Shadowing Practice: Horror Books You Need to Read This Fall 👻🎃🖤🍂🕯️ [Book Recommendations pt. 8] - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Horror Books You Need to Read This Fall 👻🎃🖤🍂🕯️”. This video has 363 sentences and 5021 words to shadow. The speech runs for 20:35. The speaker talks fast, about 244 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| horror noun | /ˈhɒɹ.ə/ | An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. |
| romance noun | /roʊˈmæn(t)s/ | An intimate relationship between two people; a love affair. |
| recommendation noun | /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/ | An act of recommending. |
| vibe noun | /vaɪb/ | An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing. |
| cabin noun | /ˈkæbɪn/ | A small dwelling characteristic of the frontier, especially when built from logs with simple tools and not constructed by professional builders, but by those… |
| commentary noun | /ˈkɑ.mənˌtɛ.ɹi/ | A series of comments or annotations; especially, a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of some other work. |
| timeline noun | /ˈtaɪmˌlaɪn/ | A graphical representation of a chronological sequence of events (past or future). |
| disgusting adjective | /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ | Causing disgust; repulsive; distasteful. |
| creepy adjective | /ˈkɹipi/ | Moving by creeping along. |
| comic noun | /ˈkɑmɪk/ | A comedian. |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| genre noun | /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/ | A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks. |
| dive verb | /daɪv/ | To swim under water. |
| subtle adjective | /ˈsʌtəl/ | Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive. |
| supernatural adjective | /ˌsu.pəɹˈnæ.tʃə.ɹəl/ | Above nature; beyond or added to nature, often so considered because it is given by a deity or some force beyond that with which humans are born. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| act out verb | /ˌækt ˈaʊ̯t/ | To perform something specific. |
| clear out verb | To completely empty. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| give off verb | /ɡɪv ɒf/ | To emit; to produce and send forth; to come across in some manner. |
| go off verb | To explode. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I couldn't get enough of the writing.
- I was like, what do you mean?
- I know, what are the chances?
- Genuinely do not eat while you're reading this book.
- What am I supposed to do now?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | Used to Live |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've made · I've done · has become |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was filmed · were named · was owned |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | guy who has · friends who go · Tongues, which was |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 77 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thriller /ˈθɹɪ.lə/, theater /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/, worthy /ˈwɝ.ði/, eighth /eɪtθ/, grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/, mansion /ˈmæn.ʃən/, partnership /ˈpɑɹtnɚʃɪp/, shock /ʃɔk/
- Long words — get the stress right: recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, commentary /ˈkɑ.mənˌtɛ.ɹi/, supernatural /ˌsu.pəɹˈnæ.tʃə.ɹəl/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, interactive /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/
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 horror, romance, recommendation.
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.












