Shadowing Practice: Every ADHD Symptom Explained in 8 Minutes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Ever walked into a room and forgotten why you were there?
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Read the same paragraph four times, only to realize you couldn't remember a single sentence?
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Spent 20 minutes looking for your phone while it was in your hand?
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Everyone experiences moments like these.
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By themselves, they don't mean someone has ADHD.
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But when these patterns happen consistently, across different parts of life, they may point to something researchers have studied for decades.
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Today, we're walking through all 18 ADHD symptoms recognized in the DSM -5TR.
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Mistakes.
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You proofread an email three times.
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Everything looks fine.
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You hit send and immediately notice the wrong date.
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For someone with ADHD, small details can slip through even when they genuinely care about getting things right.
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It's not necessarily a lack of intelligence or effort it's more like the brain's quality control system occasionally misses something obvious.
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A tiny detail gets overlooked and only becomes visible afterward.
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Focus.
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You open a book you're actually interested in.
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Four pages later, you're staring at the words without remembering what you just read.
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Your eyes stayed on the page.
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Your attention didn't.
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This is difficulty sustaining attention.
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And it can happen even during things someone enjoys.
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The problem isn't always interest.
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Sometimes, keeping the brain locked onto one task is simply difficult.
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Listening.
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Someone is talking to you.
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You hear the beginning.
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Then, a random thought appears.
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Did I lock the door?
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Now you're thinking about the door.
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While the conversation continues without you.
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From the outside, it can look like you're ignoring someone.
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Inside, it can feel like the signal suddenly dropped.
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You want to listen.
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Your attention just moved somewhere else.
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Follow through.
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You start a project with enthusiasm.
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The first half gets done.
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Then another task appears.
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Then another.
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Eventually, the original project is sitting there, unfinished.
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The frustrating part is that you may still care about completing it.
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The problem is maintaining the chain of actions needed to finish.
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Starting can be easy.
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Finishing can be much harder.
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Organization.
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Your week contains appointments, bills, work, errands, deadlines, and dozens of little responsibilities.
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Now try to decide what comes first.
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What can wait?
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How long will everything take?
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For someone with ADHD, organizing all of this can feel like solving a puzzle while someone keeps adding pieces.
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And it's not just about having a messy room.
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It's about managing priorities, time, tasks, and plans.
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Mental effort.
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There's a form sitting on your desk.
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It's not difficult.
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You know exactly what to do, but you keep avoiding it.
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Suddenly, checking your phone feels important.
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Cleaning the kitchen sounds appealing.
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Anything except starting that form.
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This is why mentally demanding tasks can feel strangely difficult to begin.
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It's like pushing a car with the parking brake on.
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Once momentum starts, the task may become much easier.
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Losing things.
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Keys.
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Wallet.
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Glasses.
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Phone.
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You put something down.
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And moments later, you have no idea where it is.
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You search everywhere.
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Then discover it sitting somewhere obvious.
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For someone with ADHD, HD, the brain may not reliably keep track of where everyday objects were placed.
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It's not necessarily carelessness.
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The object simply disappears from the brain's mental map.
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Distraction.
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You're working.
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Your phone buzzes.
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Then someone walks past.
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A dog barks.
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And suddenly, you remember something completely unrelated that you need to do.
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Five minutes later, you're doing something else entirely for people with adhd distractions can compete very strongly for attention
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it's like having too many browser tabs open
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and everyone is trying to become the main one forgetting remember to call the doctor
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you remember absolutely then you walk into another room, and it's gone.
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Working memory is like a temporary sticky note in your brain.
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It holds information long enough for you to use it.
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With ADHD, that sticky note can be unreliable.
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You can care about the appointment.
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You can genuinely intend to remember and still forget.
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Hyperactivity and impulsivity.
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Fidgeting.
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You're sitting in a meeting.
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Your leg starts bouncing.
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Then your fingers start tapping.
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You shift in your chair.
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Eventually, you realize you've been moving the entire time.
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For someone with ADHD, staying completely still can require effort.
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Movement may happen almost automatically as the body tries to release that internal restlessness.
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Leaving.
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You're sitting through a long meeting.
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10 minutes is fine.
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20 minutes.
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Your body wants to move.
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Eventually, you stand up.
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For someone with ADHD, remaining seated for long periods can become physically uncomfortable.
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It's not necessarily impatience.
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Sometimes, the body simply needs to move.
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Moving.
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For children, this can mean literally running or climbing when they shouldn't.
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Running through a room.
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Climbing furniture.
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Constantly moving.
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Adults may experience it differently.
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Pacing.
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Walking around.
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Finding reasons to move.
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The behavior can change with age, but the underlying restlessness can remain.
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Quiet.
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Finally, you have nothing to do.
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No work.
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No responsibilities.
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Just relax.
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But sitting quietly feels strangely uncomfortable.
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You check your phone.
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Turn on the television.
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Start cleaning.
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Find another task.
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For some people with ADHD, quiet leisure doesn't feel restful.
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The brain keeps asking, what are we doing next?
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Motor.
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Imagine an engine that's always running.
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Even when you're sitting down.
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Even when you're on vacation.
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There's still a feeling that you should be doing something.
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Moving.
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Working.
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Going somewhere.
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Starting something.
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That's what Driven by a Motor is trying to describe.
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The body may be still, but the internal engine isn't.
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Talking.
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A thought appears.
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Then another.
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Then another.
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Your brain is moving faster than the conversation.
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So you keep talking.
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More details.
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Another story.
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Another example.
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From the outside, it may look like you simply talk too much.
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But sometimes, speaking is part of trying to keep up with rapidly arriving thoughts.
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Blurts.
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Someone is asking a question.
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You already know the answer.
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You try to wait, but the thought feels like it's going to disappear.
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So you say it.
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Then realize They weren't finished.
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For someone with ADHD, delaying a response can be difficult.
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The thought feels urgent.
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The brain chooses speed before timing.
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Waiting.
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You're standing in line.
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Five minutes.
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Ten minutes.
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Nothing changes.
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Your body gets restless.
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Your mind starts searching for stimulation.
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Waiting can be uncomfortable for anyone.
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But with ADHD, that discomfort can become much stronger.
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Interrupting.
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Someone is telling a story.
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You suddenly remember something.
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You tell yourself, wait, but you're afraid the thought will disappear, so you jump in, then realize they weren't finished.
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The thought was important.
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The timing wasn't.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Every ADHD Symptom Explained in 8 Minutes”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: adhd, sitting, task, brain, moving. This video has 175 sentences and 1079 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:23. The speaker talks at a steady 129 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| uncomfortable adjective | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | Not comfortable; causing discomfort. |
| disappear verb | /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ | To vanish. |
| climb verb | /ˈklaɪ̯m/ | To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending). |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| sticky adjective | /ˈstɪki/ | Tending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| strangely adverb | /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒli/ | In a strange or coincidental manner. |
| finger noun | /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other… |
| ignore verb | /ɪɡˈnɔː/ | To deliberately not listen or pay attention to. |
| temporary adjective | /ˈtɛmp(əˌɹ)ɛɹi/ | Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| strongly adverb | /ˈstɹɔŋli/ | In a strong or powerful manner. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| afterwards adverb | /ˈæf.tɚ.wɚdz/ | At a later or succeeding time; after that; |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| follow through verb | To execute or complete a commitment. |
| keep up with verb | To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one. |
| run through verb | To summarise briefly. |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
| sit through verb | To unwillingly stay seated until the end of an event. |
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. |
| walk around verb | To walk with no planned destination; to meander. |
| walk through verb | To explain (something) to (someone), step by step. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Ever walked into a room and forgotten why you were there?
- You open a book you're actually interested in.
- Did I lock the door?
- There's a form sitting on your desk.
- The brain keeps asking, what are we doing next?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 24 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, isn't, weren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, leisure /ˈlɛʒə(ɹ)/, unfinished /ʌnˈfɪnɪʃt/
- Long words — get the stress right: necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, temporary /ˈtɛmp(əˌɹ)ɛɹi/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/
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 necessarily, uncomfortable, disappear.
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.