Shadowing Practice: English in a Minute: Calling Someone's Bluff - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Welcome to English in a Minute.
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When people are bluffing, are they telling the truth?
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Let's listen.
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Call someone's bluff.
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Oh yeah, I have the winning hand right here.
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I don't believe you.
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I'm calling your bluff.
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Okay, you're right.
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I only have low cards.
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I was bluffing.
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You win.
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Calling someone's bluff comes from poker, a card game.
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A player who is bluffing pretends to have the winning cards when he really does not.
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Calling someone's bluff means you want a person to tell the truth about something.
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People bluff about serious and not so serious things.
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So the next time you can call their bluff.
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And that's English in a Minute.
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Thank you.

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "English in a Minute: Calling Someone's Bluff" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the pastwas bluffing
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around noware bluffing · I'm calling · is bluffing

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →