thank Mr. Secretary here
4
because I do think he gave me some hints to cut out all of the sports references from my speech
5
and to make sure I include a cocktail recipe or two because that was clearly the most popular part of his contribution.
6
Now the final speaker for the proposition said he was in a difficult position with friends on both sides.
7
Now, I would certainly hope to call him a friend, but I don't find myself in a difficult position at all.
8
In fact, when the union contacted me and asked me to speak, I said I would only speak if I was on this side.
9
And I very much would agree with the speaker from the floor who said,
10
it is surprising there are two members of the Labour Party on the opposite side to me.
11
Perhaps however they are from a particular part of the Labour Party.
12
However, I will confess that there is also division on our side of the chamber.
13
I won't deny that.
14
I couldn't really, given the fact that if you look at my Twitter feed,
15
you will find that yesterday I was at Preston New Road campaigning against fracking.
16
There is division on this side on that.
17
However, I would put to you that we have put an entirely coherent argument that what the proposition is suggesting,
18
that individual apathy is the greatest threat, absolutely does not hang together at all.
19
Now, if I run through a little bit about what the speakers on the other side said,
20
The first speaker suggested that short termism is wedded into our DNA.
21
Well, I think people can change.
22
I'm actually old enough to remember the age of B.T before Twitter
23
and the world has changed a lot since then and our behavior has changed a lot too.
24
And he referred to the fact that the Australian electorate
25
and for those of you who haven't worked it out yet that's where my accent comes from
26
so I do have an interest in this.
27
He said the Australian electorate put the issue of the quality of political leadership before climate change.
28
I could just say Tony Abbott for those of you in the know, but for those of you who aren't,
29
the quality of political leadership is a huge problem in Australia for climate change as for every other issue
30
and indeed I'd argue the quality of political leadership in Britain
31
is a huge issue on climate change as on every other issue.
32
Because I think...
33
Now I will give credit to the second speaker on the
34
proposition side who did come up with a really good Harry Potter line.
35
It's a great line.
36
I agree.
37
Choices show what we really are.
38
What he didn't address, however, is whether we actually have choices.
39
And he rightly preempted my speech by making lots of references to home insulation.
40
And yes, I spend lots of my time talking about home insulation.
41
It's hugely important.
42
But he suggested it was apathy that stopped us dealing with home insulation.
43
Well, because I belong in the modern era, I looked this up on the internet on my phone while I was here.
44
And I found the Property Yields website, which has a headline, Energy Efficiency 2018,
45
it's a threat to landlords' profits.
46
The worst housing in Britain is private rental housing.
47
I will bet there are some people in this room who
48
are about to discover just how bad some of the private rentals in Britain are.
49
And you will not have the choice to do anything about that because you are simply a tenant.
50
You don't have a choice.
51
Now the third speaker from the proposition pointed to you some
52
really spectacular figures about the increase in the number of cars in Britain.
53
Well I'm going to quote some figures back on that.
54
And the figures are about the cost of car travel versus the cost of public transport.
55
And between 1980 and 2014,
56
the cost of private car travel has gone down in real terms 14%.
57
The so-called war on the motorist is no war.
58
It's a love fest for the motorist.
59
That's been government policy.
60
In the meantime, the cost of bus travel has gone up 58%.
61
For lots of people in Britain, there is no choice.
62
You cannot afford to take the bus.
63
And I haven't even got to trains and the cost of trains and you certainly can't afford to take the train.
64
Now, the final speaker for the proposition said that British governments haven't admitted what they were doing because it was public apathy.
65
But actually, his second line entirely undermined his argument and supported our cause because Because he said, oh, it's public apathy.
66
The government is worried about what the Daily Mail is going to say.
67
That's not the public.
68
That's the Daily Mail and the owner of the Daily Mail.
69
So, as you consider which door to walk through here,
70
I urge you to think about the words greatest threat.
71
And I would say to you that our side has very clearly established
72
that the hundred companies responsible for the 71% of climate change emission gases are one of the greatest threats.
73
and I would invite you to consider that tonight let's imagine someone who doesn't have the luxury of being in this chamber.
74
Let's imagine perhaps a single mum in Brixton who's struggling along with three zero hours contract jobs,
75
a bit of top up from inadequate government benefits, who's worried about paying the rent,
76
putting food on the table.
77
She's worried about the safety of her sons out on the streets.
78
And I would say to you, maybe she's not thinking about climate change tonight.
79
But I don't think that's apathy.
80
That's because we've created a society where she can't possibly have space or energy or time to think about climate change.
81
So if you think about another of the greatest threats to their climate, I would say it's poverty.
82
People cannot take actions if they can't afford them
83
and they can't even think about it if they've just got to survive tomorrow and live for another day.
84
And finally, I can't finish without, sorry, referring to Donald Trump again.
85
Because if you want to identify another of the greatest threats,
86
I'm surprised no one else has referred to this tonight, but Donald Trump, of course,
87
was not democratically elected president of the United States.
88
He got fewer votes than Hillary Clinton did.
89
And as our third speaker said, there are countries like Germany, and indeed I'd add Denmark into this,
90
where 42% of the electricity comes from renewables.
91
The countries in the world that are doing best on climate change are the most democratic countries.
92
So I'd suggest to you one of your alternative greatest threats is the lack of democracy in our society,
93
the lack of democracy that produced Donald Trump that's the problem, not individual apathy.
94
So please, as you choose which door to walk through over there, do you want to blame the single mum from Brixton?
95
If so, you should vote for the proposition.
96
If you want to blame the owner of the Daily Mail, poverty and lack of democracy, please walk through our side.
97
Thank you.
98
Thank you.
📺 Same Channel
C11
Tommy Nguyen: Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far - 5/8 | Oxford Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
Daniel Johnson | Islam Is Not A Peaceful Religion | Oxford Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
Climate Change Debate | Kriti Joshi | Opposition
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
Katie Hopkins | We Should NOT Support No Platforming (6/8) | Oxford Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C13
Matthew Handley | Islam Is A Peaceful Religion | Oxford Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B21
THB the English Flag Has Become a Symbol of Division - Patrick Christys - Opp
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
Peter Singer | It Is NOT Immoral To Be A Billionaire (8/8) | Oxford Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
Toby Young | Woke Culture HAS Gone Too Far - 3/8 | Oxford Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
Both Russia and America only pursue power, not principle, argues Moosa Haraj
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B24
Social Media Does NOT Corrupt Human Interactions | Liam Hackett | Part 4 of 6
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
C12
Dr Maszlee Malik argues Islam is like democracy: it is not perfect - but they are compatible 6/8
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
THB that the Monarchy Died with the Queen - Hugo Vickers - Opp
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
THB Reform is Fit to Govern - Matt Goodwin - Prop
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
Nishad Sanzagiri | Technology Empires Debate | Proposition (1/6)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C14
Melissa Hinkley | Social Media & Journalism Debate | Opposition (2/6)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
THB the English Flag Has Become a Symbol of Division - Femi Oluwole - Prop
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
THB Israel Never Truly Wanted Peace with Palestine - Avi Mayer - Opp
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
Climate Change Debate | Prof. Bruce Pardy | Opposition
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
THB Reform is Fit to Govern - Rachel Millward - Opp
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C18
Climate Change Debate | Barry Gardiner MP | Proposition (3/8)
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
✨ Recommend Video
B21
5 sentences
PMQs: Theresa May Forgets She's Meant To Be Running The Country | The Canary
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C12
138 sentences
Sammy McDonald | This House Believes Modern LGBTQ+ Activism Fails Its Community | Cambridge Union
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
B28
124 sentences
IELTS Speaking Part 3 – Environmental Laws and Public Policy
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B24
18 sentences
Tom Morello on Donald Trump and American politics
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
251 sentences
Two Astrophysicists Debate Free Will
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B239
46 sentences
Phần tranh biện tiếng Anh cực "chất" của cựu thí sinh Trường Teen - Hoàng Mai Anh | The Debaters
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
B22
622 sentences
Do we need more kids? A research showdown.
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B22
192 sentences
Learn English by Shadow Practice with Palki Sharma | Modi’s India Is on the RightPath | Wide Version
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B268 sentences
Why the UK is in the EU
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C11
91 sentences
Do we Need Nuclear Energy to Stop Climate Change?
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
About This Lesson
You're practicing English with "Climate Change Debate | Natalie Bennett | Opposition (8/8)" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.
Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.
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.