Shadowing Practice: English Listening Practice | Travelling to Chiang Mai, Thailand (Travel Phrases) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi there!
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Hi there!
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Today we're learning English while we travel and explore a new place together.
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I just visited Thailand and in today's video I'll wander around the streets of the old city in Chiang Mai,
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visit an ancient temple, travel to the coconut market and eat some delicious food.
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You can speak along with me and use this video for shadowing practice or you can relax and listen along.
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If you're new to learning English and want to feel more confident using it while travelling,
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studying or living abroad, this video series will help you understand everyday English in real situations.
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In this series, I've used the 3000 most common English words to help you learn quickly through comprehensible input.
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I make new videos every week,
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so please subscribe to see them every Sunday.
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Okay, let's go for a walk.
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On our trip, we stayed in Chiang Mai for six days and six nights.
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We had a wonderful time there.
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The mountains around the old city were so beautiful.
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The food was delicious and everyone we met was really friendly.
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I know that a lot of people who watch my videos are Thai or live in Thailand,
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and some of you have asked me to make a video travelling to Thailand.
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I had actually already booked this trip to Thailand a few months ago,
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so it was a coincidence that I could make a video visiting Thailand.
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A coincidence means that something has happened by chance, and it wasn't planned.
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In my experience, Chiang Mai was such a peaceful place to be.
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The streets of the old city felt calm and quiet.
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There were bright green plants everywhere,
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and there were lots of colourful houses and interesting patterns on shop fronts.
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The streets were fun to wander around.
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It was such a visually interesting place to stay.
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There were so many nice things to look at.
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Living in Melbourne, the city can sometimes feel very grey and dull.
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It can get very cold.
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Chiang Mai felt warm, colourful and vibrant.
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It felt great to be in a city so different from where I live.
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Perhaps if you live in Chiang Mai,
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you have a different experience from my experience as a tourist.
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Maybe if you live there,
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it feels normal to you.
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Sometimes when we live somewhere for a long time,
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we can get used to it.
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We stop noticing how special it is.
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Do you feel that way about your city?
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When I read your comments on my videos,
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it reminds me that Melbourne is still a great place to live and to visit too.
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Traveling from Melbourne, we first landed in Bangkok and stayed there for two nights before flying to Chiang Mai.
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Bangkok felt like a large and bustling city.
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Bustling means very busy and full of activity.
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There was lots of traffic, people and noise.
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Chiang Mai felt quieter and smaller.
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It was easier to relax in.
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In Bangkok, it was easy to get around using public transport.
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On the other hand, Chiang Mai was walkable.
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Walkable means that you can easily go places on foot.
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You can walk around.
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We could go at our own pace,
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but to explore the mountains we needed someone to drive us.
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On this day we walked from our accommodation to a cafe for breakfast.
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The staff gave us iced water and a small biscuit when we sat down.
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We ordered a serve of mango sticky rice each.
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The ladies working at the cafe presented it so beautifully.
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They decorated the plate with lovely flowers from their garden.
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The colours of the flowers complemented the mango.
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If something complements another, it means that it matches well or it makes something look better together.
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The colours looked beautiful together.
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They also added passion fruit.
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The lady who served us said that she liked to eat the sour passion fruit after the sweet mango.
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We agreed.
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It was delicious.
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She even gave us a small bag of biscuits to take home.
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How thoughtful.
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After breakfast, we caught a taxi to the coconut market.
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It was definitely too far to walk.
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The coconut market is held in a coconut field outside the city.
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It's a weekend market with food, drinks and small shops.
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Weekend markets are popular in Australia too,
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but they're not usually in a coconut field.
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Here you could walk across wooden bridges between rows of coconut trees.
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It was very picturesque.
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Picturesque means beautiful, like a picture.
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Can you hear the music playing?
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A musician was playing live music.
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We sat and listened to him play for a while and enjoyed watching his funny little dog.
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He told us that it's not common to see coconut fields around Chiang Mai
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and that coconut farms are more common in southern Thailand.
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That's because of the climate.
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Climate means the usual weather in a place over time.
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For example, some plants grow better in hot, humid climates.
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We walked over narrow bridges between the trees.
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These ladies in front of me are stopping to take photos.
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The lady on the The lady on the right has bobbed down to take her photo.
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The lady on the left is standing up to take hers.
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There were small water channels between the rows.
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People have wandered down the rows to look at the coconut trees.
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There are two people sitting on a swing having their photo taken.
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On the other side of this bridge there was a small petting zoo.
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Children were feeding baby goats.
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One of them has made it outside of the fence.
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They're very cute.
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This lady was wearing a great outfit.
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The grass that she's feeding to the goats complements her green dress.
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The goats were nibbling at the grass.
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Nibbling means taking very small bites.
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We decided to wander through the stalls and grab a bite to eat.
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There's lots of food being sold at this market.
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It all smells fresh and tasty.
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Because we're at the coconut market we decided to get some coconut pancakes to share.
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They were cooked on a flat metal plate called a griddle.
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It's flat like a pan but built into the cooking surface.
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We also bought some green pandan pancakes from the next stall.
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We took our treats to a table in the middle of the coconut field.
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People were sitting all around us at different tables among the coconut trees to eat their snacks.
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We shared our pancakes and used little skewers to pick them up.
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They were warm and soft.
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We ate them pretty quickly.
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We couldn't visit the coconut market without drinking from a coconut.
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So we visited this store that sold fresh coconuts.
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The coconuts were big and round.
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They're green on the outside but the top has been cut back to make it easier to open.
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They put a purple flower on the side for decoration and we have two straws poking out of the top.
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The coconut water was refreshing on a hot day.
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Lastly we followed this path down into a garden which led to a tea house.
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Here you can have a drink and take in the coconut fields.
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Later we returned to the old city to visit a temple called Wat Jiediluong.
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The temple looked ornate.
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Ornate means highly decorated with many details.
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The gold was sparkling in the sunlight.
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At the entrance, incense was burning.
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A lady was placing more incense into these pots.
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The smoke from the incense was blowing in the breeze.
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There were baskets of bright orange marigold flowers.
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In the basket on the left,
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some are wrapped in a banana leaf.
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The architecture here was impressive.
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Architecture is the design and style of buildings.
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Before we walked inside, we had to take off our shoes
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and place them on this bench over here underneath this purple lantern.
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Alongside this building there were pots of lotus leaves.
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The pots were filled with water for the lotus to grow in.
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Behind the main building was an ancient temple from the 14th century.
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Ancient means very old, hundreds of years old.
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There was a tall staircase leading up,
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but visitors couldn't climb it.
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It was there for viewing only.
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The brick walls were weathered and textured.
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Weathered means worn down slowly by time and the weather.
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After resting at our accommodation we went out to a local restaurant for dinner.
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We walked in through these big wooden doors.
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Inside it was filled with plants and small tables for people to eat at.
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There were a few other people in the restaurant sitting on the other side of the plants.
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The owner of the restaurant's dog came to say hello.
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The owner also gave us some mosquito spray so we wouldn't get bitten.
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We ordered khao soi, a northern Thai noodle dish.
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It came in a large bowl with crispy noodles on top.
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I enjoy spicy food so I was given some extra chilli too.
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We also ordered mango sticky rice again.
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I think we ate one every single day of our trip.
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After we finished eating, we paid at the counter.
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We had an amazing time in Chiang Mai.
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There was still so much we didn't see.
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There were more places we wanted to visit.
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We didn't have time to add everything to our itinerary.
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An itinerary is a travel plan,
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a list of places that you plan to visit on your holiday.
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Hopefully, I can visit again one day.
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Thanks for joining me today on my trip!
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What word means something that happened by chance and wasn't planned?
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A coincidence?
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What word describes a place that's very busy and full of activity?
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Bustling.
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What do you call a travel plan?
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Your itinerary.
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What word describes taking small bites of something?
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Nibbling How can you describe something that matches well or makes something look better together?
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It complements something.
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Thanks for joining me today.
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If you like more videos like this,
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there's a lot more coming.
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I'm creating extra listening and speaking practice videos to help you learn English quickly.
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Where would you like to go next?
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And which everyday English topics would you like to practice more?
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Let me know in the comments.
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If this video helped you,
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please like and subscribe for more simple Australian English practice.
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See you next time!
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Context & Background
In this video, we join the speaker as they explore the enchanting city of Chiang Mai, Thailand, highlighting the unique attractions and cultural experiences the city offers. The speaker shares insights from their journey, focusing on the peaceful atmosphere, vibrant streets, and delicious local cuisine, all of which provide an excellent backdrop for practical English learning. This engaging narrative aims to enhance the listener's understanding of everyday English within a travel context, making it easy for you to practice speaking while immersing yourself in a different culture. With a selection of the 3000 most common English words, learners at all levels can benefit from the video, whether they are new to English or looking to refine their skills.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "Can I get some iced water?" - A polite way to request water at cafes or restaurants.
- "How much does this cost?" - Essential for discussing prices while shopping or dining.
- "What do you recommend?" - A great phrase to use when seeking advice on food or activities.
- "Could you please help me?" - A useful expression for asking for assistance in various situations.
- "Where is the nearest café?" - Important for navigating in unfamiliar places.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To make the most of this video and improve your English pronunciation, follow these steps using the shadowing technique:
- Watch and Listen: Start by watching the video without speaking. Focus on understanding the context and vocabulary used during the immersion in Chiang Mai.
- Repeat After the Speaker: Play short segments of the video and pause after each phrase. Try to replicate the speaker’s intonation, rhythm, and pronunciation. This is where you can enhance your english speaking practice.
- Use the Phrases: Write down the top 5 phrases mentioned above. Practice saying them out loud in different situations or contexts to reinforce your memory.
- Record Yourself: Use your smartphone or another recording device to record yourself after a few practice runs. Listening to your recordings can help you identify areas for improvement and refine your speaking skills.
- Revisit and Reflect: Return to the video after a few days to listen again. You will likely notice improvements in your pronunciation and fluency, as the shadowing site has helped you internalize the language.
By consistently practicing with this video, you’ll not only enhance your improve english pronunciation but also gain confidence in using English in real-world travel scenarios. Happy learning!
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.
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