Shadowing Practice: Complete IELTS Band 5-6.5 - UNIT 4 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Complete IELTS, Bands 5 to 6.5, by Guy Brookhart and Vanessa Jakeman,
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published by Cambridge University Press.
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This recording is copyright.
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Track 15, Unit 4, Listening, Exercise 3.
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Today I'm going to be talking about amateur journalism.
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In other words, journalism practised by ordinary people, not professional journalists.
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For people like you, who want to get some real writing experience, this can be a good way to get started.
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And later I'll be offering you some practical tips to help you.
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Amateur journalists are providing more and more news.
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I think the main cause of this change has been the internet.
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Nowadays, anyone close to an important event can write a report and email it to a newspaper.
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Or they can take a photo with a digital camera, or use their mobile phone to make a video film of what's happening.
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Also, amateur journalism isn't just for people who are in the right place at the right time.
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People can now write reports and articles about things which a big organisation might not be interested in,
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and post their ideas on their website or blog.
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This means that all sorts of people can express their views.
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Also, in the past, if you wanted to make your opinions known, one of the few ways of doing this was to send a letter to a newspaper.
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But normally, newspapers only print a few of the thousands of letters they receive each day.
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Now, people can write about the things which are really important to them and the people around them, and they put it in a blog.
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As a result, amateur journalists often write about something which is a local issue.
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And by local issue, I mean something happening in the school in their area or the traffic in their town,
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but not something necessarily of national or international interest.
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Amateur journalism is a growing phenomenon.
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There are now major online newspapers.
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Oh My News in South Korea, for example, has a large number of readers,
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and for this reason they can attract advertising and get income from this.
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And as a result, it's become a profitable business.
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Track 16 Unit 4 Listening, Exercise 5 But how can you get involved?
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How can you begin to write articles which will be published on sites like these?
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Well, first you must have something interesting to say, something you want to communicate with readers.
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Assuming you have this, it's important in an article to attract people's attention and gain their interest,
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so put the main facts first, answering these questions – who,
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why, when, how and where.
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Get those basic facts down to start with and get people interested.
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Then fill in the details in the rest of the article.
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The best model is really shaped like a pyramid.
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You put the most important facts at the top of the article and lots of smaller details down below.
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Remember, you want people to keep reading, so you need to hold your readers' interest.
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A really good technique for doing that is to put in quotations from people who are part of the story, what they really said.
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You know the sort of thing.
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Tanya, mother of two, said, it all happened so quickly that we didn't have time to react.
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bring the article alive.
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Once you've written your article, go over it again to make sure that any figures you quote are correct.
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Make sure that Tanya really has two children and not one or three.
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Then, after that, once you've got your ideas down,
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rewrite your article, making sure that your paragraphs don't contain more than three sentences.
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People like them to be brief and to the point, and this will help to hold their attention.
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And another thing to bear in mind, if they're reading online, people will soon stop reading your piece and start reading something else.
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So keep the whole article brief.
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Don't put in a conclusion.
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Just let your article end without it.
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Another good piece of advice is to remember that old cliché which we've all heard, that a picture is worth a thousand words.
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It's true, so if you can, include a picture.
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It'll attract more attention and illustrate what you've been saying.
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Finally, you need to write a headline.
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Something eye-catching which will get people to just skim the article to start with, and then, if it's well written,
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they'll read it more carefully afterwards.
58
Thank you.
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Today, I'm going to be talking about amateur journalism.
60
In other words, journalism practised by ordinary people, not professional journalists.
61
For people like you who want to get some real writing experience, this can be a good way to get started,
62
and later I'll be offering you some practical tips to help you.
63
Amateur journalists are providing more and more news.
64
I think the main cause of this change has been the internet.
65
Nowadays, anyone close to an important event can write a report and email it to a newspaper.
66
Or they can take a photo with a digital camera, or use their mobile phone to make a video film of what's happening.
67
Also, amateur journalism isn't just for people who are in the right place at the right time.
68
People can now write reports and articles about things which a big organisation might not be interested in,
69
and post their ideas on their website or blog.
70
This means that all sorts of people can express their views.
71
Also, in the past, if you wanted to make your opinions known, one of the few ways of doing this was to send a letter to a newspaper.
72
But normally newspapers only print a few of the thousands of letters they receive each day.
73
Now people can write about the things which are really important to them and the people around them, and they put it in a blog.
74
As a result, amateur journalists often write about something which is a local issue.
75
And by local issue, I mean something happening in the school in their area, or the traffic in their town,
76
but not something necessarily of national or international interest.
77
Amateur journalism is a growing phenomenon.
78
There are now major online newspapers.
79
Oh My News in South Korea, for example, has a large number of readers,
80
and for this reason they can attract advertising and get income from this,
81
and as a result it's become a profitable business.
82
Track 16 Unit 4 Listening, Exercise 5 But how can you get involved?
83
How can you begin to write articles which will be published on sites like these?
84
Well, first you must have something interesting to say, something you want to communicate with readers.
85
Assuming you have this, it's important in an article to attract people's attention and gain their interest.
86
So put the main facts first, answering these questions.
87
Who, why, when, how and where.
88
Get those basic facts down to start with and get people interested.
89
Then fill in the details in the rest of the article.
90
The best model is really shaped like a pyramid.
91
You put the most important facts at the top of the article and lots of smaller details down below.
92
Remember, you want people to keep reading, so you need to hold your readers' interest.
93
A really good technique for doing that is to put in quotations from people who are part of the story.
94
What they really said.
95
You know the sort of thing.
96
Tanya, mother of two, said, It all happened so quickly that we didn't have time to react.
97
Quotations bring the article alive.
98
Once you've written your article, go over it again to make sure that any figures you quote are correct.
99
Make sure that Tanya really has two children and not one or three.
100
Then, after that, once you've got your ideas down,
101
rewrite your article, making sure that your paragraphs don't contain more than three sentences.
102
People like them to be brief and to the point, and this will help to hold their attention.
103
And another thing to bear in mind, if they're reading online, people will soon stop reading your piece and start reading something else,
104
so keep the whole article brief.
105
Don't put in a conclusion.
106
Just let your article end without it.
107
Another good piece of advice is to remember that old cliché which we've all heard, that a picture is worth a thousand words.
108
It's true, so if you can, include a picture.
109
It'll attract more attention and illustrate what you've been saying.
110
Finally, you need to write a headline.
111
Something eye-catching which will get people to just skim the article to start with, and Then, if it's well written,
112
they'll read it more carefully afterwards.
113
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 113 sentences and 1444 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:59. The speaker talks at a steady 111 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- amateur /ˈæ.mə.t͡ʃɚ/ (noun) — A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or…
- journalism /ˈd͡ʒɝnl̩ˌɪzəm/ (noun) — The aggregating, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles for widespread distribution, typically in electronic publications, broadcast news…
- journalist /ˈd͡ʒɝnəlɪst/ (noun) — The keeper of a personal journal, who writes in it regularly.
- reader /ˈɹi.dɚ/ (noun) — A person who reads.
- attract /əˈtɹækt/ (verb) — To pull toward without touching.
- quotation /kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/ (noun) — A fragment of a human expression that is repeated by somebody else, for example from literature or a famous speech.
- necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ (adverb) — Inevitably; of necessity.
- practical /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/ (adjective) — Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
- technique /tɛkˈniːk/ (noun) — The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.
- carefully /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ (adverb) — With care; attentively, circumspectly.
- afterwards /ˈæf.tɚ.wɚdz/ (adverb) — At a later or succeeding time; after that;
- ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/ (adjective) — Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases.
- conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/ (noun) — The end, finish, close or last part of something.
- organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — Non-Oxford British English and Australian standard spelling of organization.
- communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ (verb) — To impart or transmit (information or knowledge) to someone; to make known, to tell.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- put in (verb) — To place inside.
- bear in (verb) — To move quickly and sharply in an inward direction during a race; to veer in.
- fill in (verb) — To fill; to replace material that is absent or has been removed.
- go over (verb) — To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze.
- talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as you've, don't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: quotation /kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/, conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/, organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/, organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, phenomenon /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/
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 amateur, journalism, journalist.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've been saying |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if they're reading online, people will soon |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who are · things which are · something which is |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · you've written |
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.