Shadowing Practice: Friends: Steady Hand (Clip) | TBS - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
Oh, Rach, can you give me a hand with this box?
2
No!
3
Put that box down!
4
We are not going anywhere!
5
This is my apartment, and I like it!
6
This is a girl's apartment!
7
That is a boy's apartment!
8
It's dirty, and it smells!
9
It's pretty!
10
It's so pretty!
11
And look, it's purple!
12
And I'm telling you, you with your steady hand, I am not moving, and now I have got the steady hand.
13
take care of it that's right you do it dances
14
I go I lost our mattresses

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Friends: Steady Hand”. This video has 14 sentences and 90 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:48. The speaker talks at a steady 113 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 8 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
steady adjective/ˈstɪdi/Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm.
purple noun/ˈpɝ.pl̩/A colour between red and blue; violet, though often closer to magenta.
mattress noun/ˈmætɹɪs/A pad on which a person can recline and sleep, usually having an inner section of coiled springs covered with foam or other cushioning material then enclosed…
apartment noun/əˈpɑɹt.mənt/A complete domicile occupying only part of a building, especially one for rent; a flat.
dirty adjective/ˈdɝti/Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.
smell verb/smɛl/To sense a smell or smells.
dance noun/dæns/A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.
anywhere adverb/ˈɛn.i.(h)wɛɹ/In or at any location.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around noware not going · I'm telling

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like steady, purple, mattress.

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 →