Shadowing Practice: English ---- Pathways Foundation ---- Coming of Age - Learn English Speaking with Video
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41 sentences
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Around the
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world, every child becomes an adult in a different way.
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Yoro Sisse is a 16-year-old Fulani boy from Dafa Rabi, Mali.
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Every year, teams of young Fulani boys, like Yoro, make a long trip.
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They do this to find food for their cows.
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During the dry season, the cows can stay near the Fulanis' home, but in the wet season, there is too much rain for the cows to stay there.
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They take their cows into the Sahel, near the Sahara Desert.
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In the desert, there aren't many trees or plants.
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It is very dry.
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The boys travel along the edge of the desert moving from place to place
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The boys trip can take almost eight months There is little food for the boys near the desert
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They do not carry a lot of food with them.
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They usually only drink milk We have to keep moving to find more food for our cows.
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Our job is to bring back fat cows This is something every Fulani boy has to do.
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It's a very important job.
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When Yoro goes home, everyone will look at his cows.
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If the cows are all okay, the other Fulani people will know Yoro can take good care of his herd.
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Then, they will say he is not a boy, but a man.
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This is Yoro's girlfriend, Aissa.
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She wants him to come back with good cows because she wants to marry him.
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In the Fulani tribe, mothers and fathers choose the person their children can marry
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if Yoro doesn't come back with good cows Ayesa's parents won't let her marry him
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During the trip Yoro thinks about many things He worries about finding food for his cows
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He also worries about other people who want to take the cows Yoro starts his journey in Dhafarabi,
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Mali He takes his cows through Mauritania to the Sahel.
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The Fulani people have walked this way for thousands of years.
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Yoro has walked for three months.
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Now he is going back to his home and his family and his girlfriend.
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We walk all day without stopping.
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Sometimes we get very thirsty and the cows get tired.
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Often we don't sleep at night.
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The young cows in Yoro's herd look good.
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Everyone can see Yoro's hard work.
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He marks them so everyone knows they are his.
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The trip is almost over and Yoro is excited to see his girlfriend.
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But now, they still have to cross the river.
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Yoro swims with his cows.
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He wants to make sure they are okay.
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Across the river, his family and friends wait for the boys.
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After a long and difficult trip, Yoro's cows are all okay.
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It's time to celebrate and have fun.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 41 sentences and 454 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:54. The speaker talks at a steady 117 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| cow noun | /kaʊ/ | An adult female of the species Bos taurus, especially one that has calved. |
| desert noun | /ˈdɛz.ɚt/ | A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland. |
| marry verb | /ˈmæɹi/ | To enter into the conjugal or connubial state; to take a husband or a wife. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| thirsty adjective | /ˈθɝs.ti/ | Needing to drink water or any liquid that can supply water. |
| girlfriend noun | /ˈɡɝlfɹɛnd/ | A female partner in an unmarried romantic relationship. |
| milk verb | /mɪlk/ | To express milk from (a mammal, especially a cow). |
| journey noun | /ˈd͡ʒɝni/ | A set amount of travelling, seen as a single unit; a discrete trip, a voyage. |
| celebrate verb | /ˈsɛl.ɪ.bɹeɪt/ | To extol or honour in a solemn manner. |
| trip noun | /tɹɪp/ | A journey; an excursion or jaunt. |
| worry verb | /ˈwʌ.ɹi/ | To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt. |
| cross noun | /kɹɑs/ | A geometrical figure consisting of two straight lines or bars intersecting each other such that at least one of them is bisected by the other. |
| travel verb | /ˈtɹævəl/ | To be on a journey, often for pleasure or business and with luggage; to go from one place to another. |
| choose verb | /t͡ʃuːz/ | To pick; to make the choice of; to select. |
| drink verb | /ˈdɹɪŋk/ | To consume (a liquid) through the mouth. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bring back verb | /ˈbɹɪŋ bæk/ | To fetch something. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have walked · has walked |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will look · will know · will say |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to keep · has to do · have to cross |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as aren't, doesn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 cow, desert, marry.
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.