Shadowing Practice: I Secretly Hid in Our House for 24 Hours! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “I Secretly Hid in Our House for 24 Hours!”. This video has 620 sentences and 6007 words to shadow. The speech runs for 31:36. The speaker talks fast, about 190 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| backyard noun | /bækˈjɑːd/ | A yard to the rear of a house or similar residence. |
| loft noun | /lɔft/ | An attic or similar space (often used for storage) in the roof of a house or other building. |
| mirror noun | /ˈmiɹɚ/ | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| tape noun | /teɪ̯p/ | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. |
| romantic adjective | /ɹoʊˈmæn(t)ɪk/ | Fantastic, unrealistic (of an idea etc.); fanciful, sentimental, impractical (of a person). |
| reflect verb | /ɹɪˈflɛkt/ | To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface. |
| daddy noun | /ˈdædi/ | Also used as a term of address: a father; one's father. |
| knee noun | /ni/ | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| toy noun | /tɔɪ/ | Something to play with, especially as intended for use by a child. |
| invisible adjective | /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ | Unable to be seen; out of sight; not visible. |
| laundry noun | /ˈlɔːn.dɹi/ | A laundering; a washing. |
| needle noun | /ˈniː.dəl/ | A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a… |
| pillow noun | /ˈpɪl.oʊ/ [ˈpʰɪɫ.ö̞] | A soft cushion used to support the head in bed. |
| suitcase noun | /ˈsutkeɪs/ | A large (usually rectangular) piece of luggage used for carrying clothes, and sometimes suits, when travelling. |
| whoever | /huˈɛvɚ/ | Who ever: an emphatic form of who. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| go up verb | To move upwards. | |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| close up verb | /kləʊzˈʌp/ | To close (remove a gap) completely or fully. |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| cover up verb | To conceal or disguise. | |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Do you know where you're going to hide?
- Where do you want to hide?
- You're going to break the wall down in just a day?
- You see this big hole in my van?
- Is that all you're getting?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | i've been thinking · they've been working · have been helping |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've ever seen · you've never seen · i've lost |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be found · be conducted · being covered |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person who wins · guys who don · guys who support |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 316 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, gonna, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shield /ˈʃild/, garage /ɡəˈɹɑʒ/, shine /ʃaɪn/, shelf /ʃɛlf/, trash /tɹæʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, accompany /əˈkʌm.pə.ni/, competitor /kəmˈpɛt.ɪ.tɚ/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like backyard, loft, mirror.
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.















