Shadowing Practice: I Faked a Girlfriend - Learn English Speaking with Video

From the moment I entered high school, I basically had "bully me" written on my forehead.

My life was normal.

Average grades, average height, average hair that never did what TikTok boy's hair does.

At home, it was just me and mom.

"Mom, can we move to a new planet?" Only if that planet has cheaper rent.

She was loving, chaotic, great at microwave cooking, and forever trying to fix my shyness.

local community center, which, spoiler alert, after six weeks of pretending to be a tree, I was still shy.

And high school had Logan, captain of the basketball team, jawline carved by God.

He had a full -time hobby, humiliating me.

One day in the cafeteria,

he grabbed my phone and projected one of my photos on the big screen. But...

Basically, a hate crime.

Behold, ladies and gentlemen, the reason Jay is still single!

I wanted the floor to open up, but I'd also have taken being hit by lightning or randomly passing out.

You know what, Jay?

I'll make you a deal.

If you get a girlfriend before prom, I'll delete that pic from everywhere I'm about to put it on social media.

He laughed like a cartoon villain, and casually walked away, while my soul left my body.

That night, I cried dramatically into my pillow.

What was I going to do?

I couldn't look a girl in the eye for more than 30 seconds, let alone ask one out.

"I'm never showing my face again !" Then, suddenly, I had an idea.

People meet girls all the time on dating apps.

I'll make a profile.

Surely I can't be that bad.

But as soon as I opened up my phone, my unicorn picture was everywhere, with trillions of comments like,

"Bet this guy never even held a girl's hand." And the thing is, it was true.

I stared at my screen, hoping to evaporate when a fire lit inside me.

A very dumb, very reckless fire.

I was going to fake one.

I mean, how hard could it be?

The next day, on the way to school, I decided to plan what I was going to say about her.

She has brown hair.

Then, bam, I slammed into something and braced myself for Logan.

It turned out to be a tree.

causing me to hold onto things and stumble, and making me look even more of an idiot.

By the time I sat down in the first period, I was sweaty, dizzy, and 100 % not ready to launch Operation Fake Girlfriend.

That is, until Logan arrived.

AJ, big question.

Are you bringing your unicorn Friday?

Kinda.. already have a girlfriend.

The room went silent and 22 heads turned to face me.

Logan burst out laughing.

That's the dumbest thing I've heard all week!

And my idiot little brother tried to microwave a fork yesterday.

You have a girlfriend?

I desperately tried to think of something to say, my head pounding.

What's her name then?

I panicked.

Debs.

name too?

Yes everyone, I don't help myself.

You're such a dumbass.

Where does she live?

Narnia?

What school does she go to?

Hogwarts.

What's her Instagram?

She's shy.

She doesn't like social media.

I heard the class start to laugh.

She's busy modeling in Europe.

But her stuff isn't out yet.

Well I want to meet her.

My heart stopped.

Bring her Friday to the big basketball game.

I'll even give you guys the halftime spotlight.

We'll put you two on the kiss cam.

My weakly fist bumped the air.

No problem, she'll be there.

What was I thinking?

I had four days to find a whole human being.

That night, I tried to fix everything the way any rational teenager would, with Photoshop.

I spent two hours badly editing myself next to random Instagram girls trying to create proof for Logan

and get out of the Friday game.

But then Mom walked in and squinted at my laptop.

"Honey?

Why does that girl have three hands?" Then I realized I didn't need a fake picture.

I needed a fake girlfriend.

Or at least, an actual girl willing to pretend.

So I turned to the one place Mom swore would cure my shyness: my drama class.

It was now or never.

Hey, uh, so...

Hypothetically, how much would someone have to pay you to pretend to be in love with them?

She blinked.

"Is this a pyramid scheme?" No, it's for revenge.

On a bully.

And a kiss cam.

And unicorn pajamas.

She backed away like I was contagious.

Next, I tried another girl.

This one stretching for a scene.

Hi, I'm Jay.

Nice lunges.

Question.

Would you ever go to a basketball game and pretend to be someone's girlfriend?

Only if that someone was Chris Hemsworth.

somewhere, someone snorted.

I looked over.

100

A girl I'd seen a lot but never actually talked to was leaning on the wall, arms crossed, watching the entire disaster unfold.

101

She wore a backpack and her hair was all messy.

102

And she was the only one in casual clothes rather than dressed up with the latest fashion trends.

103

Her name was Zoe.

104

I knew because the drama teacher yelled at her a lot.

105

"Zoey, off your phone !" "Zoey, stop rewriting the script !" "Zoey,

106

please stop making the death scene more dramatic !" She pushed off the wall and walked over.

107

Saw that.

108

I'd say no, but lying clearly isn't your thing.

109

So why do you need a pretend girlfriend?

110

I told her everything.

111

The unicorn photo, the bet, the t -shirts, the kiss cam, the extremely real possibility of social death.

112

Logan's a jerk.

113

Wow, and you got that from only all of his behavior?

114

I'll do it.

115

I was shocked.

116

You will?

117

On one condition.

118

You must be my friend.

119

Like, hang out and talk and stuff.

120

Deal?

121

She held out her hand and I shook it.

122

I'd actually found a fake girlfriend.

123

Also, my mom would totally combust if she found out I had a boyfriend.

124

So this is gonna be fun.

125

Soon, I realized Zoe was a lot.

126

Okay, first of all, what's my name?

127

Let me guess.

128

You panicked Amazing.

129

"What's your favorite movie?

130

Favorite food?

131

Favorite mythical creature?

132

Can you guess what mine is?" She learned about my unicorn bedset.

133

I learned she secretly writes scripts and emails them to herself because she's too scared to show anyone.

134

"Do you think I'm talking too much?

135

Am I annoying? Be honest.

136

Actually, no, don't be honest.

137

I'll cry.

138

Wait, did that sound needy?" I wondered if this was never going to work.

139

All you have to do is go in, wave, and not say anything.

140

The next day in class, Logan decided to ruin my life even more.

141

He yanked out his phone and shoved it in my face.

142

I realized he'd secretly snapped a picture of Zoe and me when we met at the park.

143

Okay, I'll pretend you said something funny.

144

We were sitting together, sharing chips like a real couple.

145

loudly, and at first, I was embarrassed as people looked over.

146

But then I found her laugh infectious and joined in.

147

"Did you pay a girl to be your date?

148

She's fake, isn't she?" "No, she's real.

149

I love her." The class laughed and Logan smirked.

150

"We'll see Friday.

151

Only two days to go, loser !" Then something insane happened.

152

Logan's little stunt totally backfired.

153

Instead of laughing at me, people actually started congratulating me and asking me for relationship advice.

154

In the craziest part, I answered everyone without thinking about being shy.

155

- When you text her goodnight, do you add emojis, or is that desperate?

156

- One emoji, Max.

157

Anything over two, and you sound like someone's aunt.

158

- If you can get a girl, I can get a girl.

159

- Just be yourself.

160

- So, um, is your girlfriend nice?

161

If she ever, like, dumps you or moves to Europe forever, or whatever, you should, like, text me.

162

People noticed me, they listened, they laughed with me, not at me.

163

For a tiny, glorious moment, I forgot about Logan and actually enjoyed what it felt like to be confident, almost popular.

164

I caught Logan watching from across the cafeteria, jaw tight, eye twitching, and honestly, it felt amazing.

165

But then when I got home, it became all too real.

166

Mom pushed my door open, holding her phone, her face tense.

167

stories.

168

And why am I finding out from Instagram instead of from you?

169

My stomach twisted.

170

I hadn't meant to hurt her.

171

Do you know how weird it is to have my co

172

-worker show me a video of my son with a girl and I have to pretend I knew?

173

You tell your friends, but not me?

174

I didn't mean to.

175

Is she serious?

176

Are you safe?

177

Do I know her parents?

178

I just want to know what's going on with you, Jay.

179

But lately, it seems like you're always with this girl.

180

I wanted to confess, tell her the truth.

181

I just wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

182

I couldn't look at her, but saw her shoulders droop as she walked out of the room.

183

I hated how easy lying was, how much it was costing this time.

184

Zoe had also become even more annoying.

185

Do I look more like a Debs in braids or in a ponytail?

186

What if I trip on the bleachers and the whole school sees my underwear?

187

sure I still wanted to go through with it.

188

Then, the day before the game, we had to run one last rehearsal.

189

"Okay, you'll get there first, then I'll walk in." She talked, as usual, but I found myself distracted, planning my next disaster.

190

"And so, if there's a kiss cam, we kiss, right?" "Sure." "You know, I've never had a real boyfriend either, right?

191

I talk a big game, but when I moved here, everyone already had someone.

192

Friends, group, Whatever.

193

That's why my mom made me take the drama class.

194

So yeah, even if it's fake...

195

It's kinda the first time someone picked me for something.

196

Anyway, maybe you should pick someone less weird -looking.

197

Can you just stop for a second?

198

Zoe stopped talking.

199

The most important night of my life is the one where I don't get laughed off a stage.

200

You have no right to be scared or nervous.

201

For the first time, I saw her bright smile disappear, but I couldn't help myself.

202

"You're a lot !" The second the words left my mouth, I wished I could eat them.

203

"Wow.

204

Okay." I tried to backpedal.

205

What was I thinking?

206

Look, sorry, I didn't mean.. but she stood up.

207

"No, it's fine." You...

208

Wanted the perfect girlfriend! And I'm...

209

"Not bad.

210

I get it." She started to walk off, but then stopped and turned back.

211

For a minute, I thought I was saved.

212

"Just to remind you...

213

"You're the one faking it.

214

You're lying to your whole school, to your mom.

215

You care more about what Logan thinks than about the people who actually show up for you.

216

So, if anyone here is a lot, it's you." That punched harder than any of Logan's jokes.

217

"Good luck tomorrow." She turned and walked away.

218

"No, wait, I'm sorry, I..." And this time, she didn't stop.

219

I knew I had to face the music.

220

but strangely, I wasn't thinking about Logan.

221

I was thinking about Zoey.

222

I kept replaying everything in my head.

223

Her babbling about braids vs. ponytails, her panicking about tripping on the bleachers,

224

The way her voice had gone small when she said it was the first time someone had picked her for something.

225

I'd been so busy freaking out about me that I'd never really looked at her properly.

226

"Favorite mythical creature?" Can you guess what mine is?

227

She tried to show me her backpack, tell me things about her life, but I didn't notice.

228

We both hated big crowds.

229

We both only had one parent around.

230

We both got signed up for drama to make friends, and I had been far from one.

231

I grabbed my phone and opened our chat, and bombarded her with messages.

232

You're not a lot.

233

You literally saved me.

234

Please, can we talk?

235

An hour passed, and still nothing.

236

So I tried again. that before.

237

I don't care if you talk a lot.

238

I'm really, really sorry, Zoe." But the messages sat there.

239

Blue ticked.

240

No reply.

241

For the first time, it hit me.

242

This wasn't just some silly fake relationship mission anymore.

243

I'd actually hurt someone.

244

She'd been right.

245

I'd been so obsessed with what Logan thought of me.

246

I hadn't even thought about what I was becoming.

247

A liar.

248

A coward.

249

The day of the game, I felt like I wasn't in my own body.

250

One minute I was walking to school, might be fine.

251

Have a minute, PMA." But the next… I was on the school stage, holding a mic, with everyone staring at me, chanting one word like a cult.

252

"Girlfriend!

253

Girlfriend!

254

Girlfriend !" Logan was in the front row, relishing every second.

255

"Come on, Jay!

256

Where is she?

257

Or did she mysteriously move to Canada?" I stared at the crowd and had no idea what to say.

258

But then I remembered If you forget your line, tell the truth.

259

The audience can smell fear, but they love honesty.

260

I took a breath.

261

She's not in Canada.

262

She's not sick.

263

She's not stuck in traffic.

264

She's...

265

"Not coming," the crowd began to whisper, and Logan grinned.

266

"Because she doesn't exist !" "Yes, that's right.

267

I lied." The gym went dead silent.

268

I made her up.

269

I was tired of being the guy with the unicorn pajamas and no dates.

270

So I panicked and said I had a girlfriend.

271

Then I brought someone into the lie who didn't deserve it.

272

My voice shook, but I kept going.

273

Logan humiliated me.

274

So I wanted revenge.

275

I thought if I could prove I wasn't a loser, he'd leave me alone.

276

But the truth is, he'd find something else, because that's who he is.

277

And by the way, Logan, see Logan sinking into his seat.

278

In fact, in the girls' bathroom it says, "Logan smells." And I know that because you threw me in there.

279

Logan stood, shaking his head, denying it, embarrassed.

280

The fact is, I don't deserve a girlfriend because I had one, right under my nose, who loves unicorns too.

281

And I didn't even see her.

282

She thinks she was weird looking, but I thought she was beautiful.

283

She was funny, kind, perfect, and I missed it.

284

So fine, I'm I'm a loser and I don't care.

285

Logan was right.

286

I was about to be so dead.

287

I'd have to have two funerals.

288

You are dumb.

289

I desperately wanted someone to throw a bucket of water over me and melt like Elphaba, but I knew it was nothing I didn't deserve. But...

290

I think you're perfect.

291

The crowd started to make all these cooing noises.

292

As she walked on stage towards me, I felt my heart beating fast.

293

And we held hands.

294

I heard the crowd cheer.

295

Then to my total surprise, Logan started bawling his eyes out.

296

We'd hit some nerve that opened a floodgate.

297

And something told me I didn't have to worry about him bullying me anymore.

298

I just want to find somebody too.

299

Logan had been secretly feeling down and tried to save face by bullying others.

300

But the best thing was, mom loved Zoe, and Zoe's family loved me,

301

including all of her 16 cats and 7 dogs.

302

But what the whole experience taught me is

303

that the most relatable love story you can have in high school is learning to not hate yourself.

304

Never, ever, ever give a bully free content.

305

you .

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 305 sentences and 2634 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:55. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
pretend verb	/pɹəˈtɛnd/	To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
unicorn noun	/ˈju.nɪ.kɔɹn/	A mythical, horselike creature with a horn on its forehead, supposed to be very rare and to be drawn to virgins and other chaste maidens.
panic noun	/ˈpænɪk/	Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare.
shake verb	/ˈʃeɪk/	To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.
loser noun	/luzɚ/	A person who loses; one who fails to win or thrive.
secretly adverb	/ˈsiː.kɹɪt.li/	In secret, covertly.
stare verb	/stɛɚ/	To look fixedly (at something).
bully noun	/ˈbʊli/	A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others, especially to those whom they perceive as being vulnerable or of less power or…
silent adjective	/ˈsaɪ̯lənt/	Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
disaster noun	/dɪˈzɑːs.təː/	An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent…
script noun	/skɹɪpt/	A writing; a written document.
revenge noun	/ɹəˈvɛnd͡ʒ/	Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice.
embarrassed adjective	/ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/	Having a feeling of shameful discomfort.
desperately adverb	/ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/	In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly.
bullying noun	/ˈbʊ.li.ɪŋ/	An act of intimidating a person to do something, especially such repeated coercion.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
look over verb	To check quickly; to make a brief or cursory visual inspection of.
open up verb	To open.
walk away verb	To withdraw from a problematic situation.
back away verb	To move in a direction opposite to that which one is facing, keeping one's attention on the thing in front being avoided.
burst out verb	To appear suddenly from within something else.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
get out of verb	To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
go through with verb	To carry out (something planned or promised); to proceed with or continue with.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 78 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shake /ˈʃeɪk/, shock /ʃɔk/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, rational /ˈɹæʃ(ə)nəl/, infectious /ɪnˈfɛk.ʃəs/
Long words — get the stress right: desperately /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/, congratulate /kənˈɡɹæd͡ʒ.ʊˌleɪt/, cafeteria /ˌkæ.fə.ˈtɪ(ə).ɹi.ə/, humiliate /hjuːˈmɪliˌeɪt/, evaporate /ɪˈvæp.ə.ɹeɪt/

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 pretend, unicorn, panic.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	being hit · was shocked · was saved
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have taken · I've heard
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was loving · was leaning · were sitting
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the dumbest · the latest · the craziest

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 →

Shadowing Practice: I Faked a Girlfriend - Learn English Speaking with Video

Step Mom Made Dad Hate Me

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I'm Face Blind, And I Can't Recognise My Own Family

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I Stole Someone Boyfriend

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REACTING TO FAN FICTIONS ABOUT US *uncomfortable*

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?

REACTING TO FAN FICTIONS ABOUT US uncomfortable