Shadowing Practice: Collins Get ready for IELTS Speaking Unit 2 Track 8 12 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Track 8 1 I love using the internet.
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My brother is at university in England, so I really like chatting online with him.
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He's very funny.
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I enjoy playing computer games with my friends.
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My computer is very important to me.
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2. I study long hours every day, so I don't have much free time.
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I prefer doing nothing to doing exercise.
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I don't like going to the gym.
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It's boring.
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I enjoy relaxing and reading magazines.
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3. It depends.
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Sometimes I like doing exercise.
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Sometimes I like going for walks.
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My favourite thing is going shopping at the weekends.
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It's relaxing and good fun.
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Track nine.
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One.
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I love using the internet.
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Two.
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I really like chatting online with him.
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Three.
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I prefer doing nothing to doing exercise.
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4 I don't like going to the gym.
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5 It depends.
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Sometimes I like going for walks.
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6 My favourite thing is going shopping.
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Track 10
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Now I'm going to give you a topic and I'd like you to talk about it for one to two minutes.
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You'll have one minute to think about what you're going to say before you begin talking.
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You can make some notes if you wish.
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Here is a pencil and some paper.
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I'd like you to describe a newspaper or magazine you enjoy reading.
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You should say what kind of newspaper or magazine it is, which parts of it you read, when and where you read it,
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and explain why you enjoy reading it.
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Track 11.
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I enjoy reading a magazine called Fab Football.
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It is about sport, of course, and it's my favorite sport.
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I love watching football from different countries and I love reading about it.
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The magazines got lots of good information.
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I don't like reading the letters or adverts.
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I prefer reading the interviews with famous players or the news.
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I read fab football every weekend.
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I buy it on Saturday morning and go home and read.
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I enjoy meeting friends and reading the magazine together.
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I don't mind sharing it.
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We like chatting about the news, the players.
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It's very interesting.
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Track 12.
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Now I'm going to give you a topic and I'd like you to talk about it for one to two minutes.
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You'll have one minute to think about what you're going to say before you begin talking.
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You can make some notes if you wish.
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Here is a pencil and some paper.
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I'd like you to describe an activity that you like doing.
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You should say what activity it is, when and where you do it, who you like doing it with,
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and explain why you enjoy doing it.
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Music

What Speaking Skills Does This Video Help You Build?

This video is a great tool for learners aiming to boost their fluency in spontaneous speaking, a key milestone for IELTS preparation. It focuses on structuring short, coherent responses to open-ended questions—like describing a magazine or daily activities—while keeping the conversation natural. By practicing the topics here, you’ll get better at organizing your thoughts quickly (remember that 1-minute prep time!) and speaking for 1–2 minutes without long pauses. It’s perfect for anyone looking to learn English with videos and master real-world communication.

Useful Phrases to Add to Your Toolkit

The dialogue is packed with reusable expressions that sound natural in everyday speech. Here are some standouts:

  • "I love using..." – A simple way to express strong preference (e.g., "I love using social media to stay connected").
  • "I prefer doing... to doing..." – Great for comparing activities (e.g., "I prefer cooking at home to eating out").
  • "It depends. Sometimes I like..." – Useful for giving balanced answers (e.g., "It depends. Sometimes I like watching movies, sometimes I read").
  • "My favorite thing is..." – A clear way to highlight priorities (e.g., "My favorite thing is exploring new cafes on weekends").
  • "I don't mind..." – Perfect for showing flexibility (e.g., "I don't mind sharing my notes with classmates").

These phrases work well in both IELTS speaking tests and daily conversations, making them essential for any shadowing practice.

How to Improve Your Pronunciation and Rhythm

One common challenge for learners is natural rhythm—speaking with the right pauses and stress. This video helps you practice by modeling how to connect ideas smoothly. Notice how speakers link phrases like "I study long hours every day, so I don't have much free time" without rushing. To fix weak spots, try shadowing (repeating the lines aloud as you listen). A good shadowing site can help you compare your pronunciation to the original, but even practicing with this video alone works. Pay attention to how "I really like chatting online with him" flows—stress "really" and "chatting" to emphasize enthusiasm. Over time, this will make your speech sound more confident and native-like.

Whether you’re using a shadowing site or just repeating lines from the video, the key is to focus on copying the rhythm, not just the words. This is how you turn practice into real fluency!

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing formenjoy playing · enjoy relaxing · enjoy reading
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good ideashould say
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see comingI'm going to give · you're going to say
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around nowis going

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →