Shadowing Practice: How Old Are You? A Birthday Party - Learn English Speaking with Video
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19 sentences
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1
Happy birthday, sweetie!
2
Thank you, Mummy!
3
How old are you today?
4
I'm seven! Seven years old!
5
How many balloons can you see?
6
One, two, three... five balloons!
7
What colour is this one?
8
It's purple. My favourite!
9
Wow! Is that my cake?
10
Yes! How many candles are there?
11
Seven candles! One for every year!
12
Make a wish and blow!
13
Can I open my presents now?
14
Yes. This big one is from Daddy.
15
Mummy! The box is moving!
16
Really? Open it slowly.
17
Oh! It's a little puppy!
18
What's his name, sweetie?
19
Seven! His name is Seven!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A1 speaking lesson is built on the video “How Old Are You? A Birthday Party”. This video has 19 sentences and 94 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:59. The speaker talks slowly, about 95 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 8 of its 19 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
11 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| balloon noun | /bəˈlun/ | An inflatable buoyant object, often (but not necessarily) round and flexible. |
| candle noun | /ˈkæn.dəl/ | A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin. |
| sweetie noun | /ˈswi.ti/ | A person who is much loved. |
| purple noun | /ˈpɝ.pl̩/ | A colour between red and blue; violet, though often closer to magenta. |
| puppy noun | /ˈpʌpi/ | A young rat. |
| slowly adverb | /ˈsloʊli/ | At a slow pace. |
| blow verb | /bloʊ/ | To produce an air current. |
| favourite adjective | /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/ | Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.) |
| cake noun | /keɪk/ | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| colour noun | Commonwealth and Ireland standard spelling of color. | |
| birthday noun | /ˈbɜːθ.deɪ/ | The anniversary of the day on which someone is born. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How old are you today?
- How many balloons can you see?
- Is that my cake?
- Can I open my presents now?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is moving |
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 balloon, candle, sweetie.
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.