Shadowing Practice: D59 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Emma, Lisa, account, banking, bank. This video has 11 sentences and 124 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:45. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation.
Key vocabulary in this video
13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| convenient adjective | /kənˈviː.niənt/ | Serving to reduce a difficulty, or accessible with minimum difficulty; expedient. |
| password noun | /ˈpæs.wɜɹd/ | A word relayed to a person to gain admittance to a place or to gain access to information. |
| username noun | A name or string of characters used as a person's identification on an individual computer system. | |
| greet verb | /ɡɹiːt/ | To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing. |
| teller noun | /ˈtɛləɹ/ | A person who tells stories. |
| payment noun | /ˈpeɪmənt/ | The act of paying. |
| friendly adjective | /ˈfɹɛnd.li/ | Generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character. |
| saving noun | /ˈseɪ.vɪŋ/ | A reduction in cost or expenditure. |
| manage verb | /ˈmæn.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To direct or be in charge of. |
| balance noun | /ˈbæləns/ | A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium. |
| choose verb | /t͡ʃuːz/ | To pick; to make the choice of; to select. |
| explain verb | /ɪkˈspleɪn/ | To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of. |
| transfer verb | /tɹænsˈfɚ/ | To move or pass from one place, person or thing to another. |
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like convenient, password, username.
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.































