Shadowing Practice: How Young Farmers are Dealing with Bird Flu - BTN High - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This is Max and at just 14 years old he's running his own egg farm near Tamworth in New South Wales.
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I started farming the eggs as a bit of a hobby
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and because I love being around animals and livestock on the farm.
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It then developed into me having a passion for delivering a good quality product to the local community
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but also running the business side as well.
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After starting with six chooks in 2024 he's grown his farm to around 70 chooks.
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My business means a lot to me in many ways.
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It makes me feel like I'm connecting with the local community, but it also makes me feel like I'm setting myself up for the future, as I want to own my own farm with many enterprises,
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but also become a vet.
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But for him and poultry farmers around the country, the future is a bit uncertain because of the bird flu outbreak.
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Every new case makes me feel more and more worried, especially the closer they are getting to the region I live in.
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Knowing what it can do and how bad it can impact us, though, does frighten me lots.
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See, just two months since the H5N1 virus first reached Australian shores, authorities have declared the first mass mortality of Australian wildlife.
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After more than 80 sick or dead greater crested terns were found on this small island off the SA coast last week.
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Sadly, we do know that once the H5 bird flu is spreading in wildlife and the natural environment, it is not possible to avoid significant losses,
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which is what we're starting to see now.
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And the government reckons this is just the beginning.
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I want to level with people.
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This is the beginning of what is likely to be a long, difficult journey in terms of the impacts on wildlife.
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Until recently, the only birds infected with the virus were terns and other migratory seabirds, which tend to stay along the coast and out at sea.
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But the strain has now been detected in seagulls.
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That's a big issue, because not only are seagulls found nearly everywhere, they poo everywhere, which is one of the main ways that the virus spreads.
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It's causing serious concerns for endangered species like the black swan,
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and conservationists are also worried about little penguin populations like the one here on Phillip Island in Victoria.
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It's not just birds that can be infected.
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Overseas, there have been some cases of the H5 virus in dogs, cats, even dairy cattle.
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And experts here are worried that many native Aussie mammals, including already endangered species like Tasmanian devils and eastern quolls,
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are facing an extreme risk.
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The reality is you can't stop native and wild birds flying around, and you can't stop wild animals moving around.
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And that will mean more mass mortality events like the one we have now seen.
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Chickens are particularly vulnerable to bird flu.
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And in the US, this strain has led to hundreds of millions dying, either from the disease or because they had to be culled to protect people and other animals.
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It's devastating for poultry farmers, and it's probably going to affect all of us.
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Do you remember last year when a different strain of bird flu was found in Australian poultry farms?
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Around 2 .4 million hens had to be culled, and for a while, eggs were really expensive.
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While that strain was eradicated, this one is likely here to stay.
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Commercial poultry farms are still unaffected in Australia, and since the industry is worth billions of dollars and many jobs rely on it,
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farmers are taking big steps to protect their birds.
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These are putting roofs on all the areas that are possible, monitoring the birds as much as I can and trying to limit the contact between them and wild birds.
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In Victoria, all chicken farms with more than 50 birds have been put on lockdown.
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And while no other states have followed so far, South Australia has cancelled bird and poultry exhibits at the upcoming Royal Adelaide Show.
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All we can do is endeavour to stop it on our end, but we can't put a fence around this country.
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There is a vaccine for H5 bird flu, but at the moment it's only being made available for some vulnerable species.
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Humans can get the virus too.
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And while there are treatments available, it's really dangerous, which is why the government is telling people to be careful.
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Avoid contact with birds and mammals that appear to be infected.
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Record what you see and report that.
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That's the best way that we can work together to respond to what is a very serious event.
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And even though it's a tense time, Max is staying optimistic.
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I'm very hopeful for what the future holds
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and hope once this bird flu is gone I
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and along with lots of other people can keep expanding in our small businesses.
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I also hope my ag business keeps thriving for many more years to come.
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My advice to other young farmers is just to stay calm in this situation and hope for a better future.

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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

This video is a goldmine for shadow speak and IELTS speaking practice because it blends real-world storytelling with practical vocabulary. Max’s conversational tone—casual yet confident—mirrors the natural speech you’ll encounter in daily life or exams. Discussing bird flu, farming, and community connections, it exposes you to diverse topics, helping you build fluency in both personal and formal contexts. Shadow speech with this video to master pacing, intonation, and emotional expression, key for sounding authentic in English.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The dialogue is rich with useful structures. Here are 3 to focus on:

  • Present perfect for life experiences: “After starting with six chooks in 2024, he's grown his farm…” This tense links past actions to the present—critical for IELTS speaking tasks about achievements. Practice saying, “I’ve developed a passion for…” to describe your own journey.
  • Modal verbs for uncertainty: “It is likely here to stay” and “we can’t put a fence around this country” show how to express probability and limitation. Use these to sound nuanced, not absolute.
  • Gerunds as subjects: “Knowing what it can do… does frighten me lots.” Starting sentences with gerunds adds variety—perfect for elevating your speaking. Try, “Monitoring the birds closely helps protect them.”

Common Pronunciation Traps

Watch out for these tricky words: - Chooks (Australian for chickens) is pronounced “chooks” (rhymes with “books”), not “chooks” with a long “oo” sound. - Terns (seabirds) sounds like “turns,” not “terns” with a hard “e.” - Culled (to kill animals) is “kuld,” not “culled” with a soft “u.” Practicing these with shadow speak will help you avoid miscommunication. Also, mimic Max’s rising intonation when expressing worry (“every new case makes me feel more and more worried”) to convey emotion effectively.

Whether you’re using learn English with videos or prepping for IELTS, this video offers actionable practice. Start shadowing today to turn passive listening into active fluency!

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 itwere found · been detected · can be infected
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhave declared · has now been detected · have been
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingeverywhere, which is · dangerous, which is
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing formstarted farming · keep expanding · keeps thriving

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 →