Shadowing Practice: Drywall Patching Secrets for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Drywall patching is a common DIY project, but even experienced homeowners can make mistakes.
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This video reveals the secrets to patching drywall like a pro, providing easy -to -follow tips and tricks for beginners to achieve professional -looking results.
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Sometimes you have to make holes in drywall for an upgrade.
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So in this case, I have to do
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that for an old toilet paper holder that my client asked me to remove and replace.
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So I'm scoring the perimeter using a utility knife.
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If there's any sealant around that,
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like silicone, it's best to score it so that when you take it out with a hammer like I'm doing here,
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you're not going to make a bigger hole than what you need.
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Obviously, I'm left with a big hole, but here's a big drywall tip to make this so much easier to patch.
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I take a piece of drywall that's about two inches bigger on all sides.
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And what I do is I score the back of that
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and remove the drywall portion to leave a two -inch paper outline that I can then cover the perimeter of the hole.
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I carefully removed that piece of drywall without tearing the paper.
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And what I have here is a big patch that'll work perfectly for the hole that's inside the wall.
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Unfortunately, owning Reynolds for over 20 years has taught me one thing.
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And that is, if something can be destroyed, it will be destroyed.
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So I highly recommend putting wood blocking behind this repair or anything that's similar to it.
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That way, whenever you add your drywall repair, it's going to be pretty darn solid.
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When I add these screws in place, I just make sure that they're dimpled and slightly below the paper around the repair that I'm making.
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I add two pieces of blocking on the top and the bottom.
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Ideally, if you're going to be adding the new toilet paper holder, it would anchor into these pieces of wood.
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To make this patch strong, I do two things.
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The first one is to push the new patch into the wall and add two screws at the top and the bottom.
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If you're wondering, I'm simply using 1 and 5 -8 inch coarse threaded drywall screws because I'm working with wood here.
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And I make sure that they're slightly dimpled so that it doesn't interfere with the next step.
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Before I mention the second thing I do to make this strong, I want to also tell you about the tools I'm using.
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I'm using level 5 drywall tools because they work great.
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If you have to make multiple drywall repairs, these are fantastic.
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So I'm applying joint compound between the old wall and the 2 inch flap of paper.
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And the reason why I do that is I smooth it out and this is going to create a nice strong patch.
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By the way, the reason why this is going to be strong and it's going to be fast, more than that in a moment,
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is because I'm using setting type joint compound.
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The key here in the secret is to make sure that that paper, the purple paper, is flat up against the old drywall.
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That's going to make your patch look professional in the end.
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I take a lot of time to make this look as flat as possible and then I fill in that slight depression.
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Remember, I mentioned that I want this to be slightly depressed so that when I use the six inch,
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or in this case, I'm using a 10 inch knife, that will look so much better.
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It'll actually make it easier for me to fill in with the joint compound.
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I do multiple passes here.
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The 10 inch knife helps me smooth out the new patch with the old wall.
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And I let that set up for about an hour and a half.
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By the way, the biggest problem with drywall patches is the joint compound.
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That's why I use EasySand 45.
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Even though it says EasySand 45, it does take about an hour and a half to cure.
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So I set a timer for an hour and a half, and then that makes it easy to come back and sand it down smooth.
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I do like EasySand 45 because it's a very quick patch, and then I use a 12 -inch joint compound knife to apply my final coat.
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In some cases, I will do a third or fourth coat if I want this to be super smooth,
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but usually after that third coat, I'm good to go.
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So you need a 10 inch, a 12 inch, and a six inch knife for this.
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One of the biggest mistakes folks make is not priming the new drywall patch.
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I'm using Kills 2 with Purdy White Dove rollers.
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I've been using these for over 20 years and the reason why is they just simply work.
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Kills 2 is absolutely needed to prime the patch so
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that you can add a top coat and it won't peel off the wall.
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The way I apply the Kills 2 is pretty simple.
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I roll it on
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and then I go back over it by one half length of the roller
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and this will give me a nice solid primed wall such
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that you won't be able to see the patch in the end
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you can see here
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it blends in nicely with the old drywall normally the kills 2 will cure in a few hours
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and then i can add my top coat and
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if you're really fast you can do this entire project in one day
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and make it look pretty darn awesome
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so those are some secrets for patching drywall i hope these tips help you out
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if they did give this video a thumbs up and And I'll see you in the next one.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Drywall Patching Secrets for Beginners”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: drywall, patch, inch, paper, wall. This video has 67 sentences and 965 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:36. The speaker talks fast, about 210 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 79% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| patch noun | /pæt͡ʃ/ | A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a… |
| knife noun | /ˈnaɪ̯f/ | A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge… |
| coat noun | /ˈkoʊ̯t/ | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. |
| compound noun | /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/ | Anything made by combining several things. |
| repair verb | /ˈɹiːpɛɚ/ | To restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy. |
| smooth adjective | /smuːð/ | Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough. |
| cure verb | /kjɔː/ | To restore to health. |
| toilet verb | /ˈtɔɪ.lət/ | To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet. |
| holder noun | /ˈhoʊɫdɚ/ | A thing that holds. |
| roller noun | /ˈɹoʊlɚ/ | Any rotating cylindrical device that is part of a machine, especially one used to apply or reduce pressure. |
| perimeter noun | /pɪˈɹɪm.ɪ.tə/ | The sum of the distance of all the lengths of the sides of an object. |
| darn verb | /dɑɹn/ | To repair by stitching with thread or yarn, particularly by using a needle to construct a weave across a damaged area of fabric. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| sand noun | /sænd/ | Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
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 | can be destroyed · be slightly depressed · is absolutely needed |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the biggest |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm scoring · I'm doing · I'm making |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | that'll work · will be · will look |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, thread /ˈθɹɛd/, thumb /ˈθʌm/
- Long words — get the stress right: perimeter /pɪˈɹɪm.ɪ.tə/, utility /juːˈtɪlɪti/, ideally /aɪˈdi.ə.li/
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 patch, knife, coat.
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.