Shadowing Practice: Extreme Weather Science: Tornadoes, Hurricanes & Storms - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Wow!
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Did you hear that?
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What a hit!
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That was lightning!
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Thanks.
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I really got into the swing.
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No, I mean real lightning.
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We have to get in the house.
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How come we have to go in the house when it's lightning outside?
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Who do we ask for help when we have questions?
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Da -da -da -da!
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Maggie the Magnifying Glass!
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I'm Maggie, Maggie, I help to make things clear.
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Just look through my looking glass and answers will appear.
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I'm Maggie, Maggie, come and let's explore.
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And we'll discover lots of things you never knew before.
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I'm Maggie!
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How come we have to go in the house when it's lightning outside?
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Anytime you hear thunder or see lightning, you need to look for a safe place to be.
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Lightning and thunderstorms are a type of dangerous and powerful weather.
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Powerful weather storms take place all over the world every day.
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Would you like to find out more about storms?
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If so, we can go on a little adventure together!
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Would you like to learn about powerful weather, too?
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You would?
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Me, too!
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Yippee -skippee!
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Let's go!
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Don't forget your journal!
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Oh, yeah!
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Got it!
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My terrific scientific journal!
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Bring yours along, too!
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What are storms?
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Storms are a combination of weather that together make a powerful weather pattern.
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Storms can happen in warm weather and cold weather too.
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Some types of storms are blizzards, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
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storms are a part of weather
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and all weather starts with sun weather gets its energy from the sun the sun heats up the earth's surface
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that warms up the air in the atmosphere warm air weighs less than cool air
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so the warm air rises or moves up When the warm air moves up,
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cool air, which weighs more than the warm air, sinks or moves down and replaces the warm air.
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Now, as the warm air moves up, it cools off, then begins to sink.
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This movement of air, warm air rising, cool air sinking, is an important part of making weather.
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All storms are created by two opposing weather patterns that collide.
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When they collide, it creates energy.
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The more energy, the more powerful the storm can be.
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I'm going to write that down in my journal.
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Storms are a severe form of weather and happen every day all over the world.
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Weather gets energy from the sun.
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Got it!
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What are thunderstorms?
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Let's talk about thunderstorms.
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Thunderstorms are a type of storm that has rain, thunder, lightning, and sometimes hail.
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Thunderstorms happen in places that are warm and humid.
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Like most weather, thunderstorms get their energy from the sun.
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On a hot summer day, the sun heats up the Earth's land and water.
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The Earth's surface heats up the air.
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The warm air rises, colder air sinks.
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The sun heats a body of water like an ocean.
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The water evaporates or turns into steam or vapor and then travels up into the sky.
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Then the water vapors become cooler and come together, collecting in clouds.
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Rain clouds are caused by the build -up of water droplets or solid ice ice crystals.
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The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth as precipitation,
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rain, hail, sleet, or snow.
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Okay, but what causes the lightning and what causes the thunder?
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I was wondering the same thing.
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Excellent question.
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What causes lightning and thunder?
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Here's what happens.
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Well, inside the cloud, strong air currents cause the air molecules to rub up against each other.
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This causes static electricity.
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Have you ever rubbed your feet on the floor wearing socks?
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Touched a doorknob and filled a shock?
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That's static electricity!
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And that's sort of what happens in a thunderstorm.
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Sometimes lightning can happen inside the cloud when an arc of electricity is created because of the difference of electrical charges.
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Lightning that happens inside clouds is called sheet lightning.
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Lightning can also happen because of the earth.
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The earth is positively charged.
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This can attract lightning.
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In this situation, an arc of electricity can strike, and the Earth answers with a return stroke.
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When lightning occurs, it can heat up the air to thousands of degrees.
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This causes the air to expand rapidly.
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This causes a huge shockwave we call thunder.
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When you see lightning and hear thunder, you should try to get indoors.
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You can always find safety in a car.
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Stay away from trees, towers, water, or any metal objects.
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I'm going to write that down in my journal.
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So, thunderstorms start with clouds.
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Static electricity causes lightning.
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Thunder happens when the lightning heats up the surrounding air.
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Got it!
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What are tornadoes?
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Sometimes large -scale thunderstorms called supercells can create a tornado.
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Thunderstorms form when warm, humid air rises upward.
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This is called an updraft.
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As the warm air rises, the cooler air begins to fall.
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When it touches down, that's when a tornado is created.
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Tornadoes come in different shapes and sizes.
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Powerful tornadoes can demolish buildings and carry houses, cars and trucks in the air.
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A tornado can destroy just about anything it touches.
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I'm going to write that down in my journal.
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Tornadoes are made from supercells or heavy thunderstorms.
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Got it!
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What are hurricanes?
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Hurricanes are another kind of powerful storm.
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It's a large, swirling storm.
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that produces lots of rain and very high winds.
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Hurricanes form over very warm parts of the ocean.
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Here's what happens.
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When high winds coming from opposite directions meet, they begin to rotate.
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The high winds can cause very high waves and rough seas.
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water vapor rises quickly
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and adds more power to the storm the longer it moves
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across the ocean the stronger the hurricane becomes in the center
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of the hurricane is a low -pressure area called the eye of the hurricane when the storm reaches land,
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the storm can begin to die down.
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But it also pushes water to the shore.
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This push of water is called a surge, or storm surge.
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The surge can cause terrible floods.
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Hurricanes produce lots of rain and high winds.
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Hurricanes can cause a storm surge that can cause floods.
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Got it.
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What are blizzards?
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Winter months can bring snowstorms, sleet, and freezing rain.
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But the most powerful winter storm is called a blizzard.
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Like all storms, blizzards can be very dangerous.
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Blizzards combine heavy snowfall, severe cold, blowing snow and wind.
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Blizzards make travel almost impossible.
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Many times roads and airports are shut down because of a blizzard.
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What makes a blizzard?
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Excellent question!
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Blizzards form when very cold air clashes with very warm moist air.
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The warm air is lifted up over the cold air.
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Where these two masses of air meet is called a front.
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This interaction of cold and warm air colliding can cause precipitation.
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Rain, hail, sleet, or snow For snow to fall,
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it must be cold enough in the clouds and on the ground.
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If the air is too warm, the snow will melt on its way down and change to rain, or freezing rain.
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Freezing rain happens when the temperatures on the Earth's surface are below freezing.
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The raindrops become supercooled.
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The result is ice that can accumulate on trees, wires, cars, and more.
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Freezing rain can cause travel problems on the roads and cause airports to be shut down.
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Cold weather storms can be very dangerous.
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Oh, I get it.
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Blizzards are severe winter storms.
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They form when warm and cold air collide.
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Got it!
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Thanks, Maggie!
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You're very, very welcome.
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Today I learned a lot about storms.
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I hope you did, too.
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These are the notes I took in my journal.
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Storms are a powerful form of weather and happen every day all over the world.
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Weather gets energy from the sun.
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Thunderstorms happen in places that are warm and humid.
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Tornadoes are made from supercells or heavy thunderstorms.
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Hurricanes produce lots of rain and high winds.
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Hurricanes can cause a storm surge that can cause floods.
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Blizzards are severe winter storms.
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Learning about storms is fun.
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Let's go on another scientific adventure real soon.
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Bye! So long!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 164 sentences and 1350 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:27. The speaker talks slowly, about 100 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lightning noun | /ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/ | A flash of light produced by short-duration, high-voltage discharge of electricity within a cloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the earth. |
| hurricane noun | /ˈhʌɹɪkeɪn/ | A severe tropical cyclone; an intense storm rotating around a central eye. |
| blizzard noun | /ˈblɪz.ɚd/ | A large snowstorm accompanied by strong winds and greatly reduced visibility caused by blowing snow. |
| tornado noun | /tɔɹˈneɪ.doʊ/ | A violent wind in the form of a mobile, rapidly rotating, funnel cloud that has contacted the ground. |
| cloud noun | /ˈklaʊ̯d/ | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. |
| thunder noun | /ˈθʌndɚ/ | The loud rumbling, cracking, or crashing sound caused by expansion of rapidly heated air around a lightning bolt. |
| electricity noun | /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/ | Originally, a property of amber and certain other nonconducting substances to attract lightweight material when rubbed, or the cause of this property; now… |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| surge noun | /sɝd͡ʒ/ | A sudden transient rush, flood or increase. |
| sink verb | /ˈsɪŋk/ | To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance. |
| flood noun | /flʌd/ | An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water. |
| static adjective | /ˈstæt.ɪk/ | Unchanging; that cannot or does not change. |
| hail noun | /heɪl/ | Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm. |
| vapor noun | /ˈveɪpɚ/ | Cloudy diffused matter such as mist, steam or fumes suspended in the air. |
| humid adjective | /ˈhjuːmɪd/ | Containing perceptible moisture (usually describing air or atmosphere); damp; moist; somewhat wet or watery. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| heat up verb | To heat, to cause to become hotter. | |
| move up verb | To promote, put onto a higher level. | |
| shut down verb | To close, terminate, or end; to stop operating, either permanently or temporarily. | |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| cool off verb | To decrease in temperature, activity, or temper. | |
| die down verb | To become less virulent or strong; to subside. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| look through verb | To take a view of the contents of; search in, either with the eyes or by hand. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thunder /ˈθʌndɚ/, thunderstorm /ˈθʌn.dɚˌstɔɹm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: precipitation /pɹɪˌsɪpɪˈteɪʃn̩/, shock /ʃɔk/, sheet /ʃit/, shore /ʃɔɹ/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: electricity /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, precipitation /pɹɪˌsɪpɪˈteɪʃn̩/, electrical /ɪˈlɛktɹɪkəl/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/, positively /ˈpɑ.zɪ.tɪv.li/
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 lightning, hurricane, blizzard.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are created · are caused · is created |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was lightning · was wondering |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to get · have to go · need to look |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | I'm going to write |
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.