Shadowing Practice: Everyday Problems and Situations - English Conversation - Learn English Speaking with Video

Can you believe we won the match?

We were so lucky!

And I scored the goal at the end.

The winning goal!

I'm on cloud nine!

Yeah, whatever.

Thanks for the support, Susan.

Well, you know it's not a deserved victory.

Because you hit the ball with your hand.

That was cheating, and you know that.

It's not our fault that the referee didn't see it.

It's his mistake, not ours.

But you should have told the truth.

If I had told the truth, my teammates would have hated me for missing such a great opportunity.

I'm sure anyone would have done the same way.

I doubt that seriously.

You mean you would have told the truth and risked to be hated by anyone in your team?

They would have finally accepted it, and everybody would have admired and respected you for being an honest person.

What more do I need to say to get my point across?

What are you going to do with all those batteries, Dan?

I'm going to throw them away.

It's illegal to throw batteries in the trash.

Really?

Why?

Because they contain heavy metals that can be harmful for the environment.

Then how do I get rid of them?

There are recycling bins placed all around campus, so you can drop the batteries into one of those bins.

They have been brought to communities across the city, including at colleges, parks, and athletic fields That's very good I didn't even know batteries are recyclable

Are you also going to throw away those magazines and cans?

Yes, I am They are also recyclable, you know If we recycle paper,

then not so many trees will have to be cut down I see I haven't thought about that before.

Then recycling is a good thing.

Yes, it's good because fewer supplies are wasted.

Recycled materials can be used to make other useful products.

It's a way to help the environment and decrease the amount of trash in our landfills.

I'm going there right now to drop some bottles.

Come with me if you like.

Yeah, great.

I'm coming.

We have to separate e-waste,

plastic, metal, glass, paper, and organic waste.

They each have specific colors to make it easier to identify.

Recycling is very easy to do.

I didn't even realize that.

It takes just a few minutes a day to sort my garbage.

The time we spend recycling is little, enough to help our town stay clean and healthy.

Mom, I cleaned up my closet and found a lot of clothes that don't fit me anymore.

What should I do with them?

You can donate them.

Another child can reuse them.

This is good for the environment too.

What do you mean?

If you throw them away, they'll be taken to the landfills.

Decomposing textiles emit toxins that are released into the air and are polluting our environment.

The bigger our landfills, the higher the levels of pollution.

Oh, I see.

Okay, I'm going to donate them to someone who needs them.

Jennifer, you should always turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or hands to save water.

Why do we need to save water, Mom?

It helps to preserve our environment.

How's that?

Reducing our water usages reduces the energy required to process and deliver it to homes, which in turn helps to reduce pollution.

And what else should we do to save energy?

We should turn off the lights when leaving a room and unplug devices when not in use.

We can also wash clothes at a cooler temperature and with a full load.

We can use the stairs instead of the elevators.

We save our electric bill and the planet at the same time.

Let's go grocery shopping.

We need something for dinner.

I'll be happy to go, Mom.

Can I pick up the grocery I like?

I'll allow a few items.

Don't get greedy.

We need to shop wisely and opt for natural and organic food.

We're only going to buy what we need.

We should buy local food, which consumes less energy, and hence less pollution.

This way, we are going to shop in an eco-friendly way.

Okay, let's go, Mom.

I'm ready.

First, let me take a reusable shopping bag.

Hey, wait a minute!

What's wrong?

That salesperson gave me back $15 extra by mistake.

Can you believe it?

He is not even able to count the money properly.

Let's go to the bakery and have some delicious cakes.

It's all on me.

I don't think that's the right thing to do.

You should give the money back to the salesperson.

You must be joking, right?

No, I am not joking.

That money will be deducted from his own paycheck.

You know salespersons work hard, and they are poorly paid. But it's only $15.

It's not much.

It may be little for you, but it's much for him.

Come on, you'll feel good about yourself.

Oh, I guess you're right.

It's not fair that I should keep it, I suppose.

Hey, Vivian, do you fancy going to the movie theater tonight?

100

Oh, I'm not in the mood to go anywhere, Angela.

101

That's so unusual.

102

Did something happen?

103

My sister won't speak to me.

104

I accidentally broke her phone.

105

The phone slipped right out of my hand and fell down on the floor, cracking the screen pretty badly.

106

After that, it started making random touch inputs and before long it was completely unusable.

107

I took the phone to a repair shop, but the repairman said it couldn't be fixed.

108

That's too bad.

109

Well, you should buy her a new one.

110

Unfortunately I don't have so much money.

111

It's a very expensive phone.

112

It was a birthday present from her fiancé.

113

I'll have to work part-time to save money.

114

But that takes time, and she needs a new phone now.

115

I can lend you the money if you like.

116

You can pay me back at your convenience.

117

Really?

118

You would do that for me? Of course.

119

What are friends for?

120

You're the best.

121

Thanks a lot.

122

I appreciate it.

123

The smog in our city is getting worse and worse.

124

The air used to be so clean here when we were children.

125

This smog comes from the factory they built five years ago.

126

Sometimes it just pumps out enormous clouds of thick gray smoke.

127

Yeah, that factory is nothing but trouble.

128

It's more than just the factories, though.

129

There are too many cars which pollute with their exhaust fumes, especially at rush hour.

130

Another problem is that people dump their rubbish everywhere.

131

In the fields and parks.

132

Out of the car.

133

And they don't give fine.

134

They act the same way with dog poo.

135

Dog poo is considered as rubbish, since you have to pick it up and throw it in a bin.

136

just like an empty packet of crisps or soda can.

137

So if one can get away with throwing a soda can on the ground, then why not with the dog poo?

138

It makes me really mad.

139

I know what you mean, Bill.

140

I saw someone throwing some litter out of the window of their car as they were driving past.

141

I shouted after them, but they didn't take any notice of me.

142

And on top of everything, there are more trees being cut down every day.

143

That's why I've decided to not buy any more new physical books.

144

So how can you still read books without harming the environment?

145

I borrow from libraries and friends, or I buy e-books or second-hand books.

146

Yeah that sounds like a good idea.

147

We should also plant trees in our neighborhood to improve the air quality.

148

Matthew, you're very good with computers.

149

Can you give me a hand with it?

150

Sure, what's the problem?

151

I'm trying to print this file, but somehow I can't get my printer to print it.

152

it a few months ago

153

and it worked perfectly until now did i miss something did

154

you switch the printer on of course i did just check

155

and see okay let's see

156

if you click on the start icon go into the printer's

157

folder check the settings oh no what's wrong what happened why did the screen go blank It seems the computer crashed.

158

I need to restart it.

159

The computer crashed?

160

But I haven't gotten to save the document.

161

Is it lost forever in this case?

162

You can't be serious.

163

You didn't save it?

164

No!

165

I just forgot to do it.

166

An evening's work came to nothing!

167

That's a big mistake.

168

You should save your work every few minutes.

169

Well, there's no point saying that now, is there?

170

Here's your bill, sir.

171

Have a great night.

172

Thank you.

173

Excuse me, sir.

174

I can see on the receipt that tuna salad is also included in the order, but this is a mistake because I didn't order that.

175

Oh, sorry about that.

176

I'll bring you the tuna salad right away.

177

Or I can wrap it up to go if you like.

178

No, I don't want the tuna salad.

179

Could you just take it off the bill, please?

180

Okay.

181

Would you like to have a gift card for a free tuna salad next time you visit?

182

I'm afraid I don't like this salad, so this is not going to help.

183

I'm sorry.

184

The problem is you paid by credit card, and it's already been entered into the cash register.

185

Well, this is ridiculous.

186

I'd like to speak to the manager.

187

Hey, Tim.

188

You look really upset.

189

What's the matter?

190

I just got fired from my job, and I'm really mad.

191

Really?

192

But what happened?

193

You've always been so hardworking and responsible.

194

I just got angry with a manager.

195

That's why I was fired.

196

But what did he do to upset you so much?

197

He called one day saying he had a problem with his computer and needed my help.

198

I asked him what the problem was.

199

And he said that his screen had suddenly gone black and didn't know what to do.

200

I asked him if he had pressed any buttons by mistake.

201

But he assured me he didn't.

202

Then I asked him to check that the computer was not unplugged accidentally.

203

He tried to check that, but said he couldn't see very well because it was too dark.

204

I told him to turn the light on, but he said he couldn't because the power went off a few minutes ago.

205

That's a good one.

206

I thought he was trying to play a prank on me.

207

I was so furious that I began to insult him, and then I just hung up the phone on him.

208

My boss soon found out about this and fired me.

209

This is so unfair.

210

The manager was supposed to apologize to me, but I was fired instead.

211

Well, I don't know what to say.

212

I'm really sorry this happened to you.

213

You were right to be upset.

214

But still, you shouldn't have lost your temper and insulted the manager.

215

OMG, look at that scale!

216

I weigh 68 kilograms!

217

I must start to exercise right away and lose weight.

218

I bet I weigh more than you do.

219

I don't think so.

220

You look slimmer than me.

221

Maybe, but I've been eating out a lot lately, so I'm sure I put on weight.

222

I'll bet you $100 that I weigh more than you do.

223

Okay, jump on the scale, let's see.

224

Look, I gained 3 kilograms.

225

I told you I put on weight.

226

That's right, but you still don't weigh more than me.

227

The scale shows 67 kilograms.

228

You know I wasn't serious about that $100.

229

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Everyday Problems and Situations - English Conversation”. This video has 229 sentences and 1961 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:19. The speaker talks at a steady 128 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 36 of its 229 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
recycle verb	/ɹəˈsaɪkəl/	To break down and reuse component materials.
salad noun	/ˈsæl.əd/	A food consisting principally of raw vegetables (especially greens, e.g. lettuce), other savoury ingredients (typically cooked), fruit, or confectionary; often…
tuna noun	/ˈtjuː.nə/	Any of several species of fish of the genus Thunnus in the family Scombridae.
weigh verb	/weɪ/	To determine the weight of an object.
kilogram noun	/ˈkɪləɡɹæm/	In the International System of Units, the base unit of mass; conceived of as the mass of one litre of water, but now defined by taking the fixed numerical…
landfill noun	/ˈlæn(d).fɪl/	A site at which refuse is buried under layers of earth.
salesperson noun		A person whose job is to sell things, often in a shop or store.
pollution noun	/pəˈluʃən/	Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
pollute verb	/pəˈluːt/	To make something harmful, especially by the addition of some unwanted product.
recyclable adjective		Able to be recycled.
smog noun	/smɑɡ/	A noxious mixture of particulates and gases that is the result of urban air pollution.
unplug verb	/ʌnˈplʌɡ/	To disconnect from a supply, especially an electrical socket.
rubbish noun	/ˈɹʌbɪʃ/	Refuse, waste, garbage, junk, trash.
printer noun	/ˈpɹɪntɚ/	One who makes prints.
insult noun	/ɪnˈsʌlt/	Action or form of speech deliberately intended to be rude; (countable) a particular act or statement having this effect.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
cut down verb	To cut downward.
turn off verb	To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.).
clean up verb	To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy.
fall down on verb	To fail at or leave incomplete.
get away with verb	To get away, or escape, taking (something) with one.
go off verb	To explode.
pick up verb	To lift; to grasp and raise.
throw away verb	To discard (trash, garbage, or the like), to toss out, to put in the trash.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Can you believe we won the match?
Then how do I get rid of them?
What should I do with them?
Can I pick up the grocery I like?
You would do that for me?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	If you throw them away, they'll be
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be hated · have been brought · be cut
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have been brought · haven't thought · I've decided
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should have · should I do · should always turn

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 57 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: cloth /klɒθ/, athletic /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pollution /pəˈluʃən/, rubbish /ˈɹʌbɪʃ/, shout /ʃaʊt/, assure /əˈʃʊɹ/, brush /bɹʌʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: accidentally /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/, elevator /ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/

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 recycle, salad, tuna.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?