Shadowing Practice: Do we know where Jesus was crucified? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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The Gospel texts refer to the place where Romans carried out crucifixions as Golgotha, or in Latin, Calvary.
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Now Golgotha means the place of the skull.
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It was identified in ancient writings with a hill resembling a skullcap, or the upper part of the skull, rather than the face of the skull.
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Additionally, all four Gospels refer to the hill with the Greek word kranion, meaning cranium, or the upper part of the skull.
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Therefore, it was probably a rounded hill.
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Mistaken representations of Golgotha as a face of a skull have led to many misidentifications over the centuries.
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The site that most archaeologists,
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historians, and ancient pilgrims to Jerusalem consider to be the authentic Golgotha lies inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
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This location, which lies outside the walls of the Jerusalem of Jesus time, has been embraced by Christians as Golgotha,
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or Calvary, dating back to at least the 4th century AD.
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According to the New Testament of the Bible, the crucifixion took place near the city, but outside the city walls, outside the gate.
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It was a location that was accessible to people walking by on a road, and it could be seen from far away.
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The traditional location of the crucifixion was marked here
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when Helena of Constantinople came to Jerusalem in the 4th century AD
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and with information from the locals who stated
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that the crucifixion had occurred on a specific hill
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which was supposedly about a stone's throw from where the tomb of Jesus was situated.
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As we'll explore later in Drive -Thru History, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over the tomb of Jesus.
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And later, the complex was expanded to include the traditional hill of Golgotha.
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Archaeological investigations show that this church lies to the north and outside the city walls of Jerusalem from the time of Jesus.
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Excavations have also revealed that the traditional site for Golgotha was also outside the walls of Jerusalem from the time of Christ.
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And multiple tombs from the 1st century B .C to the 1st century A .D have been discovered in the area.
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a truly amazing and powerful place that has drawn Christian pilgrims for centuries.
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We'll be right back.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Do we know where Jesus was crucified?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Golgotha, skull, Jerusalem, hill, outside. This video has 24 sentences and 375 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:00. The speaker talks at a steady 125 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tomb noun | /tum/ | A small building, or a room within one, for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. It may be… |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
| gate noun | /ˈɡeɪ̯t/ | A doorlike structure outside a house. |
| occur verb | /əˈkɜː/ | To happen or take place. |
| reveal verb | /ɹɪˈviːl/ | To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden. |
| discover verb | /dɪˈskʌvə/ | To find or learn something for the first time. |
| expand verb | /ɪkˈspænd/ | To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open. |
| representation noun | /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/ | That which represents something else. |
| explore verb | /ɪkˈsploɹ/ | To examine or investigate something systematically. |
| additionally adverb | By way of addition; in addition to; also. | |
| situated adjective | /ˈsɪt͡ʃueɪtɪd/ | Located in a specific place. |
| accessible adjective | /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/ | Easy of access or approach. |
| embrace verb | /ɛmˈbɹes/ | To clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug. |
| authentic adjective | /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/ | Of the same origin as claimed; genuine. |
| supposedly adverb | /səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/ | As a matter of supposition; in the beliefs or according to the claims of some people. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was identified · has been embraced · could be seen |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have led · has been embraced · have also revealed |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, crucifixion /ˌkɹuːsɪˈfɪkʃən/, excavation /ˌɛkskəˈveɪʃn/
- Long words — get the stress right: representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, supposedly /səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/, historian /hɪˈstɔɹi.ən/, crucifixion /ˌkɹuːsɪˈfɪkʃən/
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 tomb, refer, gate.
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.