Shadowing Practice: How Good Is Your English? Take This 7-Minute Test! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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What's your level of English?
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Let's find out.
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In today's video, I'm going to ask you a few questions to help you figure out your level of English.
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Are you a beginner, an intermediate, or an advanced student?
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Here are the rules.
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No pausing the video, no translating, and you have to answer every question in your head.
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I'm going to ask you a few questions.
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Each question will test a different skill.
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For example, your grammar, your vocabulary, your listening, and how naturally you can use English.
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For every correct answer, you get one point.
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And at the end of the video, I'm going to reveal your final level.
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Before we begin, this is just a short quiz, which will give you a general idea of your level.
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If you want a longer test, you can find plenty of those on the internet, but they will take 30 to 60 minutes.
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In the next few minutes, we're going to go through this quickly and I'm going to give you a general idea of your English level.
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Ready?
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Here we go.
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Question one.
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If I blank more time, I would learn English faster.
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Which is correct?
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If I had more time or if I will have more time.
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I'll give you three seconds to figure this out.
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The correct answer is if I had more time.
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If I had more time, I would learn English faster.
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This is an example of a conditional sentence.
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Conditional sentences normally begin with the word if.
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Let's go on to question number two.
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Which sentence sounds natural?
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I am waiting you or I am waiting for you.
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The correct answer is B.
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I am waiting for you.
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After the verb to wait, we always need to use the preposition for.
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I am waiting for something.
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For you, for the train, for the bus, for something.
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If you don't use the word for, people will still understand you but you won't sound natural.
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So don't forget, you wait for something.
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Question number three.
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Choose the best word.
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The meeting was blank because nobody prepared.
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A. The meeting was boring.
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B. The meeting was bored.
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C. The meeting was boringly.
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The correct answer is A.
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The meeting was boring.
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When something is boring, it makes you bored.
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When something is tiring, it makes you tired.
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When something is interesting, it makes you interested.
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This is a very common mistake.
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Before we continue the quiz, don't forget to subscribe to English at the Ready here on YouTube.
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And of course, leave a like.
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It really helps me out and I really appreciate your support.
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If you want to study English with me, click the link in the description below to apply for our online programs.
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Now let's move on to question number four.
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I'm going to say a sentence out loud, but I'm not going to show it on the screen because I want to test your listening skills.
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Oh, and I'm also going to speak quickly.
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Are you ready?
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Listen carefully.
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I don't know what you did last night.
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Could you understand what I said?
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I said, I don't know what you did last night.
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I don't know becomes I don't know.
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What you becomes what you.
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I don't know what you did last night.
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We also drop the T sound in last.
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So we don't say last night.
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We say last night, last night.
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I don't know what you did last night.
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I don't know what you did last night.
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This is an example of connected speech.
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And this is how native speakers talk in daily conversation.
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Now, on to question number five.
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What would a native speaker say?
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A. I go to work every day at eight.
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B. Every day at eight, I go to work.
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C. Both are correct.
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The correct answer is C.
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Every day I go to work at 8 and I go to work every day at 8 are correct.
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However, the meaning is slightly different.
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When you put every day first, you emphasize the fact that this action happens every single day.
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Every day I go to work at 8.
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Not every week, not every month, but every day.
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Otherwise, you could start with I go.
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That would probably be the most normal way of saying this, because you're emphasizing the fact that you are doing the action,
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not your friend, not your brother, not your sister, you.
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I go to work every day at eight.
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English is interesting in that way because you can often change the order of a sentence to emphasize different things.
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You can also add more emphasis on your pronunciation, which has the same effect.
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For example, if you say, I like dogs, you're emphasizing the fact that you like dogs and not cats.
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But if you say, I like dogs, you're emphasizing the fact that you are the one who likes dogs.
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All right, that brings us to the end of today's quiz.
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Again, the point of this quiz was just to give you a quick overview of where you're at with your English.
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It was not a comprehensive test.
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If you want to find those, you can find those on the internet.
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There are many different resources available, but those will take more time.
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How many did you get right?
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If you got zero or one correct, you're probably somewhere closer to the A1 level, which is totally fine, but it's a more beginner level.
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If you got 2 to 3 correct, you're probably closer to the B1 level, which is an intermediate level.
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And if you got 4 to 5 correct, you're probably closer to the advanced level or the C1 level.
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Again, this result isn't totally precise, but it should give you a good overview of your current level.
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Let me know in the comments, how many questions did you get right?
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Which questions did you find easy and which questions did you find difficult?
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If you enjoyed the video, make sure to subscribe to English at the Ready here on YouTube and to leave a like.
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Your support really helps the channel out.
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And if you'd like to study with me and my team of expert teachers, click the link in the description below to submit an application.
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We have group classes, private classes, recorded classes, and so much more.
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I'll see you in the next video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “How Good Is Your English? Take This 7-Minute Test!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: correct, English, answer, sentence, meeting. This video has 105 sentences and 1059 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:54. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| emphasize verb | /ˈɛm.fə.saɪz/ | To stress, give emphasis or extra weight to (something). |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| quiz noun | /kwɪz/ | A competition in the answering of questions. |
| beginner noun | /bəˈɡɪnɚ/ | Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started. |
| conditional noun | /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/ | A conditional sentence; a statement that depends on a condition being true or false. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| intermediate adjective | /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/ | Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range. |
| overview noun | /ˈoʊ.vɚˌvjuː/ | A brief summary, as of a book or a presentation. |
| blank noun | /ˈblæŋk/ | The white spot in the centre of a target; hence (figuratively) the object to which anything is directed or aimed, the range of such aim. |
| boringly adverb | In a boring manner. | |
| preposition noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/ | Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense… |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| translate verb | /tɹænzˈleɪt/ | To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| 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:
- Are you a beginner, an intermediate, or an advanced student?
- I'm going to ask you a few questions.
- I'll give you three seconds to figure this out.
- Could you understand what I said?
- How many did you get right?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If I blank more time, I would learn · If I had more time, I would learn |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | quiz, which will · pronunciation, which has · one who likes |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · the most normal |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will test · will give · will take |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 31 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: conditional /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: conditional /kənˈdɪʃ.ə.nəl/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/
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 emphasize, bore, quiz.
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.