Shadowing Practice: Donald Trump _ Speech (Shadowing technique) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Thank you very much everybody.

And congratulations to the class of 2017.

That's some achievement.

This is your day and you've earned every minute of it.

And I'm thrilled to be back at Liberty University.

I've been here, this is now my third time, and we love setting records, right?

We always set records.

We have to set records.

We have no choice.

It's been a little over a year since I've spoken on your beautiful campus, and so much has changed.

Right here, the class of 2017, dressed in cap and gown,

graduating to a totally brilliant future.

and here I am standing before you as president of the United States

so I'm guessing there are some people here today who thought

that either one of those things either one would really require major help from God do we agree and we got it

But here we are celebrating together on this very joyous occasion.

And there is no place in the world I'd rather be

to give my first commencement address as president than here with my wonderful friends at Liberty University.

And I accepted this invitation a long time ago.

I said to Jerry that I'd be there, and when I say something, I mean it.

I want to thank President Jerry Falwell and his incredible wife, Becky.

Say it enough, Becky.

For their kind words, their steadfast support, and their really wonderful friendship.

Let me also extend our appreciation to the entire Falwell family.

Trey, Sarah, Wesley, Laura and Caroline.

Thank you for everything you do to make this university so exceptional.

One of the truly great, great schools.

Most importantly to our new graduates, each of you should take immense pride in what you have achieved.

There's another group of amazing people we want to celebrate today,

and they are the ones who have made this journey possible for you

and you know who

that is nobody you forgot already you're going to go out

you're going to do whatever you're going to do some are

going to make a lot of money some are going to be even happier doing other things they're your parents

and your grandparents don't forget them you haven't forgotten yet have you never ever forget them they're great

and especially this weekend let's make sure we give a really

extra special thanks to the moms don't forget our moms because graduates today is your day

today is your day but in all of this excitement don't forget that tomorrow is mother's day right

I had a great mother.

She's looking down now, but I had a great mother.

I always loved Mother's Day.

We're also deeply honored to be joined by some of the nearly 6,000 service members,

military veterans, and military spouses who are receiving their diplomas today. Would you please stand?

Please stand.

Wow.

That's great.

Thank you very much.

Great job.

We're profoundly grateful to every single one of you who sacrificed to keep us safe

and to protect God's precious gift of freedom.

It is truly a testament to this university and to the values

that you embrace that your Your graduating class includes so many patriots who have served our country in uniform.

Thank you very much.

To the class of 2017, today you end one chapter,

but you are about to begin the greatest adventure of your life.

Just think for a moment of how blessed you are to be here today at this great,

great university, living in this amazing country,

surrounded by people who you love and care about so much then ask yourself with all of those blessings

and all of the blessings

that you've been given what will you give back to this country

and indeed to the world what imprint will you leave in

the sands of history what What will future Americans say we did in our brief time right here on Earth? Did we take risks?

Did we dare to defy expectations?

Did we challenge accepted wisdom and take on established systems?

I think I did, but we all did.

And we're all doing it.

Or did we just go along with convention, swim downstream so easily with the current,

and just give in because it was the easy way, it was the traditional way,

or it was the accepted way?

Remember this, nothing worth doing ever, ever, ever came easy.

your convictions means you must be willing to face criticism from

those who lack the same courage to do what is right

and they know what is right but they don't have the courage

or the guts or the stamina to take it and to do it.

It's called the road less traveled.

I know that each of you will be a warrior for the truth,

will be a warrior for our country and for your family.

I know that each of you will do what is right, not what is the easy way,

and that you will be true to yourself and your country and your beliefs.

In my short time in Washington, I've seen firsthand how the system is broken.

a small group of failed voices who think they know everything

and understand everyone want to tell everybody else how to live

and what to do and how to think

but you aren't going to let other people tell you what you believe especially when you know that you're right

And those of you graduating here today who have given half a million hours of charity last year alone,

unbelievable amount of work and charity and few universities or colleges can claim anything even close.

We don't need a lecture from Washington on how to lead our lives.

I'm standing here looking at the next generation of American leaders.

There may very well be a president or two in our midst.

Anybody think they're going to be president?

Raise your hand.

In your hearts are inscribed the values of service, sacrifice, and devotion.

Now you must go forth into the world and turn your hopes and dreams into action.

America has always been the land of dreams because America is a nation of true believers.

When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, they prayed.

When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they invoked our Creator four times.

Because in America, we don't worship government, we worship God.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Donald Trump _ Speech”. This video has 97 sentences and 1060 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:04. The speaker talks at a steady 117 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% 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

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
blessing noun	/ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/	Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward.
warrior noun	/ˈwɔɹi.ɚ/	A person who is actively engaged in battle, conflict or warfare; a soldier or combatant.
worship noun	/ˈwɝ.ʃɪp/	The devotion accorded to a deity or to a sacred object.
sacrifice noun	/ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/	Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity.
courage noun	/ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/	The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate.
commencement noun	/kəˈmɛnsmənt/	The first existence of anything; act or fact of commencing; the beginning.
firsthand adjective	/ˈfɜːstˌhænd/	Direct, without intermediate stages.
grandparent noun	/ˈɡɹæn(d)pɛəɹənt/	The parent of someone's parent.
imprint noun	/ˈɪm.pɹɪnt/	An impression; the mark left behind by printing something or by pressing on something, or the figurative counterpart of such a mark.
inscribe verb	/ɪnˈskɹaɪb/	To write or cut (words) onto (something, especially a hard surface, or a book to be given to another person); to engrave.
invoke verb	/ɪnˈvoʊk/	To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance.
joyous adjective	/ˈd͡ʒɔɪəs/	Full of joy; happy.
pilgrim noun	/ˈpɪlɡɹɪm/	Any traveler.
stamina noun	/ˈstæmənə/	The energy and strength for continuing to do something over a long period of time; power of sustained exertion, or resistance to hardship, illness etc.
steadfast adjective	/ˈstɛdfæst/	Fixed or unchanging; steady.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go along with verb	To acquiesce to or comply with a proposal, despite lacking a desire or value for it.
go out verb	To leave, especially a building.
look down verb	To lower one's eyes; to direct one's look downwards.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Would you please stand?
Did we take risks?
Did we dare to defy expectations?
Did we challenge accepted wisdom and take on established systems?
Anybody think they're going to be president?

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've earned · I've been · I've spoken
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be joined · you've been given · is broken
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	ones who have · people who you · those who lack
Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction	will you · will future · will be

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: worship /ˈwɝ.ʃɪp/, devotion /dɪˈvoʊʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, exceptional /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, exceptional /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/, unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/

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 blessing, warrior, worship.

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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