Shadowing Practice: Get ready starter unit 9 hobby - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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You've got lots of hobbies.
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Do you like singing?
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Yes, I love it!
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Me too!
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And you like playing the guitar?
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Yes, I love playing the guitar!
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So do I!
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And do you enjoy fishing too?
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Yes, I go fishing with my dad!
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So do I!

Key Speaking Skills to Build from This Hobby-Focused Dialogue

This video is a great tool for english speaking practice, especially for beginners. It helps you master two essential skills: confirming shared interests using short, natural responses like "Me too!" and "So do I," and discussing hobbies with clear, conversational phrasing. These skills are even useful for IELTS speaking practice, as they teach you to keep interactions flowing smoothly—an important part of scoring well in fluency and coherence. By mimicking the dialogue, you’ll also learn to structure simple questions and answers about personal interests, a common topic in daily conversations and language tests.

Notice These Connected Speech Patterns

Listening closely to the conversation, you’ll hear examples of connected speech that make English sound more natural. For instance, "Do you like singing?" often becomes "D’you like singing?" with the "o" in "do" reduced to a schwa sound. Similarly, "I love playing the guitar" may link "love" and "playing" into "loveplayin’" in fast speech, with the "g" in "playing" softened. These reductions and links are key to understanding native speakers and sounding more fluent yourself. Practicing with a shadowing app can help you catch these subtle sounds, as you repeat the dialogue in real time to match the rhythm.

Mirror the Rhythm and Stress Like a Native

To sound like a native, focus on the rhythm and stress in the video. The speakers stress key words like "love," "guitar," and "fishing" to emphasize their interests, while unstressing function words like "it" and "with." For example, in "Yes, I love it!" the stress is on "love," making the sentence feel lively and engaged. The short responses "Me too!" and "So do I!" are spoken with a rising intonation, showing enthusiasm. Shadow speak techniques—repeating the dialogue immediately after the speaker—can help you internalize this rhythm. Whether you’re using a shadowspeaks method or practicing alone, aim to match the speed and emphasis of the video to make your speech sound more natural and confident.

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 →