Shadowing Practice: Effy Leaves Katie Alone in the Woods | Skins - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 333 sentences and 1720 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:25. The speaker talks slowly, about 73 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• shake /ˈʃeɪk/ (verb) — To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.
• goodbye /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ — Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.
• mushroom /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/ (noun) — Any of the fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi typically produced above ground on soil or on their food sources (such as decaying wood).
• bug /bʌɡ/ (noun) — An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”).
• cloud /ˈklaʊ̯d/ (noun) — A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
• invite /ɪnˈvaɪt/ (verb) — To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something.
• babe /beɪb/ (noun) — A baby or infant; a very young human or animal.
• float /fləʊt/ (verb) — To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object).
• panda /ˈpɑndə/ (noun) — A brahmin who acts as the hereditary superintendent of a particular ghat or temple, and is regarded as knowledgeable in matters of genealogy and ritual.
• relation /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ (noun) — The manner in which two things may be associated.
• ruin /ˈɹuː.ɪn/ (noun) — The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle.
• lonely /ˈloʊnli/ (adjective) — Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people.
• pine /paɪn/ (noun) — Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus.
• borrow /ˈbɑɹ.oʊ/ (verb) — To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.
• stitch /stɪt͡ʃ/ (noun) — A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• look up /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ (verb) — To have better prospects.
• wake up /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ (verb) — To stop sleeping; to awake.
• fall apart (verb) — To disintegrate, to break into pieces.
• hold on (verb) — To grasp or grip firmly.
• mess with (verb) — To interfere with.
• back off (verb) — To move backwards away from something.
• come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
• come on /ˌkʌm ˈɒn/ — Come along with me; join me in going.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 93 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, breathe /bɹiːð/, beneath /bɪˈniːθ/
• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shake /ˈʃeɪk/, mushroom /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/, relation /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/, smash /smæʃ/, audition /ɑˈdɪʃən/
• Long words — get the stress right: imaginary /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪˌn(ɛ)ɹi/, dyslexia /(ˌ)dɪsˈlɛk.si.ə/, hermaphroditic /həɹˌmæf.ɹəˈdɪ.tɪk/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like shake, goodbye, mushroom.

Grammar in this video

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