Shadowing Practice: IELTS Listening Practice (Part 2) - Book 15 Test 3 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
62 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Part 2
2
You will hear a woman called Alice Riches talking on the radio about a scheme
3
which involves closing streets to traffic to allow children to play.
4
First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.
5
Thank you.
6
Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.
7
My guest on the show today is Alice Riches, who started the street play scheme where she lives in Beechwood Road.
8
For those of you that don't already know, street play involves local residents closing off their street for a few hours
9
so that children have a chance to play in the streets safely.
10
She started it in her own street, Beechwood Road, and the idea caught on.
11
And there are now street play schemes all over the city.
12
So when did you actually start the scheme, Alice?
13
Well, I first had the idea when my oldest child was still a toddler.
14
So that's about six years ago now
15
But it took at least two years of campaigning before we were actually able to make it happen
16
So the scheme's been up
17
and running for three years now We'd love to be able
18
to close our road for longer For the whole weekend from Saturday morning until Sunday evening, for example At the moment,
19
it's just once a week But when we started, it was only once a month But we're working on it So what actually happens when Beachwood Road is closed?
20
We have volunteer wardens, mostly parents, but some elderly residents too, who block off our road at either end.
21
The council have provided special signs, but there's always a volunteer there to explain what's happening to any motorists.
22
Generally, they're fine about it.
23
We've only had to get the police involved once or twice.
24
Now, I should explain that the road isn't completely closed to cars, but only residents' cars are allowed.
25
If people really need to get in or out of Beechwood Road, it's not a problem as long as they drive at under 20 kilometres per hour.
26
But most people just decide not to use their cars during this time, or they park in another street.
27
The wardens are only there to stop through traffic.
28
So, can anyone apply to get involved in street play?
29
Absolutely.
30
We want to include all kids in the city, especially those who live on busy roads.
31
It's here that demand is greatest.
32
Obviously, there isn't such demand in wealthier areas where the children have access to parks or large gardens,
33
or in the suburbs where there are usually more places for children to play outside.
34
I'd recommend that anyone listening who likes the idea should just give it a go.
35
We've been surprised by the positive reaction of residents all over the city, and that's not just parents.
36
There are always a few who complain, but they're a tiny minority.
37
On the whole, everyone is very supportive and say they're very happy to see children out on the street, even if it does get quite noisy.
38
Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20.
39
Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.
40
there have been so many benefits of street play for the kids parents really like the fact
41
that the kids are getting fresh air instead of sitting staring at a computer screen even
42
if they're not doing anything particularly energetic And of course, it's great that kids can play with their friends outside without being supervised by their parents.
43
But for me, the biggest advantage is that kids develop confidence in themselves to be outside without their parents.
44
The other really fantastic thing is that children get to know the adults in the street.
45
It's like having a big extended family.
46
It certainly does have a lot of benefits.
47
I want to move on now and ask you about a related project in King Street Right,
48
well this was an experiment I was involved in where local residents decided to try
49
and reduce the traffic along King Street
50
which is the busiest main road in our area by persuading people not to use their cars for one day
51
We thought about making people pay more for parking but we decided
52
that would be really unpopular so instead we just stopped people from parking on King Street
53
but left the other car parks open.
54
It was surprising how much of a difference all this made.
55
As we'd predicted, air quality was significantly better
56
but what I hadn't expected was how much quieter it would be even with the buses still running.
57
Of course, everyone said they felt safer but we were actually amazed that sales in the shops went up considerably that day.
58
We thought there'd be fewer people out shopping, not more.
59
That's really interesting.
60
So the fact that the street was...
61
That is the end of part two.
62
You now have 30 seconds to check your answers to part two.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B28
53 sentences
IELTS Cambridge Book 15 Listening Test 3 Part 2 Questions with Audioscripts
IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
B2142
34 sentences
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Cities, Housing and Transport
American AccentBritish AccentIELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
60 sentences
Listening part two (Dartfield House school and changes) @ieltslisteningpro.24
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
54 sentences
IELTS listening - Driving license (Actual test 11/2024) - with answer and transcript
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B23
85 sentences
IELTS Listening practice Map labeling
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
281 sentences
IELTS LISTENING TEST 2 | OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOLUNTRY WORK IN SOUTHOE VILLAGE | BEST IELTS LISTENIN
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
26 sentences
IELTS Listening Map with Answers and Script - Proposed Traffic Changes in Granford
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
63 sentences
Cambridge IELTS 11 | Listening Test 3 Section 2 | Audio, Questions, Answer Key and Transcript
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
284 sentences
New IELTS Listening Test 2026🎧| Full Practice Test to Score High🔥 #english #ielts #fyp #foryou
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B213
30 sentences
IELTS Listening Part 3: A Field Trip on Coastal Erosion
American AccentBritish AccentIELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
51 sentences
Cam 19 Listening Test 2 Part 2
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B21
398 sentences
1 Hour IELTS Listening October Part 2 | Podcast with Test & Transcript 2026 #ib8
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “IELTS Listening Practice (Part 2) - Book 15 Test 3”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: road, residents, parents, scheme, questions. This video has 62 sentences and 825 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:35. The speaker talks at a steady 125 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| resident noun | /ˈɹɛzɪdənt/ | A person, animal or plant living at a certain location or in a certain area. |
| involve verb | /ɪnˈvɑlv/ | To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include. |
| volunteer noun | /ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/ | One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay. |
| warden noun | /ˈwɔɹdən/ | A chief administrative officer of a prison. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| minority noun | /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/ | The state or condition of being smaller, inferior, or subordinate to something or someone else; lesserness. |
| experiment noun | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of… |
| extend verb | /ɛkˈstɛnd/ | To increase in extent. |
| fewer | /ˈfjuː.ɚ/ | Less; a smaller amount of something non-integral commonly expressed as an integer |
| complain verb | /kəmˈpleɪn/ | To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment. |
| safely adverb | /ˈseɪfli/ | In a safe manner; without risk; using caution above all else. |
| wealthy adjective | /ˈwɛl.θi/ | Possessing financial wealth; rich. |
| elderly adjective | /ˈɛldɚli/ | old; having lived for relatively many years. |
| predict verb | /pɹɪˈdɪkt/ | To make a prediction: to forecast, foretell, or estimate a future event on the basis of knowledge and reasoning; to prophesy a future event on the basis of… |
| supportive adjective | /səˈpɔɹtɪv/ | Providing support. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| close off verb | To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter. |
| go up verb | To move upwards. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | scheme's been · have provided · We've only had |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is closed · are allowed · being supervised |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, isn't, we'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: minority /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, considerably /kənˈsɪdəɹəbli/, energetic /ˌɛn.əɹˈdʒɛt.ɪk/, kilometre /kɪˈlɑmɪtəɹ/
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 resident, involve, volunteer.
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.