Shadowing Practice: Day in the life of an Assistant Project Manager - Learn English Speaking with Video
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44 sentences
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Hi, my name is Jack Hale.
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I'm an assistant project manager and this is a day in my life.
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My mornings normally start with coming into the office and giving a call to my project superintendent.
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At that point, we'll discuss the daily activities
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and that'll kind of dictate what becomes a high priority for me for the rest of the day and, you know, may change my day.
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Once I've addressed those items or scheduled those out for the day, I'll start going through my inbox, see what items I may need to catch up on from the day before,
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and kind of use that as a to-do list for the rest of the day.
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This could be something like
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ordering some material or writing a couple of change orders
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or just responding to a question that somebody may have had about the project.
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There are a lot of moving parts in a project, and one of my main roles as an assistant project manager is to make sure that everybody has what they need.
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That could be helping a superintendent with some activities on the site,
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maybe helping with quality control of subcontractors or putting some material in place, even if we really need that.
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Also, I help the project manager out a lot.
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This could be writing change orders to subcontractors, fielding calls from subcontractors, questions they may have about billings or financials,
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and then also keeping up on our monthly financials and making sure that we're hitting our holes.
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One of the things I really like about my job is the fluidity and how it can change from day to day.
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Well, great way to demonstrate this is looking at my calendar and I have several days where I've got meeting,
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meeting, meeting, but I do have days where I don't have much scheduled
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and I can use that for whatever I deem necessary and really follow through on high priority items.
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As an assistant project manager, you're constantly working with team members.
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This could be your project manager, your superintendent, or any other field member.
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Because of this, it's very important that you guys work together well as a team, that you trust each other.
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This helps to make sure that nobody's going through and back checking so that you guys are efficient, you can divide and conquer and make the most out of every day.
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Outside of my office work, I also try to get to the job site two, three times a week.
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A drive to the job site could be anywhere from five minutes
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if it's the headquarters building or three hours if I'm going to Avery County in North Carolina.
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Once I get to the job site, for example at the headquarters, I'll be looking for a lot of quality control issues,
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kind of a contractor's pre-punch items, stuff like that.
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Or if I'm at a job that's just getting started, I'm paying more attention to foremen on the job,
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making sure that they have have what they need, then I'm fielding questions and just being everything that I can to help the superintendent.
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If I do run into an issue, I want to make sure that we get that resolved as quickly as possible.
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A lot of people will say that problem solving is their favorite thing about this job.
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I like to think of it more as negotiating with people.
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A lot of times there's give and take and it's not just getting something fixed.
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Most people can figure that out, but it's how do you get that fix done?
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How do you communicate with the trade partner what you need?
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Maybe you have to pull in somebody else to
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to help in that problem and really get it tackled the proper way and the most efficiently and with budget in mind.
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After I've done what I feel like I need to at the site, I'll make sure that I check in with the superintendent before leaving to report anything that I may have seen to them.
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I'll then, depending on time, either head back to the office and check in with the PM
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or give them a call while I head home and communicate anything
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that I may have seen on site with them so
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that all team members are on the same page and we're ready to kick ass the next day.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 44 sentences and 737 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:07. The speaker talks at a natural 179 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| superintendent noun | /ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/ | A person who is authorized to supervise, direct or administer something. |
| priority noun | /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/ | An item's relative importance. |
| headquarters noun | /ˈhɛdˌk(w)ɔɹ.tɚz/ | The military installation from which troops are commanded and orders are issued; the military unit consisting of a commander and his support staff. |
| communicate verb | /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ | To impart or transmit (information or knowledge) to someone; to make known, to tell. |
| efficient adjective | /ɪˈfɪʃənt/ | Making good, thorough, or careful use of resources; not consuming extra. Especially, making good use of time or energy. |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| punch noun | /pʌnt͡ʃ/ | A hit or strike with one's fist. |
| calendar noun | /ˈkæl.ən.də/ | Any system by which time is divided into days, weeks, months, and years. |
| demonstrate verb | /ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/ | To show how to use (something). |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| resolve verb | /ɹɪˈzɑlv/ | To find a solution to (a problem). |
| tackle verb | /ˈtækəl/ | To force a person to the ground with the weight of one's own body, usually by jumping on top or slamming one's weight into them. |
| divide verb | /dɪˈvaɪd/ | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
| negotiate verb | /nəˈɡəʊ.ʃi.eɪt/ | To confer with others in order to come to terms or reach an agreement. |
| efficiently adverb | In an efficient manner. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| work together verb | To be coworkers with someone; to share a workspace with someone. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I'll, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, negotiate /nəˈɡəʊ.ʃi.eɪt/
- Long words — get the stress right: superintendent /ˌsjuːpəɹɪnˈtɛndənt/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, negotiate /nəˈɡəʊ.ʃi.eɪt/, fluidity /fluːˈɪd.ə.ti/
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 superintendent, priority, headquarters.
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.