Shadowing Practice: π History | IELTS Speaking Part 1 | Model Answers and Vocabulary (2025) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
C1
Hello, lovely, I'm Mariam.
264 sentences
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Hello, lovely, I'm Mariam.
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And my name is Rory.
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I'm the host of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast.
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The podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills as well as your listening skills along the way.
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We started this podcast to give you gorgeous grammar and fabulous vocabulary for your high IELTS score.
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Your bad nine score.
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Bad nine score.
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Oh, Rory, what's that book behind you?
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What is it?
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Oh, it's a history book.
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I just finished reading it.
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History?
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Are you reading history?
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I am.
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Shall we talk about history?
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Oh my god, let's talk about history.
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It's another coincidence.
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History, dear listener.
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Yes, they can ask you questions about history.
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Let's talk about history.
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Do you like history?
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Yeah, I love it.
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To the extent I actually studied it at university
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and a lot of the books I read for pleasure now are historical accounts.
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I'm not sure why I like it so much though,
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it's just something that clicked with me when I was at school.
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Did you like history when you were young?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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History was one of my favorite classes and I absolutely excelled at it when we wrote essays on it,
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regardless of the historical topic.
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Except for the history of agriculture,
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I have absolutely no idea why we had to learn about that,
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or at least learn about it in such an off-putting manner.
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It lacked any energy whatsoever.
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When was the last time you read about history?
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Well, that would be the last time I picked up the book I'm reading now.
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It's a kind of almost revisionist history of the world
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and how indigenous Americans contributed to enlightenment thinking and subsequent modes of thought in the West.
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Have you ever been to historical museums?
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Not recently, but I have been to quite a few,
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like the McManus Galleries in Dundee,
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which has a historical art collection,
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and the Natural History Museum in Oxford.
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It also has this massive collection of artwork and cultural artefacts that were produced by native people from across the world.
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And they're of great interest to me on a personal and professional level,
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since I like learning about them.
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But I also have to teach students about culture at times.
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What do you do?
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History.
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Yeah, we study history at school.
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Usually you study the history of your country,
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the history of other countries.
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But as a subject, it's just like, I love history.
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I hate history.
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I can't stand history.
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Like, I really dislike it, right?
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Or you're like, yeah, I love it.
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Or I don't.
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It's not my thing.
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Like, oh, no, history is not for me.
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So you can say, it's not my thing.
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History is exciting.
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You can say that I actually studied history at university or I loved it at school.
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I read a lot of books on history.
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And when a book is about history,
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we call it a historical book.
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I think a historical book refers more to how old the book is,
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whereas a history book is on the subject of history.
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We can also call it a historical account.
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Yeah.
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So we just say books on history.
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And you can say that history clicked with me when I was at school.
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That just means it was like a natural connection.
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Clicked with me it's informal
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you can say that i didn't really click with my boss
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so like i didn't like my boss the first time we met i studied history
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when i was at school
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when i was at primary school secondary school high school actually
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we kind of we study history all the time at school yeah we were living in history
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it was one of my favorite classes
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or it was one of my least favorite classes like i
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absolutely hated history all the dates to remember all the names
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geographical names ooh la la an important thing to point out
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now is the grammar here it's not one of my favorite
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class it's always one of my favorite classes remember the plural
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even though it's one of i always had bad marks at history
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or i excelled at this subject
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so i got excellent marks is it a band nine collocation let's check excel at so be excellent at something.
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Let's check what Cambridge Online Dictionary says.
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C2, absolutely.
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But the Cambridge Online Dictionary says it's Excel in.
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Oh, okay.
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I think you can Excel at something as well.
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Hi there, ChatGPT here.
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The correct phrase is Excel at.
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For example, she excels at mathematics,
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he excels at public speaking.
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However, Excel in can also be used,
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but it's typically followed by a field or area rather than a specific skill.
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For example, she excels in the field of neuroscience.
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He excels in sports.
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So, use Excel at for specific activities or skills and Excel in for broader areas or disciplines.
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It's like succeed in or succeed at.
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Alright, okay.
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And then you can say,
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like, I particularly enjoyed the history of...
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Oh, God, it could be the history of anything.
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It could be military history.
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I already talked about agricultural history.
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It could also be the history of something.
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The history of World War II,
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for example, or political history.
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Or, for example, ancient history,
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early modern history, or just modern history than Chinese history,
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Japanese history, African history.
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If history is taught in an off-putting manner.
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It means you don't want to talk about it because it's not interesting or exciting.
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If you didn't like the teacher,
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the classes were boring, So you can say that history was taught in an off-putting manner.
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Unpleasant.
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Boring.
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Not engaging.
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Boring, yeah, dull.
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No. So I didn't like history school because it was taught in an off-putting manner or it was off-putting.
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Like unpleasant.
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Actually, C2.
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Oh, nice.
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Nice.
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Band 9, off-putting.
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For example, people could be off-putting.
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Oh, like, he's off-putting.
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He's unpleasant.
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Or he worries all the time.
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Or like, I didn't agree to take this job because the salary was off-putting.
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Or you can say just like,
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I didn't like history because of the teacher.
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The teacher was dull.
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History is boring.
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To paraphrase the examiner's question,
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you can say I picked up a book on history.
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So, the last time I picked up a book on history was last year,
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or at school, or at university.
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And the book was about indigenous Americans,
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dear listener, or indigenous tribes in New Zealand.
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This is what you should say.
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Or you can say, oh,
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actually, I'm reading a book on history now.
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I learn a lot of interesting things about indigenous people in Mexico.
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All right, dear listener, indigenous refers to people who originally lived in this place.
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So, like local people, local tribes,
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indigenous people of this land.
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or you can say the indigenous population.
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And usually kind of New Zealand, Mexico, Scotland, Rory.
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Do you have any indigenous tribes?
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I don't think...
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Well, you could argue that Scottish people are the indigenous people of this country.
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Actually, yeah, Scots.
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Scotland freedom.
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And then you can say,
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like, I've recently read a book on the Enlightenment, this period of history.
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Period of history when everyone turned the lights on, metaphorically speaking.
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Careful with the pronunciation, we say Enlightenment.
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Yes, Enlightenment.
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If we enlighten, we inform, we illuminate.
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and people became more informed allegedly in this period of history
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other opinions are available the late 17th century to the early 19th century so either talk about indigenous tribes in Mexico or
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enlightenment or both, like me
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thank you very much to my good friend Elena for her book
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that I'm currently reading that will be very useful for talking about this kind of topic
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and it has been very useful as well.
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We can go to historical museums.
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Can I say history museums?
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I don't see why not.
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I don't know what other kinds of museums there are.
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Yeah, different websites say like history museums,
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like 12 history museums you should visit at least once.
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What's number one?
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What do you think?
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Is it going to be the Natural History Museum in London?
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No. Athens, Rory, Greece, Acropolis Museum.
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Super ancient.
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The Acropolis Museum.
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Yeah, dear listener.
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Museums coming with articles.
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So, the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
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The second one on this website.
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The British Museum.
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Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
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The Cathedral Museum.
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I think I've messed up the pronunciation.
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Hagia Sophia, the Hagia or Hagia.
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I'd say Hagia Sophia, but I don't know.
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Some people say Hagia as well.
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I've heard it said in different ways.
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If there are any people from Turkey, then please enlighten us.
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A lovely place.
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And then the army museum in Paris.
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So it's like there, you see.
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And these kinds of museums, dear listeners.
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So the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore, for example.
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So, Asian civilizations.
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And in China, it's the Museum of Terracotta Warriors.
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Oh, they're made of...
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Oh, is it sand?
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I thought they were made of pottery,
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but I don't know much about them.
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Warriors and horses and this astonishing army of sculptures.
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And then the Egyptian Museum in Egypt, obviously.
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So you can choose one of the museums,
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learn a fancy name and say that yes.
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Rory, nothing about, you know, London, Scotland, nothing?
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Well, the McManus Galleries is in Scotland and the Natural History Museum is not just in Oxford,
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sorry it's not just in london it's also in oxford
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and you should use the present perfect
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so i've been to i've never been to any museums any historical places or i've seen a nice art collection
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at the natural history museum in london in new york
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and you can talk about a massive collection of artwork like a huge collection of art different artifacts
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so different items so when you go to a museum you see different exhibits items things
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or artifacts but that's just things or items sweet and we're gonna wrap it up with a joke, dear listener.
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But Rory, you need to teach one word,
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right, for our listener to understand the joke, okay?
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So, Rory, tell me, but don't tell the joke, okay?
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Okay, fine.
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So, snakes, you know, we have animals,
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we have birds, we have snakes, you know, snakes.
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I am familiar.
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What sound do snakes make?
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They hiss.
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Yeah.
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Cats meow, cows moo, but snakes make this hissing sound.
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So the joke, dear listener.
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What's a snake's favorite subject in school?
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History.
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Thank you for listening to the episode.
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I will be in a dark room somewhere if anyone needs me.
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A snake has their favorite subject and it's history.
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You can stop anytime.
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Bye.
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Do you like history?
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Yeah, I love it.
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To the extent I actually studied it at university
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and a lot of the books I read for pleasure now are historical accounts.
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I'm not sure why I like it so much, though.
244
It's just something that clicked with me when I was at school.
245
Did you like history when you were young?
246
Yeah, absolutely.
247
History was one of my favorite classes and I absolutely excelled at it when we wrote essays on it,
248
regardless of the historical topic.
249
Except for the history of agriculture,
250
I have absolutely no idea why we had to learn about that,
251
or at least learn about it in such an off-putting manner.
252
It lacked any energy whatsoever.
253
When was the last time you read about history?
254
Well, that would be the last time I picked up the book I'm reading now.
255
It's a kind of almost revisionist history of the world
256
and how indigenous Americans contributed to enlightenment thinking and subsequent modes of thought in the West.
257
Have you ever been to historical museums?
258
Not recently, but I have been to quite a few,
259
like the McManus Galleries in Dundee,
260
which has a historical art collection,
261
and the Natural History Museum in Oxford.
262
It also has this massive collection of artwork and cultural artifacts that were produced by native people from across the world.
263
And they're of great interest to me on a personal and professional level since I like learning about them,
264
but I also have to teach students about culture at times.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice speaking English by exploring the engaging topic of history. The conversation between Mariam and Rory presents various ways to express opinions, share personal experiences, and discuss favorite subjects. This will help you expand your vocabulary and improve your overall speaking skills, making you more prepared for the IELTS Speaking test. You will learn how to articulate your thoughts about history, engage in discussions, and demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively in English.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Historical accounts: Detailed narratives or records of past events.
- Revisionist history: A reinterpretation of historical events, often emphasizing overlooked aspects.
- Cultural artifacts: Objects created by a culture that hold historical significance.
- Excelling: Achieving a high standard in a subject or skill.
- Personal and professional level: Relating both to one's individual interests and career responsibilities.
- Engaging: Attracting or holding interest; captivating.
- Indigenous: Referring to the original inhabitants of a place.
- Essays: A short piece of writing on a particular subject.
Practice Tips
To continue improving your English pronunciation and fluency, consider implementing the shadowing technique. This method involves listening to the spoken conversation in the video and trying to imitate it as closely as possible. Focus on the speed and tone of the speakers. You can use a shadowing app to pause and replay sections, allowing you to practice until you feel confident. Try to match the emotions and intonations of the speakers to capture the essence of their conversation. By doing so, you not only work on your pronunciation but also enhance your ability to convey meaning effectively. Remember to take your time as you practice and allow yourself to repeat sections multiple times until it feels natural. Engage with the shadowspeaks community for additional tips and resources to make the most of your shadowing experiences!
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 β like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1β2 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 β making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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