Shadowing Practice: Dave - Raindance (ft. Tems) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Let's get

the party started See you at the bar, you was hardly talking That's when I knew

that your heart was scarring Friends to lovers need a part to star in Like, wait, babe, let me ask your pardon This ain't Gucci, this is Prada, darling If you want something,

you can ask me, darling And you started laughing, cause you think I'm joking But looking in your eyes, that's the best thing Brake lights,

giving you the red skin You was in a bad mood when we stepped in Though you checked out, thought we even checked in On the phone,

you gon' vent to your best friend The one who gave me the lecture But I ain't gon' sweat you, babe, I'm electric Catch up with your boy,

undress you And let me tell you why I'm a blesser The way my mind falling away In my heart,

I know you feel the same way You're beneath,

you know I'm all you need You're where I wanna be My darling, can't you see?

I love you I love you I love you

Why?

I'm telling you, say you want me in the mood Trying to hide my feelings for you Don't wanna argue,

not with you Tell me why you're so in denial Hold me close, don't tell me goodnight Are you down and get me?

Tell me when you're ready I'm ready We can get intimate, we can get intimate The child when you're singing it,

better than Beyonce I like the sound of fiance You know it's got a little ring to it, and really when I think of it Growing up I didn't ever see marriages No weddings,

no horse, no carriages I wanna do things different and change the narrative God knows you are wild child, beautiful child, I need your help Looking like you come from the 90s by yourself My mum's 61,

and her favourite line to tell her son is Sometimes she wished

that she had a girl I wanna take you back to a time, back to a trip You had that white wine

that I never got to sip

And dinner was a room cause you never got to pick I know

that everybody tell me

that I'm sick cause It's the way my mind Falling away in my heart I know you feel the same

When you're beneath You know I'm all you need You're where I wanna be My darling, can't you see?

Me and you, never let me go Me and you, I tell me to

die I said lean with it,

rock with it Your finger, I could put a rock in it Bingo, I could put a rock in it Bang, call, they gon' put a bloke in it Serapid,

Bouncy, Lestless I could put my house in it You wanna beat, babe I could put my house in it Pa-papa-pape I could put my spouse in it I said shimmy shimmy yeah Shimmy,

shimmy shimmy, yo 5-9 brown eyes

And she in the inner shimmy shimmy yeah Shimmy shimmy shimmy

yeah 5-9 brown eyes Then a- I shimmy shimmy yeah Shimmy shimmy shimmy,

yo 5-9 brown eyes And she in the air Shimmy shimmy yeah Shimmy shimmy shimmy yeah 5-9 brown eyes Thank you.

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28 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Dave - Raindance”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: shimmy, eyes, darling, brown, gon. This video has 31 sentences and 549 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:09. The speaker talks at a steady 132 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
shimmy noun	/ˈʃɪ.mi/	A dance move involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately.
darling noun	/ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/	Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
babe noun	/beɪb/	A baby or infant; a very young human or animal.
intimate adjective	/ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/	Closely acquainted; familiar.
beneath	/bɪˈniːθ/	Below.
blesser noun		One who blesses; one who bestows or invokes a blessing.
bouncy adjective	/ˈbaʊnsi/	Easily bounced.
fiancé noun	/fiˈɑnseɪ/	A man who is engaged to be married; the man to whom one is engaged; an intended.
undress verb	/ʌnˈdɹɛs/	To remove one’s clothing.
bloke noun	/bloʊk/	A fellow, a man; especially an ordinary man, a man on the street.
ventilation noun	/ˌvɛntɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/	The replacement of stale or noxious air with fresh.
scar noun	/skɑɹ/	A permanent mark on the skin, sometimes caused by the healing of a wound.
pardon noun	/ˈpɑːdn̩/	Forgiveness for an offence.
papa noun	/ˈpɑːpə/	Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.
spouse noun	/spaʊ̯s/	A person in a marriage or marital relationship.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
check in on verb	To pay a visit in order to monitor the health, security or safety of (someone or something).
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
grow up verb	To mature and become an adult.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	started laughing · mind falling
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	I'm joking · I'm telling · you're singing

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, wanna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shimmy /ˈʃɪ.mi/, ventilation /ˌvɛntɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/

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 shimmy, darling, babe.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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