Shadowing Practice: Google Colab for Python Beginners - Visually Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Have you ever wanted to learn

Python but always felt like it was complicated and you didn't know where to start?

Here's the good news, you don't have to install or configure anything.

Stay with us and in the next 90 seconds you'll learn how to write and run your first line of Python code.

We can do that thanks to Google Colab.

It is a free tool that lets you write and run

Python code directly in your browser

so let's jump in to get started we open our browser

and make sure we're signed into our google account then we'll type google colab in the search bar

and choose colab in the search results once the page loads at the bottom left of the window

we click new notebook perfect now we have our first python notebook ready to use see this empty box

This is called a code cell, and it's where we'll write our first line of Python code.

Let's start simply by telling

Python to display on screen the text, hello world.

We tell Python to display text by writing print followed by a set of parentheses.

Inside the parentheses, we write the text we want to print between quotation marks.

Awesome.

We've now written our first line of Python code.

the next step is to tell python to run the code to do

that we click the play button on the left side of the cell nice

we can see from the green check next to the cell

and the output that our code ran successfully

and very quickly in under 90 seconds

we've gone from python feels complicated to actually coding now this is pretty basic stuff

but it's the first step in your python journey.

There's so much more we can do.

For example, let's see how to use

Python to do some calculations for us.

We'll start by clearing our cell.

Notice that when we do this, the cell output doesn't change.

To update the cell output, we need to run the cell again.

Great, now we have a clean slate let's

now do a simple calculation say five plus three running the cell python performs the calculation

and displays eight notice that here we didn't use print

and python still outputs the answer that's because colab automatically shows the results of the last line in a cell

to see what we mean let's add another calculation above our current one say two plus three

Running the cell, we only see eight, the result of the last line.

The first calculation still runs, but its result isn't displayed.

To see both results, we need to print them.

Now, when we run the cell, both results appear.

Awesome.

To keep experimenting, let's add more cells.

When we hover at the bottom or top of a cell, a few buttons appear.

Clicking plus code adds a brand new code cell that's ready for more code.

Let's try a different calculation this time, 12 times 7.

Running the cell gives us 84.

Each cell works independently, which means we can edit and rerun them whenever we want.

This makes it really easy to experiment and try different things.

But as we add more cells to our notebook, we might want to leave ourselves some notes about what our code does.

To do this, we can add a different type of cell to the notebook, a text cell.

Inside the text cell, we can leave ourselves a note or explain our code.

They also allow us to format our text using something called markdown.

These asterisks are markdown formatting.

The text cells shows the raw text and markdown on the left, and then previews what it will look like on the right.

You don't need to know markdown to use text cells, but if you're curious about it, we left a link to learn more in the description.

When we select close on the text cell, we see what was in the preview before.

to edit this text cell we simply double click it and change the text to something new

awesome now we know how to work with both code

and text cells

but the current organization of our notebook where the text cell follows the calculations is not ideal

it would make more sense if the text cell was above the calculations to move this cell above our two calculation cells,

we can click the arrow on the upper right of the cell and move it to the top.

Looks better!

But as useful as text cells are, sometimes we also might want to add notes inside of our code cells.

We can do this with code comments.

To write a comment, we start with the hashtag symbol.

Then we can write any text we want.

When we run this cell, Python will ignore the comment.

It's just for us.

To confirm this, let's add our super secret calculation code below it and run the cell.

Great, we only get the result of the calculation.

Comments are helpful for reminding us of our code's purpose when we come back to it.

Awesome, now as we work, we might end up with cells we no longer need.

Let's see how to remove them.

We can delete a cell by clicking on it, and then clicking the trash icon in the top right corner of the cell. And poof!

The cell is gone!

Great!

Now that we're comfortable running, adding, and removing cells, we're almost done building our first notebook.

To finish up, let's give the notebook a useful name, like Calculations Practice.

Great, this notebook is automatically saved in Google Drive.

We can confirm this by clicking

File, Locate, and Drive.

We are then taken to a new tab where this notebook is saved in our drive.

Perfect, before we wrap up, let's head back to our notebook to learn a handy shortcut.

To run a cell, instead of clicking the play button, we can press

Shift plus Enter on our keyboard.

this runs the cell and automatically moves us to the next one really useful

when working through a notebook to see what other shortcuts colab offers we can go to tools

and keyboard shortcuts there are lots of options here feel free to explore

and customize them how you'd like

if you'd like to practice what you've learned in this video check out the notebook

we created it has a few exercises to get you started.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Google Colab for Python Beginners - Visually Explained”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: cell, text, code, python, notebook. This video has 92 sentences and 1079 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:12. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
calculation noun	/ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/	The act or process of calculating.
notebook noun	/ˈnoʊtˌbʊk/	A book (physical or digital) in which notes or memoranda are written.
output noun	/ˈaʊtpʊt/	Production; quantity produced, created, or completed.
complicated adjective	/ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/	Difficult or convoluted.
format noun	/ˈfɔːɹ.mæt/	The layout of a publication or document.
confirm verb	/kənˈfɝm/	To strengthen; to make firm or resolute.
experiment noun	/ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/	A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of…
edit verb	/ˈɛdɪt/	To change a text, or a document.
keyboard noun	/ˈki.bɔɹd/	A set of keys laid out in a gridlike pattern, used for typing on a typewriter, computer, etc.
preview noun	/ˈpɹiːvjuː/	An experience of something in advance.
browser noun	/ˈbɹaʊ.zəɹ/	One who or which browses.
ignore verb	/ɪɡˈnɔː/	To deliberately not listen or pay attention to.
curious adjective	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
select verb	/sɪˈlɛkt/	To choose one or more elements of a set, especially a set of options.
successfully adverb	/səkˈsɛs.fə.li/	In a successful manner; with success; without failing.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
finish up verb	To complete the last details of a task.
work through verb	To get past a difficult or stressful situation by thinking or talking about it.
wrap up verb	To cover or enclose (something) by folding and securing a covering entirely around it.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

There's so much more we can do.
We'll start by clearing our cell.
To keep experimenting, let's add more cells.
Let's see how to remove them.

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	Have you ever wanted · We've now written · we've gone
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is called · isn't displayed · is automatically saved
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	might want · might end
Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction	you'll learn · we'll type · we'll write

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 19 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll, we're, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: calculation /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/, trash /tɹæʃ/, hashtag /ˈhæʃˌtæɡ/, quotation /kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/, shortcut /ˈʃɔːtkʌt/
Long words — get the stress right: complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, successfully /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/, independently /ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəntli/, parenthesis /pəˈɹɛn.θə.sɪs/

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 calculation, notebook, output.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: Google Colab for Python Beginners - Visually Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video

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