Shadowing Practice: Explaining Thanksgiving to a Friend from Abroad - Learn English Speaking with Video
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35 sentences
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1
Oliver! You have to come home with me for Thanksgiving!
2
Thanksgiving? I've heard of it, but what's it actually about?
3
Basically, it's a day when families get together and give thanks.
4
It's held on the fourth Thursday of November.
5
Well, I'd love to come, if your family doesn't mind!
6
So, how did the whole tradition get started?
7
It's usually traced back to a harvest feast in the sixteen hundreds.
8
Though the real history is a lot more complicated, of course.
9
Fair enough. And these days it's mostly about the food, I take it?
10
Oh, it's all about the food! Just wait and see.
11
Welcome, Oliver! You've arrived just in time to help.
12
Wow, is that the turkey? It's absolutely enormous!
13
It's been roasting since six this morning. A real labor of love!
14
And what's that golden dish sitting next to it?
15
That's stuffing! Bread and herbs, traditionally cooked inside the bird.
16
So why is everyone glued to the TV?
17
The parade was on this morning, and now it's football.
18
Um, by football, you don't mean real football, do you?
19
Oh, come on! American football is real football.
20
Ha, let's just agree to disagree on that one!
21
Okay, before we eat, everyone shares what they're thankful for.
22
Oh no. Do I have to give a speech?
23
Don't worry, just say one thing. It doesn't have to be deep.
24
Well... I'm thankful I've been made to feel so welcome here.
25
Aw, that's lovely! You're welcome here any time.
26
Wait, was that red stuff jam? It was delicious!
27
Ha, no! That was cranberry sauce. It goes with everything.
28
Well, I'm absolutely stuffed. I couldn't eat another bite!
29
Good, rest up! Tomorrow is Black Friday!
30
Shops open at dawn, and almost everything is marked down.
31
Wait, people go shopping straight after a huge feast?
32
Some even queue outside overnight to grab a bargain!
33
Honestly, today has been one of the best days I've had here.
34
I'm so glad you came. Same time next year?
35
Absolutely! And next time, I'm bringing a proper Christmas pudding!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Explaining Thanksgiving to a Friend from Abroad”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: football, absolutely, welcome. This video has 35 sentences and 340 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:24. The speaker talks at a steady 141 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. 12 of its 35 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 |
|---|---|---|
| thankful adjective | /ˈθæŋkfəl/ | Showing appreciation or gratitude. |
| feast noun | /ˈfiːst/ | A holiday, festival, especially a religious one |
| cranberry noun | /ˈkɹæn.bɛr.i/ | A shrub belonging to the section Vaccinium sect. Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. |
| pudding noun | /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ | Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming or from batter. |
| herb noun | /hɜːb/ | A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season. |
| queue noun | /kju/ | A line of people, vehicles or other objects, usually one to be dealt with in sequence (i.e., the one at the front end is dealt with first, the one behind is… |
| glue noun | /ɡlu/ | A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides, used in solution as an adhesive; or any sticky adhesive substance. |
| roast verb | /ɹoʊst/ | To cook food by heating in an oven or over a fire without covering, resulting in a crisp, possibly even slightly charred appearance. |
| bargain noun | /ˈbɑːɹɡən/ | An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds themself to transfer the right to some property for a… |
| harvest noun | /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/ | The process of gathering the ripened crop; harvesting. |
| traditionally adverb | /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/ | In a traditional manner. |
| disagree verb | /dɪsəˈɡɹi/ | To fail to agree; to have a different opinion or belief. |
| parade noun | /pəˈrɑd/ | Synonym of military parade: A show of troops, an assembly of troops as a show of force, to receive orders, or especially for inspection at set times. |
| trace noun | /tɹeɪs/ | An act of tracing. |
| overnight adverb | /əʊvə(ɹ)ˈnaɪt/ | During or throughout the night, especially during the evening or night just past. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get together verb | To meet, to gather together, to congregate. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I've heard of it, but what's it actually about?
- You've arrived just in time to help.
- Ha, let's just agree to disagree on that one!
- Do I have to give a speech?
- You're welcome here any time.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've heard · You've arrived · I've been made |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | I've been made · is marked |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to come · have to give · have to be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 thankful, feast, cranberry.
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.