Shadowing Practice: English in a Minute: Blow Your Own Horn - Learn English Speaking with Video
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17 sentences
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1
Welcome to English in a Minute.
2
A horn is any kind of musical instrument made of a tube that is usually metal.
3
You blow in it to make sound.
4
How did your music competition go last week?
5
I don't like to blow my own horn, but I did pretty great.
6
I mean, I won.
7
That's a huge deal.
8
Neil, why didn't you say something earlier?
9
I didn't want to brag.
10
Come on.
11
Yes, you did.
12
If someone blows their own horn, they talk about their own successes and skills.
13
In other words, they brag.
14
You can also say toot your own horn, which means the same thing.
15
Jonathan says he doesn't like to blow his own horn, but he sure likes to play it.
16
And that's English in a minute.
17
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “English in a Minute: Blow Your Own Horn”. This video has 17 sentences and 132 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:55. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| horn noun | /hɔɹn/ | A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| tube noun | /tuːb/ | Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape. |
| instrument noun | /ˈɪnstɹəmənt/ | A device used to produce music. |
| brag verb | /bɹæɡ/ | To boast; to talk with excessive pride about what one has, is able to do, or has done; often as an attempt to popularize oneself. |
| toot noun | /ˈtut/ | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| blow verb | /bloʊ/ | To produce an air current. |
| musical adjective | /ˈmju.zɪ.kəl/ | Of, belonging or relating to music, or to its performance or notation. |
| minute noun | /ˈmɪnɪt/ | A unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds). |
| welcome | /ˈwɛl.kəm/ | Greeting given upon someone's arrival. |
| earlier adverb | /ˈɝliɚ/ | previously; before now; sooner |
| competition noun | /ˌkɑm.pəˈtɪʃ.ən/ | The action of competing. |
| metal noun | /ˈmɛ.təl/ | Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms; generally shiny, somewhat malleable and hard… |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How did your music competition go last week?
- Neil, why didn't you say something earlier?
- I didn't want to brag.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | horn, which means |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, doesn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 horn, skill, tube.
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.