Shadowing Practice: Hummingbirds – A Closer Look - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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G'day!
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Today we're going to take a look at, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating birds of all, hummingbirds.
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These tiny birds are the smallest of all birds.
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The smallest, the bee hummingbird is just 5cm long, about the length of your finger, and weighs just 2 grams,
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about the weight of a paper clip.
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Let's take a look at the different parts of a hummingbird.
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They have a beak, two eyes, two feet, two wings and a tail.
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A hummingbird's needle-like beak and long tongue helps it to feed on nectar, a sweet liquid found inside flowers.
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Some also eat small insects and spikes.
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Hummingbird's wings beat fast, really fast, more than 70 times in one second.
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This makes the humming sound that hummingbirds are famous for.
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Another cool thing I learned about hummingbirds is that they are the only bird that can hover and fly backwards.
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Some can even fly upside down!
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Amazing!
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Oh, and on that note, gotta fly!
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See you next time!
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 17 sentences and 169 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:38. The speaker talks slowly, about 104 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- finger /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ (noun) — A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other…
- flower /ˈfloʊɚ/ (noun) — A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not be used for sexual…
- liquid /ˈlɪk.wɪd/ (noun) — A substance that is flowing, and keeping no shape, such as water; a substance of which the molecules, while not tending to separate from one another like those…
- tail /ˈteɪ̯l/ (noun) — The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to their posterior and near the anus or cloaca.
- clip /klɪp/ (noun) — Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
- upside /ˈʌpˌsaɪd/ (noun) — The highest or uppermost side or portion of something.
- weigh /weɪ/ (verb) — To determine the weight of an object.
- needle /ˈniː.dəl/ (noun) — A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a…
- spike /spaɪk/ (noun) — A sort of very large nail.
- gram /ˈɡɹæm/ (noun) — A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g.
- insect /ˈɪn.sɛkt/ (noun) — An arthropod (in the Insecta class) characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.
- backward /ˈbækwɚd/ (adjective) — Situated toward or at the rear of something.
- hum /ˈhʌm/ (verb) — To make a sound from the vocal cords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed.
- hummingbird /ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɜɹd/ (noun) — Any of various small American birds in the family Trochilidae that have the ability to hover.
- beak /biːk/ (noun) — A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like finger, flower, liquid.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most fascinating · the smallest |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | we're going to take |
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.