Shadowing Practice: How to improve your IELTS Speaking at Home - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hello.

In this lesson, I'm going to show you how to improve and develop your IELTS speaking at home.

So many students tell me that they cannot improve their English because they don't have a foreigner to talk to.

So, I want to show you that it is possible to improve your speaking at home on your own for free.

Now the first thing I want you to do is to get a list of topics.

The common topics for Speaking Part 1 Speaking part two and speaking part three.

If you cannot find a list, please go to my IELTS blog.

www .ieltsliz .com And you will find a list of common topics,

difficult topics, and the questions as well.

So, you need to get a list of these topics and develop ideas.

I don't want you to write down your answers.

I want you only to develop the ideas.

So, for example, if the topic is the topic of weather, you can develop ideas about the kind of weather you like.

What you do when the weather is like that.

Also, how the weather makes you feel, different kinds of weather.

Or maybe the transportation problems that come because of that weather.

So, just develop ideas that you can use for that topic.

The next thing, number two, is a word list, so vocabulary.

If you have the topic of weather, you need to have a range of vocabulary for that topic.

So for example, hot weather.

"Hot" is a very low band score.

But you could use boiling.

scorching, sweltering.

There's a whole range of vocabulary that you can build to impress the examiner for that topic.

So you need to get that list of vocabulary and learn it.

So Number three, your next step to developing your speaking.

Get the topic, weather.

Choose probably about, let's say, six questions for that topic.

Take your telephone. And...

Answer the questions recording your voice.

It's very important that you do the recording rather than writing the answer.

When you write answers, Usually, you think more about the grammar, You think more about the vocabulary,

and often you make less mistakes.

When you speak, it's direct.

So when you record your answer, This gives you a chance to find your weaknesses.

Finding your weaknesses is very important so that you can improve.

So you need to record your answers to those questions on your phone.

After that I want you to listen to your answers.

Listen and check.

Now, there are four things that I want you to check for.

I want you to check for fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

This is what the examiner will check you on.

Now, each one in the exam is 25 % of your marks.

So they're all equal, they are all very important.

And the examiner is going to check your answer for each one.

Now let's have a look at what you need to check for each one.

Fluency.

What does that mean?

Well, the first thing that you need to check is...

The length of your answer.

Thank you.

Did you give a very short answer or could you develop it a little bit more?

When you develop your answer a little bit more, That is a higher band score.

You're offering the examiner more language, but you're showing the ability to speak fluently.

So, develop your answer more, higher band score.

Yeah.

Another thing that you can check for your fluency is how many times you say Uh...

Uh...

These are hesitations and we don't want hesitations in our answer.

So you need to check how many "um" How many ahs?

that you have.

If you have a lot, That's a problem, I'm afraid.

And you need to find a way to practice more so that you get rid of The ums and as.

So we've got the length of answer and the ums and errs.

Another thing that you can check for fluency is how many times you are silent.

Often, when students start speaking, They can't remember what they want to say.

and suddenly they stop.

It is not good to stop and be silent in the middle of your answer.

You need to fill it.

You need to keep speaking naturally with a good flow.

and that will give you a good band score.

So, those are three things that you can check in your answer for your fluency.

- Thank you.

Now the next thing is vocabulary.

What do we need to check?

in the vocabulary for your answer.

Well obviously the first thing is the range.

And the range means how many different words are you using?

I'll give you an example, so paraphrasing.

- Thank you.

Are you repeating the same words again and again Or are you using different words?

to describe the same thing So, again, we use the example of hot, you could say boiling, scorching, "Sweltering".

Those are three different words that we can use for the meaning of hot.

So, you need to show a good range of vocabulary.

That's from your word list.

And you need to paraphrase and show the ability to use different words for the same meaning.

When you paraphrase well, you are looking at band score 7 and band score 8.

Another thing you can look at with the vocabulary, of course, Uh...

Thank you.

mistakes.

Now one way that you can check your mistakes is by when you listen to your answer.

Listen and write down the words that you say.

That way you can check more carefully if you're making any mistakes with words.

Are you using the wrong word?

Are you using the wrong noun with the verb?

What problems do you have?

So check that in your answer.

Another thing to look at of course, grammar.

And with grammar, you need to check again.

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the range.

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So for example the range of tenses.

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Are you giving only present simple?

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Now, I know maybe the six questions that you have are present simple questions.

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But that doesn't mean that you can't give another tense.

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So, for example, what kind of weather do you like?

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I just love hot weather, scorching weather.

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Last week it was perfect.

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So it was a present simple question.

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But I gave a little bit of past simple in the answer.

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So, you can practise doing that and develop the technique of putting different tenses into your answer.

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Another thing you can look at is sentence...

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structure.

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And that means how complex are your sentences.

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Are you using a lot of short sentences?

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So, don't forget, listen to your answer, write down the words that you're using, And then check how complex the sentences are.

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You can perhaps start using some linkers.

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I'll start extending the sentences And of course, another thing for grammar, again, are Thank you.

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Mistakes.

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This is very important.

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The more mistakes you make, the lower your band score will be.

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So, remember that the examiner is listening for mistakes with vocabulary and grammar.

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So, please check what mistakes you're making and correct them and practice.

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And of course, the last one is pronunciation.

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So what is the examiner looking for pronunciation?

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Well, the first one of course is Word pronunciation.

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Are you pronouncing those words correctly.

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If you're not sure about that You can go online.

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There are free dictionaries online so that you can listen to the pronunciation of the word.

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So check that and make sure your words are correct.

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Another thing.

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are individual sounds So for example: "sh, s, ch".

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Are you pronouncing these sounds correctly?

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And again, you can find practice online for that.

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And one other thing for pronunciation.

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Thank you. is Intonation.

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Intonation is If your voice is going up and down,

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or if you are speaking like this If you're speaking very flat, This is not good for your band score.

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You need to learn to use

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intonation in your voice We often use intonation to make something more interesting or to show when something is important.

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So you can practice that at home and try to improve it.

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Now, the last part, the last thing, once you have Got your topics and your ideas?

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You've got your vocabulary for the topic, you have your questions and you record them, you listen You check your answer.

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Don't forget you can write down the answer to check what you say.

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Write down the words you're using.

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Check your fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

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And then After that, practice practice and practice.

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Find your weakness, Get rid of your weakness.

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Improve your strength.

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You can practice and record again.

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Don't forget to keep recording your voice.

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Keep recording your answers.

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Get used to that.

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I know it can feel uncomfortable to sit in a room alone and record but really It's good practice.

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You need to do it.

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Right, well, that's all for this lesson.

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I really hope that you practice this At home.

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Honestly, the more you practice, the better your IELTS will be, particularly if you check your answers correctly.

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Well, keep practicing.

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Good luck, and I'll see you in another IELTS lesson.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to improve your IELTS Speaking at Home”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: answer, word, topic, vocabulary, weather. This video has 159 sentences and 1533 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:34. The speaker talks at a steady 122 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% 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
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.
bind verb	/ˈbaɪ̯nd/	To tie; to confine by any ligature.
pronunciation noun	/pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/	The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
grammar noun	/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/	A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
fluency noun	/ˈfluːənsi/	The quality of smoothness of flow.
examiner noun	/əɡˈzæmɪnɚ/	A person who investigates someone or something.
intonation noun	/ɪntəˈneɪʃən/	The rise and fall of the voice in speaking.
weakness noun	/ˈwik.nɪs/	The condition of being weak.
paraphrase verb	/ˈpæɹəfɹeɪz/	To restate something as, or to compose a paraphrase. To repeat a written or spoken phrase/quote using different words, often in a simpler and shorter form, or…
scorch verb	/skɔɹt͡ʃ/	To burn the surface of something so as to discolour it
tense noun	/tɛns/	The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
sweltering adjective		hot and humid; oppressively sticky
hesitation noun	/ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/	An act of hesitating
pronounce verb	/pɹəˈnaʊns/	To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously.
boil verb	/bɔɪ(ə)l/	To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
write down verb	To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something.
go up verb	To move upwards.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

What do we need to check?
Are you using the wrong word?
Are you using the wrong noun with the verb?
What problems do you have?
Are you giving only present simple?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 25 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/
Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, examiner /əɡˈzæmɪnɚ/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/

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 vocabulary, bind, pronunciation.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: How to improve your IELTS Speaking at Home - Learn English Speaking with Video

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