Shadowing Practice: Eating 100 Years of School Lunches! - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
326 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Today, we're eating 100 years of school lunches by time traveling to every decade to taste some of the best
2
and worst foods ever served in a school cafeteria.
3
On top of that, some of the foods are now banned and illegal to serve in school cafeterias, starting with the 1910s.
4
That'll be three cents.
5
Thank you.
6
In the 1910s, a school lunch usually consisted of corn on the cob, potato soup, bread, and some prunes.
7
Now, before we eat this, I feel like we're missing something. Did it help?
8
Wow, I love the fashion in the 1910s!
9
We're gonna love the food even more.
10
Let's dig in.
11
Taste fast.
12
Mmm.
13
Let that mouth do that.
14
Mmm.
15
Actually, it's not bad.
16
You know, this was also the decade that women were allowed to vote.
17
Yes!
18
Go, Power!
19
I would rate this decade two stars out of five.
20
Alright, let's move on to the next decade.
21
1920, here I come.
22
During this decade, alcohol was actually illegal, but also an average school meal cost...
23
Seven cents.
24
Thank you.
25
School lunches consisted of beef stew, rice, pickles, and milk.
26
Now before we eat, this is also the decade where school buses were first introduced.
27
Let's dig in.
28
Oh, finally some meat.
29
Ooh.
30
Eww!
31
Whoa!
32
Wait, why did I hear some sucking sound?
33
What was up with that?
34
Oh, this rice is good.
35
I can dip my grilled cheese.
36
You know the 20s are often referred to as the roaring 20s.
37
This is when women started wearing dresses, showing their shoulders, knees, and ankles.
38
Oh, is that where the turn?
39
You know, this is when milk was first introduced in the cafeteria.
40
Because milkmen would deliver them fresh every day.
41
Mmm.
42
That milk is good!
43
Do y'all have any more?
44
Oh, the milkman's actually right there.
45
I think he's delivering some milk to the boss.
46
Here, go, go, go, go, go!
47
Get him, get him!
48
Mr. Milkman!
49
Got any extra milk?
50
Wait, where's the milk?
51
RIGHT HERE!
52
I think I would break this meal like...
53
Wait, did you hear that? Are you okay?
54
What are we doing?
55
We're just trying to- Let's just travel to the next decade.
56
In the 1930s, a school lunch cost 10 cents.
57
This was the decade of the Great Depression where families were living in poverty and some even died of starvation.
58
And you won't believe
59
that this was the decade of the Great Depression where families were living in poverty and some even died of starvation.
60
And you won't believe what people had to eat at school lunch.
61
Uh, what the hell is that?
62
We're in a great depression.
63
You're lucky to even get this.
64
Now 10 cents.
65
So a school lunch in the 1930s was a raw onion stuffed with peanut butter, vegetable broth, milk, and some mixed veggies.
66
Before we actually eat our food, we have a special guest who went through the Great Depression to tell us what
67
that was like and if the school lunch is accurate or not.
68
Yeah, this is it.
69
This is what we got.
70
It's pretty accurate.
71
Alright, what should we eat first?
72
Oh, you always gotta eat the vegetable broth first.
73
Okay, let's dig in.
74
Doesn't look too good, but what choice we got?
75
I don't know.
76
What is that?
77
Eugh.
78
Three, two, one.
79
What the hell is that?
80
It's water.
81
We use the water to wash the vegetables to vegetables and then it turns into vegetable broth.
82
Pretty good, huh?
83
Back in the day, this was a delicacy.
84
You could only have it if you could afford it.
85
In case you guys were wondering, we're wearing potato sacks and is that actually what you guys wore back then?
86
Yeah, everybody wore potato sacks.
87
They would use the fabric from the potato sacks.
88
I used to love my potato sack shirt.
89
Now onto my favorite dish, stuffed onion with peanut butter.
90
You guys would actually eat that?
91
Oh, yeah.
92
I'm not gonna try it.
93
Bro, you try it, please.
94
I'm only doing this for you guys.
95
Oh, dude.
96
No. Am I actually doing this?
97
Okay, three, two, one.
98
How would you guys eat good?
99
You ever been so hungry you ate sleep for dinner?
100
When we were hungry, we slept.
101
Kids nowadays have it so easy.
102
Let's hope the next decade is better.
103
He wouldn't have lasted five seconds back in my day.
104
Don't even know how to eat a peanut butter onion properly.
105
Now we're in the 1940s where Coke was first introduced in school lunches, but was quickly removed because during the time Coke had actual Coke as one of the ingredients.
106
In the 1940s, school lunch costs 25 cents.
107
Got some coke?
108
The school lunch in the 1940s consisted of Spanish rice and eggs, hominy grits, and milk.
109
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
110
Before we eat, you know a lot of kids were sent home during this decade due to the funding drop from World War II, leaving a lot of kids without food for lunch.
111
That honestly really is sad.
112
Ballistic in!
113
Woah woah woah woah!
114
They took this for us, man!
115
This is so much better than prison food!
116
Oh my god, I don't wanna eat anymore!
117
I mean, if that doesn't tell you that this food is good, then I don't know what will.
118
Hell yeah!
119
You know, this reminds me, a lot of kids actually fought over food during this decade
120
Because this was their only meal of the day
121
and that's where the term give me your lunch money actually comes from lunch money Give me one second
122
Oh no!
123
I think I need to go to the nurse's office!
124
In the 1950s, a school lunch cost 35 cents.
125
An average school lunch would consist of a sloppy joe, tomatoes, milk, and ice cream.
126
So we're outside eating because this is actually where the greasers ate.
127
I caught a sloppy joe.
128
I'm actually so excited to eat this.
129
Before you eat the tomato, what's one part of the vegetable you can't eat?
130
Imagine if you finish the joke.
131
Alright, let's actually dig in now.
132
I like this.
133
You guys want a bite?
134
Mmm.
135
Mmm.
136
You guys want a bite?
137
Whose idea was this?
138
I've never seen anyone just eat tomatoes like this.
139
So an interesting fact, over 50% of the kids stayed for a school dinner as well due to the baby boomer phase, where the population dramatically increased.
140
Hence the term boomer.
141
Hey, thank you for the food.
142
Yeah?
143
Tell me about it, stud!
144
I got chills, they're multiplying.
145
Oh, how was the food?
146
Electrifying!
147
Next decade?
148
In the 1960s, school lunch was increased to 50 cents because everyone's favorite food was added to the menu, pizza.
149
My lady and ladies.
150
The average school lunch at the time consisted of pizza, salad, jello, and apple juice.
151
I'm excited to eat this pizza.
152
You guys want to split it half for me and you guys split the other half?
153
What if we just all take a bite?
154
That seems more reasonable.
155
They had regular pizza, but like square pizza's just like more popular.
156
Oh my God.
157
That was so much better.
158
What that mouth do though?
159
That's actually good pizza.
160
I know.
161
It's like better than a square for some pizza.
162
Why don't they make pizza like this anymore?
163
Seriously, think about it.
164
It's like the school pizza now is so bad.
165
This was actually when the lunch box was first advertised on TV and the moon landing happened.
166
It didn't happen.
167
Scientifically, it's just, you know, I'm gonna control myself.
168
Wait, you actually don't believe in a moon landing?
169
No!
170
Wait, you actually not?
171
I don't.
172
You don't believe in a moon landing?
173
I think it's fake.
174
I think that when it costed more money to fake it, didn't do it for real.
175
Agree to disagree.
176
But me landing on that ass was real.
177
Hey, yo!
178
What do you think of the meal overall?
179
Well, the Jell-O was good.
180
The pizza was good.
181
And ladies, you can have a pizza meet.
182
In the 1970s, school lunch cost 75 cents.
183
And it consisted of a hamburger, fries, pudding, and Coke.
184
This looks good.
185
This is the year when school lunches became the most unhealthy.
186
Yeah, this is probably Alex's favorite year.
187
Dang.
188
Dude, this pudding is good!
189
I don't think pudding would be good for you, Alex.
190
Please.
191
You shouldn't be eating anymore.
192
No, I actually- no!
193
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
194
Dude, barely fit in that outfit.
195
Dude, that pudding is so good.
196
There's actually a hole right here.
197
Actually, a button did pop out.
198
Alright, let's try the main course.
199
A cold cheeseburger.
200
How is it?
201
I love it.
202
It's good?
203
Yeah, but it's a little bit red inside.
204
Yeah, it's a little too raw for me.
205
I don't know if I trust them.
206
Yeah, it's about the next decade's a little bit better than this.
207
In the 1980s, school lunch cost $1.
208
Thank you.
209
And they consisted of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, brownies, corn, and apple juice.
210
All right, so 1980s was actually Year of the Jocks.
211
Yeah, I'm happy we time traveled to this timeline.
212
Because give me them Jock Pucks.
213
Hey, yo.
214
Oh, my gosh.
215
Yeah, oh yeah, chop-ball.
216
Oh, hey!
217
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
218
A few moments later.
219
Why don't you try the balls later and try some meat?
220
Yeah.
221
How's that?
222
Pretty good?
223
Yeah, I'm gonna try the chicken.
224
That is one big chicken nugget.
225
Whoa.
226
I know this is unhealthy, this is really good.
227
I will say this, I know this tastes good, but federal budget cuts reduced school lunches by one billion dollars, which is why in the 1980s they had highly processed food.
228
Probably it's gonna give us upset stomachs.
229
Wait, my stomach hurts.
230
I don't know if I want to finish this meal after that.
231
Did you guys hear that?
232
Let's just go on to the next decade.
233
In the 1990s, school lunch cost $1.25, but that's when the welfare program came out, so I ain't paying.
234
An average school lunch would consist of McDonald's, Pizza Hut, or Taco Bell, along with a side dish and lemonade.
235
This is what I eat every day.
236
Nah, that's way too much food, Tanner.
237
Nah, not enough.
238
Let's dig in.
239
Oh.
240
I feel like this was definitely everyone's favorite school lunches, but this is why everyone got obese.
241
Unhealthy is what you talking about.
242
This wasn't served every single day.
243
I think it was only served on Fridays.
244
Damn it!
245
We should probably stop eating and go to the next decade before we all get too fast.
246
I think it's too late for that.
247
In the 2000s, school lunch now skyrocketed to $1.75.
248
Let me get that number.
249
For $1.75, you would get mini corn dogs, hash browns, a pear, chocolate milk, and fruit roll-up.
250
Ooh, this is the OG fruit roll up.
251
I remember this from first grade
252
and corn dogs I used to trade the little wieners for other people's corn bread
253
because I didn't like I didn't like the wieners Yes, but I like the corn bread and it was always Sean who wanted the wiener.
254
Yeah Going back to it like it was definitely weird for someone to accept the wiener Oh my gosh,
255
I feel like I'm six years old again.
256
I know.
257
It's pretty good.
258
And as you guys can see, the meals were slightly getting healthier due to the alarming rates of obesity in the 90s.
259
Glad I didn't grow up in that time, Erica.
260
You would be even fatter.
261
I would see a lot of kids playing fruit roll up chicken.
262
I actually want to play, to try it out.
263
You're gonna face Alan.
264
Okay.
265
And you're gonna stick the fruit roll up in your mouth, and you guys are gonna keep eating it, and the first person to chicken out loses.
266
Go!
267
Yeah!
268
Yeah, let me join the fun.
269
Let me join, let me join!
270
Keep going!
271
You're not even close!
272
Save some room for me, guys.
273
I'm done, I quit!
274
I quit!
275
That was way too close.
276
But ladies, I wouldn't chicken out with you.
277
Let's move on to the next decade.
278
In 2010, which is actually both of our years, school lunch was around $2.50 for us.
279
And the average meal consisted of spaghetti and meatballs, a bread roll, green beans, and fat-free milk.
280
And you guys might be wondering why we're in the school restroom.
281
And it's cause we've eaten lunch quite a few times in here.
282
Yeah, we eat in the big handicap stall.
283
It was the most awkward thing grabbing your lunch trying to find somewhere to sit when there was nowhere to sit, so we would actually eat in the restroom.
284
Yeah.
285
But alright, let's try the food.
286
I'll try the bread roll.
287
Mmm.
288
Yeah, this is weird.
289
The spaghetti and meatballs might look good, but they taste way too healthy.
290
Yes, the 2010s had the worst tasting food because of how healthy they tried to make it.
291
Just like back then, I'm hungry so I'm just gonna eat.
292
It's so much of a shit
293
Jump into the next decade before that happens to us.
294
For this decade, school lunches skyrocketed up to $5, but usually consisted of a healthy meat wrap, mac and cheese, carrots, bananas, and apple juice.
295
And before we eat this meal, we actually have a very special guest here, a subscriber.
296
When you say the school lunch is accurate, is this something you've eaten at school before?
297
This is pretty accurate, but I feel like there's a lot more options that could be put on this plate.
298
And how much is a school lunch now?
299
$5.
300
Oh.
301
Whoa!
302
Whoa!
303
Whoa!
304
You could buy a hundred meals from the 1920s.
305
I could buy lotion with $5.
306
What do you want to try first?
307
What's your favorite this year?
308
Banana.
309
Banana?
310
Come on, banana.
311
Whoa!
312
Do the kids make fun of you at school if you eat a banana, if a guy eats a banana, or do you have to chop it up and eat it with a fork?
313
Some people are weird about it.
314
Alright, well let's dig in.
315
I like this.
316
I wish this was around when I went to school.
317
We just had cold pizza.
318
Now that we were done with our meal, we had one giant surprise for our subscriber.
319
Alright, so in our last video, we mentioned that we would be giving away a special surprise to a subscriber.
320
You can open your eyes.
321
You're joking, right?
322
This is yours.
323
It's yours.
324
Ashley?
325
Yes.
326
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B21
417 sentences
ONLY eating at KOREAN CONVENIENCE STORES for 24 hours!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2464 sentences
Can Millie Bobby Brown Turn These Kids Into Movie Stars?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B227 sentences
Annabel Crabb tours a 1970s corner shop | Back In Time For The Corner Shop | ABC TV + iview
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
109 sentences
VEGAN SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS » healthy + easy (bento box)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
578 sentences
Nasty Cooking
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B26
283 sentences
Learn English Through REAL Conversations | A2–B2 Listening & Speaking Practice!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
450 sentences
Class of 09 Nicole's brother gets arrested route.
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
127 sentences
We Left the USA -- Something is Very Wrong with the Food in America
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
378 sentences
Foodies vs Picky Eaters: We Try Each Other's Favorite Dishes ⎹ Taste Wars
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
356 sentences
Learning English at a Dairy Farm!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
554 sentences
I'm Trapped in a Buffet Until I Eat Every Item
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2210 sentences
Eating for Muscle Growth | Full day of eating on a Bulk
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Eating 100 Years of School Lunches!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: lunch, eat, decade, pizza, milk. This video has 325 sentences and 2448 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:21. The speaker talks at a steady 141 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 51 of its 325 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| whoa | /woʊ/ | Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down. |
| consist noun | /kənˈsɪst/ | A lineup or sequence of railroad carriages or cars, with or without a locomotive, that form a unit. |
| vegetable noun | /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/ | A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice… |
| banana noun | /bəˈnænə/ | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. |
| potato noun | /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/ | The edible starchy tuber of the plant species Solanum tuberosum. |
| corn noun | /ˈkɔːn/ | Any cereal plant (or its grain) that is the main crop or staple of a country or region. |
| coke noun | /koʊk/ | Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel. |
| wiener noun | /ˈwiːnɚ/ | A type of sausage made from beef, chicken or pork. |
| pudding noun | /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ | Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming or from batter. |
| sack noun | /sæk/ | A bag; especially a large bag of strong, coarse material for storage and handling of various commodities, such as potatoes, coal, coffee; or, a bag with… |
| broth noun | /bɹɔθ/ | Water in which food (meat, vegetable, etc.) has been boiled. |
| cafeteria noun | /ˌkæ.fə.ˈtɪ(ə).ɹi.ə/ | A restaurant in which customers select their food at a counter then carry it on a tray to a table to eat. |
| subscriber noun | /səbˈskɹaɪbɚ/ | A person who subscribes to a publication or a service. |
| unhealthy adjective | /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/ | Characterized by, or conducive to poor health. |
| tomato noun | /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| roll up verb | To dominate by accumulating; to become dominant by accumulating. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| give away verb | To make a gift of (something). | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| pop out verb | To appear on the screen as a temporary window or menu. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Wait, why did I hear some sucking sound?
- Doesn't look too good, but what choice we got?
- Wait, you actually don't believe in a moon landing?
- You don't believe in a moon landing?
- What's your favorite this year?
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 now banned · were allowed · are often referred |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've never seen · we've eaten · you've eaten |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 69 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: broth /bɹɔθ/, unhealthy /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: starvation /stɑɹˈveɪʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, dish /dɪʃ/, lotion /ˈloʊʃən/, mash /mæʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: cafeteria /ˌkæ.fə.ˈtɪ(ə).ɹi.ə/, delicacy /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/, electrify /ɪˈlɛktɹɪfaɪ/, scientifically /ˌsaɪ.ənˈtɪfɪkli/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/
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 whoa, consist, vegetable.
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.