Shadowing Practice: Download unavailable - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 335 sentences and 3182 words to shadow. The speech runs for 24:14. The speaker talks at a steady 131 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 |
|---|---|---|
| greed noun | /ɡɹiːd/ | A selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possessions. |
| lick verb | /lɪk/ | To stroke with the tongue. |
| yell verb | /jɛl/ | To shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement. |
| misery noun | /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹi/ | Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe. |
| brute noun | /bɹuːt/ | A person with the characteristics of an unthinking animal; a coarse or brutal person, particularly one who is dim-witted. |
| cleverness noun | /ˈklɛvɚnəs/ | The property of being clever. |
| enslave verb | /ɪnˈsleɪv/ | To make subservient; to strip one of freedom; enthrall. |
| liberate verb | /ˈlɪbəˌɹeɪt/ | Often followed by from: to allow or cause (someone or something) to be free; to set free, to release. |
| unlove noun | The lack, absence, or omission of love; lovelessness; enmity; neglect; hate. | |
| despise verb | /dɪˈspaɪz/ | To regard with contempt or scorn. |
| unfit adjective | /ʌnˈfɪt/ | Not fit; not having the correct requirements. |
| erase verb | /ɪˈɹeɪs/ | To remove (markings or information). |
| dictator noun | /ˈdɪkˌteɪtəɹ/ | An authoritarian leader of a country, nation, or government. |
| despair noun | /dɪˈspɛə(ɹ)/ | Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency. |
| yourselves | /jəˈsɛlvz/ | You (plural), used to intensify the subject as the group addressed. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
| head out verb | To leave, depart; to go on ahead. |
| do away with verb | To abolish; to put an end to; to eliminate. |
| move forward verb | To cause to make progress. |
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. |
| walk away verb | To withdraw from a problematic situation. |
| clean off verb | To remove (something) by cleaning; to thoroughly clean (something) or make (something) bare. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You're thinking, did he fire six shots or only five?
- You think I'm licked?
- You all think I'm licked?
- You got a thing for swans?
- You know what occurred to me?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you want to stay here, I'll stay · if you look around, you'll say · If I asked you about art, you'd probably |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've done · have reserved · has been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been erased · are liberated · been laid |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | man who knows · those who can · men who fear |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 149 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: fathom /ˈfæðəm/, brotherhood /ˈbɹʌðɚˌhʊd/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: machinery /məˈʃiːnəɹi/, inflation /ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/, aspiration /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/, bloodshed /ˈblʌdˌʃɛd/
- Long words — get the stress right: machinery /məˈʃiːnəɹi/, aspiration /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/, encapsulate /ɪnˈkæps(j)ʊˌleɪt/, humiliate /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/, intolerance /ɪnˈtɑ.lə.ɹəns/
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 greed, lick, yell.
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.












