Shadowing Practice: Complete IELTS Band 6.5 - 7.5 - UNIT 6 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Complete IELTS Bands 6 .5 to 7 .5 by Guy Brookhart
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and Vanessa Jakeman Published by Cambridge University Press 2013 This recording is copyright CD 2 Unit 6 Listening Exercise 3
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Good morning, everyone.
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So, we're looking at animation technology today something we're all very
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familiar with from seeing blockbuster films such as Toy Story
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and Shrek but I'd like to start by looking at how animation began and how the technical side of things developed.
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Not long after the invention of the first camera by Thomas Edison in 1889 a photographer by the name of J.
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Stuart Blackton developed the first technique for animated film.
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It consisted of a series of drawings and he drew a number of funny faces and then filmed one after the other.
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This gave the impression of motion and changing facial expression.
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But it was a very slow process and a long way from being anything like a film.
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Then a Frenchman, Emile Cole, moved things on a bit by using scenes and figures cut out of paper instead.
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This meant things could be done more quickly.
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It was possible to build up a small scene, though a very large number of cutouts were required to do this.
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And of course, it was all still taking place during the era of silent film.
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Eventually, Walt Disney came along.
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He wanted his film characters to look more real and so he found ways to do this.
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It took weeks to produce a single film sequence
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but in 1928 the first talking animated film came out that had been made using hand -painted slides known as cells.
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These were placed one on top of the other and then quickly removed.
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And that first film launched the career of Mickey Mouse, if you remember him.
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Disney then went on to produce the first full -length colour animated film in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
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which earned him the first of his 37 Oscars.
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Animation changed very little over the next 50 years or so, until the advent of computers and the work of a company called Pixar.
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Pixar Animation Studios was a graphics group until Steve Jobs invested $10 million in the company.
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Now it has become a Hollywood icon, with earnings of over $6 .3 billion and numerous film awards.
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In fact, Pixar's films act rather like a timeline of technological developments in computer graphics.
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So, let's have a look at some of them.
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Pixar's debut feature film was Toy Story, and this was the first film to be completely animated by computers.
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When it was released in 1995, many features of the film were seen as outstanding.
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It is still considered to be one of the most significant
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achievements in the history of film animation a later film monsters inc
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which came out in 2001 added a new animation feature
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which was the on -screen representation of animal fur this helped
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to enhance the appeal of one of the film's central characters two years after
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that the award -winning film finding nemo a tale of the lives of some very appealing and visually enchanting fish,
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pioneered new techniques in digital lighting, which were used to create realistic -looking water.
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This was an essential feature of the film.
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Many scenes took place underwater and relied on a certain level of brilliance and clarity throughout.
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Had they got it wrong, the entire effect would have been lost.
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And a film called The Incredibles in 2004 brought with it credible human characters and advances in the simulation of crowds.
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So each of these films introduced new types of physical phenomena,
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and these days 3D animation can recreate most real -world scenarios yet cinema audiences have increasingly high expectations
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so how do companies like Pixar plan to meet the challenges of the future Well,
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firstly, studios still struggle to create digital humans that audiences like.
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Up to now, they've been criticised for looking robotic.
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So the focus for producers now is on simulating more realistic human skin and more detailed facial movement.
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Both developments are bringing close the day when they will be convincing digital actors on screen.
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A second aspect that Pixar hope to improve on is the speed at
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which they can actually produce each frame of animated film.
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Things have moved on, but the time it takes to do this is basically staying the same.
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Faster computers help, but work done by companies involved in the production of video games is also hope to improve things.
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A further challenge is colour.
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Pixar is looking ahead to how it can better use its colour palettes and produce more brilliant images And lastly,
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the company is hoping to build on methods to stylise its
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images in films It seems reality has been the goal for many years
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But now they are also trying to break new ground
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and come up with other concepts The result could be a new breed of animated films
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that don't look real or like anything that has gone before.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 61 sentences and 823 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:16. The speaker talks at a steady 113 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| animation noun | /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of animating, or giving life or spirit. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| graphics noun | /ˈɡɹæfɪks/ | The making of architectural or design drawings. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| facial adjective | /ˈfeɪ.ʃəl/ | Of or affecting the face. |
| earn verb | /ɝn/ | To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. |
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| producer noun | /pɹəˈdjuːsə/ | An individual or organization that creates goods and services. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| increasingly adverb | Increasing in amount or intensity. | |
| introduce verb | /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ | To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else). |
| achievement noun | /əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/ | The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment. |
| impression noun | /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/ | The indentation or depression made by the pressure of one object on or into another. |
| sequence noun | /ˈsiː.kwəns/ | A set of things next to each other in a set order; a series. |
| representation noun | /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/ | That which represents something else. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. | |
| come along verb | To accompany. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come out in verb | to be afflicted by (a visible disruption of the body) | |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| look ahead to verb | To plan for the future; to look forward to something; to be excited for something happening in the future. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | could be done · were required · had been made |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has become · they've been criticised · have moved |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, don't, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: animation /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/, facial /ˈfeɪ.ʃəl/, impression /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, invention /ɪnˈvɛnʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: animation /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, photographer /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/, phenomenon /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/, technological /ˌtɛk.nəˈlɑ.dʒɪ.kəl/
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 animation, technique, graphics.
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.