Shadowing Practice: Computers are better than books – A debate from the Noisy Classroom - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
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Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
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The motion is that this house believes that computers are better than books.
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On the proposition team is Yasmin, Nadia and Rosie.
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On the opposition is Saleh, Katya and Nadine.
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The first proposition speaker will be Yasmin.
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Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
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Today's motion that we are proposing is that computers are better than books.
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I will explain that computers are multitask and also that a computer can hold more information than a whole library.
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My partner Nadja will explain that iPads are computers and that computers last longer than books.
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What we mean by this motion is that computers have much more value and quality than books,
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money-wise and information-wise.
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My first point is that computers can multitask.
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On computer, you can play games,
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you can entertain yourself and you can revise education-wise and watch films.
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Accepted.
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But some information is not even true, like in answer.com.
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Some of them could be even opinions.
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And that might mean not true.
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However, some information, for example,
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say Wikipedia, can hold accurate information.
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Moving on, computers can help boost minds and can be used for all ages.
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My second point is that a computer can hold more information than a whole library.
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A computer can search a variety of subjects.
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A computer has a brain and can contain a wide variety of information and important facts.
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Also, information can just be a click away.
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In conclusion, a majority of people worldwide believe that computers are entertaining and extremely useful,
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which is why they are better than books.
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Thank you and vote for us.
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The first opposition is going to be Saleh.
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Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Saleh and my three points are hackers and security,
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unreliable and health issues.
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My first point is hackers and security.
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Computers cause a a lot of crimes
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because especially theft lots of people have been hacking computer systems
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because lots of people on the does online shopping
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which means the hackers could get the credit card details and
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which means the police can't find them from
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if they got a really good source my second point is
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unreliable information lots of people go on computers to ask a question but then again
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have you thought about they always give bad answer such as my friend he got an exam and he did
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got answers from the computer and his test result was 10 out of 100 what does that tell you
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my first point is health issues
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your your your friend should have should have known
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that um this the answers would have been and why was he cheating in the first place?
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But that's not what I'm saying.
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The computers don't give unreliable information,
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which means what if people need help for the GCSEs?
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How can they do it?
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As I was saying, my third point is health issues.
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Lots of people spend their time on computers,
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which means their hands could get sore.
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And once some guy, he was going on the computer
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so many days and his hand was crippled and he couldn't write anything.
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Every time when he tried to write,
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the pencil just keeps coming off.
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Thank you for listening to me and I hope you vote for us.
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The second opposition speaker is going to be Nadia.
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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
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My name is Nadia, and today's motion is computers are better than books.
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My partner, Yasmin, has already explained about multitasking and computers have more information than books.
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I will be explaining iPads or computers and parental guidance.
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The first opposition speaker said about hackers.
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The police will find out what site the person has gone on and would locate the address and soon find out.
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Also, you explained about health issues.
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Your friend should have not been on that long.
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His parents should have told him that he shouldn't be on that long.
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Now on to my reasons.
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My third reason is iPads are like computers.
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iPads are the new latest things.
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You can have many different apps on them.
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Also, you can get education games and apps.
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Also, there's an app accepted.
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iPads are Norway as computers.
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Computers have a keyboard and iPads are tablets.
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Tablets are way different because they have apps.
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And they play your touch screen and that.
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Computers are not touch screen.
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I don't see a computer having touch screen and that.
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So how could an iPad be a computer?
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Well, they're slightly different but you can get the same apps that a computer has,
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like Internet Explorer.
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Moving on back to my reasons.
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Also there's an app called iBooks,
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which the But picture books can come alive and move about,
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so it will be more interesting for young children.
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My second reason is parental guidance.
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Parents can check on history,
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what their child has been on.
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But in books, the child can easily hide the inappropriate books they've been reading.
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And the parent can block inappropriate sites.
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Thank you for listening and vote for us.
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The opposition's second speaker is Katia.
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Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
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My name is Katia and this motion is that computers are better than books.
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My first point is that books are more trustworthy.
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For Wikipedia for example, anybody could just put some information on it and contribute.
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However, for a book, if you wanted to write a book of dinosaurs,
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who would it be?
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Just any person writing about dinosaurs or an expert.
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I'm sure you could answer that out.
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Also, when you're reading books,
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it could give you the right information.
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For example, once I looked on the computer
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and I tried to find some information
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and then after I looked it up on a book and they had similar reasons, however...
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Accepted.
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However, there are some suitable and trustworthy sites such as revision sites,
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for example bite-size, and that can help with revision.
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However, most of the information that goes onto the computer are from books.
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My second point is about libraries.
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Some people may say, oh it takes ages to find a book in the library.
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However it doesn't because libraries are usually split up into fiction and non-fiction and are in alphabetical order.
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So if you wanted to find a revision book,
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for example, and you need the name of the revision book,
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you could go to non-fiction and then you could look it up in the alphabetical order and you would find your...
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Rejected.
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And you would find your website and you would find your information more easily.
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My final point is that books are better for your imagination.
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For example, if you wanted to be an artist,
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artists can't always be on the computer.
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For example, they might say,
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oh, I can see this picture,
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so I'm just going to add a few bits here and a few bits there.
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But they can't because it wouldn't be that unique.
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However, if you went on a book and you read it and then after you're like,
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oh, I'm going make a picture about it because my imagination tells me
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that I should put some swirly lines here and there.
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Then that means it would be very unique.
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Thank you for listening to me and I hope you vote for us.
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Now it's time for the floor debate.
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Is there any questions?
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The second opposition said that it's easy to find books in the library,
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but sometimes the person in the library says the book is finished,
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but when you go on the internet they don't say you can't find the information because it's finished or anything.
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You can go and they'll tell you the information
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when you go into Wikipedia or any other website that tells you the information.
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Some people say that computers can break,
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like, can hurt your eyes,
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but people can go to the shops or something like that and buy,
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like, a screen that protects your eyes.
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And the second speaker on the opposition said some people can say
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that books take too long to find but
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and maybe the book isn't there and maybe the person is looking all around
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and what if they couldn't find it so and maybe there isn't anybody working there like telling you what you should find.
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This is for the proposition.
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In addition to the opposition's reasons books are better than computers
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because when you read a book you can emphasise with the character
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because when was the last time you feel emotional watching YouTube
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is there any more questions I agree with the proposition side
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because if you like rip a book you can't see um
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and then after you sell it a bit you can't really read though
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and what now the opposition summary speaker is Nadine thank you for Thank you for the questions.
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Now I want to first thank my two colleagues Sally and Katia.
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I want to answer some questions.
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One of the questions was that in the library
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if they ran out of books that's tough luck
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but you can still find another book that could be similar and as well they said that you could buy a
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protective eye screen and but what if you can't afford it
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and maybe there's no such a thing as that and that's what I'm doing some rebuttals.
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Computers are mostly made up by books and when they try
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and fit in some information they only take like one part
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but maybe there's a part that's that's really important but they missed
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that out that's why sometimes it's not true as well now
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I want to just summarize my team's points now our self
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sellers his first point was security issues one person one one child
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and she was 14 and she died just about Facebook she was giving out personal information
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and she got murdered and so there's uneniable things and
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and different things they don't tell the truth and
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so health issues people when they are when they use too much computer
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and they they get really aggressive
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and they could punch somebody in the face really badly now
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I want to go to a carriers points the first one
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is what books trustworthy books are more they're more true it has more truth in the books than in computers
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and so imagination when you read
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when you have a picture in front you don't have enough imagination
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but when you read the book and
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when it's no pictures you have imagination they feel like you're dead and the Zoya library.
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Why did it library?
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To get books and books are like mostly one of the most important things in our life
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because we need to learn how to read by book we need to then
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and so if you read books you learn how to write you improve your writing.
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Thank you for listening to me I hope you vote for us.
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The summary speaker for the proposition is Rosie.
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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
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I'm Rosie.
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And the motion we are proposing today is Computers are Better Than Books.
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A speaker from the floor said that you can buy a screen that protects eyes.
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I agree, despite the fact that people shouldn't need a screen,
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they shouldn't be on a computer for that long that it hurts them.
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Another speaker said that you can't find a book in a library.
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Yes, but that's exactly why computers are needed to use research,
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because otherwise you won't be able to find out useful information for your homework.
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Another speaker from the floor said that you can't empathise with the internet.
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But can't you empathise with people who live with you or who people are at school who are close to you?
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Our team's main reasons for being in favour of information are multitasking.
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You can open several pages at once,
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which means that you can take in different streams of information at the same time.
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Our second point was that a computer holds more information than an entire library.
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Think of how much space you're saving with one computer than having a big room full of books.
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Our third point was iPads.
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They're the latest things.
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And you can buy all sorts of books on an iPad.
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And some of them are even cheaper or free.
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Our fourth point was parental guidance.
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And that you can block sites and you can check what your child's been on.
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This say this you can't do that with a book so imagine what your child would be reading
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The reason the other team's reasons were hackers and security
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Security software can be brought installed plus police can follow energy traces and arrest the hacker their second point was and reliable.
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That's because of people joking.
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If you want information that's reliable,
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then you should find a reliable site.
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Thank you for listening, voters.
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Now it's time for the vote.
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Who votes for the opposition?
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Who votes for the opposition?
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and the proposition is one.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This debate video presents an engaging context for learners to improve their spoken English. By listening to different perspectives on whether computers are better than books, you can practice articulating your thoughts, enriching your vocabulary, and enhancing your fluency. Engaging in debates is a proven way to promote critical thinking while practicing English, enabling you to grasp language nuances and develop your argumentative skills. Utilizing the shadowing technique, you can repeat after the speakers to mimic their intonation and pacing, which is important for improving English pronunciation. This method also helps in building confidence in expressing your opinions.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
While listening to the video, pay attention to the following key structures used by the speakers that are beneficial for English learners:
- Comparative forms: Terms like "better" and "more" play a crucial role in debates. They help in formulating persuasive arguments.
- Complex sentences: Phrases such as "What we mean by this motion is that..." can enhance your ability to convey complex ideas clearly.
- Stressing opinions: Expressions like "a majority of people believe" are useful for emphasizing your stance and are often used in persuasive speaking.
By practicing these structures, you'll not only become more proficient in grammar but also enrich your vocabulary, making your arguments more compelling.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Certain words and phrases in the debate may pose pronunciation challenges. Here are a few to watch out for:
- Multitask: This word can be tricky due to its dual-syllable sound. Ensure you emphasize the second syllable to sound natural.
- Information: Break this word into four syllables to pronounce it correctly.
- Unreliable: The rhythm of this word may lead to mispronunciation. Practice saying it slowly: un-re-li-able.
By focusing on these tricky pronunciations using a shadowing app or shadowing site, you can refine your skills effectively. Repeatedly mimicking the speakers’ accents will further maximize your learning process and enhance your overall speaking abilities.
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.
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