Shadowing Practice: English Comprehension & Conversation Practice (Lesson #12) + English Questions - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Well hello all of my students.
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Well hello all of my students.
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I hope you're having a fantastic day.
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My name is Jay.
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Today's lesson is to strengthen your listening and comprehension ability.
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This will not be like one of my normal English lessons
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so if you're watching on YouTube you can follow along on the screen to practice and improve your English reading skills.
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I do have a playlist with the same types of lessons on the channel so you can also study and enjoy.
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The link is below.
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Now remember, listen to understand as I read and speak at a pace you can follow.
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If you comprehend today's story,
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which I put together myself,
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you should be able to answer the three questions at the end.
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Let's dive into today's story.
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Street food is food that is prepared and sold in public places like sidewalks,
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parks, markets, or busy streets.
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A sidewalk is the path next to a road where people walk
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and sometimes people use the sidewalk to ride their bike as well.
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Street food is popular because it is usually fast,
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affordable, and full of flavor.
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I often call street food authentic.
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Some of the best Mexican food I've had was on the streets of Tijuana and in the city of Oakland.
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Ooh, it was so good.
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I enjoy certain types of street food.
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Many people enjoy buying street food during lunch breaks,
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festivals, or while walking around a city.
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Here in the United States,
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we have fairs and at a fair people have street food for sale.
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And a fair is where you go and spend time with family and friends.
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They have rides, they have games,
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and it's usually in the summer months or in the fall when the weather begins to cool off.
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Different countries have different types of street food.
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In Mexico, people often enjoy tacos and grilled corn.
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And I must say, I have started eating roasted or grilled corn from a restaurant called Longhorn.
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Oh, they put seasoning salt and cheese on it.
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I believe it's Parmesan cheese.
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It's so good.
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And so I enjoy Mexican street food.
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In Japan, you might see vendors selling noodles or seafood snacks.
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A vendor is a person who sells food or products to customers.
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In the United States, popular street foods include hot dogs,
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pretzels, barbecue, and fried chicken.
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Street food is often connected to culture and community.
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Community.
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Families and friends gather around food stands to eat, talk, and relax.
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And notice this picture I have here of some grilled or roasted corn.
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Oh, that looks so good.
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Put some butter on it, a little pepper.
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That looks so good.
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I'm getting hungry.
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A food stand is a small place where food is prepared and sold quickly.
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These places are often busy and full of energy.
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Now, when I was younger,
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street food vendors usually only took cash.
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But now, due to technology,
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Of course, people now take Apple Pay,
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Cash App, Demo, just different ways to accept digital money.
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The smells, sounds, and conversations create an exciting atmosphere.
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Ooh, I don't know what that is, but it looks delicious.
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In recent years, food trucks have become very popular.
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A food truck is a large vehicle where people cook and sell food.
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Sometimes they have in different cities what is called a food truck park.
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And you can go to the park and there may be 10 or 20 trucks selling different types of food.
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The first time I went to a food truck park was in Birmingham, Alabama.
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and who knew that the food would be
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so good there was this guy who was not hispanic he
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was actually a black guy selling burrito tacos oh my goodness they were
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so delicious you had one woman selling homemade lemonades
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and they were various flavors you had people selling desserts oh i'm getting hungry talking about it right now.
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Many food trucks move to different locations during the day and use social media to tell customers where they will be.
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Social media includes apps and websites like Instagram,
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Facebook, and TikTok where people share videos, photos, and updates online.
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Today, more people are also selling food directly from their homes.
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Because the cost of living has increased,
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many adults are searching for ways to earn extra money.
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The cost of living means the amount of money needed to pay for housing,
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food, transportation, and daily expenses.
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I actually saw some videos on TikTok of people selling food through Facebook Marketplace.
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So they were such good cooks.
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They did not have a food truck.
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They could not afford to start a restaurant,
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so they started making meals from their home,
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advertising on Facebook, and people would come and pick it up.
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Oh, the guy would show the pictures of the food.
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One woman had oxtails, which my wife loves.
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What was it?
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Loaded baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese, greens.
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oh, just one person had lobster and steak.
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I can't watch those videos too long without getting hungry.
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Some people cook meals, desserts,
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or snacks at home and advertise them online using social media.
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Customers then place orders and pick up the food and have it delivered or have it delivered.
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This has created new business opportunities for families and individuals.
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Here's a fun fact.
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Some street food businesses become so successful that they eventually open restaurants.
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A restaurant is a place where people sit down to order and eat meals.
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And of course, all of my advanced English learners, you know that.
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But bear with me.
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We have so many different levels of learning here on the channel.
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OK, what starts as one small food cart or food truck can grow into a large business over time?
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I even like some of the fruit stands that people have fresh fruits.
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And I've seen some people sell popcorn with different flavors,
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lemon pepper popcorn, cotton candy flavored popcorn.
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One of my favorites is Italian ice or some people just do ice cream.
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So there are so many different creative people that have food trucks and they sell their creative dishes to the public.
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Street food also teaches an important lesson about creativity and hard work.
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Many street food sellers wake up very early,
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prepare ingredients, cook for long hours and serve customers with a smile.
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Notice this street food district.
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I'm not sure what country this is in,
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but you see the people out and about enjoying the food that has been prepared right on the streets.
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Their success often comes from consistency, patience, and good service.
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Learning English is similar.
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Progress may start small, but small daily effort can grow into something much bigger.
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Every time you practice listening,
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reading or speaking, you are building your skills little by little.
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And that's why I encourage you guys to practice every day.
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And I have hundreds of free English lessons that not only educate you,
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but also entertain you.
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As we finish today's lesson,
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remember that learning English is a journey.
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Stay curious, stay patient and continue practicing one step at a time.
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Now, before you go, I have a few questions I want you to think about and I want you to answer.
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OK, number one, what did you learn from today's story?
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Number two, what was the most interesting part of the story?
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And number three, can you connect something from the story to your own life?
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You know, for me, I like how I brought out that building a street food business is a process.
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It takes time.
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And that connected with me,
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not just when it comes to teaching English,
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but just dealing with life.
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You know, we all make mistakes.
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We all go through tough times,
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but life is a journey.
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And so we learn from our mistakes.
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We learn from our mess ups.
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And then we use that wisdom to improve our life on this journey.
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So whatever you may be going through,
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whether it's learning English or dealing with a difficult season in your life,
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Remember, it's a journey.
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Take your time, gather the wisdom,
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learn from it, and then strive to make your life better.
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And to me, that's more than just learning English.
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That's just life in general.
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Well, I'm hungry now.
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I've talked about all of this street food and it has made me very, very hungry.
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So with that being said,
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I hope you have enjoyed today's comprehension practice lesson.
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Also, I consider it an English listening and reading lesson as well.
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As always, make sure you listen to today's lesson at least twice,
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once with the subtitles on and once with the subtitles off.
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OK, with that being said,
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I hope you enjoy the rest of this beautiful day.
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Get some rest so you can join me on my next English lesson.
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I'll see you then.
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Bye bye.
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Context & Background
In this lesson, Jay introduces a unique format focused on improving English listening and comprehension skills through engaging storytelling. The lesson centers around the vibrant and diverse world of street food, providing learners with culturally enriched content that not only enhances vocabulary but also fosters an understanding of conversational English. By choosing this topic, Jay demonstrates how everyday conversations can revolve around familiar experiences, thus aiding any English learner in grasping real-life language use. Additionally, the video format allows learners to follow along visually, making it a practical choice for those seeking to learn English with YouTube.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “Street food is food that is prepared and sold in public places.” - A useful way to describe food culture.
- “Many people enjoy buying street food during lunch breaks.” - Highlights a common social practice.
- “A vendor is a person who sells food or products to customers.” - Essential terminology for discussing commerce.
- “Street food is often connected to culture and community.” - This phrase emphasizes the cultural significance of food.
- “Put some butter on it, a little pepper.” - Casual dialogue reflecting personal taste and preferences.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively improve your English pronunciation and comprehension through this lesson, follow these structured steps:
- Watch the video without subtitles first: This will help you gauge your understanding and listen actively. Focus on how Jay articulates words and phrases about street food.
- Take notes: Jot down any new vocabulary or phrases that stand out to you. This is essential for reinforcing your learning and enhancing your language toolkit.
- Play the video with subtitles: This will provide a visual aid, allowing you to connect spoken words with written text, making it easier to follow along and understand the context.
- Shadow the dialogue: Use the shadowspeak technique by repeating what Jay says immediately after he says it. This helps in mimicking pronunciation and intonation, thus enhancing your ability to improve English pronunciation.
- Practice regularly: Return to this lesson as a part of your routine. Regular practice on this shadowing site will solidify your comprehension and speaking abilities, making you more confident in everyday conversations.
By incorporating these steps into your learning journey, you’ll be able to efficiently learn English with YouTube while experiencing the rich cultural tapestry that street food represents. Using these techniques, not only will you enhance your comprehension, but you’ll also become more fluent and comfortable in your English-speaking skills.
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.
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