Shadowing Practice: How to improve English speaking? | Follow these tips! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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How to improve our English speaking skill.
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Well, let me get straight to the point.
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The only way to improve your speaking skill is to speak.
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Hello, my name is Matty from POC English
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and in this lesson we are going to talk about how to improve our speaking skills.
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As I said earlier, the only way to become more fluent in English language is to speak more
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and more and more
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but then there are a lot of questions by students like we don't have a speaking partner
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or how do we know if you're making mistakes
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or we have a speaking partner but we don't know what to say
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or we have a speaking partner but we speak in our own language what how's
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that gonna help all right
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so let's clear things up here are the things you need to do
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and number one is speaking comes last now what do i mean
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if you have no idea what to say what vocabulary to use how to say it what tense to use
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and you have no idea about the topic itself
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how are you going to speak so what's your job i'm uh um if you are uh Uh,
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I will, um, uh, that is impossible.
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First, you need to learn some words.
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For example, career.
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Career basically means your job, your occupation, or your profession.
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But learning this word itself is not enough you need to learn some adjectives,
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some verbs, some nouns, and some phrases that often collocate with career.
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And these are called collocations.
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Collocations are a group of words that often sit together.
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For example, if you want to use some adjectives with the word career, you can say a promising career,
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which basically means a career with a very bright future, right?
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If you are a teacher you can use the adjective teaching
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and say a teaching career
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if you work in a university you can say an academic career
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if you do sports for a living you can say a sporting career
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or you can say a musical career
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if you play music professionally we can also use some verbs
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to talk about career for example you can say have to
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have a career i have a career you have a career you can say begin
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which means to start we can also use the phrasal verb to embark on a career
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so to begin a career to embark on a career means
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to start a career we can use the verb pursue a career
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which means to follow a career and
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if the thing we're doing is too difficult for us or
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if we are not good enough for
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that career we can give up give up a career
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which means basically to stop pursuing it we can also use some nouns with the word career like career advice
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or career ladder you know what a ladder is something
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that helps you climb up or climb down
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so climbing up the career ladder basically means to improve in
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your career career advice career ladder you can say career choice
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if you are a student and you want to choose
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which major to study in which major
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which degree to pursue then you are making a career choice right you can also say prospect career prospect
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which means the future of the career
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and you can say career opportunities like there are many career opportunities in the us
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so that was the first step to learn new words and new collocations
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but then the second step is to write first before you start speaking you need to write
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why and how does it help
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when you want to speak you need to think immediately you don't have time to think about the structure
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or the words you need to use but
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when you want to write you have time to play with
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the words with the tenses to make up new sentences
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and then to memorize those sentences so that
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when you are in a situation you can easily use them these are called prefabricated patterns
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or you know ready sentences that you can use in different situations for example
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I want to use the word career with the adjective promising
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and with the verb have and say I have a promising career.
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You see this is an example sentence.
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Or I want to use the verb pursue
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and the adjective academic with the noun career and say I pursue an academic career.
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Or I want to use the phrasal verb to give up with the word career
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because of let's say career prospect
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so i can say i want to give up this career
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because of poor career prospects it means it doesn't have a good future
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so i want to give up you see i'm trying to use the word
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and the adjective and the verb together in order to make different sentences i write down these sentences and that's it.
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What's next?
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Step three is speaking.
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Now you need to speak, but how?
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And with who?
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Well, with no one.
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Talk to yourself.
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So, if you don't have a speaking partner, it's not important.
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Talk to yourself.
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You are your own speaking partner.
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You don't need anyone.
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What if I make mistakes? Who cares?
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You are learning something new.
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Of course you make mistakes.
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If you don't make any mistakes well then you already know
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the language why are you studying it it's completely okay to make mistakes
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and not just a few mistakes it's completely okay to make big mistakes that's fine you are learning but then
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if there is no one to correct me well little by
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little you will improve your knowledge you will join online academies
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online classes you can go to a school you can have a your own private tutor
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and then he will tell you or the knowledge you obtain will tell you
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that this is wrong
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so little by little give it time it's like a ladder you climb up a ladder right
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so give it time that's fine if you make mistakes
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so how can i talk to myself well imagine a situation for example you are on a date
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and you want to talk about your career oh you are
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so pretty me what job i have well i pursue a
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promising career uh you know i had an academic career
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but then i noticed there is no good money in you know teaching
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so i gave up that career because it didn't have good career prospect
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so now I am pursuing a new career so
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that was tip number one speaking comes last with all the three steps learning words
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and collocations writing before speaking
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and talking to yourself what is the second tip tip number
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two to improve your speaking you need to think in English think in English but how there are two very good ways.
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Number one is keeping a journal.
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Every morning when you wake up, spend five to ten minutes writing down the things you want to do.
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But in English, if you want to talk to a friend, if you want to go for a quick jog, if you want to take a shower, if you want to go out for breakfast,
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whatever you want to do, write it down for ten minutes in English language.
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And every night before going to bed write down the things you did during the day
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so you see in the morning you're using some future tenses
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at night you're using some present perfect simple past tenses this
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helps improve your grammar as well today i'm going to hit
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the gym at around 10 a .m then oh yeah i
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have to talk to my friend i will talk to my friend i'm going to talk to my friend
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because it's a future plan all right i'm going to talk
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to my friend then i'm going to watch maddie's latest video on youtube poc english
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and then i have to i have to meet my friend yes i am going to see
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my friend this evening i am seeing my friend this evening well both are correct
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and the second amazing way to think in english is to keep talking to yourself throughout the day
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if you're listening to music if you're walking on the street
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if you're alone in your room talk to yourself
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when you talk to yourself you don't even talk aloud you
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can just think about talking to yourself you can think about your sentences.
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And you see this thinking about what you do, what you want to do,
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or what you're thinking about in English will help you to think in English step by step.
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Imagine if the weather is good if there is traffic if someone said something you didn't like
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talk to yourself in your head in english
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what i'm a bad guitar player no i'm a great guitar
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player i will show i i will show every one of you
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that i can play the guitar i can play the guitar
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and i will play the guitar see so
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that was tip number two to think in english now before we go on to tip number three
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and the last tip for today
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if you want to receive the free pdf file of the
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lesson summaries for each video i post on youtube you just
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have to give me your email address how go to the
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descriptions down below there is a link to my website click
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on the link go to my website enter your email address and click subscribe
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tip number three build your confidence the number one reason why many students struggle with speaking in english is
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because they don't practice enough and the reason why they don't practice enough is
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because they are either shy or they lack self -confidence in english language
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oh i'm too shy to speak well talk to yourself what
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if i make a mistake well that's totally fine you are learning the language right
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so that's completely okay to make mistakes
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what if i make a fool out of myself in front of everyone
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and say something crazy i mean come on guys what is the worst thing
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that can happen all right how to build confidence there are
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three things i want you to do in order to become more self -confident
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when it comes to english language the first tip is to read aloud
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if you are into reading the newspaper or a magazine
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or a book in english language
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or even your own texts do it read the text read the book read the newspaper read the magazine but aloud
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because by hearing our own voice we will get used to
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it sometimes our own voice sounds kind of strange to us
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read aloud let your ears hear your voice you will get
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more confident by doing this what is a collocation collocation means a natural combination of words
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it refers to the english way no it refers to the
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way english words are closely associated with each other tip number
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two pretend you are speaking in front of an audience
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so why do we need to learn collocations huh why you need to learn collocations because they will help you
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speak and write english in a more natural and accurate way you see it's very important
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yeah it's very important to learn collocations
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and tip three keep improving your english language skills keep improving
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your vocabulary your collocations your grammar your reading writing listening speaking keep improving your knowledge
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and that's it guys i hope you have enjoyed this lesson
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don't forget to do the things i asked you to do throughout this video
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and let me know what you think
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if you enjoyed this video don't forget to give it a thumbs up
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and if you're new to my channel click subscribe see you
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 172 sentences and 2001 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:34. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- verb /vɝb/ (noun) — A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.
- pursue /pɚˈsu/ (verb) — To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase.
- ladder /ˈlæd.ɚ/ (noun) — A frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened rungs (cross strips or…
- guitar /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ (noun) — A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).
- prospect /ˈpɹɑspɛkt/ (noun) — The region which the eye overlooks at one time; a view; a scene; an outlook.
- skill /skɪl/ (noun) — A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
- climb /ˈklaɪ̯m/ (verb) — To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending).
- tense /tɛns/ (noun) — The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
- aloud /əˈlaʊd/ (adverb) — With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly.
- lesson /ˈlɛs.ən/ (noun) — A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
- noun /naʊn/ (noun) — A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, word, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea…
- refer /ɹɪˈfɜː/ (verb) — To direct the attention of (someone toward something).
- grammar /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ (noun) — A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
- subscribe /səbˈskɹaɪb/ (verb) — To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name).
- vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ (noun) — A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- give up (verb) — To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
- think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
- talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
- write down (verb) — To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something.
- book in (verb) — To check in (to a hotel).
- come on /ˌkʌm ˈɒn/ — Come along with me; join me in going.
- do in (verb) — To kill or end; to defeat.
- go for (verb) — To try for, to attempt to reach.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 33 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: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, occupation /ˌɑkjʊˈpeɪʃən/, profession /pɹəˈfɛʃ.ən/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, occupation /ˌɑkjʊˈpeɪʃən/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/
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 verb, pursue, ladder.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are called |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | stop pursuing · start speaking · keep talking |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're making · is speaking · we're doing |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | need to learn · need to write · need to think |
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.