Shadowing Practice: I Almost Quit My First Marathon - Learn English Speaking with Video
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27 sentences
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1
Six months ago, I ran my very first marathon.
2
Forty-two kilometres... and I'd never run more than thirty.
3
At the start line, my legs were already shaking.
4
Then the gun went off, and thousands of us started running!
5
Honestly, the first half felt amazing.
6
People were cheering, kids were giving out sweets,
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and I thought, wow, this is easy!
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Then, at kilometre thirty-two, I hit the wall.
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Oh, it's hard to explain. My legs just stopped working.
10
Every step hurt. My head kept telling me to stop.
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So I walked to the side of the road and sat down.
12
Well... that's it, I thought. I'm done.
13
Suddenly, an older runner stopped right in front of me!
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He held out his hand and said, come on, run with me.
15
Just to the next lamp post. That's all.
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I don't know why, but... I took his hand.
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So we ran from one lamp post to the next.
18
He told me this was his twentieth marathon!
19
Ha, he said it never gets easier. You just get braver.
20
Slowly, kilometre by kilometre, the pain felt smaller.
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Then I saw it. The finish line!
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The crowd was screaming, and I just started crying.
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We crossed it together, hand in hand.
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Four hours and fifty-one minutes. Not fast, but I finished!
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Sadly, I never even got his name.
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But now, whenever I see someone struggling in a race,
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I stop, hold out my hand, and say, come on, run with me.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “I Almost Quit My First Marathon”. This video has 27 sentences and 248 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:45. The speaker talks at a steady 142 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| thirty noun | /ˈθɝti/ | A commercial lasting 30 seconds. |
| marathon noun | /ˈmæɹəθən/ | A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race. |
| lamp noun | /ˈlæ̝mp/ | A device that generates light, heat, or other electromagnetic radiation. Especially an electric light bulb. |
| brave adjective | /bɹeɪv/ | Strong in the face of fear; courageous. |
| shake verb | /ˈʃeɪk/ | To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly. |
| fifty noun | /ˈfɪfti/ | A banknote or coin with a denomination of 50. |
| forty adjective | /ˈfoɹti/ | Resembling or characteristic of a fort. |
| runner noun | /ˈɹʌnɚ/ | A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete. |
| sadly adverb | /ˈsædli/ | In a sad manner; sorrowfully. |
| scream verb | /skɹiːm/ | To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek. |
| cheer verb | /t͡ʃɪɹ/ | To gladden; to make cheerful; often with up. |
| twentieth adjective | /ˈtwɛn.ti.əθ/ | The ordinal form of the number twenty. |
| kilometre noun | /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/ | An SI unit of length equal to 10³ metres. Symbol: km |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hold out verb | To hold (something) out; to extend (something) forward. |
| give out verb | To utter, publish; to announce, proclaim, report. |
| go off verb | To explode. |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started running · stopped working · kept telling |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were already shaking · were cheering · was screaming |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thirty /ˈθɝti/, marathon /ˈmæɹəθən/, twentieth /ˈtwɛn.ti.əθ/
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 thirty, marathon, lamp.
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.