Shadowing Practice: How To Keep Your Top Performing Employees | Jack Welch - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How To Keep Your Top Performing Employees”. This video has 25 sentences and 300 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:05. The speaker talks at a steady 144 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 90% 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 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| resource noun | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel. |
| locker noun | /ˈlɑ.kɚ/ | A type of storage compartment with a lock, usually used to store personal possessions for public use, such as in schools, railway stations, place of work… |
| courage noun | /ˈkʌ.ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate. |
| promotion noun | /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/ | An advancement in rank or position. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| brush noun | /bɹʌʃ/ | An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including… |
| attract verb | /əˈtɹækt/ | To pull toward without touching. |
| champagne noun | /ʃæmˈpeɪn/ | A sparkling white wine made from a blend of grapes, especially Chardonnay and pinot, produced in Champagne, France, by the méthode champenoise. |
| candor noun | /ˈkæn.də(ɹ)/ | The state of being sincere and open in speech; honesty in expression. |
| excite verb | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement. |
| openness noun | Accommodating attitude or opinion, as in receptivity to new ideas, behaviors, cultures, peoples, environments, experiences, etc., different from the familiar… | |
| sob verb | /sɑb/ | To weep with convulsive gasps. |
| umpteen | /ˈʌmp.tiːn/ | Relatively large but unspecified in number. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as you've, can't, gotta. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: promotion /pɹəˈmoʊʃn̩/, brush /bɹʌʃ/, champagne /ʃæmˈpeɪn/
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 resource, locker, courage.
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.