Shadowing Practice: IELTS listening part 3 Product development presentation: mosquito net - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Part 3.
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You will hear a business studies student called Edward talking to his tutor about some research he is doing on product development.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 25.
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Hello, Edward.
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Sit down.
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Thanks.
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I need some advice on my presentation about product development.
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Right.
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Have you decided what to focus on?
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Yes.
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The product I've chosen is a particular type of mosquito net.
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Any reason for choosing that?
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Hmm.
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I spent last summer travelling round Africa with a friend.
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He's studying medicine, so when we were in a region where mosquitoes cause malaria, we visited a medical centre.
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I chatted to an administrator while my friend talked to one of the doctors,
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and I found out they've had far fewer cases of malaria since these mosquito nets became available locally.
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That made me interested in them.
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Hmm, OK.
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Mosquito nets have quite a long history, don't they?
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I believe they'd been used in Japan for centuries.
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That's right.
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Though apparently Queen Cleopatra slept under one in ancient Egypt.
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That was probably where they were invented.
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And much later nets were used in China, so perhaps they were invented there independently.
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Originally they were made of silk, but later cotton was used, and nowadays they're mainly synthetic.
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It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that they developed nets treated with insecticides for use by the military, and that was a major step forward.
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They used an insecticide called DDT, but it was later found that this could be harmful to people as well as mosquitoes.
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Is that still a problem with modern nets?
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Oh, no. The chemicals used nowadays are safe, even if people sleep under them every night.
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And the nets work, and they're odour-free.
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But they have to be treated fairly often with the chemical, which the owners need to do themselves.
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Hmm.
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Presumably distribution of the chemical can be a problem in remote areas?
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I mean, people may not be able to get hold of it easily.
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That's right.
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Hmm.
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OK, tell me about this net you're going to talk about.
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Well, the brand name is Olliset, and the product was invented by a Japanese company.
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These nets are an improvement on the alternatives because the insecticide is contained inside the fibre and released gradually.
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It's not coated on the outside as with ordinary nets.
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So the chemicals don't have to be replaced?
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Right.
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And Oli-set nets are also tougher and don't tear as easily.
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They give protection for at least five years compared with a year or two for other nets.
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Well, it sounds interesting.
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But for your seminar presentation, will you provide the bigger picture as well?
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Yes.
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It'll be a case study of product development.
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Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 26 to 30.
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Now listen and answer questions 26 to 30.
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I thought I'd introduce my presentation by describing the background to the new product, the general context.
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You mean the business context?
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Where the investment's coming from and that sort of thing?
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Well, I was thinking I'd talk first about insect-borne diseases, particularly malaria
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and why there's such an urgent need for new ways of fighting it.
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Some people might not know much about it.
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Yes, that's a good idea.
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I've got some statistics about the numbers of people worldwide who get the disease each year.
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I thought I'd show those.
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They're quite staggering.
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I can imagine.
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It's one of the world's biggest health problems, after all.
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It'd also be useful if you could find some statistical information on how malaria affects countries' economic output and present that too.
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OK, I'm sure I can find something.
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After that, I'll talk about mosquito nets.
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First, the historical development, just briefly, and then I'll introduce the Ollyset mosquito net.
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Yes, keep it simple.
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You could just present a bulleted list of its characteristics, the things that make it different from other types of net, and talk that through.
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Right.
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Then I thought I'd outline the production process.
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Fine.
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Should I give some information about where the money for the project has come from?
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There are lots of government and private sponsors.
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Definitely.
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That's a very important aspect of any product development.
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Where are the nets being manufactured, by the way?
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Oh, over half are made in Tanzania by a company called A-Z.
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They got an interest-free loan to buy in the necessary machinery.
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Well, I'd say a bit about the company profile as well, and then present figures about numbers of staff and the kinds of people they're employing on the Ollyset project,
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if you can find the details.
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Hmm, OK.
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I haven't included any information about marketing.
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I've got a lot of notes about it, but I'm not sure how to present them.
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I wouldn't mention that if I were you.
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You've only got a short time for your presentation and you've got quite a lot of material here already.
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But you should provide some figures about output.
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Have you found out from the company's website how many nets they actually produce?
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Yes, it's over 30 million a year.
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Right.
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Then I'm not sure how to finish off.
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What do you think about including something on potential...
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That is the end of part three.
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You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part three.
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Thank you.
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Why This IELTS Listening Clip Is Perfect for Speaking Practice
This video’s dialogue between Edward and his tutor is ideal for IELTS speaking practice because it mirrors real-world academic communication—natural, conversational, and packed with useful phrases. The mix of question-and-answer exchanges and detailed explanations helps learners master tone, pacing, and clarity, key for IELTS success. Plus, the topic (product development) introduces niche vocabulary in a context that’s easy to follow, making it great for building both fluency and lexical range.
Breaking Down Natural Speech Patterns
Let’s look at 3 phrases that sound authentic and why they work:
- “I need some advice on my presentation about product development.” This direct opening is how native speakers frame requests. The structure “I need [noun] on [topic]” is simple but effective for clarity—perfect for IELTS speaking tasks where conciseness matters.
- “That made me interested in them.” Instead of overcomplicating with “sparked my interest” or “piqued my curiosity,” this casual phrase sounds natural in a tutor-student chat. It shows how to use common verbs (“made”) to convey meaning, a trick for avoiding awkward phrasing.
- “Presumably distribution of the chemical can be a problem in remote areas?” The word “presumably” softens the question, making it sound less confrontational. This is a key skill for IELTS: using modifiers to sound polite and engaged, even in academic settings.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Improve Pronunciation
Use the shadowing technique (or “shadow speech”) with this video to boost pronunciation and fluency. Here’s how: 1. Play a 5-second clip of the dialogue, then pause. 2. Repeat the clip out loud, mimicking the speaker’s tone, stress, and rhythm—don’t just say the words, copy the music of the speech. 3. Record yourself, then compare it to the original. Note differences in vowel sounds (e.g., “insecticide” vs. “insecticide”) or pauses. 4. Repeat with longer clips (10-15 seconds) as you get comfortable. This shadowspeaks loop trains your mouth to move like a native and helps you internalize natural speech patterns—critical for IELTS speaking scores. Do this daily for 10 minutes, and you’ll notice clearer pronunciation and more confident delivery in weeks.
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 | were invented · were made · be treated |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've chosen · has come · haven't included |
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.