Shadowing Practice: Cost of living crisis in one of Britain's poorest areas - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Harper Hay, North Manchester, is known as one of the most deprived areas in Britain.
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Harper Hay, North Manchester, is known as one of the most deprived areas in Britain.
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Debt is massive, housing is a big issue.
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It's not just people on benefits, it's the working families.
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And saying sorry when they come in,
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in despair, families in despair, which is frightening.
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Paul Day runs the Harper Hay Neighbourhood Centre.
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He says he's never seen things so bad.
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Rents around here have gone up £600 to £1,200 a month.
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We're doing, sadly, two food banks a week.
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We do free cafe for the local people to make sure they get their feed.
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We have wellbeing classes for the older people.
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We've got youth sessions.
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Grubs up, people.
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Come and get some pizza.
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So, food first.
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but Dean Byrne and Lisa Davenport are here for the weekly meeting run by the charity Debt Justice
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to share stories and look for solutions for people struggling with debt as it collides with the cost of living.
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Somewhere along the line something's gone wrong and we understand,
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I think, that prices do have to rise but it's gone like that and how is anybody able to afford that?
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Lisa runs a youth charity.
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There's no surprise that cost of living is a top issue for voters.
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She says no-one here is immune from hardship.
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People, even my own staff team,
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accessing food banks, you know, our clothing banks.
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Your own staff?
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Our own staff, yeah.
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You know, I run an organisation because everybody's in the same boat.
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I'm struggling myself and I see more and more people struggling.
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I mean, I'm over 60 and,
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you know, I'm looking at trying to get back into work.
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Do you feel a disconnect between what you hear from any
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or all of the politicians and what is happening here to you and to the people you know?
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Absolutely.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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You know, our children, what hope have they got?
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I'm trying to inspire and raise aspirations of young people
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and they see this level of poverty and don't see a way out of it.
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It's like an epidemic of hopelessness for people and they do need hope.
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A few miles away in Rochdale,
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the pressing issue here too is survival.
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I and millions of other people are stuck.
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There is no way to move forward.
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Yeah, can you watch this one as well?
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Jo Barker Marsh once earned a good living,
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travelling the world as an audiovisual producer.
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Right now, she can't work.
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A 15-year-old son, Harry, has additional needs and isn't in full-time school.
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She's on universal credit and,
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at their lowest point, relied on food banks and borrowing.
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If anything hits us like a big bill,
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then the time to recover is really extended and often it means that you might take on another loan.
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Jo says they went eight months without a working boiler.
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It's weird because you kind of just have to layer up.
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I don't know.
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It's not nice.
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Because obviously when it gets to winter and it starts getting colder,
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it's just, I don't know.
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Because everything's colder, like the walls,
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the floor, everything gets colder, not just yourself.
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Decisions whether made by the Bank of England or the government feel done to her rather than for her.
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It's really degrading.
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It's degrading to know that somebody,
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you know, without being political,
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but somebody in government can make a really,
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really, what appears to be a casual decision.
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and I now pay a third more for my mortgage.
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So swimming lessons, football, transport, haircuts, you know, everything.
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Is a haircut a luxury?
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Yeah.
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Yeah, actually, for a lot of people in the UK,
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a haircut is a luxury.
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What is that like for you as a teenager,
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that actually you know there are things that you can't have that maybe your friends can get more easily.
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It's really hard to explain,
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because obviously I'm not jealous,
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I'm happy, but it does make me a bit sad sometimes because it's like,
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sometimes I wish, why can't I?
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Jo hopes Harry will go to a new school in September and that she can go back to work,
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that they'll never have to turn to food banks or go months without heat again.
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Definitely couldn't go back there.
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I wouldn't make it.
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And I just want the last bit of Harry's childhood to be decent,
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do you know what I mean?
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And I want every person who's pushing themselves forward in this general election to have a bit of humility
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and humanity when they're making decisions and when they're making casual statements about what they will and won't do.
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Back at Harper Hay, Paul isn't optimistic.
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Do you get any sense that they understand what the cost of living crisis actually means here?
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No. No, not at all.
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They haven't got a clue.
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Come and live it.
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Come here instead of going on one of your corporate dinners.
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Come here, spend a day with us,
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see what the people are saying.
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Live that.
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So whoever wins has work to do.
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Promises to improve lives are one thing thing,
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convincing people here they will deliver,
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that is a task in itself.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This video provides a poignant look into the cost of living crisis in Harper Hay, North Manchester, one of Britain's most deprived areas. Practicing your English speaking skills with this engaging content allows you to connect with real-life issues that resonate with many communities. By discussing the everyday struggles of families, the video encourages empathy and understanding—essential elements in any language learning journey.

Using this video for english speaking practice not only helps you improve your vocabulary related to socio-economic topics but also empowers you to articulate your thoughts on complex issues. Engaging with authentic content like this can enhance your confidence during IELTS speaking practice, as it prepares you to speak comprehensively about real-world concerns in English.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Throughout the video, several key grammatical structures and expressions are used that can enhance your speaking abilities:

  • Present perfect tense: The phrase "I've never seen things so bad" illustrates the use of the present perfect to express experiences that affect the present moment.
  • Conditional sentences: When Paul Day states, "Somewhere along the line something's gone wrong," it subtly emphasizes cause and effect relationships, which are common in discussing societal issues.
  • Direct speech: Expressions like “what hope have they got?” convey emotions effectively and can provide you with dynamic ways to phrase similar questions in your conversations.
  • Prefix 'over': Words such as “over 60” can introduce you to numerical phrases in English that offer concise information.
  • Understanding nuance: The use of terms like "epidemic of hopelessness" enriches your vocabulary and enhances your ability to discuss sensitive topics in detail.

By incorporating these structures into your speech, you not only improve your grammatical accuracy but also your ability to express nuanced ideas.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Focusing on pronunciation is crucial, especially when tackling complex socio-economic vocabulary. Here are some words and phrases from the video that may present challenges:

  • “Deprived”: Pay attention to the initial syllable stress and the sound of the “d.” Practice saying it slowly before speeding up.
  • “Universal credit”: This phrase can be tricky due to the combination of sounds. Break it down into “uni-” and “versal” to master the pronunciation.
  • “Aspirations”: The transition between the syllables can be difficult; focus on the ‘tion’ ending to ensure clarity.

Using a shadowing app can help you practice and perfect these pronunciations by mimicking the natural flow of native speakers. This will aid in improving your English pronunciation effectively.

Watch and listen closely to the speaker's intonation, rhythm, and emphasis to fully grasp the pronunciation nuances. Engaging with this content can significantly enhance your speaking skills, making you more effective in communication.

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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