Shadowing Practice: How to Talk About Your Job in English | English Conversation Practice | English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello!
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Welcome back to Everyday English Academy.
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Hi everyone!
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We are so happy you're here with us today.
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I'm Sarah.
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And I'm Mike.
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We help you practice real English in a natural way.
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Yes, and if you enjoy our podcast,
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please share it with your friends who are learning English.
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It really helps us.
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Thank you so much.
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So, Sarah, how are you today?
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I'm doing great, Mike.
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A little tired, but good.
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How about you?
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I'm wonderful.
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I had a nice morning.
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I made pancakes for breakfast.
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Oh, pancakes.
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That sounds delicious.
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Were they good?
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They were perfect.
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I put some honey on top.
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Very sweet and very tasty.
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Now I'm hungry.
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Maybe we should talk about food next time.
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That's a good idea.
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But today, we have a different topic.
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We do.
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Today we're going to talk about jobs and work.
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Yes, how to talk about your job in English.
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This is a very important topic.
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It really is.
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When you meet new people,
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they often ask about your work.
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Exactly.
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So it's good to know how to answer these questions in a natural way.
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Should we start?
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Let's do it.
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Okay.
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Mike, I have a question for you.
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What do you do?
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What do I do?
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I am a teacher.
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I teach English to students from different countries.
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That's interesting.
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How long have you been a teacher?
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I have been teaching for about six years now.
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Six years?
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Wow, that's a long time.
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Do you enjoy it?
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Most of the time, yes.
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I really enjoy helping people learn.
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It makes me happy when a student understands something new.
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That's a great feeling.
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Teaching is a beautiful job.
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It is.
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But some days are difficult.
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Some days I feel tired or the students are not motivated.
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I understand.
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Every job has good days and bad days.
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That's true.
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What about you, Sarah?
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What do you do for work?
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I work in marketing.
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I help companies tell people about their products.
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Marketing?
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That sounds creative.
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It can be.
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I write advertisements, I plan social media posts,
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and I work with designers.
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Do you work in an office?
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Sometimes.
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My company lets me work from home two days a week.
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The other three days I go to the office.
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Oh, that's nice.
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Working from home is very popular now.
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It is.
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I like it because I save time.
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I don't need to travel to work on those days.
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That's a big advantage.
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What do you like most about your job?
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I think the creativity.
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I can try new ideas and see what works.
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It's never boring.
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And what do you like least?
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The meetings.
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We have so many meetings.
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Sometimes I sit in meetings for four hours a day.
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Four hours?
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That is too much.
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I know.
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I wish we had fewer meetings and more time to actually do the work.
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I agree.
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Too many meetings can be frustrating.
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So, Mike, where do you work?
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Do you work at a school?
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Yes, I work at a language school in the city center.
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It's a small school with about 10 teachers.
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Do you like your co-workers?
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I do.
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Everyone is very friendly.
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We often have lunch together and talk about our classes.
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That's important.
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Good co-workers make work much better.
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Absolutely.
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If you don't like the people you work with, every day is difficult.
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What time do you start work?
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My first class is usually at 9 in the morning.
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And what time do you finish?
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It depends on the day.
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Some days I finish at 3 in the afternoon.
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Other days I work until 7 in the evening.
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7?
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That's late.
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Yes.
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We have evening classes for people who work during the day.
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Do you have a lunch break?
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Yes, one hour.
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I usually eat at my desk,
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but sometimes I go out with my co-workers.
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Where do you go?
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There's a nice sandwich shop near our office.
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They have very good salads, too.
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That sounds nice.
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I usually bring my lunch from home.
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I make a sandwich in the morning.
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That saves money.
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It does.
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Buying lunch every day is expensive.
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You're right.
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I should try that more often.
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Let's talk about skills.
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What skills do you need for your job?
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Well, I need to be creative.
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I also need to be organized,
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because I have many projects at the same time.
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So, multitasking.
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Yes, exactly.
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And I need good communication skills.
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I talk to clients and explain our ideas.
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Communication is very important in almost every job.
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What skills do you need as a teacher?
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Patience is the most important.
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Sometimes students learn slowly, and that's okay.
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I need to be patient.
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I also need to be clear when I explain things.
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If students don't understand, I try to explain in a different way.
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That's a valuable skill.
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What else?
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Energy.
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Teaching requires a lot of energy.
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I need to be active and positive even when I'm tired.
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Do you ever feel stressed at work?
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Sometimes.
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When I have to prepare many lessons or grade many tests.
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I feel stressed.
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How do you handle stress?
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I try to take breaks.
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I drink tea.
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I take a short walk or I listen to music.
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Those are good strategies.
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I feel stressed when we have tight deadlines.
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Tight deadlines?
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Yes, when we have to finish a project very quickly.
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My boss says, we need this by tomorrow, and I feel pressure.
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That sounds stressful.
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Do you work overtime?
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Sometimes.
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If a project is urgent,
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I stay late at the office.
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Do they pay you for overtime?
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No, not in my company.
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But I can take a day off later if I work too much.
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That's fair.
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So it balances out.
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Yes, usually.
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What about you?
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Do you ever work overtime?
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Not really.
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My schedule is fixed.
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When my last class finishes, I go home go home.
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That's nice.
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A clear schedule is good for work-life balance.
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Work-life balance.
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That's an important topic.
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Do you think you have a good balance?
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Most of the time, yes.
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But some weeks are very busy,
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and I don't have much free time.
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I understand.
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My job gives me long vacations, so that helps.
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I have two months off in the summer.
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Two months?
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That's amazing.
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I only have three weeks of vacation per year three weeks
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is still good many people have less that's true i shouldn't
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complain let's talk about career plans do you want to change jobs in the future
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i'm happy where i am now but maybe in a few years i want to become a marketing manager
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so you want a promotion yes i want more responsibility and the chance to lead a team That's a good goal.
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I love teaching, but maybe I want to teach at a university instead of a language school.
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University teaching is different, isn't it?
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Yes, the students are older and the subjects are more specialized.
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But that's a plan for the future.
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It's good to have goals.
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Let's talk about job interviews now.
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That's an important part of finding work.
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Oh, yes.
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Job interviews can be very stressful.
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They can.
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What's the most common question in a job interview?
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I think it's, tell me about yourself.
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That's a difficult question because it's so open.
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Exactly.
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You don't know what they want to hear.
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How would you answer that question?
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I would talk about my education first,
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then my work experience, and then why I'm interested in this job.
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That's a good structure.
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Keep it simple and relevant.
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What other questions do they ask?
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They often ask, why do you want this job?
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Or why should we hire you?
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Those are tough questions.
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You need to show confidence.
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Talk about your skills and what you can bring to the company.
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What about weaknesses?
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They always ask about weaknesses.
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Oh, that question.
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I hate that question.
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Me too.
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What do you say?
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You need to be honest, but not too negative.
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Say something like, sometimes I work too hard and forget to take breaks.
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So turn a weakness into something positive.
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Exactly.
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Or say, I'm learning to be better at public speaking and show that you're working on it.
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That's smart.
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Show that you're aware and you're improving.
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Have you had any bad job interviews?
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Oh, yes.
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Once I was so nervous that I forgot my own phone number when they asked for it.
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Really?
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Really.
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My mind went completely blank.
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It was embarrassing.
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That happens to everyone.
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Nerves can do strange things.
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What about you?
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Any bad interview stories?
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Once, I arrived 20 minutes late because the bus was delayed.
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I apologized many times, but I don't think it helped.
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Did you get the job?
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No, they said they found someone else.
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That's unfortunate.
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Timing is important in interviews.
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It is.
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Now, I always leave early to make sure I'm on time.
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That's a good lesson.
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Let's talk about different types of jobs.
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Some people work full-time, some work part-time.
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Right.
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Full-time is usually about 40 hours per week.
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And part-time is less.
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Maybe 20 hours or 25 hours.
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I have a friend who works part-time.
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She works three days a week.
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Does she like it?
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She loves it.
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She has more time for her hobbies and her family.
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but the salary is lower right yes she earns less money
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but for her the free time is more important
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that makes sense everyone has different priorities some people also work
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freelance they don't have one boss they work for different clients
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that sounds interesting
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but also risky it is risky some months you have a lot of work other months you have very little
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but you have freedom you choose your projects
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and your schedule exactly my cousin is a freelance photographer he
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loves the freedom what kind of photos does he take weddings events portraits he travels a lot for work
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that sounds exciting do you think you could work freelance maybe
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but i like the security of a regular salary every month i'm the same i need
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that stability let's talk about workplace culture Every company is different.
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That's true.
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Some companies are very formal.
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Everyone wears suits and ties.
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And some companies are casual.
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People wear jeans and t-shirts.
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Which do you prefer?
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I prefer casual.
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I like to feel comfortable at work.
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Me too.
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At my school, we dress casually.
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No suits required.
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What about company events?
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Does your school have parties or team activities?
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Yes, we have a party at the end of every term.
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And sometimes we go bowling or have a dinner together.
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That's nice.
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It helps build relationships.
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What about your company?
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We have a summer picnic every year,
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and we celebrate birthdays with cake in the office.
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Simple things like that make a big difference.
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They do.
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It makes you feel like part of a team.
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Let's talk about challenges at work.
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What's the biggest challenge you face?
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I think dealing with difficult clients.
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Some clients are never satisfied.
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They always want changes.
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That must be frustrating.
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It is, but I try to stay professional and patient.
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Good attitude.
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What challenges do I face?
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Hmm.
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Sometimes students don't do their homework.
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How do you handle that?
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I talk to them.
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I ask why.
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Maybe they're too busy or they don't understand the homework.
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Understanding the reason helps.
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Yes.
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Sometimes they just need extra help or a different explanation.
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You're a good teacher, Mike.
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Thank you, Sarah.
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You're very kind.
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Now let's talk about commuting.
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How do you get to work?
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I take the subway.
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It takes about 30 minutes.
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Is it crowded?
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Very crowded in the morning.
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Everyone is going to work at the same time.
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I drive to work.
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It takes about 20 minutes if there's no traffic.
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And if there is traffic?
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Sometimes 45 minutes.
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That's why I leave early.
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Commuting time is important when choosing a job.
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It really is.
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Long commutes are tiring.
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Some people spend two hours traveling to work every day.
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That's four hours total.
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It's too much.
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I agree.
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Time is precious.
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Let's talk about benefits.
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What benefits does your school offer?
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We get health insurance and I get paid vacation days.
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How many vacation days?
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20 days per year plus public holidays.
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That's good.
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My company gives us 15 days of vacation.
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Do you get health insurance?
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Yes, and we also get free coffee and snacks in the office.
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Free coffee?
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That's great for you.
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You love coffee.
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I do.
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It saves me money every day.
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Some companies offer gym memberships or language classes.
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are nice benefits.
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They show the company cares about employees.
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What's the most important benefit for you?
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Health insurance, definitely.
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Medical costs are expensive.
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I agree.
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Health insurance is essential.
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Mike, do you have a desk at work or do you move around?
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I have a small desk in the teacher's room,
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but I'm mostly teaching classrooms,
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so I'm standing and walking most of the day.
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That keeps you active.
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Yes, but my feet get tired.
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What about you?
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I sit at a desk all day.
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Sometimes my back hurts.
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You should take breaks and stretch.
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I know.
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I try to stand up and walk around every hour.
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That's good.
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Sitting too much is unhealthy.
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My company bought us special chairs.
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They're supposed to be better for your back.
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Are they comfortable?
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Very comfortable.
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They make a difference.
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Do you have your own office or do you share space?
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I share an open office with about 15 people.
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Is it noisy?
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Sometimes.
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When everyone is talking on the phone at the same time,
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it's hard to concentrate.
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Do you use headphones?
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Yes.
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I listen to quiet music.
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It helps me focus.
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That's a good solution.
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Okay, Mike, let's talk about the future of work.
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Things are changing.
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Yes.
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More people are working remotely now.
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They work from home or from coffee shops.
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Technology makes it possible.
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You just need a computer and internet.
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Do you think offices will disappear?
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Not completely.
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Some people like going to an office.
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They like the social interaction.
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That's true.
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Working from home can be lonely.
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But I think there will be more flexibility.
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Maybe people will work from home two or three days and go to the office the rest of the week.
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A hybrid model.
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Exactly.
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The best of both worlds.
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What about artificial intelligence?
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Will robots take our jobs?
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Some jobs, maybe.
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Especially repetitive tasks.
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But jobs that need creativity or human connection will stay.
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I agree.
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Teaching needs a human touch.
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A robot can't replace a good teacher.
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And marketing needs creativity and understanding of human emotions.
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Right.
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So we're safe for now.
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For now.
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Let's wrap up, Mike.
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We've talked about so many things today.
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We really have.
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Let's review quickly.
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We talked about what we do for work and how long we've been doing it.
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We discussed our work schedules,
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our co-workers, and our workplace.
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We talked about skills we need for our jobs and how we handle stress.
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We covered job interviews, different types of work,
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like full-time, part-time, and freelance.
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We discussed workplace culture, commuting, and benefits.
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And we even talked about the future of work.
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That was a big conversation.
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I hope it helps our listeners talk about their own jobs in English.
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Now it's your turn.
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We have a question for you today.
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Yes.
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Our question is, what do you do for work?
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And what do you like most about your job?
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Please write your answer in the comments or say it out loud for practice.
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For example, you can say,
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I work as a nurse.
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I like helping patients feel better.
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Or, I work in a restaurant.
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I enjoy meeting new people every day.
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Any answer is good.
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We want to hear about your work.
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And remember, talking about yourself is excellent practice for real conversations.
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If you enjoyed this podcast,
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please share it with your friends who are learning English.
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Thank you so much for listening today.
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We love having you here with us.
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Keep practicing, keep learning, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.
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Mistakes are how we learn.
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We'll see you next time for another English conversation practice.
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Until then, take care.
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Goodbye, everyone.
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Goodbye.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
This video lesson is an excellent resource for anyone looking to enhance their English speaking practice. By discussing the topic of jobs, the conversation mirrors real-life situations where people frequently share information about their work. This context allows learners to engage in meaningful dialogue and to improve their ability to respond naturally to common questions like "What do you do?" or "How long have you been in that role?" Practicing with this video, especially through the shadowing technique, helps you develop confidence and fluency.
Engaging with real conversations not only boosts your vocabulary but also prepares you for networking opportunities or social interactions in English-speaking environments. Furthermore, you’ll learn to express your thoughts clearly and concisely, two essential skills in both professional and casual settings.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
In the video, there are several key grammatical structures and expressions that are quite useful for discussing one's job:
- "What do you do?" - This is a common question to inquire about someone's profession. It's straightforward and encourages the other person to share details.
- "I have been teaching for about six years now." - This structure uses the present perfect continuous tense, which is perfect for describing experiences or actions that started in the past and continue to the present moment.
- "That's interesting." - A great conversational response that shows engagement and encourages further discussion.
- "How long have you been...?" - This is a useful question format to ask about duration in a job or position, fostering a deeper dialogue about experiences.
Incorporating these structures into your own speech can significantly enhance your capacity to engage in professional conversations.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While speaking about your job, some words and phrases can pose challenges, particularly in pronunciation. Here are a few tips to help you avoid common pitfalls:
- "Teacher" - Pay attention to the "ea" sound, which can be tricky. Practice saying it clearly to distinguish it from similar words.
- "Experience" - Many learners mispronounce the second syllable. Remember to emphasize the "e" sound as you say it.
- "Profession" - The stress is typically on the second syllable, which might be different from your native language. Practicing with recordings can help improve your English pronunciation.
To truly master these sounds, consider using the shadowing technique. Listen to the pronunciation in the video, pause, and repeat. This will enhance your ability to articulate words just like the speakers do!
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.
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