Shadowing Practice: Every Type of Friend in a Friend Group, Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The short friend.
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Every friend group has this guy.
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Maybe pushing 5 -5 on a good day.
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He immediately becomes furniture in any room he walks in.
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Somebody rests an elbow on his head or asks if he needs a booster seat for the couch.
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He has a few nicknames that will vary per friend group, but maybe something like Hobbit or Ankle Hugger, whatever the name is in your group, you know it.
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When I first started this section, I knew that person came straight to mind.
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The one thing about this friend is that he is actually dangerous.
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Years of getting bullied created a secret monster.
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You make one short joke and you're either getting a straight liver punch
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or hearing words that shouldn't come out of one's mouth.
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Maybe something about your hairline, weight, or family.
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Because he will never win the height war, he had to develop the skills of the mouth, making himself undefeated in verbal combat.
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The truth is, most of the time, the short friend really doesn't mind when you talk about his height.
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But he just finds it fun firing back and forth.
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Not only is it fun, it creates a great connection between the two firing at each other and just generally glues the group together.
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Everyone loves the short friend, Dr. Doom.
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Every group has one member that is permanently stuck in the scroll.
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It doesn't matter where you are.
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The function, the funeral, the group hangout you planned three weeks in advance.
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His body is there, but the man himself is somewhere deep in page 400 of Reels.
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You'll be mid -conversation, look over, and he's got that dead glow on his face, thumb moving like it's on life support.
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You could set his shoes on fire, and he'd just lift his feet up and keep scrolling.
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The scariest part is this man has unlocked abilities the rest of us don't have.
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He claims he can teleport home.
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His method?
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Cruise control on the highway, phone propped on the wheel, and next thing he knows, he's in his driveway.
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No memory of the drive, no memory of the turns, just 40 minutes of TikToks and somehow he's alive.
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Scientists should honestly study him because that's not commuting.
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And don't ever ask him what he's watching because he doesn't know either.
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He's nine layers deep into content he never asked for.
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One minute it's a guy deep frying a watermelon, next it's a 2014 conspiracy about birds.
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But here's the thing, Dr. Doom is low -key the group's news station.
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Anything happens in the world, he knew about it six hours before you did.
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Celebrity passed away, he's already seen the tribute edits.
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New meme format, he was there when it was born.
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He wasted his whole life in the scroll so you don't have to.
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And honestly, that's a sacrifice we should respect.
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The pro gamer.
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Every group has that one guy that is disgustingly good at every game he touches.
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And I mean every game.
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It doesn't matter the genre, doesn't matter the console, Shooter, racing, fighting game, chess, doesn't matter.
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This man could be handed a game that came out 45 minutes ago and he's already moving like he helped develop it.
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And the part that hurts the most, you could have years on him.
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That one game you've been grinding since middle school, the one thing you're actually proud of.
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He picks up the controller, says, wait so which button is shoot, and 20 minutes later he's dropping numbers you've never seen in your life.
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There's no explanation for it.
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He just has that dog in him.
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Some people are born with a silver spoon.
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This man was born with aim assist built into his hands.
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The worst thing you can do is talk trash to him, because he doesn't even celebrate.
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No screaming, no jumping around.
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He'll destroy your whole existence in the game and just quietly go, Yeah, good game.
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Like he didn't just end your career in front of everybody.
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But every group needs the pro gamer because when you're getting cooked online by some random kid, he's the one you hand the controller to.
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He's not just your friend, he's your personal bodyguard for the digital world.
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The degenerate.
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Every group has that one friend that treats every single night like it's New Year's Eve.
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Doesn't matter if it's a Tuesday.
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Doesn't matter if he has work at 7 a .m.
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You text him, you trying to go out, and he's already outside your house with the car running.
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This man has never once in his life said, nah, I'm staying in tonight.
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Those words are physically not in his vocabulary.
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And he doesn't just go out.
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He goes out.
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He's on a different program than the rest of us.
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While you're nursing your second drink doing math on how you'll feel tomorrow, he's operating on another frequency entirely.
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And I can't fully explain what I mean by that.
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But let's just say his house key has seen things a house key was never designed for.
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If you know, you know.
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If you don't, stay pure.
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The thing about the degenerate is he's genuinely the most fun person you know.
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Every legendary story your group tells starts with him.
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But you would never ever want to actually be him.
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because you've also seen the mornings after.
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You've seen him piece together his night like a detective at a crime scene, checking his bank account with one eye closed.
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There's a part of you that watches him and wishes you could send it that hard, live with zero fear like that.
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And there's another part of you that wants to sit him down like, Brother, I love you, but we need to talk.
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He's living life at 200 miles an hour, and the whole group is quietly praying he makes it to the destination.
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The host.
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Every group has one house.
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Not one friend, one house.
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Because the host doesn't actually invite anybody over.
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That stopped years ago.
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His home is public property now.
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Somebody will drop a message in the group chat like, yo, we linking at his crib tomorrow night.
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And before the host has even seen the message, six people have confirmed someone's already claimed the good couch and the plans are locked in.
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This man finds out about parties at his own house the same way everyone else does.
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He'll come home from work, and there's already two people in his living room, playing his console, eating his cereal, feet up on his table like they pay rent.
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He doesn't even ask questions anymore.
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He just nods and goes to his room to change.
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But here's the secret nobody talks about.
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The host is low -key winning.
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Hosting is actually the easiest job in the group.
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He gets the best sleeping spot every single time.
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No negotiating.
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That's his bed.
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He never has to do the awkward, hey bro, can I get some of that food dance?
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It's his fridge.
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While everyone else is fighting over the air mattress and rationing snacks, this man is sleeping in comfort with a fully stocked kitchen two steps away.
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And you can't mention the host without mentioning his parents, because they're always the most laid -back humans you'll ever meet in your life.
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They'll walk past eight teenagers screaming at a TV at 2 a .m and just say, you boys want pizza?
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At some point, they stop being his parents and become everyone's parents.
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They know your name, your business, your girl problems.
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Half the group says, Hi mom, walking in.
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That house isn't his house anymore, it's headquarters.
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And honestly, every group is one chill set of parents away from having the best memories of their lives.
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The ghost.
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Every group has one member that technically exists.
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The ghost.
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He's in the group chat, been in it for years, and has sent maybe 11 messages total.
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You'll scroll up and find his last text was from eight months ago, and it just says, LOL.
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Meanwhile, 4 ,000 messages have gone by.
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Wars have started and ended in that chat.
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He read all of it and said nothing.
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Pulling up to events?
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Forget about it.
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You invite him out of respect at this point, the same way you leave a seat open for tradition.
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Yo, you coming Saturday?
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Message delivered.
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Not seen.
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Then Sunday at 3 a .m he replies, My bad, just saw this.
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Brother, you were online.
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We saw the green dot.
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We know.
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And the craziest part is, nobody actually knows what this man does.
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No one.
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He could be working three jobs, he could be in another country, he could be asleep for 19 hours a day.
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He will fully despawn for weeks at a time, no updates, no signs of life, and the group just accepts it like weather.
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Someone will randomly go, yo, has anyone heard from him?
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And the whole chat goes quiet because the answer is no. But here's the thing about the ghost.
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The moment he does pull up, it's an event.
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He walks in after two months off the grid
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and the whole room erupts like a retired legend coming out of the tunnel.
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No one's mad.
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No one asks where he's been because honestly, it doesn't matter.
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He falls right back into place like he never left same jokes same energy same guy
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and that's the real magic of the ghost he doesn't need
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to talk every day to be family he can vanish for a month
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and lose absolutely nothing the compulsive liar every group has one certified storyteller
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and i don't mean that as a compliment this man has not told the truth since 2019
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and the stories are never small lies either They're cinematic.
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He didn't just meet a celebrity.
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He played 1v1 against an NBA player at some random park and almost won.
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He didn't just go on vacation.
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He got invited onto some millionaire's yacht.
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Long story.
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Everything is a long story.
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And somehow, he never has proof.
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His phone always died right before the craziest moment of his life.
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The scary part is he's actually good at it elite even.
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He maintains eye contact, he adds little details that don't matter, he'll even throw in a fake flaw like, I mean, I did trip at first, to make it believable.
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You'll catch yourself nodding along like, yeah, okay, that could happen, and then get home and think, wait, there's no way.
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There is no way, but you can never prove it, and he knows you can never prove it.
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That's his power.
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But where he really becomes a supervillain is around parents.
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The second an adult enters the room, a demon leaves his body and an angel takes over.
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Voice goes up, two octaves, posture straightens.
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Suddenly it's, yes ma 'am, no sir.
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Do you need help with those groceries?
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Your mom loves him.
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She'll defend him in his absence.
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He's such a nice boy.
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Mom, you don't know what this man is capable of.
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He's out here relating to your dad about lawn care.
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He does not have a lawn.
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And the wildest part of the compulsive liar is that deep down, you don't even want him to stop.
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Because his lies are genuinely better than everyone else's true stories.
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The group knows maybe 20 % of what he says is real, we just don't know which 20%.
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And honestly, that mystery is the entertainment, the athletic friend.
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Every group has one guy that was built different from the factory, the athletic friend.
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Any sport, any time, first pick, every time.
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The captains don't even do the whole thinking pause when it's their turn.
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They just point at him instantly.
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Being picked after him isn't even an insult.
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It's just the natural order of things.
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First him, then the rest of humanity.
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And the disrespectful part?
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He doesn't even train.
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You've never once seen this man practice anything.
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You're out here doing drills, watching tutorials, stretching for 20 minutes so you don't pull something.
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He rolls off the couch, still chewing his food, and runs a 4 .5.
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He'll casually touch the rim in jeans and Crocs and not even mention it.
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Ask him how he does it, and he gives you the most useless answer of all time.
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I don't know.
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I just jump.
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Thanks, man.
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Incredible insight.
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It doesn't matter what the sport is either.
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Basketball, football, soccer, ping pong, some game y 'all literally invented 10 minutes ago in the backyard, he's immediately the best at it.
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You could introduce this man to a sport that doesn't exist yet, and he'd be MVP by the second round.
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His genetics are just on a different subscription plan.
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His ancestors were outrunning things so he could embarrass you at the family barbecue.
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But here's why you keep him around.
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He's your insurance policy.
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Whenever there's beef with another group, some rec league game, random guys at the park talking crazy, you're never nervous
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because you know your guy is about to turn into prime LeBron, the big back.
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Every group has one bottomless pit.
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The big back, this man is never not eating.
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There's no such thing as breakfast, lunch, and dinner to him.
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It's just one continuous meal with small breaks.
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His DoorDash driver knows his order, his building, and his dog's name.
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The app should honestly sponsor him at this point.
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You'll be on the phone with him at 1 a .m and hear a rapper crinkle.
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At 9 a .m., wrap or crinkle.
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It never stops.
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And portions mean nothing to this man.
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He doesn't eat a serving, he just eats.
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He eats the amount for a family of five and calls it a little snack.
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But he's most dangerous at your house.
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He walks in and goes straight to the fridge before he even says hello.
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Leftovers you were saving?
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Gone.
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Snacks you hid.
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Found and demolished.
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Your mom bought groceries yesterday and now she's asking what happened.
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What happened is the big back happened, but you can never stay mad because food is his love language.
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He'll show up to your lowest moments with two bags of takeout like, I got you bro, always late.
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Seriously, this one kind of pisses me off.
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Every group has that one friend that has never been on time in his entire life, not once.
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Not to school, not to work, not to his own birthday party.
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And I genuinely don't know if these people understand what time actually is.
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Like as a concept, I think when we say 11 a .m., he hears a rough suggestion.
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A vibe.
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A general season of the day.
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Because here's what kills me.
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You'll agree he's picking you up at 11.
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So at 11, you're outside, ready, like a functioning human being.
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Meanwhile, at exactly 11 o 'clock, that is when this man starts getting ready.
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Not 10 .30, not 10 .45.
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The agreed -upon time is his alarm to begin his morning.
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So what were you doing before that?
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What was happening in that house?
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You knew about this yesterday.
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You had all of last night, all of this morning, and you chose to start your shower at the exact minute you were supposed to be here.
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And the texts?
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Bro, the texts.
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Um, he's in his towel.
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Five minutes away, that's a 25 -minute drive.
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I know where you live.
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Pulling up, this man is looking for his other shoe at some point the group just adapts.
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You start lying to him about times like he's a child.
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Events at 8 tell him 6 .30.
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And the crazy part is, even with the fake time, he still shows up late to that.
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But when he finally does arrive, an hour and a half deep, he strolls in with zero shame, hits you with, my bad,
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traffic, and somehow within five minutes he's the life of the whole function.
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That's the annoying part.
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You can't even stay mad and you think next time will be different.
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On a leash.
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Every group has a fallen soldier.
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The friend on a leash.
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The one friend who is just the real -life version of this image.
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And what makes this one hurt is who he used to be.
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Before the girlfriend, this man was the most available human on earth.
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First to respond in the chat.
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First one outside the guy you could call at midnight like, you up?
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And he's already putting his shoes on.
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He was an underrated goat of the game.
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Then he met her.
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And now this man needs government clearance to leave the house.
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Or even to hop on the game.
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You'll invite him somewhere and watch the typing bubble appear and disappear for 10 minutes.
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Because he's not answering you he's filing a formal request.
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Let me check is his entire personality now.
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Check with WHO?
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We know who.
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And the answer comes back the same every time.
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Yeah, I can't tonight.
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No explanation.
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There's never an explanation.
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On the rare occasion he does get released into the wild, he shows up with a curfew like he's 12.
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Phone face up on the table, location on, answering texts with the urgency of a man defusing a bomb.
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10 o 'clock hits and he just stands up mid -conversation like his shift ended.
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Alright, I gotta go.
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The story wasn't even finished, bro.
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The food just got here.
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He's out here excited, talking about farmers markets and matching pajamas.
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So the group just keeps his seat warm and speaks of him like a veteran.
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You remember what he used to be like.
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We do, and we know, one day, leash or no leash, he'll be back.
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They always come back.
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Probably needs to ask first, though, the financial advisor.
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Every group has one self -appointed financial advisor.
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And this man has never once been financially okay.
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But you'd never know it from how he talks.
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According to him, everything he touches turns to gold.
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His parlays always hit.
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His investments are always up.
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He speaks with the confidence of a man with eight figures and the bank account of a man with $8.
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Here's his actual business model.
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He places 100 bets a week.
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97 of them explode on the first leg.
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But those three that hit?
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Those go STR, ASTA.
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Screenshot, green check marks, I told you all.
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Told us when.
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Where was the message before the game, brother?
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Show us.
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One prediction sent in advance.
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You can't because the losses get deleted like evidence.
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This man runs his gambling like a highlight reel, and we're only allowed to see the touchdowns.
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And every few months, he finds the one.
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Some coin, some app, some opportunity that a guy he met online put him onto.
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Suddenly, that's his entire personality.
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He's sending you videos, he's using words like passive income and getting in early, he's telling you the window is closing.
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Bro, just put in 200, you'll thank me.
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And when you say no, he looks at you with genuine pity, like you just turned down early Bitcoin.
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Then three months later, the whole thing evaporates, and it's never mentioned again.
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Not a word.
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Straight to the next one.
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Because that's the thing about the financial advisor, he never stops believing.
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Drop shipping, day trading, reselling, some vending machine scheme.
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This man has tried everything except a savings account.
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He's been six months away from making it for six years.
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And honestly, you low -key respect it.
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Because if one of these schemes ever does hit, you know exactly what's happening.
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He's pulling up in something ridiculous, paying for everything, and reminding you every day for the rest of your life that you missed the free money, the entrepreneur.
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Now this guy is who the financial advisor pretends to be.
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Every group has one, and you almost don't notice him at first.
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Because unlike the last guy, he's not screenshotting anything.
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No group chat announcements.
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No, we're all gonna make it speeches.
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He just quietly disappears into the grind and lets you find out on your own.
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And he's been through everything.
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Cutting grass, flipping sneakers, editing videos.
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A car detailing thing that one summer he was buying stuff from garage sales and tripling it online.
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Most of them failed.
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He doesn't hide that either.
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He'll tell you straight up, yeah, that one flopped.
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Lost like 300 bucks.
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Learned a lot though.
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No excuses, no drama.
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Just on to the next one.
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Where the financial advisor deletes his losses, the entrepreneur takes notes on his.
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But here's the plot twist.
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It's actually kind of working.
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It starts small.
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You notice he's always got money for food.
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Then he casually mentions he can't hang Saturday because he's got orders to pack.
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Orders?
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What orders?
342
Then one day he pulls up in a car, not a crazy car but a paid -for car, and you're sitting there doing the math like wait a minute, when did this happen?
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It happened while everyone was asleep, that's when.
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The best part about the entrepreneur is he never makes you feel behind.
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He's not lecturing anybody, not calling anyone lazy, not selling a course.
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But if you ever pull him aside like, yo, how do you actually do that?
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He'll break down the whole blueprint for free.
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Every mistake, every number, like he's been waiting for someone to ask.
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Because that's the difference.
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The financial advisor wants you to watch him win.
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The entrepreneur wants to win.
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And if you're smart, you'll ride with him.
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Every group has a friend that's going to make it.
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It's this one, it was always this one, the gym junkie.
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Every group has one member whose entire personality is the gym, not fitness.
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The gym.
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There's a difference.
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Ask him how his day was.
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He tells you what he trained.
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Ask him if he's free Saturday, depends what time he's training.
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Every plan you make with this man gets scheduled around a workout, like the gym is a dialysis appointment.
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Yeah, I can come, but I gotta train first.
363
Brother, it's your cousin's wedding.
364
His whole world runs on the system.
365
Chicken and rice at all times, a gallon jug of water he carries like a toddler.
366
He's got opinions about creatine brands.
367
You mention any body part in casual conversation and he starts telling you how to grow it.
368
Nobody asked.
369
Somebody sneezes and he goes, yeah, that's probably your form.
370
But here's the part nobody talks about.
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The gym junkie has the most generous definition of a productive day in human history.
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As long as he made it to the gym, that day is a win.
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Doesn't matter that he woke up at 1 p .m.
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Doesn't matter that he doom -scrolled for nine consecutive hours, ignored every responsibility, ate cereal for dinner, and answered zero texts.
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He hit chest.
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Day.
377
Successful.
378
Life is on track.
379
This man does 45 minutes of curls and walks out feeling like he ran a Fortune 500 company.
380
The rest of the day is just recovery, technically.
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And look, you clown him, but deep down you respect him.
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Because while your resolutions died in January, he's been showing up every single day for years.
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He's the one who drags you to the gym when you're down bad, spots you, hypes you up over the smallest lift like a proud dad.
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The 9 -5 friend.
385
Every group has one friend that treats his minimum wage job like he's running the company.
386
This man is on shift at a place that pays him the legal minimum, and he moves through that building like his last name is on it setting alarms for 5 .30 a .m.,
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ironing his uniform, showing up 15 minutes early to a job that would replace him by Thursday if he vanished, and the effort, bro.
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The effort is criminal.
389
He's covering shifts, training new hires, staying late off the clock just to help close up.
390
He comes home stressed.
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Genuinely stressed.
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He'll be at the function with his mind somewhere else, and when you ask what's wrong, it's inventory.
393
It's a schedule change.
394
It's, Marcus called out again and now Saturday's gonna be crazy.
395
Who is Marcus?
396
Why do we all know about Marcus?
397
And here's the math that breaks my heart.
398
He could put in half the effort and receive the exact same paycheck.
399
Down to the cent.
400
There is no bonus coming.
401
That employee of the month plaque is not a currency.
402
Meanwhile, the man who owns the company is on a yacht somewhere, doesn't know this kid exists, will never know he exists,
403
getting $1 richer every time my guy stress sweats through a rush hour.
404
My friend is out here having heart palpitations to fund a stranger's third boat.
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Shadowing English with Hailey BIEBER | American English accent (lesson #14)
Interview EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 404 sentences and 4121 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:38. The speaker talks at a natural 174 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| advisor noun | /ædˈvaɪ.zə(ɹ)/ | One who offers advice. |
| ghost noun | /ɡoʊst/ | A disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death. |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| entrepreneur noun | /ˌɑn.tɹə.pɹəˈnɝ/ | A person who sets up a business; generally, a person who owns and manages a business and assumes its financial risks. |
| meanwhile adverb | /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ | During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place. |
| explanation noun | /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ | The act or process of explaining. |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
| couch noun | /ˈkaʊ̯t͡ʃ/ | An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa. |
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| quietly adverb | /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/ | Producing little or no noise. |
| scroll noun | /skɹoʊl/ | A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll. |
| doom noun | /duːm/ | Destiny, especially terrible. |
| asleep adjective | /əˈsliːp/ | In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting. |
| celebrity noun | /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/ | Fame, renown; the state of being famous or talked-about. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. | |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| pull up verb | /ˌpʊl ˈʌp/ | To lift upwards or vertically. |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| call out verb | To specify, especially in detail. | |
| close up verb | /kləʊzˈʌp/ | To close (remove a gap) completely or fully. |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
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 grinding · he's been waiting · he's been showing |
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has unlocked · you've never seen · has seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was born · could be handed · are born |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 97 contractions and reduced forms, such as doesn't, don't, you'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, athletic /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/, thumb /ˈθʌm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, casually /ˈkæʒuəli/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, trash /tɹæʃ/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, entrepreneur /ˌɑn.tɹə.pɹəˈnɝ/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, celebrity /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/
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 advisor, ghost, genuinely.
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.