Shadowing Practice: Emily in Paris Last Scene - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
Excuse me?
2
Hey.
3
Oh.
4
I...
5
I...
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I thought you were leaving this morning.
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So did I.
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So, uh, what's the champagne for?
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YOU'RE Last hurrah.
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Quite the opposite.
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I could not bear to see Paris lose its most promising young chef.
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Antoine wants to back me in a restaurant. In.. in Paris? Of course.
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Gabriel belongs here.
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He's too talented to be banished to Normandy.
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- - Ah.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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- Thank you.
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I'll go get another glass.
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Yeah.
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- No. Amen.
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Rien de rien No. Oh.
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I don't regret it.

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Emily in Paris Last Scene”. This video has 23 sentences and 89 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:57. The speaker talks slowly, about 94 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
belong verb/bɪˈlɒŋ/To have its proper place.
regret verb/ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
talented adjective/ˈtæləntɪd/Endowed with one or more talents.
chef noun/ʃɛf/The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
champagne noun/ʃæmˈpeɪn/A sparkling white wine made from a blend of grapes, especially Chardonnay and pinot, produced in Champagne, France, by the méthode champenoise.
banish verb/ˈbænɪʃ/To send (someone) away and forbid them from returning.
hurrah/həˈɹɑː/Expressing approval, appreciation, or happiness.
restaurant noun/ˈɹɛst(ə)ˌɹɑnt/An eating establishment in which diners are served food, usually by waiters at their tables but sometimes (as in a fast food restaurant) at a counter.
opposite adjective/ˈɑ.pə.sɪt/Located directly across from something else, or from each other.
excuse verb/ɪksˈkjuz/To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.
glass noun/ɡlɑːs/An amorphous solid, often transparent substance, usually made by melting silica sand with various additives (for most purposes, a mixture of soda, potash and…
bear verb/bɪɚ/To carry or convey, literally or figuratively.
promise noun/ˈpɹɑmɪs/An oath or affirmation; a vow.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'll, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: chef /ʃɛf/, champagne /ʃæmˈpeɪn/, banish /ˈbænɪʃ/

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 belong, regret, talented.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →