Shadowing Practice: Hotel Transylvania part 9 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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I'm sorry.
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I'm sorry.
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I'm sorry.
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Hello. Is there someone here?
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Vampiros!
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Oh, humans.
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I'm Mavis Dracula and I'm...
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¡Sapiro!
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¡Quemar ropa!
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¿Quemar mi ropa?
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¿En serio?
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Ah...
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Soy amistosa.
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No digo en serio.
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Calmense.
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Solo los quería saludar.
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I'm not going to hurt you.
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I'm not going to hurt you.
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That's all.
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I'm so angry.
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They were incendiary.
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Can I do something?
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Can I help you?
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Papa, you're right.
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You're right.
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Now my baby will be saved forever.
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Vampiros...
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Let's go, come back.

Speaking Goals for This Clip: Mastering Urgency and Reassurance

This video clip is perfect for practicing shadowspeak—the art of mirroring native speakers’ rhythm and tone—especially when conveying strong emotions like urgency or reassurance. The dialogue shifts quickly from panic ("I'm sorry. I'm sorry.") to calm persuasion ("I'm not going to hurt you"), making it ideal for honing your ability to adjust pitch and pace in real time. Whether you’re learning to apologize sincerely or calm a tense situation, this clip targets the fluency milestone of natural emotional expression—a key skill for confident communication.

Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions for Daily Conversations

  • "Is there someone here?" – A common way to check for presence in a new space.
  • "I'm not going to hurt you." – A critical phrase for reassuring others in tense moments.
  • "Can I do something? Can I help you?" – Polite offers of assistance that work in both casual and formal settings.
  • "You're right." – A simple yet powerful way to acknowledge agreement, useful in arguments or feedback.

These phrases are versatile and appear in everyday interactions, making them essential for building your conversational toolkit. Practice them using the shadowing technique—repeat each line immediately after the speaker—to internalize their natural flow.

Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation and Rhythm of Repetition

The dialogue features repeated phrases like "I'm sorry" and "I'm not going to hurt you," which highlight a common challenge: maintaining clarity and emotion while repeating words. Many learners rush through repetitions, losing tone, but native speakers use slight variations in stress to emphasize intent. Use a shadowing app or shadowing site to slow down the clip and mimic the speaker’s subtle pitch changes—notice how "I'm sorry" stresses the second word to convey sincerity. Additionally, the mix of English and Spanish (e.g., "¡Quemar ropa!") teaches you to pivot smoothly between languages, a skill that improves overall linguistic flexibility. By focusing on these details, you’ll transform repetitive speech from monotonous to meaningful.

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 →