Shadowing Practice: Fun & Easy SHADOWING English Speaking Practice Repeat-After-Me - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 82 sentences and 740 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:43. The speaker talks at a steady 110 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• relax /ɹɪˈlæks/ (verb) — To make something loose.
• rush /ɹʌʃ/ (verb) — To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
• lesson /ˈlɛs.ən/ (noun) — A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
• automatic /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ (adjective) — Capable of operating without external control or intervention.
• stretch /stɹɛt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To lengthen by pulling.
• pretend /pɹəˈtɛnd/ (verb) — To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
• gather /ˈɡæðɚ/ (verb) — To collect normally separate things.
• parade /pəˈrɑd/ (noun) — 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.
• noon /nun/ (noun) — The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon.
• snack /snæk/ (noun) — A light meal.
• sleepy /ˈsliːpi/ (adjective) — Tired; feeling the need for sleep.
• wander /ˈwɑndɚ/ (verb) — To move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood.
• shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ (noun) — A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
• mood /muːd/ (noun) — A mental or emotional state, composure.
• silly /ˈsɪl.i/ (adjective) — Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• lead up to (verb) — To set in motion; to act as a causal or preparatory event or sequence of events.
• wake up /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ (verb) — To stop sleeping; to awake.
• follow along (verb) — To continue behind or beside an animal, person, vehicle or other object, especially as a companion.
• go ahead /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ (verb) — To proceed with; to begin.
• go back (verb) — To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time.
• mess up (verb) — To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss.
• think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
• work on (verb) — To apply mental or physical effort to (something) in order to shape, form, improve, investigate, solve it, etc.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, shouldn't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/
• Long words — get the stress right: automatic /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/

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 relax, rush, lesson.

Grammar in this video

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