Shadowing Practice: Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry Needs a Fence - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 37 sentences and 226 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:03. The speaker talks at a steady 111 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| fence noun | /fɛns/ | A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc. |
| perimeter noun | /pɪˈɹɪm.ɪ.tə/ | The sum of the distance of all the lengths of the sides of an object. |
| decent adjective | /ˈdiː.sənt/ | Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances. |
| apparent adjective | /əˈpæɹənt/ | Capable of being seen, or easily seen; open to view; visible to the eye; within sight or view. |
| drown verb | /dɹaʊn/ | To die from suffocation while immersed in water or other fluid. |
| willy verb | /ˈwɪli/ | To cleanse wool or cotton, etc. with a willy, or willow. |
| bungalow noun | /ˈbʌŋɡəloʊ/ | A single-storey house, typically with rooms all on one level, or sometimes also with upper rooms set into the roof space. |
| burglarize verb | /ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡləɹaɪz/ | To commit burglary. |
| pool noun | /puːl/ | A small and rather deep area of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream or river; a reservoir for water. |
| escape verb | /ɪˈskeɪp/ | To get free; to free oneself. |
| suppose verb | /səˈpoʊz/ | To take for granted; to conclude, with less than absolute supporting data; to believe. |
| noise noun | /ˈnoɪ̯z/ | Various sounds, usually unwanted or unpleasant. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, gonna, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 fence, perimeter, decent.
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.