Shadowing Practice: Generations( add praral verb and collocation) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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83 sentences
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Approx four to five minutes.
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Hi, Ben.
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How are you?
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We haven't caught up with each other for ages.
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What's new?
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Hi, Anna.
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I'm fine.
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I've been thinking a lot about my family recently.
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It's interesting how people from different generations live their lives differently.
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I agree.
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My family has people of all ages, from an infant to an elderly great -grandmother.
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My little cousin is still a toddler, while my parents are middle -aged adults.
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That's a big family.
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How was your childhood?
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Where did you grow up?
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I was brought up by my parents in a small town.
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They taught me to respect elderly people and get on with people of different ages.
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When I was a child, I thought adults always knew what was best for everyone.
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Really?
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I used to think the same thing.
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But now that I'm an adult and in my 20s, I realize that adults can make mistakes, too.
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My parents didn't always agree with each other.
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Did they ever think about getting divorced?
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Yes, they went through a difficult period.
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They argued a lot and nearly split up.
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My father even threatened to walk out on the family.
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But eventually, they decided to work on their relationship.
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They didn't want to give up on their marriage.
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I'm glad they worked things out.
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Some couples get married because they love each other.
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But they aren't always prepared for the challenges of married life.
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Exactly.
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My older cousin recently got engaged to his girlfriend.
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They're planning to get married next year and start a family when they're financially ready.
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That's wonderful.
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I think people should settle down when they feel ready, rather than doing it just because their parents expect them to.
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Young people shouldn't have to live up to everyone else's expectations.
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You're right.
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Right.
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My grandparents got married when they were very young.
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My grandmother left home at 18, left school early, and got her first job to help her family.
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That sounds difficult.
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Did she have a chance to go to university?
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No, she didn't.
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She had to put up with many difficulties.
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Later, she had a change of career and started a small business.
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When her father passed away, she inherited some money, which helped her expand the business.
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Your grandmother sounds incredibly hardworking.
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Did she ever consider emigrating abroad?
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Yes.
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She once wanted to emigrate to another country, but she decided to stay because she wanted to look after her elderly parents.
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She retired from work at 65, and now she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.
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That's lovely.
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My great -grandmother is a centenarian.
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She's over 100 years old.
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She has lived through so many changes in society.
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Ben, wow, she must have some amazing stories to tell.
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Does she get on well with the younger generations?
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Most of the time, yes, but sometimes she finds it difficult to understand modern technology.
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She doesn't always fit in with the way young people communicate, and she can't understand why we spend so much time online.
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I can understand that.
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Every generation has its own habits.
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Young people sometimes run out of patience when older people don't understand their choices, while elderly people may struggle to keep up with rapid changes.
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That's why we should try to understand each other.
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We shouldn't judge people just because they belong to a different generation.
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Absolutely.
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My younger sister recently signed up for a cooking course because she wants to learn some traditional family recipes.
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She says she doesn't want our family traditions to disappear.
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That's a great idea.
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I'd love to do something similar.
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Perhaps I could sign up for a course with my grandmother and learn how to cook her favorite dishes.
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You should!
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Spending time together can help different generations become closer.
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I agree.
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In the end, whether we're infants, teenagers, middle -aged adults, or elderly people, we all need love, support, and understanding.
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Exactly.
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And we shouldn't rush through life.
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We should make our own decisions, learn from our mistakes, and appreciate our families.
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Well said, Ben.
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Now let's go and catch up over lunch.
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I'm starving!
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Great idea!
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Let's go!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: grandmother, elderly, adult, generation, parents. This video has 83 sentences and 689 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:19. The speaker talks at a natural 160 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| elderly adjective | /ˈɛldɚli/ | old; having lived for relatively many years. |
| grandmother noun | /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/ | A mother of someone's parent. |
| cousin noun | /ˈkʌz(ə)n/ | Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a… |
| rush verb | /ɹʌʃ/ | To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully. |
| argue verb | /ˈɑɹ.ɡju/ | To show grounds for concluding (that); to indicate, imply. |
| abroad adverb | /əˈbɹɔːd/ | Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries. |
| belong verb | /bɪˈlɒŋ/ | To have its proper place. |
| incredibly adverb | /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ | In an incredible manner; not to be believed. |
| rapid adjective | /ˈɹæp.ɪd/ | Very swift or quick. |
| settle verb | /ˈsɛtəl/ | To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc). |
| divorce noun | /dɪˈvɔːs/ | The legal dissolution of a marriage. |
| engage verb | /ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/ | To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. |
| expand verb | /ɪkˈspænd/ | To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open. |
| difficulty noun | /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/ | The state of being difficult, or hard to do. |
| habit noun | /ˈhæb.ɪt/ | An action performed on a regular basis. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bring up verb | To mention. |
| get on with verb | To proceed with; to begin or continue, especially after an interruption. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| keep up with verb | To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one. |
| live through verb | To survive a difficult period or event |
| pass away verb | To die. |
| put up with verb | To endure, tolerate, suffer through, or allow, especially something annoying. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- We haven't caught up with each other for ages.
- I've been thinking a lot about my family recently.
- How was your childhood?
- Where did you grow up?
- My parents didn't always agree with each other.
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 | haven't caught · has lived |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should settle · shouldn't have · should try |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | consider emigrating · enjoys spending |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | They're planning · I'm starving |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 22 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, didn't, shouldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, dish /dɪʃ/, patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like elderly, grandmother, cousin.
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.