Shadowing Practice: How to get financing when starting a business - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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It starts with an idea.
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Maybe you're still planning your business.
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Or you've just started it.
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Whatever the stage, you have high hopes for your company.
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You want it to grow.
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As you know, success is far from guaranteed.
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Starting a business is risky.
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That's because there's no proven market for the product or service and there is no or limited revenue.
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You just have to look at the statistics to understand how hard it is.
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15% of new startups fail in year one and 50% will not see year five.
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This is why many financial institutions shy away from lending to startup businesses.
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But don't be discouraged.
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There are potential sources of capital for your business.
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Let's look at these different financing sources.
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Personal Investment When starting a business, your first investor should be yourself.
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With your own money and or assets to secure a loan.
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Investors love to see that you are fully committed and ready to take a risk on yourself.
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Love Money This is money loaned or invested by family or friends.
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Love money is considered patient capital by other investors because repayment is less likely to be demanded in the case of trouble.
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Grants A grant is a sum of money conditionally given by government organizations.
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You don't have to repay it if you use it under the terms of the grant.
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Angels Angels are generally wealthy individuals who invest directly in small firms.
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They typically make small investments and also offer their experience and their network to help you succeed.
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Venture Capital Venture capitalists invest in the most promising startups in high-growth technology-driven sectors.
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They take an ownership stake in companies to finance the higher risk early stages of development.
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They invest more than angels, typically over one million dollars, and they expect a healthy return.
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Loans It is not easy for startups to obtain traditional bank loans, but it is possible.
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There are some government programs to guarantee loans from financial institutions to entrepreneurs.
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There are also organizations that specialize in lending to new ventures.
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For example, if you're a young entrepreneur, check out Futurepreneur.
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To get the money you need, you may need to combine some of them.
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Keep in mind that you're going to have to persuade people that you've got a great business idea, and you're the right person to make it a success.
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This means you will need a solid business plan, commitment and tenacity.
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Because your business, whatever it is, is your ticket to a bright future.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to get financing when starting a business”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: startup, loan, investor, Venture, angels. This video has 34 sentences and 419 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:29. The speaker talks at a steady 120 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| startup noun | /ˈstɑɹtˌʌp/ | The act or process of starting a process or machine. |
| investor noun | /ɪnˈvɛs.tə(ɹ)/ | A person who invests money in order to make a profit. |
| lend verb | /ˈlɛnd/ | To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned. |
| entrepreneur noun | /ˌɑn.tɹə.pɹəˈnɝ/ | A person who sets up a business; generally, a person who owns and manages a business and assumes its financial risks. |
| conditionally adverb | /kənˈdɪʃənəli/ | under specified conditions |
| repayment noun | The act of repaying. | |
| specialize verb | /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/ | To narrow in scope. |
| tenacity noun | /təˈnæsəti/ | The quality or state of being tenacious, or persistence of purpose; tenaciousness. |
| discourage verb | /dɪsˈkɝɪd͡ʒ/ | To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits of; to deprive of confidence; to deject. |
| repay verb | /ɹiˈpeɪ/ | Synonym of pay back in all senses. |
| capitalist noun | /ˈkæp.ɪ.tə.lɪst/ | The owner of a considerable amount of capital; a wealthy person. |
| persuade verb | /pə(ɹ)ˈsweɪd/ | To successfully convince (someone) to agree to, accept, or do something, usually through reasoning and verbal influence. |
| risky adjective | /ˈɹɪski/ | Dangerous; involving risks. |
| combine verb | /kəmˈbaɪn/ | To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite. |
| stake noun | /steɪk/ | A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: conditionally /kənˈdɪʃənəli/, specialize /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/
- Long words — get the stress right: entrepreneur /ˌɑn.tɹə.pɹəˈnɝ/, conditionally /kənˈdɪʃənəli/, tenacity /təˈnæsəti/, capitalist /ˈkæp.ɪ.tə.lɪst/
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 startup, investor, lend.
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.