Shadowing Practice: english file elementary 7.1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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7 .1
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This painting is a self -portrait by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.
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Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands on the 30th of March 1853.
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His parents weren't poor.
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His father was a church minister, and his mother was an artist.
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Van Gogh's first job was in his uncle's company selling paintings.
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But later, he was a teacher in England, and finally a painter.
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We only really know what he looked like because of his many self -portraits.
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Only three photographs of him exist, and they are all from when he was young.
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This portrait is from his time in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888, when he was 35.
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He was very poor, but he was happy because of the beautiful light and colours there.
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This portrait was a present for his friend, the painter Paul Gauguin.
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Gauguin and Van Gogh were together in Arles for a month.
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Van Gogh was not strong mentally, and the relationship between them was difficult.
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After a big fight, Van Gogh cut off his ear and was in a mental hospital for some time.
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He died on the 29th of July 1890.
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He was only 37 years old.
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His paintings weren't popular during his lifetime, and he was never rich or famous.
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But today, people think that Vincent van Gogh is one of the greatest painters in the world,
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and his paintings, like Sunflowers and The Starry Night, sell for millions of pounds.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 19 sentences and 238 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:55. The speaker talks at a steady 124 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.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- portrait /ˈpɔɹtɹət/ (noun) — A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders.
- painter /ˈpeɪntɚ/ (noun) — An artist who paints pictures.
- lifetime /ˈlaɪf.taɪm/ (noun) — The duration of the life of someone or something.
- pound /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ (noun) — A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
- photograph /ˈfoʊ.təˌɡɹæf/ (noun) — A picture created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor, etc.
- mentally /ˈmɛntəli/ (adverb) — In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.
- colours (noun) — Flag denoting the nationality of a vessel, flown from the stern.
- painting /ˈpeɪ.nɪŋ/ (noun) — An illustration or artwork done with the use of paint.
- paint /peɪnt/ (verb) — To apply paint to.
- sell /sɛl/ (verb) — To transfer goods or provide services in exchange for money.
- rich /ˈɹɪt͡ʃ/ (adjective) — Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions.
- teacher /ˈti.t͡ʃɚ/ (noun) — A person who teaches, especially one employed in a school; preceptor.
- famous /ˈfeɪ.məs/ (adjective) — Well known.
- artist /ˈɑɹ.tɪst/ (noun) — A person who creates art.
- exist /ɪɡˈzɪst/ (verb) — to be; have existence; have being or reality
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- cut off /ˌkʌt ˈɔf/ [ˌkɐɾ ˈɔf] (verb) — To remove by cutting.
- die on (verb) — To die under the care or watch of (someone).
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 portrait, painter, lifetime.
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.