Shadowing Practice: Hear a Pin Drop - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
13 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Welcome to English in a Minute!
2
If you have heard American English or watched an American TV show, you probably have heard this.
3
Hear a pin drop.
4
What does this phrase mean?
5
Let's see whether we can find out by listening to an American English conversation.
6
I can't believe he said that.
7
And then the room was so quiet, nobody said a word.
8
Really?
9
Yeah, I mean, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
10
Pins are small and don't make noise when they fall to the floor.
11
So, when you say you can hear a pin drop, it means that the room is silent.
12
Usually, that's because the people are surprised or excited about something.
13
And that's English in a Minute.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B1English in a Minute: Thorn in My Side
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B2English in a Minute: Ahead of the Curve
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
A295
English in a Minute: Make Up Your Mind
American AccentTravel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B189
English in a Minute: Wishful Thinking
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B120
English in a Minute: Call It a Day
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B170
English in a Minute: When it Rains, it Pours
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
A257
Call It A Day
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B1101
English in a Minute: Get Out Of Here
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A218
English in a Minute: Start from Scratch
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B27
English in a Minute: Break Even
American AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B131
English in a Minute: Make (One's) Head Swim
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
A26
English in a Minute: Grab a Bite
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B13
English in a Minute: Boils Down To
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B114
English in a Minute: It's Up To You
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B19
English in a Minute: Under The Weather
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B214
English in a Minute: Pound the Pavement
American AccentInterview EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
English in a Minute: The Jury is Still Out
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B111
English in a Minute: Call It A Day
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B115
English in a Minute: Like Oil and Water
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B14
English in a Minute: Under the Hood
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
A22
13 sentences
English in a Minute: Hear A Pin Drop
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A23
11 sentences
Test your English listening #english #ingles
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
280 sentences
Slow English for Shadowing | 10 Minutes of Listening English for Beginners | Learn English Podcast
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A24
53 sentences
American English Pronunciation | Practice Common Sentences with "Can"
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A211
198 sentences
Learn English Conversation in 15 Minutes | Shadowing English Speaking Practice 🗣
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B120
39 sentences
English Listening Quiz - Chip, Cheap, Ship, Sheep
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
A21
207 sentences
I Heard a Noise at 2 AM! 😱 | Learn English Story (A2 Level)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A23
10 sentences
Today's English phrase is... 'bite-sized' What does it mean?
British AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B12
77 sentences
English SPEAKING Practice - Let's say it together!
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
A2205 sentences
EnglishPod 9 - Elementary - Silence please
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B14
8 sentences
🇺🇸 AMERICAN ACCENT in 60 Seconds #pronunciation #learnenglish
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Hear a Pin Drop”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: pin, English, drop, hear. This video has 13 sentences and 124 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:53. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 2 of its 13 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| pin noun | /pɪn/ | A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening. |
| quiet adjective | /ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/ | With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise. |
| noise noun | /ˈnoɪ̯z/ | Various sounds, usually unwanted or unpleasant. |
| drop noun | /dɹɑp/ | A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own rounded shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid. |
| welcome | /ˈwɛl.kəm/ | Greeting given upon someone's arrival. |
| nobody noun | /ˈnoʊ.bə.di/ | A person dismissed as unimportant. |
| floor noun | /flɔː/ | The interior bottom or surface of a house or building; the supporting surface of a room. |
| conversation noun | /ˌkɑn.vəɹˈseɪ.ʃən/ | Expression and exchange of individual ideas through talking with other people; also, a set instance or occasion of such talking. |
| surprise noun | /sə(ː)ˈpɹaɪ̯z/ | Something unexpected. |
| excited adjective | /ɪkˈsaɪ.tɪd/ | Having great enthusiasm, passion and energy. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
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 heard |
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 silent, phrase, pin.
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.