Shadowing Practice: How can you help a kidney stone pass? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How can you help a kidney stone pass?”. This video has 4 sentences and 69 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:25.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| kidney noun | /ˈkɪdni/ | An organ in the body that filters the blood, producing urine. |
| muscle noun | /ˈmʌs.əl/ | A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement. |
| smooth adjective | /smuːð/ | Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough. |
| fluid noun | /ˈflu.ɪd/ | Any substance which can flow with relative ease, tends to assume the shape of its container, and obeys Bernoulli's principle; a liquid, gas or plasma. |
| medication noun | /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/ | A medicine, or all the medicines regularly taken by a patient. |
| inflammatory adjective | /ɪnˈflæmət(ə)ɹi/ | Tending to inflame or provoke somebody. |
| relaxation noun | /rᵻˌlækˈseɪ.ʃən/ | The act of relaxing or the state of being relaxed; the opposite of stress or tension; the aim of recreation and leisure activities. |
| ibuprofen noun | /ˌaɪ.bju.ˈpɹoʊ.fən/ | A synthetic compound used widely as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug. |
| naproxen noun | /nəˈpɹɒksən/ | A certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that inhibits the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes and thereby reduces pain, fever, inflammation, and stiffness. |
| steroidal adjective | /ˈstɛɹɔɪdəl/ | Of, being, or derived from a steroid. |
| ureter noun | /jʊəˈɹiːtə(ɹ)/ | Either of the two long, narrow ducts that carry urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. |
| struggle noun | /ˈstɹʌɡəl/ | A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: medication /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, relaxation /rᵻˌlækˈseɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: medication /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, inflammatory /ɪnˈflæmət(ə)ɹi/, ibuprofen /ˌaɪ.bju.ˈpɹoʊ.fən/
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 kidney, muscle, smooth.
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.