Shadowing Practice: English Listening Practice A2: A Memorable Trip ✈️ - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hello, everyone.
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Welcome back to ABC Learning English, the podcast where we help you learn real, everyday English.
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I'm your host, Mark.
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And I'm your co-host, Sarah.
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Hello, everyone.
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We're so happy that you are here with us today, whether you're driving your car, cleaning your house, or just drinking a cup of coffee.
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Thank you for spending your time with us. That is right, Sarah.
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We love our listeners.
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Learning English can sometimes feel difficult, but here at ABC Learning English, we want to make it fun, easy, and relaxing.
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Exactly.
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You do not need to stress.
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Just listen, relax, and practice with us.
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How are you feeling today, Mark?
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I'm feeling great today, Sarah.
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The sun is shining.
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I had a delicious breakfast, and I'm very excited about today's topic.
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How about you?
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How was your weekend?
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My weekend was very nice and quiet.
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I stayed at home.
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I watched a funny movie and I read a good book.
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I feel very rested.
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But Mark, you said you're excited about today's topic.
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What are we talking about today?
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Today, we are going to talk about something everyone loves.
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We are going to talk about travel.
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Specifically, we are going to share stories about a memorable trip.
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Oh, I love talking about travel.
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A memorable trip, let us explain that word quickly.
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M-E-M-O-R-A-B-L-E, memorable.
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It means something that is so good or so special that you will always remember it.
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You do not forget it.
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Perfect explanation, Sarah.
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A memorable trip is a vacation or holiday that stays in your heart forever.
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Today, Sarah and I are going to tell you about our favorite trips.
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We are going to use the past tense because these trips happened in the past.
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Yes, and we will also teach you some very useful vocabulary and phrasal verbs for traveling.
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So make sure you listen carefully.
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Are you ready, Sarah?
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I'm ready.
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Let's get started.
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Okay, Sarah.
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I want to hear your story first.
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Tell me about a memorable trip you took.
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Where did you go?
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Well, my most memorable trip happened two years ago.
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I traveled to Kyoto in Japan.
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Have you ever been to Japan, Mark?
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No. I have never been to Japan, but I am going to visit Tokyo next year.
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I am planning a trip right now.
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Please tell me more about Kyoto.
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Who did you go with?
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I went with my best friend, Emily.
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We planned the trip for six months.
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We were very excited.
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On the first day, we set off very early in the morning.
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We took a taxi to the airport at 5 a.m.
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Wow.
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5 a.m is very early.
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Did you sleep on the airplane?
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Yes, I slept for the whole flight.
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When we arrived in Japan, we took a fast train to Kyoto.
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The first thing we did was find our hotel.
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We checked in at the front desk, left our heavy bags in our room, and then we went outside immediately.
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We wanted to look around the city. That sounds wonderful.
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What did the city look like?
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It was beautiful, Mark.
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The streets were clean, and there were so many old traditional buildings, But I have a funny story.
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On our second day, Emily and I got lost.
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Oh, no. You got lost?
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What happened?
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Did you have a map?
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We had a map on our phone, but my phone battery died.
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It went to zero percent.
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We were walking in a beautiful bamboo forest, and suddenly we did not know where we were.
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We did not know how to go back to the hotel. Were you scared?
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A little bit at first, but the local people were very friendly.
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I asked a kind woman for help.
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I use very simple English and some hand gestures.
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She smiled and showed us the way to the bus station.
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It was a great experience because we met nice people.
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That is a great story.
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Getting lost can be scary, but it is also an adventure.
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What about the food?
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What did you eat?
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Oh, the food was amazing.
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We decided to try out a lot of street food.
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We ate sushi, hot noodles, and sweet rice cakes.
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Everything was delicious.
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At the end of the week, it was time to pack up and go home.
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I was very sad to leave.
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It was truly a breathtaking trip.
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Breathtaking.
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What a great word.
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Thank you for sharing your story, Sarah.
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It sounds like the perfect vacation.
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You're welcome.
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Now it is your turn, Mark.
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Tell our listeners and me about your memorable trip.
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Where did you travel to?
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My memorable trip was very different from yours.
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I did not go to a big city.
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Last summer, I traveled to the Scottish Highlands.
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It is a very wild and beautiful place in Scotland.
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Oh, I love nature.
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Did you go with your family?
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No, I traveled alone.
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Sometimes I like to travel by myself because it is very quiet and peaceful.
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I set off from London by train.
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The train ride was very long.
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It took about eight hours.
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Eight hours on a train?
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What did you do for eight hours?
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I read a book.
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I looked out the window, and I drank a lot of tea.
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When I finally arrived, I checked in to a very small old hotel near a big lake.
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A lake in Scotland?
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Is that where the famous monster lives?
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The Loch Ness Monster?
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Yes, exactly.
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I stayed near Loch Ness.
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I looked around the lake, but sadly, I did not see the monster.
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Maybe next time?
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What was the weather like?
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I hear Scotland is very cold.
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Yes, it is.
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Even in the summer, it was quite cold and windy, but I brought warm clothes.
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Every morning I woke up early and went hiking in the mountains.
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The views were breathtaking.
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You could see green hills and blue water for miles and miles.
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Did you get lost like I did?
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Actually, yes.
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One afternoon, I walked too far into the forest.
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I could not find the path.
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But I had a real map, a paper map.
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So I sat on a rock, looked at my map, and found my way back.
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That is smart paper maps.
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Do not need batteries.
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Did you try out any interesting Scottish food?
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I did.
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I tried a famous Scottish dish called haggis.
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It is made of meat, oats, and spices.
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It sounds strange, but I really liked it.
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After five days in the mountains, I had to pack up my bags and take the train back to London.
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I felt very relaxed and happy.
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Wow, that sounds so peaceful, Mark.
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I think I'm going to visit Scotland next year.
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You should.
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It is a wonderful place.
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All right, listeners, did you enjoy those stories?
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Mark and I used some very important words and phrases.
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Now it is time for our favorite part of the show, the word tour.
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In the word tour, we take five to seven important words or phrases from our stories.
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We will explain them slowly, spell them for you, and give you more examples.
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This will help you remember them and use them in your own conversations.
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We have seven wonderful words and phrasal verbs today.
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Let's start with number one.
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Word number one is set off.
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Let me say that again slowly.
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Set off.
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Can you spell that for us, Sarah? Of course.
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Set is S-E-T.
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Off is O-F-F.
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Set off.
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This is a phrasal verb.
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To set off means to begin a journey or to start a trip.
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When you leave your house to go on a vacation, you set off.
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Exactly.
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In my story, I said we set off very early in the morning.
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This means we left our house and started our trip to Japan early in the morning.
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Let me give you another example.
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Tomorrow, we are going to set off for the beach at 8 a.m.
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Listeners, now it is your turn.
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Please repeat after me.
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Set off.
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Very good.
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Great job now.
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Let's move to word number two.
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The second word is check in.
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I will repeat it check in.
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Check is C-H-E-C-K, in is I-N, check in.
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To check in means to arrive at a hotel or an airport
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and show your ticket or your name to the person at the desk.
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You are telling them, I'm here.
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Yes.
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In Mark's story, he said, I checked into a very small, old hotel.
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This means he arrived at the hotel, gave them his name, and got the key to his room.
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Another example, when you arrive at the airport, you must check in your bags.
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Now repeat after me.
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Please check in.
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Excellent.
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Word number three is look around.
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Look around.
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Look is L-O-O-K.
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Around is A-R-O-U-N-D.
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Look around.
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To look around means to walk through a place, like a city, a museum, or a shop, to see what is there.
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You are exploring.
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You are looking at things because you are interested.
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In my story about Japan, I said we went outside immediately.
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We wanted to look around the city.
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We wanted to walk and see the streets and buildings.
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Here is one more example.
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When I go to a new shopping mall, I like to look around before I buy anything.
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Your turn.
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Listeners, repeat after me.
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Look around.
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Perfect.
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You're doing great.
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Moving on to word number four.
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This is an important one.
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Get lost.
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Get lost.
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Get is G-E-T lost is L-O-S-T.
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Get lost.
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To get lost means you do not know where you are.
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You do not know how to find your way home or to your hotel.
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This happened to me in Japan.
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I said, Emily and I got lost in the bamboo forest.
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Got is the past tense of get.
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We did not know where we were.
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Another example.
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If you do not have a map in a big city, you might get lost.
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Okay, listeners, repeat after me, get lost.
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Great job.
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Just remember to always carry a map so you do not get lost.
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Good advice, Sarah.
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Let's look at word number five.
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This is my favorite thing to do on a trip.
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Try out.
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Try out.
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Try is T-R-Y out is O-U-T, try out.
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To try out means to test something to see if you like it.
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Often we use this for food, activities, or new things.
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Yes, in my story I said we decided to try out a lot of street food.
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This means we ate many new foods to see if they tasted good.
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In my story I said I tried out a famous Scottish dish called haggis.
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I tasted it for the first time.
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Let me give a different example.
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I want to try out that new bicycle before I buy it.
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Now it is your time to practice.
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Repeat after Sarah.
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Try out.
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Wonderful.
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We have two more words left.
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Word number six is a beautiful adjective.
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The word is breathtaking.
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Breathtaking.
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This is a long word, so listen carefully.
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Let me spell it.
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B-R-E-A-T-H-T-A-K-I-N-G.
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Breathtaking.
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This word is made of two parts.
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Breath and taking.
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If something is breathtaking, it is so beautiful or amazing that it takes your breath away.
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You look at it and you go, wow.
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Yes.
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Breathtaking means extremely beautiful.
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In Mark's story, he said the views in the mountains were breathtaking.
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And Sarah said, Kyoto was a breathtaking trip.
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It was an amazing, beautiful trip.
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Let's practice saying this long word.
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Repeat after me.
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Nice and slow.
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Breathtaking.
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Very good.
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One more time.
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A little faster.
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Breathtaking.
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Excellent pronunciation.
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Finally, word number seven.
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Pack up.
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Pack up.
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Pack is P-A-C-K.
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Up is U.
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P-pack up.
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To pack up means to put all your things into your bags or suitcases because you were leaving a place.
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Usually, you pack up at the end of a trip.
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Yes.
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I said at the end of the week, it was time to pack up and go home.
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I had to put all my clothes and souvenirs into my suitcase.
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Another example.
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The picnic is over.
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It is starting to rain.
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Let's pack up our food and go inside.
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Listeners, repeat one last time, pack up, fantastic.
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You all did a fantastic job with the word tour today.
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Learning new words is great, but to really remember them, you must use them.
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Exactly, Mark, we learn by doing.
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So it is time for our mini exercise for today.
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We want to hear from you, our amazing listeners.
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Today's exercise is very simple, but very helpful.
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I want you to think about a trip you took in the past.
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It can be a trip to a different country or just a trip to a different city near your home.
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Now choose two words or phrases from our word tour today.
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Let me remind you of the list.
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Set off, check in, look around, get lost, try out, breathtaking, and pack up.
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Choose two of those phrases.
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Then write a short comment below this video or podcast episode.
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Use the two words to tell us a tiny story about your trip.
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For example, you could write, last year I traveled to New York, I arrived at the hotel and checked in, then I went outside to look around the busy streets.
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That is a perfect example, Sarah.
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Let me give another one.
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I went to Paris.
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The Eiffel Tower was breathtaking.
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I also tried out French bread, and it was delicious.
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See?
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It is very easy.
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Use simple sentences.
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Remember to use the past tense if your trip happened in the past.
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Please type your sentences in the comments right now.
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Sarah and I love reading your comments.
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We will read as many as we can, and we will give a heart to all the correct answers.
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If you make a small mistake, do not worry.
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We will reply and help you fix it.
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Yes, do not be shy.
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This is a safe space to practice your English.
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ABC Learning English is a community, and we are all learning together.
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Well, Sarah, I think that is all the time we have for today's episode.
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We have talked for a long time.
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Yes, time goes by so fast when we are having fun.
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I really enjoyed hearing about your trip to Scotland, Mark.
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And I loved hearing about Japan.
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Most importantly, I hope our listeners enjoyed it, too.
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I hope you learned some useful English today.
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Let's do a very fast review today.
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We talked about a memorable trip we learned how to use the past tense to tell stories
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and we learned seven new expressions set off check in look around get lost try out breathtaking
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and pack up
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if you want to review this lesson you can always listen
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to the podcast again repetition is the key to learning a language
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listen while you cook dinner or listen while you take a walk
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and if you found this episode helpful please give this video a thumbs up
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and click the subscribe button it really helps our channel grow
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so we can make more free english lessons for you don't forget to share this podcast with your friends
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or family members who are also learning english thank you
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so much for joining us today everyone keep practicing keep smiling
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and don't give up your english is getting better every single day.
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We believe in you.
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Have a wonderful, breathtaking week, everyone.
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We will see you next time on ABC Learning English.
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Goodbye, everyone.
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Bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “English Listening Practice A2: A Memorable Trip ✈️”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: trip, word, breathtaking, Sarah, pack. This video has 343 sentences and 2654 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:04. The speaker talks at a natural 165 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| breathtaking adjective | /ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/ | stunningly beautiful; amazing |
| memorable adjective | /ˈmɛm.(ə)ɹə.bl̩/ | Worthy to be remembered; very important or remarkable. |
| listener noun | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| vacation noun | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure. |
| spell noun | /spɛl/ | Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. |
| delicious adjective | /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ | Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| try out verb | To test (something) to see how it works or whether it is suitable. | |
| look around verb | To inspect a building or area. | |
| set off verb | To leave; to set out; to begin a journey or trip. | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| look out verb | To be vigilant and aware often as an imperative to alert a person to danger. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| walk through verb | To explain (something) to (someone), step by step. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What are we talking about today?
- Who did you go with?
- Did you sleep on the airplane?
- Did you have a map?
- Where did you travel to?
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 made · is set |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have never been · have talked |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | love talking · practice saying · love reading |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were walking · were breathtaking · were leaving |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathtaking /ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/, breathe /bɹiːð/, cloth /klɒθ/, thumb /ˈθʌm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, dish /dɪʃ/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, repetition /ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like breathtaking, memorable, listener.
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.