Shadowing Practice: English in a Minute: Boils Down To - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
18 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Welcome to English in a Minute.
2
Liquid boils when it is heated to a certain temperature.
3
Boils down to this.
4
So, Jonathan and Anna are probably talking about cooking.
5
Or are they?
6
I got a job offer.
7
That's great.
8
Congratulations.
9
Thanks.
10
But the job is in California.
11
All my friends and family are here in D.C.
12
Look, it boils down to this.
13
Do you really want to move all the way across the country for a job or not?
14
When you boil something down, you remove liquid from it and reduce it to a concentrated form.
15
That's in cooking.
16
But in conversation, when you boil something down, you get to the most important part of a problem or situation.
17
And that's English in a Minute.
18
you
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
A2186
English in a Minute: Make Up Your Mind
American AccentTravel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B1145
English in a Minute: Wishful Thinking
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B141
English in a Minute: To Have Nerve
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B144
English in a Minute: Call It a Day
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B221
English in a Minute: Break Even
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A214
Make Up Your Mind
American AccentTravel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B114
English in a Minute: Divide and Conquer
American AccentTOEIC PrepBusiness EnglishDaily Conversation
A273
Call It A Day
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B140
English in a Minute: Make (One's) Head Swim
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B117
English in a Minute: Under the Hood
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B1112
English in a Minute: Get Out Of Here
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B114
English in a Minute: Sink or Swim
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B177
English in a Minute: When it Rains, it Pours
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B115
English in a Minute: Call It A Day
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B110
English in a Minute: Back to Square One
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B15
English in a Minute: Get On My Nerves
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B24
English in a Minute: The Jury is Still Out
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A210
English in a Minute: Grab a Bite
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B25
English in a Minute: Red Tape
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
A220
English in a Minute: Start from Scratch
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
A2283
24 sentences
A Day in My Life 23: Cooking Rice
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B13
375 sentences
Study English | American English Pronunciation | What Makes American English Sound AMERICAN?
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B17
448 sentences
Real Life English: Phrases for the Kitchen
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B137
13 sentences
ONE-MINUTE ENGLISH: the water
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
18 sentences
Level 1 – Unit 8 : Bubbles in Boiling Water
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B111
387 sentences
Speak English Confidently at Home | Real Conversations | Shadowing English Speaking Practice
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
360 sentences
Speak English Without Fearing Mistakes | Easy English Listening Practice
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B154
1050 sentences
English Podcast For Learning English Conversation 40 Minutes Real English Listening Practice
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B14
197 sentences
give me 14 minutes and I will change how you learn English forever
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B18
348 sentences
Most English Learners Can’t Do This (Fluency Challenge)
British AccentInterview EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “English in a Minute: Boils Down To”. This video has 18 sentences and 127 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:58. The speaker talks at a steady 132 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 11 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| boil verb | /bɔɪ(ə)l/ | To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas. |
| liquid noun | /ˈlɪk.wɪd/ | A substance that is flowing, and keeping no shape, such as water; a substance of which the molecules, while not tending to separate from one another like those… |
| congratulations | /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/ | Expressing praise and approval, expressing approbation. |
| concentrate verb | /ˈkɑn.sən.tɹeɪt/ | To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force. |
| cook verb | /kʊk/ | To prepare food for eating, typically by heating it, combining it with other ingredients, seasoning it, preparing it for serving, etc. |
| temperature noun | /ˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə/ | A measure of cold or heat, often measurable with a thermometer. |
| welcome | /ˈwɛl.kəm/ | Greeting given upon someone's arrival. |
| heat noun | /hit/ | Thermal energy. |
| conversation noun | /ˌkɑn.vəɹˈseɪ.ʃən/ | Expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people; also, a set instance or occasion of such talking. |
| reduce verb | /ɹɪˈd͡ʒuːs/ | To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower. |
| remove verb | /ɹɪˈmuːv/ | To delete. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is heated |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most important |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are probably talking |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, conversation /ˌkɑn.vəɹˈseɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, temperature /ˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə/, conversation /ˌkɑn.vəɹˈseɪ.ʃən/
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 boil, liquid, congratulations.
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.