Shadowing Practice: English in a Minute: Small Potatoes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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12 sentences
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1
Welcome to English in a Minute from home.
2
I tried to grow potatoes this year.
3
They were extremely small.
4
But do you know what small potatoes means as an idiom?
5
Jonathan, last night's storm was crazy.
6
My electricity kept shutting off.
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Losing power is small potatoes compared to what happened to my neighbor.
8
A huge tree fell on her house and her car and her dog got scared and ran away.
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Small potatoes describe something that's not very important in comparison with other situations.
10
You can use it to show that a problem is insignificant or minor.
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You can also sometimes use it to express that something actually is small in size or amount.
12
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: Small Potatoes”. This video has 12 sentences and 120 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:52. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 12 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| potato noun | /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/ | The edible starchy tuber of the plant species Solanum tuberosum. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| electricity noun | /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/ | Originally, a property of amber and certain other nonconducting substances to attract lightweight material when rubbed, or the cause of this property; now… |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| neighbour noun | /ˈneɪbɚ/ | A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or… |
| insignificant adjective | /ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt/ | Not significant; not important, inconsequential, or having no noticeable effect. |
| idiom noun | /ˈɪdiəm/ | A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people. |
| express verb | /ɪkˈspɹɛs/ | To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit. |
| storm noun | /stɔɹm/ | Any disturbed state of the atmosphere causing destructive or unpleasant weather, especially one affecting the earth's surface involving strong winds (leading… |
| minor noun | /ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/ | A child, a person who has not reached the age of majority, consent, etc. and is legally subject to fewer responsibilities and less accountability and entitled… |
| describe verb | /dɪˈskɹaɪb/ | To represent in words. |
| comparison noun | /kəmˈpæɹ.ɪ.sən/ | The act of comparing or the state or process of being compared. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| run away verb | To flee by running. |
| shut off verb | To stop or turn off by closing something, such as a valve. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | kept shutting |
Pronunciation to watch
- Long words — get the stress right: electricity /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, insignificant /ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt/, comparison /kəmˈpæɹ.ɪ.sən/
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 potato, compare, electricity.
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.