Shadowing Practice: EPISODE 1 - A Fight - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
514 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hello.
2
Sorry to bother you.
3
Can I ask you a slightly odd question?
4
Yes.
5
I'm making a podcast called Strangers on a Bench, where essentially I talk to people I don't know on benches for 10 or 15 minutes.
6
Are you up for that?
7
Do you want to give it a go?
8
Is there a day of the week that you favour?
9
No. So does that mean you kind of just spring out of bed in the morning, you feel good about your life?
10
Most days I try to come out of bed and feel the best.
11
I mean obviously depending on what happens the night before
12
and what's going on in
13
that period of time in my life I guess it can waver
14
but I mean most days you're grateful to be seeing the light day the next day so yeah it's nice.
15
I had someone
16
which I went to for this every day as soon as they got up they just said thank you
17
which I really liked.
18
That's beautiful.
19
As a way to start the day this seems like a lovely thing to do right?
20
What are you most excited about at the moment?
21
Probably, I'd say it's basketball again.
22
I'm a big basketball player and I've recently kind of got back into it.
23
I've been playing every day for the past two weeks now and that was like, you know, as a teenager that was probably my biggest passion.
24
So I tried to follow that dream and got injured.
25
I wanted to go to America to play in the NBA professionally and I, ironically enough, I was voted in my yearbook,
26
you know, most likely to go to the NBA, but it never happened.
27
This bird's been trying to court this lady.
28
He's been trying I just noticed him because he's the biggest bird, he's got the biggest mane and stuff.
29
Yeah, he's puffing out.
30
Yeah, yeah.
31
But yeah, so I really wanted to go to play professionally in America, but it didn't happen.
32
So I kind of just gave that dream up, to be fair.
33
Tell me about what is to you the beauty of basketball?
34
Well, I don't know.
35
So there's a saying that, it's a big saying in the basketball community, ball is life.
36
It's like a weird philosophy to adopt but like everyone
37
that I've known that's like taking basketball seriously has adopted
38
that saying and like it kind of embodies what basketball is for like a real basketball player
39
or person that yeah a person that plays a person
40
that enjoys it watching it I don't know
41
I think um first of all like in playing it it's a very intense game
42
I've read a lot of eastern philosophy in my time
43
and um I like samurais and stuff
44
and I kind of like relate a basketball match to like
45
a samurai fight like a duel like it doesn't have to be serious
46
but i mean if you want to take it serious it can be really competitive it can be really
47
engaging and i i find that super rewarding um but maybe
48
because my dad also played it when he was younger
49
and i maybe wanted to emulate a bit of what i'd heard about him
50
because i never really met my dad
51
so i really wanted to like you know just maybe that was a bit of it i don't know yeah
52
Can I ask you a question about your dad?
53
Yeah, sure.
54
So you haven't met him?
55
No, he went to prison when I was like three months old.
56
He went to prison early in my life, so I have no memories of him at all.
57
Do you know anything about his whereabouts now?
58
No, no idea.
59
I think apparently what happened was I got sex in probably 2020, and apparently before I got sex,
60
he called me, and I was just not trying to pick up his calls.
61
I was just like to all my family members that were telling me,
62
like you know your dad's calling you etc i was just like berating him to them
63
and just saying you know i want no contact with him
64
and um yeah uh that being said like i also now have been to prison myself
65
and like i've recently come out like three months ago now yeah i was there for a year
66
and two months and um yeah i've kind of just like i don't know
67
that gave me a new kind of perspective on just appreciation for things gratitude for things
68
so like i think at
69
that time i was very like hurt by you know the fact
70
that i didn't have an opportunity to get to know him as a kid
71
So I think I kind of took that out on him in
72
that moment by not wanting to build a relationship with him
73
But since coming out and since even inside I said to myself, you know, I need to kind of take every
74
Aspect of life that I can grasp and just be grateful for it and take it like,
75
you know, with gratitude and love and acceptance and stuff
76
So is there any chance to see him?
77
Oh, yeah, I'm sure there is.
78
I mean, I don't have his contact details I think my mum does at one point.
79
I probably could reach out to him and I do plan on it hopefully.
80
I'm just trying to at this point just kind of like you know level myself out
81
and ground myself
82
and kind of like you know figure out what I'm doing for myself before I then pursue relations with other people.
83
I understand.
84
Like because that's a big deal to me.
85
Yeah.
86
I often think, so I've got a couple of daughters.
87
Yeah that's beautiful. And...
88
It's hard sometimes to, you know, you think how do you change someone?
89
It's a fascinating thing, like when does someone change?
90
And there's a great quote from Nietzsche about like, if you want to change a man, you've got to start with his grandmother.
91
Okay, I've never heard anything.
92
Because it goes so far back.
93
Yeah, yeah.
94
And it's so interesting when you're saying, you know, your father was in prison.
95
Yeah.
96
And then you've been in prison.
97
My older brother is apparently in prison now
98
and i haven't i've only met my older brother once so like yeah so family so basically at some point
99
someone's going to break the chain yeah yeah and i also think about
100
that like these these you know these various events happen
101
and then someone's got to just find a way to like stop
102
that carrying i hope that i hope and pray that
103
that can be like my kids to be fair
104
because like i do not want them to see that
105
that part of society that part of like life like people in there telling me like like,
106
you know, this is a life for no one and 100 % it's not a life for anyone.
107
It's not, like, I mean, who wouldn't want to be in a park just sitting down and free,
108
being able to do what they want to do?
109
Do you mind me asking what Prism is like for you?
110
So when I got out, I think two days later, I went to see my grandparents in Birmingham.
111
And I remember just crying the whole time going there on the motorway when my mum was driving me there.
112
I was crying.
113
And yeah, I was playing with my baby cousin while I was there.
114
I couldn't stop crying.
115
I don't know.
116
It was super hard.
117
My granddad said to me afterwards, a couple of weeks later, when he called me up, he just said, you know,
118
when I saw you last time, it looked like you'd been through some shit.
119
But I think it was just the contrast of being free, having that time spent in there, it was a lot to bear,
120
it was a lot to comprehend.
121
And like I said, I've been out for three months, I'm still kind of trying to get used to it.
122
I'm still trying to really just understand what it means to be free, what it means to be liberated.
123
I don't know, I think the stigma about prison, and I've said this to loads of people,
124
the stigma about prison is that it's full of tough people and I saw this great quote when I was in there,
125
I said, you know, just because you've done bad things doesn't mean you're a bad person.
126
That stuck with me when I was in there, because I was like, yo, that's really true.
127
I mean, what makes someone a better person at one point than they were at another point?
128
Inside, it was like, everyone in there, besides your one -two kind of cunts, really, everyone in there was really uplifting, really supportive of each other,
129
because no one wants to be here, and people in prison, they don't want to make anyone's time harder.
130
And I think that is like a beautiful thing for me to realize
131
that like you know that I kind of want to carry on outside
132
It's hard to do outside though because like I find
133
that outside of prison like people are ignorant and like I mean ignorance is blissful, but like it's blissful to the person practicing the ignorance
134
and it's not blissful to everyone else I mean I will practice ignorance to be fair as well
135
What what what was a typical day like for you there?
136
Okay, so um the last prison I was in I was in Leicester
137
I think this is like the most new prison in the country to be fair
138
and it was single cell so you're in you're by yourself in a cell
139
It's tiny room kind of like a college dormitory or something like that
140
You want telly you've got a kettle they're the things they supply you've had a shower myself
141
So I didn't have to actually go outside the cell to shower.
142
They open your doors at 7 30
143
No, yeah 7 30 I'd be awake from before they've opened the door so I wake up pretty early and Yeah,
144
I'm outside first thing really trying to socialize trying to connect with people and And most of the time everyone's sleeping still,
145
so I'm just there, just like kind of doing my daily tasks, I guess.
146
Like, you know, I might, let's say I've got some washing to do.
147
Like, I'm like, you know, how you just saw me today, I play my music.
148
I'm that person that 24 -7, no matter what I'm doing, either headphones or out loud, music's always around me.
149
It really calms me the fuck down.
150
So, like, yeah, I'm, let's say 8 .30 now, you can go to your activities in the prison and whatnot.
151
I was doing an art class in the afternoon and I was also doing a music course, like a music production course in the mornings.
152
Come back to the wing, eat my lunch, get banged up again for another hour and you come out maybe 1 .30,
153
then back to the course.
154
You come back to the wing at maybe 5 .00.
155
That's to do like role check to make sure everyone's in and you come out, you get your dinner.
156
and then you're out from dinner time until maybe like 7 .15 and then 7 .15's end of the day,
157
you're banged up until the next morning and that was basically a day
158
but like I said it's for the most part I was trying to socialize as much as possible, really listen to music as much as possible,
159
just enjoy myself as much as possible, uplift people as much as possible, be uplifted as much as possible, learn as much as possible.
160
Shit time though.
161
Shit time.
162
Shit time.
163
Shit time.
164
Shit time.
165
Yeah.
166
I mean...
167
And that, like I said, that in terms of like prison, like I was in South London in prison,
168
South London before I got there and that was similar.
169
It was double cell.
170
So like just sharing a space with someone now and that in itself is daunting because this isn't something that you know,
171
this isn't something that you've ever met before.
172
This is something that you have to accept and you have to hope
173
that accepts you and you know you have to consider
174
and whatnot and like there's one tv yeah
175
and like you know you can't think you've got to compromise
176
you have to figure out who was this person i mean i don't say any names
177
but what what are they like
178
so the my last cell mate he was an older gentleman
179
he was a lovely guy he was um in his early 50s he'd done a longer time than me
180
so i think he'd done like three years in there and
181
that was his first time in person as well
182
so like he was used to it and stuff
183
and like he had 10 kids and like he would ring his missus every night at seven o 'clock Yeah, he was just lovely though.
184
He was really supportive.
185
With this guy?
186
Yeah.
187
Did you have any kind of, I guess you're spending so much time together, right?
188
Did you develop any kind of rituals between the two of you?
189
Yeah, yeah.
190
In this prison I was at, we would get banged up at six.
191
As soon as we banged up for Channel 4, Simpsons, I'd watch Simpsons.
192
I've got like Bart Simpson on my neck.
193
Amazing.
194
I'd watch Simpsons all the time.
195
He was like, for lack of a better term, a homebody.
196
So like he didn't want to engage with anyone
197
he just said like you know what their vibrations their like energy is just
198
It fucking depresses me.
199
He's like I don't want to be around it.
200
Yeah, so he would stay in the cell and Sometimes I'd be out
201
so and I'd come back in now for bang up and like he would already have the Simpsons on and like yeah
202
That was like a nice routine ago
203
Would you like to keep in touch with him or is it you feel like once you're you've left prison?
204
It's like there's no I mean you feel like you're you want to distance yourself from everything in there?
205
100 100 100 i would have kept in touch with him he
206
because he did like you know we spoke about keeping in touch
207
but i got moved prison so like he was working in the kitchen at that point and
208
like they just come to my door in the morning said like you know
209
you're going to leicester i was like i can't even tell him say bye to him
210
and stuff so i just wrote him a note
211
and just like put my number on the note
212
and i don't know if he's got it i don't know
213
if he's gonna reach out to me what did the note
214
say like i said just being grateful for like him and his graciousness like
215
He was super lovely.
216
So I was just trying to show him appreciation.
217
Can I ask what you did to get into this fight?
218
Went to a fight.
219
GBH.
220
Can you tell me about the fight?
221
Oh yeah, so it was about a girl to be girl.
222
It was about a girl?
223
My girlfriend at the time, yeah.
224
She was like messing with someone and I'd basically turn up at her house and seen her with the person.
225
I'd assumed she was messing with and like I kind of just flipped out and go and survive.
226
So before this you were together?
227
Yeah, for five years.
228
Oh, for five years, that's quite a long time.
229
She lived with me and then she moved out.
230
She lived with me again, then she moved out again and it was very up and down.
231
It was stupid, yeah.
232
and yeah like are you like how often do you think about like
233
that moment like what's the kind of super all the time
234
i mean not not necessarily the moment more the relationship
235
because i don't want to dwell on the the negative
236
but i think about like you know just just for the most part
237
it was one night she was gonna come over to my house
238
she didn't come over i went over to her house now
239
and then yeah like it's just that one decision i thought like you know if i didn't actually go there
240
Yeah, maybe I wouldn't have been arrested, maybe I wouldn't have been in prison and like maybe my life would be completely different,
241
maybe we'd still be together.
242
Probably not, but like, I don't know, like just that.
243
Yeah.
244
What would happen if you saw him again?
245
I'd probably apologise to be fair.
246
Like, I'd want to extend my condolences for how I've treated him and, you know, for my actions that night,
247
because that was, yeah, he didn't deserve that.
248
No one deserves that.
249
So you're now focused on making some dosh?
250
Yeah, really.
251
And how are you going to do it?
252
No idea, man.
253
No idea.
254
No idea.
255
That's the bane of 2024 living.
256
I hate the fact that to survive, you have to really engage in this kind of lifestyle of going to work
257
and who's made this rule that you need to go to work to fucking eat
258
and drink and like not have shelter like it's really absurd to me like it's absurd really
259
but it's the facts of life at this point yeah have you got any idea what
260
if you could start something up what would you start up
261
with your own accord um to finance the financial benefit myself yeah um well
262
i've been making music now for probably three years let's say two years three years
263
and i think i've made like you know five pound from it ever.
264
Probably.
265
It's five more than nothing.
266
Yeah, 100%.
267
When you start a venture like that, it's not really about the monetary gain that you can get from it.
268
I'd make multiple songs a day just because I was passionate about music and for me it would have to be music.
269
Recently I've kind of fell out of love with creating music though.
270
I think.
271
Why?
272
I don't know man.
273
I'm trying to grasp it.
274
I've been trying to grasp it for the past couple of weeks.
275
I sold my sampler now.
276
My sampler was like a few thousand pound sampler, I sold it just because I need to survive.
277
I think I can't really allow myself to sit down and focus on enjoyment.
278
I think I have to be strict with myself and say to myself, OK, even if you do a mundane job for the time being,
279
at least then, once I do find that I'm comfortable and sustainable in like, you know, how I'm living, then I can, you know,
280
maybe go back to it and enjoy it.
281
Are you singing so?
282
No, no, no. I write poetry but I have never tried to incorporate any poetry into any of my beats and stuff.
283
Yeah, interesting.
284
I mean what I would say is I think if you do poetry, you've got these two forces.
285
So you've got the poetry and you've got the music.
286
It sounds like they've got to come together.
287
Yeah, yeah.
288
That's kind of how great songs work on the whole.
289
Yeah, yeah, I know.
290
Not always but it's a good start.
291
Yeah, no doubt, definitely.
292
It's scary for me, that is scary for me.
293
Just because I feel like I don't want to be misunderstood, I guess.
294
Yeah, but also you've experienced some really potent things.
295
Yeah, for sure.
296
A lot of people haven't.
297
And you yourself have been tested emotionally so much more than the average person, right?
298
Especially at your age.
299
So it's like, you've got a lot to say.
300
So I would say like, you know, there's a lot you could do for other people in that as well.
301
Thank you.
302
And it's just about like jumping I suppose.
303
Maybe, maybe one day.
304
I definitely think you should do it.
305
Yeah, thank you.
306
Is there anything I could do to encourage you further?
307
No, it was lovely.
308
Like I mean, it's been very affirming.
309
Like I want to write a book to be fair with you.
310
That's probably going to be my magnus open, so hopefully to write a book but yeah,
311
maybe in the interim I'll make some songs and rhyme up or whatever.
312
So the book, if you want to write a book, what's the book?
313
I don't know, so I've got notebooks, finished multiple notebooks of just ranting about like you know, like you said the experiences I've had really
314
and like how it's affected me what I think about it I think for me the book
315
it's kind of gonna be about society in like the modern day how
316
that is affecting people and how that has affected me and like what my experience is basically what I'm trying to do.
317
A lot of people I've talked to
318
so far what seems to be like such a common thread
319
that's come up is like where is it all going so wrong?
320
If I ask you say where we were going a bit wrong especially in terms of young people, which you are.
321
What would you say?
322
Yeah, sure.
323
So this is kind of a big thing for me, I guess, in terms of like,
324
I don't really get on with a lot of young people.
325
I mean people my age, for the most part like teenagers and young people,
326
there's this weird like ideology that you have to kind of be super strong.
327
I guess strong, you can use, it's synonymous with hard or whatever, but like that a lot of kids kind of have this ideology
328
that they have to be tough uh i think that's bullshit
329
i think you should be vulnerable you should be taught to be vulnerable
330
you should accept people's vulnerability like this online culture like i
331
grew up in like you know the midst of online becoming like popular like like
332
when i was a kid kid there wasn't any social media
333
but now every kid has it every adult has it everyone's on it everyone's you know engaging with it
334
and even now like there's a there's a school outside of where i live
335
and like it says like i was so amazed
336
when i saw this it made me laugh because i think it's absurd
337
that they even got to put this but there's a sign outside the school
338
that has like it's for parents and it says like please
339
when you're picking up your kids don't be on your phones i'm just thinking like the fact
340
that you've got to tell adults this like you know adults with kids not to go on their phone like
341
when they're picking up their kids it's crazy
342
and i told my mom about it and she said that
343
that was a thing like they didn't have that when i was in school that's that's crazy though
344
It's really weird the trajectory that we're going into.
345
What is your relationship with your mother like?
346
It's really weird because it's like I'm a real mother's boy
347
but at the same time she kicked me out when I was 18 for smoking weed.
348
I started smoking weed when I was let's say 14.
349
I probably started properly smoking weed when I was 16
350
so like most days I guess she just didn't think it was good for me
351
and just didn't agree with me doing that and said you know what
352
if you're going to be destructive to yourself I'm not going to be a part of it it i guess
353
and yeah she kicked me out when i was like 18
354
so just before the new year
355
when I was turning 19 the next year she kicked me out
356
and I had to go to a hostel and live by myself
357
and whatnot and I lived in a hostel for maybe two years
358
and then I got my flat in my estate where I grew up actually
359
so my mum lives down the road from me
360
so like I literally I came from my house just now to be fair
361
so it's really weird it's a weird dynamic
362
because like I feel really hurt by her and abandoned I guess
363
but at the same time like I'm very grateful as well
364
because I wouldn't be here talking to you wouldn't be here enjoying life and like everything if that didn't happen
365
so how did you kind of fix it uh fix like the relationship yeah
366
it didn't you chucked you out oh yeah
367
and then you felt bad about that yeah yeah for sure and so how did that come back around to feeling better?
368
I think it was just probably like my willingness to accept the present
369
and accept the past and just accept like you know what's happened really
370
and where I am and to be grateful for it.
371
We still have arguments and still like struggle to communicate.
372
I think even like a couple weeks ago I cut her off
373
and said to her you know I've never spoken to you again
374
and like stuff so like yeah life's completely up and down.
375
But it's in a good better place now?
376
Yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure.
377
Like I said, I literally went to my house to make breakfast for myself just
378
because I had no food in my house.
379
I was like, you know, I need to walk down the road, make some breakfast, sat there with her for a bit,
380
so I went to her and then, like, yeah, left and came in to read some books, really, and stuff.
381
Showed up the books I got because she loves books and stuff.
382
Oh, lovely.
383
Yeah, man.
384
What's a good breakfast for you these days?
385
I'm a big foodie, man.
386
I think, so today I made, like, it's really weird, because I made, like, mushrooms, tuna with noodles
387
and yeah I had like loads of sauces and seasoning on the mushrooms and tried to make my own weird stuff.
388
How amazing.
389
Very experimental with my food.
390
I'm also a huge mushroom fan.
391
Yeah I love mushrooms.
392
Very weirdly the last person I just talked to also big on mushrooms.
393
Maybe I've got like a mushroom scent that I'm picking up on.
394
You mentioned that you hadn't met your brother or you hadn't spoken to your brother, is that right?
395
I think I met my brother when I was 10 years old maybe.
396
Like I'd met him once, he came over to my nan's house and then like I'd never heard from him again.
397
And I think my mum told me maybe a couple of years ago
398
that he's in prison so I don't know if he's still there but yeah.
399
A lot of young brother that's been my brother, my real, actual family for my whole life.
400
Did you get on with him okay?
401
Yeah, for sure.
402
He's in America right now actually.
403
He went to Ethan.
404
Oh, wow.
405
He went to Ethan.
406
He got a scholarship to go to Ethan.
407
He's in America on a scholarship in California.
408
I'm doing rowing and stuff, so yeah.
409
Like, he's doing well for himself and stuff, so yeah.
410
Super happy for him.
411
That's lovely.
412
Yeah, super contrast of life and stuff, like me in prison, him in Eton and he's going to America and stuff, yeah.
413
That's life.
414
For sure, man.
415
Do you feel any sense of competition with him at all?
416
No, not at all.
417
I'm super proud of him.
418
He came to visit me one time when I was in prison for Christmas, really.
419
My mum's there, he's there, and I think I asked them a fucking weird -ass question.
420
I just said to them, like, do you guys find it that, like, you know, can you silence your thoughts and stuff?
421
And he just said something like, you know, he's my brother, so, like, you know, I'm the same.
422
I don't know.
423
That was a really beautiful moment for me
424
that like you know he feels that connected to me I feel no competition
425
that he inspires me
426
if anything like he inspires me to be the best version
427
of myself he's probably one of my biggest inspirations of all time
428
so beautiful thank you this is a kind of a weird non question question
429
if you could ask yourself a question and answer it for now I think
430
that is anything you like you'd like to ask yourself
431
and then try and answer it I mean it's a bit of a It's a bit of a funny one isn't it?
432
Yeah that's a hard one.
433
Probably like in just sitting here today I've asked myself a question.
434
I was reading this book called The Book of Tea and that's like a Eastern philosophical book.
435
And a quote I wrote down was, we have created a harmony which is weak against aggression.
436
That is a quote that stood out to me.
437
So I guess I would ask myself,
438
how can you be strong against aggression? like how do you be how do you live in harmony against aggression and stuff
439
harmony is you kind of don't associate that with aggression
440
so like how can you harmonize stuff and you know live in a world
441
that is aggressive and i don't know how to even start answering
442
that it's good it's good to you know it's good to have a starting point for sure and you see
443
i noticed in your book two playing cards can i ask you about what those are
444
so i this is a new notebook i've like i found in my cupboard today
445
and i wanted to put some stuff in it just some sentimental stuff in it my lucky number is free
446
so so like i said to myself the first three cards
447
that i put out this deck i'll put in this notebook well the first one was the Joker,
448
the second one was the Eight and the third one was the Queen.
449
And I think they perfectly describe me to be fair, so like Joker, I like to have fun and laugh and shit.
450
Eight, I guess for me that's also a lucky number for me, I associate that with affinity and everlastingness I guess.
451
And then Queen I associate that with femininity, I like feminine stuff. So yeah.
452
That's wonderful.
453
Yeah, thank you man.
454
Oh that's so cool.
455
Is there anything, is there anything that,
456
you know we all have these things that are invisible that we kind of carry with us,
457
people would never normally see about you or know or whatever, do you wish people could see something of you which,
458
do you wish you could tell people about you, do you know what I mean?
459
I don't know, I was at someone's house probably a couple of weeks ago
460
and they said they were on the train
461
or they were trying to get the train
462
and they were just surrounded by people and everyone just looked pissed off and just didn't look happy with their life,
463
they just didn't look like they were having fun with their life they didn't look like they understood how to have fun,
464
I don't know if you've heard the saying you can only reach someone as far as they've reached themselves
465
Even if you try to show someone the utmost amount of love, they can only love you back as much as they have loved themselves back.
466
I'm not aware of how much someone's been in need of love.
467
I'm not aware of how much someone's accepted love for themselves or in love in their life and stuff.
468
So when I was first presented with the notion that people are hard to love, I was just like, no, they're not.
469
I think that just depends on who you are in relation to them
470
and I think that's
471
that would be what I'd like to change about how people
472
perceive me maybe like I think people look at me as a person
473
and they kind of like see a man first
474
and foremost see my race after that
475
and then like you know see maybe the clothes I'm wearing off
476
that see how I'm acting off that and like these are all things in
477
which they can judge me on and I think like I was
478
so kind of just focused on loving people
479
and being a being of love
480
that like I don't know I know I went to prison for violence
481
and now having this aspect of unconditional love for everything.
482
But I think that was a big thing for me even in going to prison and stuff.
483
Because the reason why I went in was because I tried to control the circumstance.
484
And if I just accepted that I couldn't control the circumstance and existed in love for myself,
485
enough love for myself that I didn't react in a way in which I wasn't going to be detrimental to myself, then yeah,
486
my life would have been completely different but like everything happens for a reason
487
so like maybe that was the reason for me to learn
488
that lesson good answer thank you my brother um let's go for the the last the last question
489
which is the same as everyone gets but the question is um what are you gonna do next
490
okay today i'm gonna try to i don't know what time is now 4 18.
491
4 18 okay cool
492
so i'm gonna try to you know finish my book well
493
finish like as much as I can of my book I'll go back to like my local park
494
and I'll play some basketball hopefully with my friends or practice by myself and then go home
495
speak to a couple of my friends
496
and watch some anime try to clean my house as well that's my plans for the rest of the day
497
and then in the grand scheme of things what's my plans
498
and my plans are I guess to just like I said try to like consist with love
499
and bring love to everyone I me
500
and try to you know be accepting of what love i can receive and what love i can give
501
perfect thanks so much for talking to me no thank you so much my brother it's been such a pleasure
502
i would be better if somebody showed me how i would be smarter
503
If somebody let me out, I would be kinder
504
If these weren't the cause I was dealt, I would be stronger
505
If I knew how to ask for help
506
But I think I'm done with the excuses
507
I told myself I won't get used to it I'm over all the pain and the illusions
508
Cause in the end I'm the one who loses I'm trying to change,
509
I'm trying to grow
510
My mind's telling me yes
511
My heart's telling me no
512
Still I'm trying to change I'm trying to grow
513
My heart's telling me yes
514
My mind's telling me no I'm trying to change
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B23
151 sentences
a week in my life | productive, healthy living, relaxing
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
126 sentences
LeBron on Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers | BEST OF MIND THE GAME
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
371 sentences
The cost of being understood, stop explaining yourself & face the discomfort of being misunderstood
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B16
78 sentences
Can You Understand This Football Podcast?⚽ | Easy English Conversation (A2–B1)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
95 sentences
A Simple Habit That (Sort of) Fixed My Social Skills for Good.
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1337 sentences
I Played the First Ever Fan Controlled Baseball Game
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
58 sentences
"The Beauty Inside" - Episode 6
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
414 sentences
DPR Ian Reads Thirst Tweets
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
108 sentences
Sallie runs into Andrew Tate at Dirty Boxing
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
316 sentences
life update
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
363 sentences
I Dared A Shy DJ To Perform For 15,000 People
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
179 sentences
English With Series Ted Lasso | Idioms, Expressions, Vocab
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “EPISODE 1 - A Fight”. This video has 514 sentences and 5931 words to shadow. The speech runs for 30:15. The speaker talks fast, about 196 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| mushroom noun | /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/ | Any of the fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi typically produced above ground on soil or on their food sources (such as decaying wood). |
| grateful adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ | Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. |
| bang noun | /ˈbæŋ/ | A sudden percussive noise. |
| poetry noun | /ˈpoʊ.ə.tɹi/ | Literature composed in verse or language exhibiting conscious attention to patterns and rhythm. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| aggression noun | /əˈɡɹɛʃən/ | The act of initiating hostilities or invasion. |
| notebook noun | /ˈnoʊtˌbʊk/ | A book (physical or digital) in which notes or memoranda are written. |
| associate noun | /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/ | A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or employee. |
| weed noun | /wiːd/ | Any plant unwanted at the place where and at the time when it is growing. |
| harmony noun | /ˈhɑ̟ɹ.mə.ni/ | Agreement or accord. |
| ignorance noun | /ˈɪɡ.nɚ.əns/ | The condition of being uninformed or uneducated; lack of knowledge or information. |
| grasp verb | /ɡɹæsp/ | To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand. |
| absurd adjective | /əbˈsɜːd/ | Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and flatly opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with the plain dictates of common sense; logically contradictory… |
| contrast noun | /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/ | The degree of this difference. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| get on with verb | To proceed with; to begin or continue, especially after an interruption. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| move out verb | To leave one's present location; to leave somewhere for another place. | |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Can I ask you a slightly odd question?
- Are you up for that?
- Do you want to give it a go?
- What are you most excited about at the moment?
- What's a good breakfast for you these days?
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 | I've been playing · bird's been trying · He's been trying |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if somebody showed me how i would be · If somebody let me out, I would be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've known · I've read · haven't met |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was voted · being said · be liberated |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 200 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thread /ˈθɹɛd/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: mushroom /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/, aggression /əˈɡɹɛʃən/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, scholarship /ˈskɑːləɹʃɪp/
- Long words — get the stress right: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, ideology /aɪ.diˈɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like mushroom, grateful, bang.
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.