Shadowing Practice: English Shadowing Challenge | Practice Speaking Real-Life Conversations - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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This is the final day of the seven day shadowing challenge.
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If you've been here every day this week, I am so proud of you.
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You've practiced six real life conversations already,
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and your mouth has done more English work in seven days than most learners do in a month. So congratulations.
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Today's conversation is the hardest one of the week.
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Of course, I saved it for last on purpose.
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is not what you were supposed to get, you have to call customer service, stay calm, explain what went wrong, and push for a solution without being rude.
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This requires a very specific kind of language, the kind most English learners never practice because it means asking for things, not just being polite.
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Here are the words and phrases you need to know first.
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To raise a complaint.
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To raise a complaint means to formally tell a company that something went wrong and that you expect it to be fixed.
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It is more serious than casually mentioning a problem.
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Next, order number.
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Your order number is the reference code you receive when you buy something online.
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Always have it ready before you call customer service.
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It will be the first thing they ask for.
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Then, Incorrect item An incorrect item means you received the wrong product.
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A different color, the wrong size, or something completely different from what you actually ordered.
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Next, to process a return, and when a company processes a return, they begin the steps to collect the wrong item back and issue a refund or send a replacement.
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Then, Prepaid Return Label.
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A Prepaid Return Label is a shipping label the company sends you
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so you can post the item back without paying for postage yourself.
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They cover the cost.
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Next, Replacement.
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A replacement is a new, correct version of the item the company sends you in place of the wrong or damaged one you received.
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Then refund.
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A refund is your money returned to you, usually back to the original card or account you paid with.
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Next, to escalate.
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To escalate means to take your complaint to a higher level.
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You asked to speak to a supervisor or manager when the first person was unable to resolve it.
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Then, Priority shipping.
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Priority Shipping is a faster delivery option that gets your package to use sooner than standard shipping usually for an extra fee.
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And finally, to bear with someone.
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To bear with someone means to stay patient while they look something up or sort something out.
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"Bear with me" is a natural, polite way of asking you to wait just a moment.
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By the way, since this is the final day, I want to tell you about something that pairs really well with the work you've been doing all the week.
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It's called Turbo English.
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It's buy two, get one free, on the LinguaTrip handbooks.
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We built two different sets depending on where you're stuck.
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The first set is for speaking and vocabulary.
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It's for you if you have been shadowing with me all week and you want to keep going.
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It gives you the natural expressions native speakers use in If today's complaint dialogue felt hard,
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this set is what you need next.
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And the second set is for grammar.
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It's for you if you keep getting confused by the same grammar rules over and over, especially the tenses.
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Present perfect versus past simple, conditionals, all the things that make you hesitate when you speak.
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The set breaks them down with examples that actually stick.
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Each set is around $12, less than one private lesson, and because it's buy two, get one free, you're really getting three handbooks for the price of two.
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is in the description.
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Okay, now let's get into today's conversation, the last one of our challenge.
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- Thank you for calling Maple & Co.
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Customer Service.
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My name is Ryan.
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How can I help you today?
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Hi Ryan, I am calling because I received my order yesterday, but there is a problem with it.
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I got completely the wrong item.
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Oh, I am sorry to hear that.
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I can absolutely help you sort this out.
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Can I start with your order number?
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Yes, it is MC -4.
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49 -28731.
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Thank you.
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Bear with me one moment while I pull that up.
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Okay.
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I have got your order here.
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You ordered the gray wool throw blanket, correct?
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That is right!
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But what I actually received was a blue cotton one.
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Different color.
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Completely different material.
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I completely understand, and I sincerely apologize for that.
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That should not have happened.
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So what I can do is arrange a return of the incorrect item and get the right one sent out to you.
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Okay.
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And realistically, how long is all of that going to take?
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Because I bought this as a birthday gift and the birthday is coming up soon.
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I understand the time pressure, so the process is normally this: we email you a prepaid return label, at no cost to you.
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you send the item back.
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And once we receive it, we process the return within two to three business days.
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The replacement would then ship and reach you in five to seven business days after that.
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That might be too slow, honestly.
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The birthday is 10 days away.
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Is there anything you can do to speed it up?
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Let me see what options I have.
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I can flag your replacement as priority shipping, which would bring the delivery time down to two to three business days after we process the return.
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I want to be upfront though.
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I cannot promise an exact date.
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I appreciate the honesty.
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Can I ask one more thing?
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Do I need to wait for you to receive the return before you send the replacement?
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Or is there any way to send it out now?
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Given that this was your mistake, not mine, That is a fair point.
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And I completely understand why you are asking.
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Normally we do require the return to be initiated first, But given that this was our error, Let me check with my supervisor and see what I can do.
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Would you mind holding for just a minute?
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Not at all.
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Go ahead.
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Thank you so much for holding.
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So I spoke with my supervisor, and because this was clearly our mistake, We are going to ship the correct item out to you today with priority shipping.
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You do not need to wait.
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You will receive a separate email with a prepaid return label for the Blue Throw
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and you have 30 days to send it back at your convenience.
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That is brilliant.
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I really appreciate you sorting that out.
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It is absolutely the least we can do.
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You will get a confirmation email within the hour with a new tracking number.
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Is there anything else?
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I can help you with.
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No, that is everything.
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Honestly, thank you so much, Ryan.
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You handled this really well.
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That means a lot.
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Thank you.
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I hope the gift arrives in time and that your friend has a wonderful birthday.
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Thank you.
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Fingers crossed.
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Have a good day.
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You too.
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Take care.
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Goodbye.
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Bye.
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Now it is your turn.
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The conversation will play again, and this time, say the customer's words out loud at the exact same time you hear them.
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Same pace.
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Do not wait.
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Here we go.
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Thank you for calling Maple & Co.
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Customer Service.
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My name is Ryan.
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How can I help you today?
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Hi Ryan, I am calling because I received my order yesterday, but there is a problem with it.
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I got completely the wrong item.
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Oh, I am sorry to hear that.
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I can absolutely help you sort this out.
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Can I start with your order number?
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Yes, it is MC -4.
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49 -28731.
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Thank you.
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Bear with me one moment while I pull that up.
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Okay.
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I have got your order here.
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You ordered the gray wool throw blanket, correct?
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That is right!
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But what I actually received was a blue cotton one.
145
Different color.
146
Completely different material.
147
I completely understand, and I sincerely apologize for that.
148
That should not have happened.
149
So what I can do is arrange a return of the incorrect item and get the right one sent out to you.
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Okay.
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And realistically, how long is all of that going to take?
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Because I bought this as a birthday gift and the birthday is coming up soon.
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I understand the time pressure, so the process is normally this: we email you a prepaid return label, At no cost to you.
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you send the item back.
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And once we receive it, we process the return within two to three business days.
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The replacement would then ship and reach you in five to seven business days after that.
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That might be too slow, honestly.
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The birthday is 10 days away.
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Is there anything you can do to speed it up?
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Let me see what options I have.
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I can flag your replacement as priority shipping, which would bring the delivery time down to two to three business days after we process the return.
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I want to be upfront though.
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I cannot promise an exact date.
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I appreciate the honesty.
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Can I ask one more thing?
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Do I need to wait for you to receive the return before you send the replacement?
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Or is there any way to send it out now?
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Given that this was your mistake, not mine.
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That is a fair point.
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And I completely understand why you are asking.
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Normally we do require the return to be initiated first, But given that this was our error, Let me check with my supervisor and see what I can do.
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Would you mind holding for just a minute?' Not at all, go ahead.
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Thank you so much for holding.
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So I spoke with my supervisor, And because this was clearly our mistake, we are going to ship the correct item out to you today with priority shipping.
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You do not need to wait.
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you will receive a separate email with a prepaid return label for the blue throw
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and you have 30 days to send it back at your convenience.
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That is brilliant.
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I really appreciate you sorting that out.
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It is absolutely the least we can do.
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You will get a confirmation email within the hour with a new tracking number.
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Is there anything else?
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I can help you with.
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No, that is everything.
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Honestly, thank you so much, Ryan.
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You handled this really well.
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That means a lot.
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Thank you.
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I hope the gift arrives in time and that your friend has a wonderful birthday.
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Thank you.
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Fingers crossed.
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Have a good day.
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You too, take care.
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Goodbye.
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Bye.
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You made it.
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Seven days, seven conversations, hundreds of sentences spoken out loud in English.
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That's real practice.
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This is actually doing the work.
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If you've been here every single day this week, your mouth feels different from now than it did on Monday.
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Maybe you don't notice it yet, but you will the next time you have to speak English in real life.
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The freezing happens less, the words come faster, you're not searching for them anymore more, they were just there.
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I want to hear from you.
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If you finished all seven days, write I did it in the comments.
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Tell me what day was the hardest for you, which one surprised you, and how you feel right now compared to a week ago.
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I read every single comment on this channel, and seeing you finish this challenge means a lot to me.
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You don't have to stop here.
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You can go back to day one and do the whole week again.
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Each round, your mouth gets faster.
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Each round, the words come Thank you for showing up this week.
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I will see you in the next video and bye bye.
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About This Lesson
Welcome to the final day of our seven-day shadowing challenge! In this lesson, you will engage in a dynamic exercise designed to enhance your English speaking skills through real-life conversations. Today's focus is on handling customer service calls, an essential skill that many English learners often overlook. You will practice using specific language for raising complaints and seeking solutions while maintaining a polite demeanor. Whether you’re preparing for IELTS speaking practice or simply improving your conversational English, this lesson will help you tackle challenging dialogues confidently using the shadowing technique.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- To raise a complaint: Formally informing a company about a problem.
- Order number: A reference code received when buying online; crucial for customer service calls.
- Incorrect item: Refers to receiving the wrong product.
- To process a return: Initiating the steps to return an item for a refund or replacement.
- Prepaid Return Label: A shipping label provided by a company to cover return postage costs.
- Replacement: The correct item sent to replace a wrong or damaged one.
- To escalate: Requesting to speak to a supervisor when issues remain unresolved.
- To bear with someone: Politely asking someone to wait a moment.
Practice Tips
To maximize your learning experience with the shadowing technique, here are some tailored tips for today's session:
- Start Slow: Since customer service dialogues can be tricky, begin by listening to the conversation at a slower speed. Use a shadowing app to synchronize your practice.
- Focus on Tone: Pay close attention to the speaker’s tone and pace. Customer service interactions require a calm and composed tone, even in challenging situations.
- Practice Continuously: Repeat each phrase or sentence multiple times to build muscle memory. This is especially useful for phrases you find difficult.
- Record Yourself: Use the shadowing site to record your practice. Listening to your own speech can help identify areas for improvement.
- Use Contextual Practice: After completing the shadow speech, simulate a customer service call with a partner by using the vocabulary learned.
Remember, consistent practice is key to mastering conversational English. Keep working on your shadowing exercises, and you will see significant improvement in your fluency and confidence in real-life conversations.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've been doing · have been shadowing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've been · You've practiced · has done |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be fixed · be initiated |
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.