Shadowing Practice: Dolphin read aloud Raz Kids - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi class, we are going to be reading a story called Dolphins.
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This is a nonfiction story and it is about dolphins.
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It's written by Emily Burke.
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The focus question is, what is a dolphin?
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And then we have some words to know and we'll go over those as we read.
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Now we know a lot of times when we have nonfiction books, especially when they're about a science or social studies topic,
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we have a table of contents and that is true here.
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So we can look at the table of contents to tell us what this story is going to be about
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or to find different topics within the topic of dolphins that we're interested in. So here we go.
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The introduction.
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dolphins live in every ocean in the world some even live in rivers
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and then we can see down here there's a little heading
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on this really adorable picture of a dolphin it says this
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kind of dolphin lives in a muddy river over time its eyes have become weak
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because it can see it can't see through the mud
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so it doesn't really use his eyes that much
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because it can't see through the mud that's interesting
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and here's another beautiful picture of a mother dolphin with her
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baby most dolphin mothers are pregnant for about a year some
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can be pregnant for 18 months before they give birth to a baby
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so it says dolphins are mammals dolphins are mammals they can
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keep their body warm dolphins mothers dolphin mothers make milk for
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babies they do not lay eggs instead their babies are born live dolphins are mammals okay
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that means they're warm-blooded
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so they can keep their own bodies warm they don't lay
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eggs they give birth to live babies they feed their babies milk
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dolphins breathe air through a hole in their head so we breathe air through our nose and sometimes our mouths.
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Dolphins have a hole up here called a blowhole, and that's how they breathe air.
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Dolphins breathe air through a hole in their head.
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Most of the time, dolphins breathe a few times a minute.
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They can hold their breath for more than a minute when they need to.
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and it says that the hole
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that dolphins used to breathe is called a blowhole then it says wowzer and
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when i see wowzer with an exclamation mark i know that's
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probably going to be a fun fact don't you think it
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says dolphins don't sleep for hours at a time like most
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animals instead they rest part of their brain for 15 to 20 minutes at a time
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because parts of their brain are still working dolphins stay near the surface while asleep.
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This way they can get air when they need it while they sleep.
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Dolphins even keep one eye open.
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Wow, sounds to me like they never really get a good rest.
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Oops, I need to go back.
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I missed a page.
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All about dolphins.
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Dolphins are different sizes.
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They can be big or small.
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Do you know?
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There are almost 40 kinds of dolphins.
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Killer whales or orcas are the largest.
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They can be 10 meters long.
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Maui are the smallest type of dolphin.
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They are only one meter.
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That's four feet long.
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That's not very long.
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So here we have the orca.
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We have Rizzo's dolphin.
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We have the common dolphin.
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I think that's the one we see when we go to the beach and we see the dolphins in the ocean.
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Okay, let's see.
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Some dolphins only have four teeth.
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Others have more than 200 teeth.
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Dolphins do not use their teeth to chew.
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They use their teeth to grab onto food.
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They grab food.
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They use their teeth to grab food when they eat it.
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Okay?
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What do we use to grab things?
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We use our hands, don't we?
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Dolphins sometimes scratch each other's skin with their teeth.
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That's called raking.
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And that seems to me like if a dolphin's doing that raking, that's probably something they do with their family members.
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Like if somebody scratches your head or your back or something.
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Oh, and look, here's some more dolphins.
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Each side of a dolphin's tail is called a fluke.
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So here's one fluke and here's the other fluke.
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Dolphins move their tails up and down to swim.
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A fin on their back keeps them steady.
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A flipper on each side helps them steer.
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Like when you steer when you're riding your bike, you use your handlebars, right?
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The dolphin uses its flippers.
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So look at the parts of the dolphin.
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We have two flukes.
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We have a fin, a blowhole, a mouth, and two flippers.
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Aren't they cute?
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Dolphins and sound.
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Dolphins are smart.
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Dolphins use sound to talk to other dolphins.
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Dolphins also use sound to find food.
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Dolphins use clicks, whistles, and squeaks to talk to each other.
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Scientists think each dolphin also has its own sound.
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And they use sound to find food, kind of like bats do.
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They make noise, and the noise echoes back to them.
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It's called echolocation.
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Oh, look at all those dolphins there.
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A group of dolphin uses a bait ball to hunt.
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A school of fish forms a tight ball.
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Some dolphins swim around the ball to keep fish from swimming away.
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Others stay below to keep watch.
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Dolphins take turns swimming into the ball to feed.
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When a dolphin hunts, first it makes clicking sounds.
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Next, it listens and waits for echoes to bounce off a fish or squid.
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Then the dolphin can attack.
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So these dolphins are acting like a team to swim around the fish and make the fish come together.
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It says up here, I didn't read the heading, I should have.
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Some ways the dolphins hunt.
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And then look, dolphins swim around a bait ball.
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Here they are, they're so cute, aren't they? dolphin groups.
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Dolphins are playful animals.
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They blow rings of bubbles and they even play catch with pieces of seaweed.
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Oh my goodness, they have so much fun.
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Okay, dolphin groups.
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Dolphins live in groups called pods.
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They live in pods to find food and keep each other safe.
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dolphins move from pod to pod sometimes they change pods more
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than once a day that's interesting they have more than one
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group of like friends huh most pods have as many as
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12 dolphins mothers form pods with other mothers to protect their
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babies even after they leave young dolphins may return to swim
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with their mother some female dolphins even return to raise their babies with their own mother.
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How cute.
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So the babies get raised with their grandmother.
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Young dolphins stay with their mother for as long as six years.
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And this is our conclusion that we see here is these four dolphins here.
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Hector's dolphins, white beak dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, and Indo-Pacific dolphin.
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Conclusion.
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There are many different kinds of dolphins.
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They all use sound to talk and find food.
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Most dolphins form close groups.
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Dolphins are amazing animals.
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Okay, and these are some of the words we read.
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Female is of or relating to or being a plant or animal that can make babies, eggs, or seeds.
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We know to grab is to take a hold of in a quick, strong way.
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We usually grab with our hands.
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And we learned, and some of us might have already known, mammals are warm-blooded animals with backbone, hair, or fur.
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They make milk, and they have babies that are born live.
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Pods are groups of dolphins or whales that live together.
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And to protect is to keep something safe and to steer that's to turn or move in a new direction.
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Okay, I thought that was a really nice story.
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I hope you enjoyed it and we are going to be learning a lot about dolphins this week.
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Thanks for joining me.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 140 sentences and 1316 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:51. The speaker talks at a steady 134 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dolphin noun | /ˈdɑlf.ɪn/ | A carnivorous cetacean, typically with a beak-like snout, famed for their intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| pod noun | /ˈpɑd/ | A seed case for legumes (e.g. peas, beans, peppers); a seedpod. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| egg noun | /ɛɡ/ | An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell… |
| steer verb | /stɪɹ/ | To guide the course of a vessel, vehicle, aircraft etc. (by means of a device such as a rudder, paddle, or steering wheel). |
| conclusion noun | /kənˈkluːʒən/ | The end, finish, close or last part of something. |
| tail noun | /ˈteɪ̯l/ | An object or part of an object resembling a tail in shape, such as the thongs on a cat-o'-nine-tails; a strand of material hanging from something. |
| scratch verb | /skɹæt͡ʃ/ | To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc. |
| echo noun | /ˈɛk.oʊ/ | A reflected sound that is heard again by its initial observer. |
| whale noun | /ˈweɪl/ | Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises. |
| bait noun | /beɪt/ | Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net. |
| killer noun | /ˈkɪlɚ/ | One who or that which kills. |
| seed noun | /siːd/ | Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| see through verb | To perceive visually through something transparent. | |
| bounce off verb | To test (ideas) on someone. | |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| go over verb | To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze. |
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 | are born · is called |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may return · might have |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the largest · the smallest |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are still working · you're riding · are acting |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, they're, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/, echolocation /ˌɛkoʊloʊˈkeɪʃən/, exclamation /ˌɛkskləˈmeɪʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: adorable /əˈdoɹ.əˌbəl/, echolocation /ˌɛkoʊloʊˈkeɪʃən/
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 dolphin, breathe, swim.
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.