Shadowing Practice: How to Talk About Your Free Time and Hobbies in English - Spoken English Lesson - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hello, I'm Oli.
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Welcome to Oxford Online English.
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In this lesson, you can learn about how to talk about your free time and hobbies in English.
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What do you like doing in your free time?
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Do you have any interesting hobbies?
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Talking about your free time is a great way to start a conversation in English, or to find things in common when you're speaking to somebody.
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By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to speak clearly and naturally about your free time and your hobbies in English.
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Part 1 free time and hobbies vocabulary.
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What words do you know for free time activities in English?
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Some people prefer things you can do at home, like watching TV, reading, or cooking.
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Other people like sports, like playing football, playing basketball.
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Playing tennis?
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"Going swimming, going jogging, or going climbing." or maybe doing boxing, doing judo, or doing yoga.
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Of course, many people prefer more social activities.
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For example: Hanging out with your friends.
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Relaxing with your family or going shopping.
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Or maybe you like to do something more creative, like taking photos, painting, or writing stories, or writing a blog.
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What about you?
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What kind of free time activities do you prefer?
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Let's look at how you can talk about free time activities and hobbies which you like.
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Part two: What do you like doing?
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In my free time, I like...
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What could you say here?
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In my free time, I like playing basketball.
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Thank you.
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In my free time, I like relaxing with my family.
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In my free time, I like reading books.
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Can you see a pattern here?
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In every sentence, after 'like', we use a verb plus -ing.
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Can you make a sentence?
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What do you like doing in your free time?
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But, just using 'like' can be repetitive and boring.
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So, what other verbs can you use?
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Well, you could use verbs like 'love', enjoy or hate.
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For example, I love going swimming.
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I enjoy watching TV.
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I hate going shopping.
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Can you see the same pattern?
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After all of these verbs, you need to use a verb with -ing.
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You can also add words like 'really', sometimes, or absolutely to make your meaning stronger or weaker.
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For example: I really like taking photos.
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Sometimes I enjoy going jogging.
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I absolutely hate playing football.
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Now it's your turn.
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What can you say?
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Can you make your own sentences?
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Okay, so now you can say something about what you like or don't like doing, let's look at how you can add more details to your ideas.
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First, let's say how often you do your free time activity.
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For example: "I like playing sport.
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I play football every Tuesday evening." "I absolutely hate going shopping.
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I only go shopping once or twice a year." "I really like taking photos,
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but I don't get the chance to do it often." What about you?
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How often do you do your hobbies?
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You can use these phrases to help you talk.
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Every "mm" for example, Every weekend?
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every Saturday afternoon, Every day?
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Once or twice a /m /.
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For example: Once a week?
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twice a month.
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three times a year.
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and so on.
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Can you make some sentences like this about your free time and hobbies?
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How often do you do your hobbies?
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Next, let's add some details about where you do your hobby or free time activity.
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you For example: "I like playing sport.
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I play football every Tuesday evening, at the park near my house." I enjoy having coffee with my friends.
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We go to a cafe in the city centre once or twice a week.
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I really like taking wildlife photos in the forest, but I don't get the chance to do it often.
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You can see that our answers are getting more detailed.
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When you speak, you should always try to add some details to your ideas like this.
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It will make your English sound more interesting and more natural.
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What about you?
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Can you add some details like these to your sentences?
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Pause the video.
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Practice.
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Try to make some sentences.
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Say them out loud.
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Practice a little bit.
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OK, next, let's look at giving background information.
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Especially if you have an interesting or unusual hobby, You could talk about when and why you started doing it.
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For example: I started playing tennis when I was ten.
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I've been learning to paint for six months now.
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I decided to do yoga because I wanted to be healthy.
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My French friend got me into climbing.
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In the last sentence, the phrase "my friend got me into something" means that your friend introduced this activity to you, and now you like it.
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What can you say about your hobby?
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Can you use some of these phrases to talk about yourself?
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For example, "I started climbing when I was living in Russia." I've been climbing for about eight years.
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I also recently decided to do yoga because I wanted to be more flexible.
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When I was younger, my dad got me into photography.
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What about you?
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What are your examples?
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Finally, let's look at how you can add some descriptive words to say why you do or don't enjoy something.
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For example: "I like climbing because it's really exciting.
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I love doing yoga because it's so relaxing.
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I really like writing stories because it's creative and I like using my imagination.
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You can also use negative adjectives to talk about things you don't like.
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For example, Thank you.
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I don't like going jogging because it's tiring.
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Thank you.
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I hate watching TV because I find it boring.
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I've been trying to learn to paint, but it's too hard.
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Why do you like your hobbies?
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What are some activities you don't like doing?
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Can you say why you don't like them?
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Try to make some sentences and practice using this language.
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OK, now it's your turn to speak.
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Let's try using everything we've looked at to make a longer answer.
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For example: "I really like playing tennis.
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I play every weekend at the park near my house.
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Sometimes I play with my brother, or sometimes with a friend.
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My brother got me into it because he loves sports and he needed someone to play with.
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I didn't like it at first, because it was hard and I lost all the time.
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But now I enjoy it, especially when I beat my brother.
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OK?
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Let's do one more sample answer.
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I love taking photos.
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Once or twice a month, I go to different areas of the city and look for interesting pictures to take.
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I've been interested in photography since I was young, when my dad got me a camera for my birthday.
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I like it because it's creative and I can express myself through my pictures.
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Anyone can use a camera, but you need to use your imagination to find good pictures.
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Now, can you talk about your free time?
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What do you like doing?
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Where do you go?
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And how often?
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When did you start doing this hobby and why?
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And why do you like or perhaps dislike this activity?
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Try to talk for at least thirty seconds.
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Give lots of details.
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Add details to make your answer more interesting.
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OK, that's the end of the lesson.
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Thanks very much for watching.
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I hope you learned something about how to talk about your free time in English.
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You can see more free lessons on our website, oxfordonlineenglish .com.
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But that's all.
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Thanks again.
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See you next time.
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Bye bye.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will learn how to effectively talk about your free time and hobbies in English. Being able to discuss your leisure activities is a fantastic way to initiate conversations and connect with others. By the end of this session, you’ll be equipped to speak clearly and confidently about what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Whether you’re sharing your interests with friends or engaging in IELTS speaking practice, mastering this vocabulary will enhance your conversational skills.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Free time activities: Watching TV, reading, cooking
  • Sports: Playing football, going swimming, doing yoga
  • Social activities: Hanging out with friends, going shopping
  • Creative activities: Taking photos, painting, writing stories
  • Frequency phrases: Every day, once or twice a week, three times a year
  • Expressing likes and dislikes: I like, I enjoy, I hate
  • Adverbs for emphasis: Really, absolutely, sometimes

Practice Tips

To improve your English pronunciation and fluency, consider using shadowing techniques while practicing this lesson. Shadowing involves listening to a native speaker and attempting to imitate their speech, intonation, and rhythm as closely as possible. Use this shadowing site to access materials that align with your learning level.

As you listen to sentences like, “In my free time, I like going jogging,” repeat them aloud, focusing on the natural flow of language. Try to match the speed and tone of the speaker. This method is particularly effective for enhancing pronunciation and helping you develop a more authentic speaking style.

If you’re preparing for exams like IELTS, integrating this vocabulary into your practice sessions will prove invaluable. Consistent practice using phrases you learned about hobbies can make your responses more engaging during your speaking test. Regularly revisiting this material on shadowspeaks or similar platforms can keep your skills sharp and ready for real-life conversations.

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.