Shadowing Practice: English Podcast - What Do You Eat on Rainy Days? | Easy English Conversation for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Everyday English Talk.
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I am Anna.
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And I am Ben.
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Thank you for joining us today.
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In our last episode, we talked about what we do and how we feel on a rainy day.
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Today, we are staying with the rain, but we are talking about something very delicious.
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That is right.
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Today's topic is rainy day comfort foods.
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A comfort food is food that makes you feel happy, warm, and safe.
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We all have those special meals we want to eat when the weather is dark and wet outside.
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We will share our favorites and learn some great English phrases along the way.
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And do not forget, you can download the free PDF transcript and practice exercises for this episode.
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You will find the link in the description.
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Let us get started.
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So, Anna, when the sky is gray and the rain is falling, do you ever get a strong feeling that you want a specific food?
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Oh, yes, I definitely do.
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When it is cold and wet outside, my body just wants something warm.
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I always have a craving for something hot.
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I do not want cold salads or sandwiches.
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I agree with you.
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A cold salad is not good for a rainy day.
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What is your favorite hot meal when it rains?
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I love a big bowl of steaming hot soup.
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It is my favorite thing in the world.
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Sometimes I make chicken soup with noodles, and sometimes I make a simple vegetable soup.
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Soup is perfect.
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It warms you up from the inside.
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Yes, it really does.
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And the most important part of the soup is the broth.
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I love a rich broth.
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It takes a long time to cook, but it tastes so good.
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The rich broth makes the whole house smell wonderful.
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That sounds amazing.
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I can almost smell it now.
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For me, I always want hot drinks like we talked about before.
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A big cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate is great.
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But for a meal, I love something different.
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What do you like to eat?
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I love hot pot.
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Do you know hot pot, Anna?
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Yes, of course.
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It is a big pot of boiling soup in the middle of the table, right?
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Exactly.
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You put the steaming hot pot on the table, and you cook meat, vegetables, and noodles right there.
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It is so much fun.
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That sounds like a lot of food.
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Do you eat it alone?
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No, I never eat hot pot alone.
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I always call my friends.
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We gather around the table, cook the food together, and talk for hours.
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It is the best way to spend a rainy evening.
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That is a wonderful idea.
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You stay inside, you stay warm, and you enjoy good food with good people.
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Yes, when you gather around a warm meal, you forget about the bad weather outside.
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The rain just becomes background noise.
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I completely agree.
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Hot soup and hot pot are definitely great comfort foods.
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They make everything feel better.
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They really do.
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Now, I am getting hungry just thinking about it.
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Me too.
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Let me tell you more about my chicken soup.
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I like to add carrots, celery, and a lot of garlic.
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The garlic makes the rich broth even better.
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Do you buy the soup from a store or do you make it yourself?
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I always make it myself.
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Cooking is part of the comfort.
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When I stand in the kitchen and stir the pot, I feel very relaxed.
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The sound of the rain on the window makes it even better.
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That is a very peaceful picture.
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For my hot pot, we usually prepare many different plates of food.
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We slice the beef very thin so it cooks fast in the rich broth.
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We wash a lot of green vegetables.
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Preparing the food together sounds like a fun activity for a rainy afternoon.
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It is.
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We wash the vegetables, we cut the mushrooms, and we set the table.
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Everyone helps.
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Then we sit down and watch the water boil.
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When the food is steaming hot, we take it out and eat it with special sauces.
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I can see why that is your favorite.
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It is not just about the food.
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It is about the experience.
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You have a craving for the feeling of being together, not just the hot pot.
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You are exactly right.
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It is about sharing a warm moment with friends.
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Next time it rains, maybe I will invite some friends over and try making a hot pot instead of my usual chicken soup.
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You should.
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It is very easy to do.
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And you can choose any kind of rich broth you want.
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Some people like spicy broth and some people like clear, mild broth.
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I think I would prefer a mild broth.
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Spicy food is good, but a clear broth is more relaxing for me.
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That sounds great.
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Just make sure it is steaming hot.
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That is the most important rule for rainy day food.
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Let us review some useful phrases from our chat.
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Good idea.
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First is, have a craving for.
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It means you really want to eat a specific food right now.
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Example.
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I have a craving for hot pizza tonight.
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Second is steaming hot.
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It means food or drink is very hot and producing steam.
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Example.
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Be careful
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that cup of tea is steaming hot third is rich broth this means a soup base that has
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a very deep strong and delicious flavor example this noodle soup has a very rich broth fourth is hot
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pot it is a meal where you cook raw food in a pot of boiling soup at the table example we went to a restaurant to eat hot pot for my birthday.
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Fifth is gather around.
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It means to come together in a group around something or someone.
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Example.
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My family likes to gather around the table for dinner.
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What is your favorite hot meal when the weather is bad?
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Please share your answer with us in the comments.
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Thank you so much for listening to Everyday English talk.
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We hope you enjoyed today's episode about rainy day comfort foods and learned something useful for your daily life.
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Do not forget to download the free PDF transcript and vocabulary exercises in the description box below.
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It is a great way to review everything we talked about.
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Tell us in the comments, what is the first thing you want to eat, the next time it rains?
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Stay warm, eat good food, and keep practicing your English every day.
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We will see you in the next episode.
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Bye for now.
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Goodbye, everyone.

Context & Background

In this episode of Everyday English Talk, hosts Anna and Ben engage listeners in a delightful conversation centered around the topic of comfort foods for rainy days. They discuss personal favorites and express how certain meals bring warmth and happiness during gloomy weather. This dialogue not only highlights cultural food preferences but also serves as a practical exercise for English learners to pick up meaningful phrases while enjoying an engaging discussion. By focusing on everyday topics, such as comfort foods, this podcast creates a relatable context for learners to connect with the language and improve their fluency.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • “I always have a craving for…” - A great way to express your food desires or preferences.
  • “It warms you up from the inside.” - Perfect for describing how certain foods make you feel physically and emotionally.
  • “Do you know...?” - A conversational starter to learn more about what others think about a certain dish or topic.
  • “I love cooking _______ with my friends.” - Share your food experiences to engage others in conversation.
  • “That sounds amazing!” - A responsive phrase that shows interest in what someone else is saying.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively use this podcast episode for learning, you can apply the shadowing technique to enhance your English pronunciation and intonation. Follow these steps to improve your speaking through shadowing:

  1. Listen Actively: Play the podcast episode and listen carefully to how Anna and Ben converse. Pay attention to their pronunciation, tone, and pacing.
  2. Pause and Repeat: After each sentence or short phrase, pause the audio and repeat what you heard out loud. This will help you mimic their speech and improve your pronunciation.
  3. Focus on Phrases: Use the top phrases identified above. Practice incorporating these into your own sentences to make them a part of your daily communication.
  4. Record Yourself: Once you feel comfortable, record yourself mimicking the dialogue. Listening back can help identify areas for improvement in your pronunciation.
  5. Engage with Others: Share what you’ve learned with a friend or language partner. Use the phrases in real conversations and see how well you integrate them into everyday dialogue.

By applying this method and utilizing shadow speech techniques, you can significantly sharpen your English skills and communicate more naturally. For a more interactive experience, consider utilizing learn English with YouTube resources or platforms that offer comprehensive language exercises, emphasizing effective absorption of the target language.

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.