Shadowing Practice: ENGLISH SPEECH | LEARN ENGLISH with BARACK OBAMA - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome, dear learners.
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I'm Anna, and today we'll dive into an inspiring speech by Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.
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This speech is filled with valuable lessons, but we'll also focus on its language structure, grammar and unique phrases to enhance your English comprehension.
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Ready?
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Let's get started.
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Point number one.
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Now, when you hear someone longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt.
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Take it with a grain of salt.
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We live in a great nation, and we are rightly proud of our history.
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We are beneficiaries of the labor and the grit and the courage of generations who came before.
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But I guess it's part of human nature, especially in times of change and uncertainty,
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to want to look backwards and long for some imaginary past when everything worked,
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and the economy hummed, and all politicians were wise, and every child was well -mannered, and America pretty much did whatever it wanted around the world.
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Guess what, it ain't something.
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In this section, Obama employs repetition in, take it with a grain of salt, which emphasizes his point.
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This phrase means to be skeptical or doubtful about something.
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He claims to be an expert, but take it with a grain of salt.
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Also, notice the use of the past simple in, we lived and we were, expressing completed actions in the past the good old days weren't all
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that good yes there have been some stretches in our history where the economy grew much faster
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or when government ran more smoothly there were moments
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when immediately after world war ii for example or at the end of the cold war before, when the world bent more easily to our will.
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But those are sporadic, those moments, those episodes.
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In fact, by almost every measure, America is better and the world is better than it was 50 years ago
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or 30 years ago or even eight years ago.
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Here, Obama uses the past simple tense, as in the economy grew, to describe historical facts.
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The word sporadic means occurring irregularly.
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Sporadic rain showers are expected throughout the day.
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He contrasts the past with the present, making comparisons using the comparative form better.
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And by the way, I'm not — set aside 150 years ago,
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pre -Civil War — there's a whole bunch of stuff there we could talk about — set aside life in the 50s,
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when women and people of color were systematically excluded from big chunks of American life.
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Since I graduated in 1983, which isn't that long ago,
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I'm just saying, crime rates,
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teenage pregnancy, the share of Americans living in poverty, they're all down.
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The share of Americans with college educations have gone way up our life expectancy has as well.
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Blacks and Latinos have risen up the ranks in business and politics.
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More women are in the workforce.
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They're earning more money.
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Although it's long past time that we pass laws to make sure
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that women are getting the same pay for the same work as men.
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Notice the ellipsis in I'm not set aside, which shows a pause or omission.
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He also uses the present perfect in have gone way up, indicating a connection between the past and present.
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The phrase long past time means something that should have happened earlier.
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Example, it's long past time for him to take responsibility.
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Meanwhile, in eight years since most of you started high school, we're also better off.
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You and your fellow graduates are entering the job market with better prospects than any time since 2007.
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20 million more Americans know the financial security of health insurance.
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We're less dependent on foreign oil.
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We've doubled the production of clean energy.
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We have cut the high school dropout rate.
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We've cut the deficit by two -thirds.
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Marriage equality is the law of the land.
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And just as America's better, the world is better than when I graduate.
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Since I graduated, an iron curtain fell, apartheid ended, there's more democracy,
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we virtually eliminated certain diseases like polio, we've cut extreme poverty drastically,
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we've cut infant mortality by an enormous amount.
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Now, I say all these things not to make you complacent.
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We got a bunch of big problems to solve.
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But I say it to point out that change has been a constant in our history, and the reason America's better is because we didn't look backwards.
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We didn't fear the future.
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We seized the future and made it our own.
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And that's exactly why it's always been young people like you that have brought about big change.
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Because you don't fear the future.
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This section contains numbers and statistical facts utilizing the present perfect as in we've doubled.
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The phrase law of the land refers to laws that must be obeyed by everyone.
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Example, free speech is the law of the land in many democratic countries.
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That leads me to my second point.
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The world is more interconnected than ever before And it's becoming more connected every day.
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Building walls won't change that.
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Look, as President, my first responsibility is always the security and prosperity of the United States.
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And as citizens, we all rightly put our country first.
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But if the past two decades have taught us anything, it's that the biggest challenges we face cannot be solved in isolation.
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When overseas states start falling apart,
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they become breeding grounds for terrorists and ideologies of nihilism and despair that ultimately can reach our shores.
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When developing countries don't have functioning health systems, epidemics like Zika or Ebola can spread and threaten Americans too,
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and a wall won't stop that.
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Obama introduces his second point using a future prediction, the world is becoming more connected every day.
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The modal verb, won't, is used to express a strong determination or belief about the future.
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The phrase, breeding grounds, means a place where something develops.
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For example, the damp bathroom became a breeding ground for mold.
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If we want to close loopholes that allow large corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share of taxes,
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we've got to have the cooperation of other countries in a global financial system to help enforce financial laws.
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The point is, to help ourselves, we've got to help others.
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Not pull up the drawbridge and try to keep the world out.
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He discusses international cooperation and the use of the conditional if to express a requirement or condition.
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The term loopholes refers to ways of avoiding laws or rules.
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Example, he found a loophole in the contract and managed to avoid extra costs.
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The phrase, pull up the drawbridge, is a metaphor for isolating oneself.
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Throughout our history, a new generation of Americans has reached up
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and bent the arc of history in the direction of more freedom and more opportunity and more justice.
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And class of 2016, it is your turn now to shape our nation's destiny as well as your own.
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So get to work.
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Make sure the next 250 years are better than the last.
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Good luck.
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God bless you.
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God bless this country we love.
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Thank you.
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In the conclusion, Obama uses the imperative, get to work, to instruct or encourage.
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The phrase, bent the arc of history, is metaphorical, meaning to change the course of history.
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He also wishes luck and blessings, using the simple future will be to express future predictions.
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Excellent work, learners.
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We've dissected a meaningful speech by Barack Obama, focusing on verb tenses, unique phrases, and grammar rules.
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Make sure to revisit the speech, identifying the aspects we've discussed.
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Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep working on your English skills.
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Visit our site, englishspeechschannel .com, for exclusive access to video transcripts,
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offline audio, English lessons, and private classes.
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Don't forget to explore our free and new e -books!
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Also, subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest updates.
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Links in the description below.
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Thanks for your support!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 110 sentences and 1313 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:08. The speaker talks at a steady 130 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 |
|---|---|---|
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| grain noun | /ɡɹeɪn/ | The harvested seeds of various grass food crops, especially wheat, maize, rye, barley, and rice. |
| bend verb | /bɛnd/ | To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means. |
| breed verb | /ˈbɹiːd/ | To give birth to; to be the native place of. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| poverty noun | /ˈpɑːvɚti/ | The quality or state of being poor; lack of money |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| cooperation noun | /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of cooperating. |
| bless verb | /blɛs/ | To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| prediction noun | /pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/ | A statement of what will happen in the future. |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| rightly adverb | /ˈɹaɪtli/ | In a right manner; correctly, justifiably. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| set aside verb | /sɛt.əˈsaɪd/ | To separate and reserve something for a specific purpose. |
| pull up verb | /ˌpʊl ˈʌp/ | To lift upwards or vertically. |
| fall apart verb | To disintegrate, to break into pieces. | |
| point out verb | To identify among a group of similar subjects, or in a scene where the subject might not be readily seen or noticed, with a gesture of the body. | |
| rise up verb | To ascend to the surface. |
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 been · have gone · have risen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is filled · are expected · must be obeyed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 30 contractions and reduced forms, such as we've, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: wealthy /ˈwɛl.θi/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: cooperation /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, prediction /pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/, contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/, shore /ʃɔɹ/
- Long words — get the stress right: cooperation /koʊˌɑ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, equality /ɪˈkwɑ.lɪ.ti/, virtually /ˈvɚ.t͡ʃə.wə.li/, determination /dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən/, politician /ˌpɑ.ləˈtɪʃ.ən/
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 phrase, grain, bend.
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.