Shadowing Practice: Ellen Puts Johnny Depp in the Hot Seat - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
We're going to put you on the hot seat, as they say.
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There's no time on this, but so I want you to really think about it, but not too long.
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So what's your first reaction when I say, what is your favorite part of your body?
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Favorite part of your body.
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What do you like the best?
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Back there.
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The back of your head?
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Yeah.
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That's your favorite part of your body.
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For the moment.
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Uh -huh.
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Have you seen that?
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No. OK.
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Like in a mirror, like sometimes when you're in a mirror and you see the back of it, you like it?
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I might get a little tinge of excitement.
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I see.
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I see.
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There's got to be some part of your body that you like.
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Your shoes?
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That's not a part of your body.
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You don't like one part of your body.
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I've had them surgically put on.
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Do you like your ass?
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Wow.
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Mm -hm.
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Like it?
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Mm -hm.
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I accept it.
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OK.
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All right.
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What is your favorite?
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Oh.
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What is your favorite swear word?
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Ass.
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No. Favorite swear word?
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Yeah.
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Really?
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Yeah.
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I'll keep it clean.
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Bollocks.
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All right.
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You're not being honest.
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What is the strangest place you've hooked up with someone?
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What?
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Strangest place you've hooked up with someone.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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Your first celebrity crush?
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A car trunk.
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The trunk of a car.
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A trunk of a car.
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That is not.
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Don't even.
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He's not serious.
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There's no way.
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Enclosed.
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No. I'm closed.
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Who's your first celebrity crush?
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First celebrity crush?
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Carol Channing.
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Oh, god.
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You're no good at this game.
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Who is your favorite talk show host?
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Me. Is it true?
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I got that one.
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I feel good about that one.
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All right, I would ask you more, but you're not going to answer me honestly.
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I will, I will.
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Out of all your co -stars, who's the best kisser?
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Javier Bardem.
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All right, all right.
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Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man Tells Their Tales comes out through May 26.
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We'll be right back.
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Johnny Depp.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Ellen Puts Johnny Depp in the Hot Seat”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: favorite, trunk, crush, celebrity. This video has 74 sentences and 345 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:44. The speaker talks at a steady 126 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 20 of its 74 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| celebrity noun | /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/ | Fame, renown; the state of being famous or talked-about. |
| crush verb | /kɹʌʃ/ | To press between two hard objects; to squeeze so as to alter the natural shape or integrity, or to force together into a mass. |
| trunk noun | /tɹʌŋk/ | The usually single, more or less upright part of a tree, between the roots and the branches. |
| mirror noun | /ˈmiɹɚ/ | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| hook noun | /hʊk/ | A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| excitement noun | /ɪkˈsaɪtmənt/ | The state of being excited (emotionally aroused). |
| carol noun | /ˈkɛɹəl/ | A ballad or song of joy. |
| pirate noun | /ˈpaɪɹət/ | A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns. |
| enclose verb | /ɪnˈkloʊz/ | To surround with a wall, fence, etc. |
| kisser noun | /ˈkɪsɚ/ | One who kisses. |
| surgically adverb | Relating to surgery; by means of surgery. | |
| tinge noun | /tɪnd͡ʒ/ | A small added amount of colour; (by extension) a small added amount of some other thing. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What do you like the best?
- The back of your head?
- What is your favorite swear word?
- What is the strangest place you've hooked up with someone?
- Who's your first celebrity crush?
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 hooked |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · the strangest |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | We're going to put · you're not going to answer |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll keep · We'll be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: crush /kɹʌʃ/, shoe /ˈʃu/
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 celebrity, crush, trunk.
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.