Shadowing Practice: How to ORDER COFFEE in English at Starbucks - Learn English Speaking with Video

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129 sentences
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Can I get a tall chai?
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A large black coffee.
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A what?
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A large black coffee.
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Do you mean a venti?
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No, I mean a large.
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He means a venti.
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Yeah, the biggest one you got.
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A venti is large.
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No, a venti is 20.
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Danny.
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Yeah.
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Large is large.
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In fact, tall is large, and grande is Spanish for large.
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Venti is the only one that doesn't mean large.
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It's also the only one that's Italian.
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Congratulations, you're stupid in three languages.
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Coffee.
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The only reason that I'm actually awake right now, and one of the greatest things in the world.
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That's not just my opinion either.
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That's actually true.
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So how do we order coffee and what are the different names of different kinds of coffee?
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The first thing to understand is that actually most of the English names for different kinds of coffee are not English.
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They're Italian because the kind of coffee that we make in, for example, Starbucks comes from Italy.
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I'll talk more about that later.
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But how do we order coffee in a coffee shop?
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So you go into the coffee shop and the person who's standing there is called a barista.
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A barista, the person who makes the coffee.
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I used to be a barista.
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My first job was at a pizza place and then later I worked at a coffee shop in Seattle as a barista barista.
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So you go in and the barista will say hi, how can I help you today?
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How can I help you today?
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Or what would you like?
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What would you like?
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Sometimes they'll say what can I get for you?
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So those are common ways for the barista to greet you.
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They will say sometimes what can I get for you today?
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Why would they say today?
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So I don't know.
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I don't know the reason, but they say today for some reason.
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When I was a barista, I didn't say, I didn't say, what can I get for you today?
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Because it is today.
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You go in, they say that, then you need to say what you want.
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To say what you want, you just say, I'll have, or can I get, or I'd like.
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I'll have, can I get, or I'd like.
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These are the three common ways to say what you want.
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It's polite, and you can use them in lots of different situations like this.
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okay so i'll have then you need to say the size of the coffee now usually for most places
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you just say small medium large pretty simple small medium large
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but at starbucks they have weird names for their sizes
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so you say i'll have a small that would be at a normal place Starbucks, the small, is called a tall.
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A tall is a small.
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The medium is grande.
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Grande means big in Italian and Spanish.
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And I think Portuguese too.
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It means big.
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So medium means big.
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Anyway, tall, grande, and then the biggest one, the large, is called venti.
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Venti means 20 in Italian means 20 because it's 20 ounces.
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So normally we say small, medium, large.
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Starbucks we say tall, grande, venti.
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Can I get a grande?
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And then you say the name of the drink you want.
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Now the names of the drinks,
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as I mentioned, are in Italian because the coffee culture we have in,
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for example, America, at Starbucks, comes from Italy.
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It's Italian -style coffee.
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That big machine that baristas use, that's called an espresso machine.
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That really, really strong coffee that...
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Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee.
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That really strong coffee that comes out is called espresso.
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Espresso comes out in a little glass.
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It's a shot glass.
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It's called a shot glass.
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And a shot of espresso is one little glass filled with really strong coffee, and most of the drinks you order have that inside.
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So what are the different drinks that are made with espresso?
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First you have a latte, probably the most popular.
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A latte is just espresso, one or two shots, steamed milk, which means hot milk,
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and maybe a little bit of foam on top foam is very light milk with a lot of air inside
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so there's a latte then there's a cappuccino cappuccino is the same as a latte espresso
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and then maybe a little steamed milk and a lot of foam
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that milk that you can basically eat so they're the same thing just more
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or less foam that's the difference then there's a mocha.
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A mocha is a little bit of chocolate sauce, espresso, milk, and maybe whipped cream on the top.
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What's the difference between hot chocolate
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and a mocha? it's only one difference the only difference is
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a mocha has espresso has coffee actually inside okay then there's an americano not american coffee an americano
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because remember they're italian names these are all italian names cappuccino latte americano americano is just water
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and espresso so it's basically black coffee water and espresso what's the difference between that and black coffee.
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Black coffee is made with a different kind of machine.
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So it's made with we could say a drip coffee machine.
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It's brewed, it's made differently with a different process.
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So if you say I'll have a drip coffee, can I get a grande drip coffee?
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Can I get a grande americano?
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Basically those two will taste pretty much the same
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but some people prefer one or the other but
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that is not espresso drip coffee it's a little bit different sometimes
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when you order coffee you might want to mention
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that you don't want caffeine maybe you had too much today
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or you can't drink caffeine
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and you might want to also ask for different kinds of milk
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so if you want regular caffeine regular milk say nothing just say i'll have a venti mocha
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but if you want to have for example nonfat milk nonfat milk you need to say
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that when you're ordering the drink almond milk
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or rice milk they have different kinds of milk usually rice milk almond milk
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and nonfat milk otherwise they'll just use regular milk then you can say before
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that if you don't want caffeine you can say decaf decaffeinated decaf
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or you can say half -calf half -calf means it has half caffeine
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so if you want to make a complicated to drink,
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you might say, I'll have a venti half -calf nonfat cappuccino.
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Venti half -calf nonfat cappuccino.
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Can I get a grande decaf almond milk mocha?
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Sounds complicated, but if you have been paying attention for the last few minutes, now you know what that means.
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So anyway, those are the most popular drinks that you would get at a coffee shop.
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There's also pure espresso, maybe two shots of espresso, and then you wake up.
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Oh, and there's one more that's very interesting.
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It's called a, it's called a red eye.
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A red eye has espresso and drip coffee.
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Make coffee and then you put espresso inside and it is really strong.
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Lots and lots of caffeine.
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That's all.
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That's how you order coffee.
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All you need to know is I'll have
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and then you need to know the different names of the different kinds of coffee drinks.
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Anyway, Okay, thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.
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Hey, if you like this video, make sure you subscribe.
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And if you really like this video, make sure to check out my Udemy page in the link below.
128
Okay.
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Thank you.

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Master Coffee Shop Conversations: Your English Speaking Practice Goal

This video is your ticket to nailing real-world English interactions—specifically, ordering coffee like a pro. Whether you’re traveling, studying, or just want to feel confident at your local café, this clip targets the fluency milestone of natural, stress-free communication in service settings. By the end, you’ll not only know how to ask for your drink but also understand common responses, making you ready to shadow speech and replicate these exchanges effortlessly.

Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions for Coffee Orders

Take these phrases and start using them today—they’re the building blocks of clear, polite coffee shop talk:

  • Barista greetings: “How can I help you today?” “What would you like?” “What can I get for you?”
  • Your order: “I’ll have…” “Can I get…” “I’d like…” (Polite and versatile for any casual setting.)
  • Size talk: “Small, medium, large” (standard) vs. Starbucks’ “weird names” (you’ll learn those next!)

These phrases are perfect for shadow speak practice—repeat them aloud, mimicking the tone and rhythm of the video to sound more natural.

Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation & Rhythm Hacks

Ever stumbled over “venti” or paused when a barista asks, “What can I get for you today?” This video helps you tackle two key issues: understanding unique terms (like Starbucks’ size names) and speaking with confidence. The dialogue shows how native speakers shorten phrases (“Can I get a tall chai?”) and use casual rhythm, which is crucial for sounding fluent. Practice shadowing the barista’s questions and the customer’s responses—repeat each line immediately after the video, matching the speed and stress. This “shadowspeak” technique trains your mouth to move like a native and builds muscle memory for real conversations.

With these tools, you’ll turn awkward coffee orders into smooth, confident interactions. Start small: pick one phrase, practice shadowing it 10 times, and watch your progress soar. Every conversation is a chance to improve—so grab your coffee (and your phone for shadow speech practice) and get started!

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itis called · are made · is made
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingperson who makes · milk, which means
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a groupthe biggest · the greatest · the most popular
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certainmight want · might say

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 →