Shadowing Practice: Disabilities: How to Cope With Them & Support Others - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
When you hear the term disability, a wheelchair might come to mind.
2
Yes, absolutely, some people with disabilities use wheelchairs.
3
But did you know that you can't always tell if a person has a disability just by looking at them?
4
Disabilities come in a variety of forms, visibility and severity.
5
They can affect the way a person moves, how a person thinks, or how a person perceives the world through their senses.
6
Some disabilities can have a combination of these categories.
7
You don't have to be an expert on disabilities to be a good friend.
8
Meet Felicia.
9
No one but her best friends know she has epilepsy, a seizure disorder.
10
She has seizures every once in a while, and worries that her friends will treat her differently if they see her having a seizure.
11
She became so worried that she limited her activities to reduce her chances of seizing.
12
Luckily, her friends noticed this and encouraged her to talk with the school counselor.
13
Her counselor helped her find her inner courage to continue her activities, even though she might have a seizure.
14
Her friends, teachers, and coaches were all educated about what to do if a seizure happens.
15
With counseling and support from the people around her, Felicia was able to find new confidence.
16
You may not know if someone at school, at the park, or on your sports team has a disability.
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It may be tempting to stare or to ask questions.
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Some questions are okay.
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You just have to make sure you are asking in a respectful way.
20
Can you tell me about your motor chair is much kinder than what is wrong with you.
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If you are a person with a disability, know that there is support and people who understand or can relate to what you're going through.
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Even though no two people have exactly the same experience with a disability,
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it can be helpful to talk with someone who has some understanding of what it's like to live with a disability.
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Likewise, counselors can help you sort through some of your frustrations, thoughts, feelings, and even connect you with a support group.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Disabilities: How to Cope With Them & Support Others”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: disability, seizure, disabilities, counselor. This video has 24 sentences and 357 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:08. The speaker talks at a natural 167 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| disability noun | /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/ | A condition characterised by a significant limitation in a person's physical or intellectual powers or ability. |
| seizure noun | /ˈsi.ʒɚ/ | The act of taking possession, as by force or right of law. |
| counselor noun | /ˈkaʊnsələ(ɹ)/ | A professional who counsels people, especially on personal problems. |
| wheelchair noun | /ˈ(h)wilt͡ʃɛɹ/ | A chair mounted on large wheels for the transportation or use of a sick or disabled person. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| courage noun | /ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate. |
| disorder noun | /dɪsˈɔɹdɚ/ | Absence of order; state of not being arranged in an orderly manner. |
| relate verb | /ɹɪˈleɪt/ | To tell in a descriptive way. |
| differently adverb | /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/ | In a different way. |
| counsel noun | /ˈkaʊn.səl/ | The exchange of opinions and advice especially in legal issues; consultation. |
| likewise adverb | /ˈlaɪkˌwaɪz/ | In a similar manner. |
| frustration noun | /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The feeling of annoyance at impossibility from resistance or inability to achieve something. |
| educate verb | /ˈɛd͡ʒ.əˌkeɪt/ | To instruct or train. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| sort through verb | To look through (a collection of documents, facts, etc.) to make sense of them or put them in order. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who understand · someone who has |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might come · might have · may not know |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are asking · you're going |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to be · have to make |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: seizure /ˈsi.ʒɚ/, frustration /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: disability /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, visibility /ˌvɪz.əˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/, severity /səˈvɛɹ.ə.ti/, epilepsy /ˈɛpɪˌlɛpsi/
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 disability, seizure, counselor.
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.