Shadowing Practice: **FÜR, UM oder UM…ZU? Endlich richtig verstehen! | Deutsch Podcast A2–B1** - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “**FÜR, UM oder UM…ZU? Endlich richtig verstehen!”. This video has 475 sentences and 3850 words to shadow. The speech runs for 32:43. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 11% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| num | /nʌm/ | Used to denote eating, or enjoyment of eating. |
| geld verb | /ɡɛld/ | To castrate a male (usually an animal). |
| mâche noun | Valerianella locusta, a small dicot annual plant of the family Caprifoliaceae often cultivated as a salad green or herb. | |
| spare adjective | /spɛɚ/ | Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous. |
| ditch noun | /dɪt͡ʃ/ | A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage. |
| verstehen noun | /və(ɹ)ˈʃteɪ.ən/ | A stance that attempts to understand the meaning of action from the actor’s point of view, so that the actor is seen as a subject rather than an object of… |
| diesis noun | /ˈdaɪ.ə.sɪs/ | Any of several intervals, smaller than a tone, in ancient Greek music. |
| immer noun | A bird in genus Gavia. | |
| wort noun | /wɝt/ | Also worts: a liquid extracted from mash (ground malt or some other grain soaked in hot water), which is then fermented to make beer, or fermented and… |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| bung noun | /ˈbʌŋ/ | A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc. |
| gesundheit | /ɡəˈzʊnt.haɪt/ | Said to someone who has just sneezed. |
| seine noun | /seɪn/ | A long net having floats attached at the top and sinkers (weights) at the bottom, used in shallow water for catching fish. |
| thema noun | A subject or theme. | |
| automobile noun | /ˈɔː.tə.məˌbil/ | A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and… |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, we're. 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 num, geld, mâche.
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.












