Shadowing Practice: Good Will Hunting: Giving him directions (HD CLIP) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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72 sentences
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1
Tim, can you help us?
2
We're trying to settle a bet.
3
Uh-oh.
4
Ever heard of Jonas Salk?
5
Sure.
6
Cure polio.
7
You've heard of Albert Einstein?
8
Hey.
9
How about Gerald Lambeau?
10
Ever heard of him?
11
No. Thank you, Tim.
12
So who won the bet?
13
I did.
14
This isn't about me, Sean.
15
I'm nothing compared to this young man.
16
Who over here with Gerald Lambeau?
17
In 1905, there were hundreds of professors renowned for their study of the universe,
18
but it was a 26-year-old Swiss patent clerk doing physics in his spare time who changed the world.
19
Can you imagine if Einstein would have given that up just to get drunk with his buddies in Vienna every night?
20
We all would have lost something.
21
Tim will never have heard of him.
22
Pretty dramatic, Jerry.
23
No, it isn't, Sean.
24
This boy has that gift.
25
He just hasn't got the direction, but we can give that to him.
26
Hey, Jerry, in the 1960s, there was a young man graduated from the University of Michigan.
27
Did some brilliant work in mathematics, specifically bounded harmonic functions.
28
Then he went on to Berkeley, was assistant professor, showed amazing potential.
29
Then he moved to Montana, and he blew the competition away.
30
Yeah, so who was he?
31
Ted Kuczynski.
32
I haven't heard him.
33
Hey, Timmy!
34
Yo!
35
Who's Ted Kuczynski?
36
Uniball.
37
That's exactly what I'm talking about.
38
We've got to give this kid direction.
39
He can contribute to the world, and we can help him do that.
40
Direction's one thing, manipulation's another.
41
Well, Sean...
42
I'm not sitting at home every night twisting my mustache and hatching a plan to ruin this boy's life.
43
I was doing advanced mathematics when I was 18, and it still took me over 20 years to do something worthy of a Fields Medal.
44
Well, maybe he doesn't want what you want.
45
There's more to life than a f*ing Fields medal.
46
This is too important, Sean.
47
And it's about personal rivalry.
48
Wait a minute.
49
Wait a minute, Jerry.
50
Let's talk about the boy.
51
Why don't we give him time to figure out what he wants?
52
That's a wonderful theory, Sean.
53
It worked wonders for you, didn't it?
54
Yeah, it did, you arrogant f*ing prick.
55
Well, I'm sorry.
56
I'm sorry that I came here today.
57
I came here out of courtesy.
58
I wanted to keep you in the loop.
59
Nice to be in the loop.
60
The boy's in a meeting where I die set up for him over at McNeil.
61
Well, Will, I'm not exactly sure what you mean.
62
We've already offered you a position.
63
Nobody in this town works without a retainer, guys.
64
You think you can find somebody who does?
65
We tell you you have my blessing.
66
But I think we all know that person's not gonna represent you as well as I can.
67
Will, our offer is $84,000 a year.
68
Retainer!
69
Retainer.
70
You want us to give you cash right now.
71
Oh, oh, oh, eat it.
72
Now, I didn't say that.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Good Will Hunting: Giving him directions”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Sean, heard, retainer, Jerry, Tim. This video has 72 sentences and 497 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:02. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 13 of its 72 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 14 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| retainer noun | /ɹɪˈteɪn.ɚ/ | Any thing or person that retains. |
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| harmonic adjective | /hɑɹˈmɑnɪk/ | Pertaining to harmony. |
| moustache noun | /ˈmʌstæʃ/ | A growth of facial hair between the nose and the upper lip. |
| uniball noun | A spherical bearing. | |
| prick noun | /pɹɪk/ | A small hole or perforation, caused by piercing. |
| arrogant adjective | /ˈæɹəɡənt/ | Having excessive pride in oneself, often with contempt or disrespect for others. |
| rivalry noun | /ˈɹaɪ.vəl.ɹi/ | An ongoing relationship between (usually two) rivals who compete for superiority. |
| hatch verb | /hæt͡ʃ/ | To emerge from an egg. |
| renowned adjective | /ɹɪˈnaʊnd/ | Famous, celebrated, or well-known; widely praised or highly honored. |
| clerk noun | /klɝk/ | One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker. |
| blessing noun | /ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/ | Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward. |
| courtesy noun | /ˈkɝɾəsi/ | Polite behavior. |
| patent noun | /ˈpeɪtənt/ | An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Tim, can you help us?
- We're trying to settle a bet.
- Why don't we give him time to figure out what he wants?
- It worked wonders for you, didn't it?
- You think you can find somebody who does?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 19 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, didn't, isn't. 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.
- 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 retainer, mathematics, harmonic.
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.