Shadowing Practice: How to tell the time - Learn English Speaking with Video

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59 sentences
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1
Emily, do you know what time it is?
2
No, what time is it?
3
It's pizza time!
4
Mmm, yum!
5
Hey, wait!
6
Today we're going to learn how to tell the time with the pizza.
7
Oh, okay!
8
Okay, before we start we have to know a couple of things.
9
This is a clock, right?
10
Yes.
11
And these are its hands.
12
The little hand shows us the hours.
13
And the big hand shows us the minutes.
14
When the big hand is pointing to the 12th, we say it's o'clock.
15
Now it's four o'clock.
16
So, Emily, what's the time now?
17
Now it's five o'clock.
18
Very good!
19
When the big hen is pointing to the three, we say it's quarter past.
20
Why do we say it's quarter past?
21
Because a quarter of the hour has passed.
22
So, what's the time?
23
Now it's quarter past five.
24
Perfect!
25
When the big hen is pointing to the 6, we say it's half past.
26
Because half of the hour has passed, so now it's half past 5.
27
Fantastic!
28
And finally, when the big hen is on the 9, we say it's quarter to.
29
So now it's quarter to 6.
30
Perfect!
31
Perfect!
32
But what happens when the big hand isn't on the 12, the 3, the 6 or the 9?
33
Pfft, I don't know.
34
Well, we count the minutes in fives.
35
So, now it's 5 past 6.
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It's 10 past 6.
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It's quarter past 6.
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It's 20 past 6.
39
It's 25 past 6.
40
It's half past 6.
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Wait a minute.
42
After half past, it changes.
43
Then we count how many minutes there are before the next hour.
44
It's 25 to 7.
45
It's 20 to 7.
46
I see.
47
It's quarter to 7.
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It's 10 to 7.
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That's right!
50
What time is it?
51
I'm hungry.
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It's pizza o'clock.
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Yes!
54
We hope you have fun learning to tell the time with us.
55
Goodbye!
56
We say it's quarter too.
57
For other times, we count the minutes in fives.
58
That's it!
59
Now you can practice telling the time.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This A1 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to tell the time”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: quarter, hour, hen, pointing, pizza. This video has 59 sentences and 308 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:23. The speaker talks slowly, about 91 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 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

9 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
pizza noun/ˈpi.tsə/A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables.
hungry adjective/ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
clock noun/klɑk/A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day.
goodbye/ɡʊdˈbaɪ/Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.
pfft[p͡ɸːt]Used to signify a sudden ending or disappearance.
quarter noun/ˈk(w)ɔɹ.tɚ/Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part.
count verb/kaʊnt/To recite numbers in sequence.
minute noun/ˈmɪnɪt/A unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds).
fantastic adjective/fænˈtæs.tɪk/Wonderful; marvelous; excellent; extraordinarily good or great (used especially as an intensifier).

Sentences worth repeating

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

  • Emily, do you know what time it is?
  • Why do we say it's quarter past?
  • We say it's quarter too.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhas passed
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around nowis pointing

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, isn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like pizza, hungry, clock.

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 →