Shadowing Practice: Ethnography in Business | IELTS LISTENING TEST | SECTION-4 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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You will hear part of a lecture to business students about the use of one particular type of research known as ethnography.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
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So, what I'm going to talk about to you today is something called ethnography.
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This is a type of research aimed at exploring the way human cultures work.
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It was first developed for use in anthropology, and it's also been used in sociology and communication studies.
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So, what's it got to do with business, you may ask?
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Well, businesses are finding that ethnography can offer them deeper insight into the possible needs of customers,
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either present or future, as well as providing valuable information about their attitudes towards existing products.
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And ethnography can also help companies to design new products or services
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that customers really want let's look at some examples of how
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ethnographic research works in business one team of researchers did a
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project for a company manufacturing kitchen equipment they watched how cooks used measuring cups to measure out things like sugar
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and flour they saw that the cooks had to check
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and recheck the contents because although the measuring cups had numbers inside them, the cooks couldn't see these easily.
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So, a new design of cup was developed to overcome this problem, and it was a top seller.
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Another team of ethnographic researchers looked at how cell phones were used in Uganda, in Africa.
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They found that people who didn't have their own phones could pay to use the phones of local entrepreneurs.
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Because these customers paid in advance for their calls, they were eager to know how much time they'd spent on the call so far.
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So, the phone company designed phones for use globally with this added feature.
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Ethnographic research has also been carried out in computer companies.
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In one company, IT systems administrators were observed for several weeks.
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It was found that a large amount of their work involved communicating with colleagues in order to solve problems,
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but that they didn't have a standard way of exchanging information from spreadsheets and so on.
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So, the team came up with an idea for software that would help them to do this.
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In another piece of research, a team observed and talked to nurses working in hospitals.
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This led to the recognition that the nurses needed to access the computer records of their patients no matter where they were.
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This led to the development of a portable computer tablet that allowed the nurses to check records in locations throughout the hospital.
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Occasionally, research can be done even in environments where the researchers can't be present.
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For example, in one project done for an airline,
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respondents used their smartphones to record information during airline trips, in a study aiming at tracking the emotions of passengers during a flight.
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So, what makes studies like these different from ordinary research?
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Let's look at some of the general principles behind ethnographic research in business.
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First of all, the researcher has to be completely open-minded.
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He or she hasn't thought up a hypothesis to be tested, as is the case in other types of research.
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Instead, they wait for the participants in the research to inform them.
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As far as choosing the participants themselves is concerned, that's not really all that different from ordinary research.
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The criteria according to which the participants are chosen may be something as simple as the age bracket they fall into,
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or the researchers may select them according to their income, or they might try to find a set of people who all use a particular product, for example.
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But it's absolutely crucial to recruit the right people as participants.
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As well as the criteria I've mentioned, they have to be comfortable talking about themselves and being watched as they go about their activities.
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Actually, most researchers say that people open up pretty easily, maybe because they're often in their own home or workplace.
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So, what makes this type of research special is that it's not just a matter of sending a questionnaire to the participants.
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Instead, the research is usually based on first-hand observation of what they are doing at the time.
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But that doesn't mean that the researcher never talks to the participants.
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However, unlike in traditional research,
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in this case, it's the participant rather than the researchers who decides what direction the interview will follow.
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This means that there's less likelihood of the researcher imposing his or her own ideas on the participant.
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But after they've said goodbye to their participants and got back to their office, the researcher's work isn't finished.
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Most researchers estimate that 70 to 80 percent of their time is spent not on the collecting of data,
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but on its analysis, looking at photos, listening to recordings and transcribing them, and so on.
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The researchers may end up with hundreds of pages of notes, and to determine what's significant, They don't focus on the sensational things or the unusual things.
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Instead, they try to identify a pattern of some sort in all this data and to discern the meaning behind it.
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This can result in some compelling insights that can, in turn, feed back to the whole design process.
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That is the end of Section 4.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Ethnography in Business”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: researcher, participant, ethnographic, ethnography, type. This video has 58 sentences and 899 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:38. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| researcher noun | /ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/ | One who researches. |
| participant noun | /pɑːɹˈtɪsəpənt/ | One who participates. |
| ethnographic adjective | Relating to ethnography. | |
| ethnography noun | /ɛθˈnɑɡɹəfi/ | The branch of anthropology that scientifically describes specific human cultures and societies. |
| criterion noun | /kɹaɪˈtɪɹ.i.ən/ | A standard, test, or requirement by which individual things or people may be compared and judged; a gauge. |
| airline noun | /ˈɛɹˌlaɪn/ | A company that flies airplanes to transport people and goods. |
| observe verb | /əbˈzɜːv/ | To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail. |
| compel verb | /kəmˈpɛl/ | To overpower; to subdue. |
| discern verb | /dɪˈzɝn/ | To detect with the senses, especially with the eyes. |
| questionnaire noun | /ˌk(w)ɛstʃəˈnɛə/ | A form containing a list of questions; a means of gathering information for a survey. |
| recheck noun | The act of checking again; reverification. | |
| respondent noun | /ɹɪˈspɑn.dənt/ | One who responds; one who replies. |
| spreadsheet noun | /ˈspɹɛd.ʃit/ | A computer application for organization, analysis, and storage of data in tabular form. |
| transcribe verb | /trænˈskɹaɪb/ | To convert a representation of language, typically speech but also sign language, etc., to a written representation of it. The term now usually implies the… |
| sensational adjective | /sɛnˈseɪʃənəl/ | Of or pertaining to sensation. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. |
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) |
| open up verb | To open. |
| think up verb | To create in one’s mind; to invent. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was developed · been carried · were observed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | it's also been · has also been carried · hasn't thought |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who didn · people who all |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 13 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, can't, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: ethnography /ɛθˈnɑɡɹəfi/, anthropology /ˌænθɹəˈpɑləd͡ʒi/, hypothesis /haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: spreadsheet /ˈspɹɛd.ʃit/, sensational /sɛnˈseɪʃənəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: participant /pɑːɹˈtɪsəpənt/, ethnography /ɛθˈnɑɡɹəfi/, criterion /kɹaɪˈtɪɹ.i.ən/, sensational /sɛnˈseɪʃənəl/, anthropology /ˌænθɹəˈpɑləd͡ʒi/
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 researcher, participant, ethnographic.
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.