Shadowing Practice: English in a Minute: Back to Square One - Learn English Speaking with Video
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16 sentences
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1
Welcome to English in a Minute.
2
Unless you know American English, you might have trouble understanding what this means.
3
Back to square one.
4
Where and what is square one?
5
And why would you go there?
6
Let's listen.
7
I'm not having a good day.
8
I'm sorry to hear that.
9
What happened?
10
My boss did not like my video project.
11
She told me to redo it.
12
So now I have to go back to square one.
13
If you go back to square one, it means you have to start over on something.
14
This comes from a game board and the idea that the game begins on the first square.
15
So if you go back to square one, you are going back to the beginning of something.
16
And that's English in a Minute.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “English in a Minute: Back to Square One”. This video has 16 sentences and 130 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:55. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 3 of its 16 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 8 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| redo verb | /ɹiˈduː/ | To do again. |
| square noun | /skwɛə/ | A polygon with four straight sides of equal length and four right angles; an equilateral rectangle; a regular quadrilateral. |
| beginning noun | /bɪˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/ | The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort… |
| welcome | /ˈwɛl.kəm/ | Greeting given upon someone's arrival. |
| unless | /ɪnˈlɛs/ | Except on a specified condition; if not. |
| begin verb | /bɪˈɡɪn/ | To start, to initiate or take the first step into something. |
| trouble noun | /ˈt͡ʃɹʌbəl/ | A distressing or dangerous situation. |
| boss noun | /bɔs/ | One who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might have |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm not having · are going |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to go · have to start |
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 redo, square, beginning.
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.