Shadowing Practice: IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE TEST 2026 WITH ANSWERS | 04.09.2026 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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270 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

Now look at part one.

Part one.

You will hear an agent calling from Farrelly Mutual about the recent homeowner's insurance inquiry.

First, you have some time to look at questions one to six.

Now we shall begin.

You should answer the questions as you listen, because you will not hear the recording a second time.

Listen carefully and answer questions 1 to 6.

Hello?

Yes, I'd like to speak with Janet Evans, please.

Speaking.

Hi, Miss Evans.

This is Jim Rodriguez, calling from Farrelly Mutual about your recent homeowner's insurance inquiry.

Yes, hi.

Thanks for returning my call.

My pleasure.

I understand you are potentially interested in insurance for a bungalow located a bit out of town.

Could you give me the address?

Sure.

It's 49 Greenway Court.

Greenway is one word.

Thank you.

Alright.

And would you prefer to be contacted via email or phone?

Either one is fine.

Maybe try emailing me first and as an alternative I can give you my phone number.

Great.

And what is your email address?

pk2 at cat.com Did you say cat as in the animal?

Yes, it is the acronym for the construction company I work for.

I'm sure you've seen them around.

Yes, I have.

And could you give me your primary phone number and the best time to reach you?

Sure.

The number is 020-4251-9443.

I am generally unable to answer my phone at work, but any time after 5.30pm is fine.

I will make a note of that here.

Now, I'm going to ask you a little bit about property itself, so we can make an accurate estimate of the cost of insuring your home.

Could you tell me the size of your house?

Mmm, well, I don't have the exact measurements, but I'm pretty sure it's right around 80 square metres.

Should I measure it and call you back later?

No, that's completely alright.

I'll write 80 square meters for now to get the estimate,

and then an agent will come get the exact measurements later on if you decide to purchase our insurance.

Okay, great.

And what material is your house made of?

For example, wood, brick, stucco?

It's mainly brick.

Great.

That will give you a lower rate than most other materials since it is so strong.

Wonderful.

And do you have any sort of home security, Miss Evans?

We don't have a fence or anything yet, but we have an alarm system that we use regularly.

Good.

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 7 to 10.

Now listen and answer questions 7 to 10.

Now I'll go through a number of things we offer coverage for, and I'd like you to tell me which items you want your policy to cover.

Okay.

We'll start with the building itself first.

Would you like us to cover incidental damage to the structure to your house?

Absolutely.

Splendid.

And the contents inside your house.

We usually cover all items with an appraised value of about 200 pounds.

Would you like us to cover theft and damage beyond natural wear and tear?

I will let you know that the second option here will come with a considerable increase in your rates.

I think I'd just like the contents of the house to be covered against theft then.

Alright, and would you like any other insurance?

Fire, flood, etc.? Yes, I definitely want flood coverage.

It rains a lot here and the drainage system in the area is not the greatest.

Okay, I am calculating your quotation now.

It will just take a second.

It looks like your annual insurance rate will be £148.30.

Thanks.

That seems somewhat reasonable.

I would like to take some time to think about it.

How long does it take to begin receiving coverage after signing up?

It depends on the time of year.

It can take anywhere from two to six weeks.

I would say if you sign up by July 1st, you could start your coverage by August 1st. I see.

OK, thanks for your help.

Should I call you back at this number when I have made my decision?

Yes, please.

And so that we can look up your account faster, I'll give you a reference number that you should provide when calling.

Ready?

Yep.

It's TR278Q.

Got it.

Thanks.

Thank you and have a nice day.

That is the end of part one.

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

Part 2 Now turns to part two.

Part two.

You will hear a presenter on a radio phone-in show.

The presenter is talking to a woman who was bitten by a poisonous spider.

First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.

Today we're continuing our traveller's tales.

On the line we have Amanda Toddington, who had quite a nasty experience in Australia last year.

100

Isn't that right, Amanda?

101

Yes.

102

My husband and I were on holiday, and we were staying at a friend's house on the coast near Brisbane.

103

It was towards the end of the holiday, and I was about to go into the garden and enjoy my breakfast.

104

I walked out into the kitchen, slid my left foot into my shoe, and felt a tiny sting.

105

It was pretty painless, but I shook the shoe off my foot

106

and saw this tiny spider running out as the shoe hit the wall.

107

Anyway, not being an expert, I presumed the worst that I'd been bitten by something that was going to kill me, and I completely lost control.

108

I don't think I've ever screamed so much in all my life.

109

We'd been told beforehand to always check our shoes before putting them on, as it's a common way to get bitten.

110

So I suppose it was my own fault, really.

111

So what was it that had bitten you?

112

Tony, that's our Australian friend, he immediately asked me if I knew what had bitten me, and I pointed to the corner of the room where I'd last seen the spider.

113

He picked up a jar and found the creature in the corner where the shoe had hit the floor.

114

It's a redback, he said, and he gently placed the jar over the spider.

115

The funny thing was, we'd been talking about some of the creatures we needed to be careful of a few days previously, and as he said the name redback,

116

the conversation came flooding back to me.

117

In particular, the fact that the bite can be extremely painful.

118

I've found out since that the redback is from the same family as the black widow spider

119

and it's the female that does the damage, which it turned out was what I'd been bitten by.

120

You must have been absolutely petrified.

121

You can say that again.

122

I remember feeling quite confused.

123

I wasn't in a great deal of pain to begin with, and yet I could see from our friends' faces that they were concerned.

124

Tony explained that the venom, or poison, of the bite spreads quite slowly, so the pain doesn't feel too bad at first.

125

Gwen, Tony's wife, brought an ice pack, and Tony held it against the bite to make it less painful.

126

Apparently, you're not supposed to put a bandage on the area, as this can make it hurt even more.

127

Tony tried to put my mind at rest by explaining that this was quite a common bite, that the hospital would have an antivenom and that everything would be okay.

128

But I was beginning to panic.

129

We were flying back to the UK the next day and I really didn't know what to do.

130

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 16 to 20.

131

Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.

132

So what did you do?

133

Well, Tony phoned the doctor who told him to check my symptoms for the next hour or two.

134

As time went on, the pain became very intense from my foot right up to my knee.

135

My husband was on the internet and was reading out the possible symptoms.

136

I wasn't feeling sick and I hadn't yet developed a fever, but I had a terrible headache and my foot was beginning to swell up.

137

At this point, Tony decided to take me to the local hospital to be on the safe side.

138

I really didn't want to go, as I had visions of being kept in for days and all our plans being spoiled.

139

But Tony and my husband insisted.

140

When we got to the hospital, I was relieved to see how casual everyone was when Tony explained I'd been bitten by a red-backed spider.

141

They told me to take a seat and got on with their work.

142

And did you receive any treatment?

143

By the time I got to see a doctor, the pain was very intense indeed, and I was getting quite upset.

144

The doctor decided to give me a dose of an antivenom, which he assured me would eventually deal with the problem.

145

Unfortunately, he also explained that it wouldn't have an immediate effect and the symptoms might last for several days.

146

But the story has a happy ending.

147

My husband managed to book us onto another plane one week later.

148

And even better news was that the symptoms of the bite finally cleared up after about 24 hours.

149

Within a couple of days, I was back to normal again.

150

so thanks to the spider we managed to extend our holiday by a week.

151

That is the end of part two.

152

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

153

Now turns to part three.

154

Part three.

155

You will hear a conversation between an academic advisor

156

and a student asking for information about a particular subject that she wants to study.

157

First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.

158

Listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.

159

Come in and take a seat.

160

Thank you.

161

Now, you've made an appointment to see me with regard to one of the papers you want to enroll next semester.

162

Yes, that's right.

163

It's the Globalisation and Educational Change paper, GEC692.

164

Ah, well, I know the one you mean, but all the code numbers are going to change next semester,

165

so although the course name will stay the same, the code will be ED995.

166

Not that you have to worry about that.

167

But the content will be the same, right?

168

Oh, yes, to a large extent.

169

The objectives are still to provide you with the skills and knowledge for analysing the challenges that globalisation poses for education.

170

Yes, that's what I'm really interested in, the future of education, not where we are now, but where we're heading.

171

Well, you'll most likely enjoy the course

172

because it will give you the opportunity not just to explore but also to document the advancement of new educational developments.

173

And there'll be quite a lot of analysis involved.

174

Yes, obviously.

175

But once you've examined how education has been affected by cultural values and socio-economic structures,

176

you'll go on to debate the pros and cons of the restructuring of public education in view of rapid globalisation.

177

I see, but when you say public education, do you mean worldwide?

178

No, no. That would be far too large an undertaking for just one paper.

179

You'd probably choose to work with the education system within your own state or country.

180

Sounds interesting, but isn't it a bit restrictive?

181

Not at all.

182

From there you'd move on to explore the impact of internationalisation on curriculum diversity in both developing and developed countries.

183

Have you had a chance to look at the assessment criteria yet?

184

Actually I have and it makes me a bit nervous just thinking about it.

185

Why's that?

186

Well I say that the first assignment starts with an illustrated PowerPoint presentation to the rest of the class.

187

I've never done one before.

188

No need to worry.

189

You can get help with that.

190

Anyway, this presentation isn't graded.

191

It's what we call a formative assessment.

192

The feedback you get will help you to finalise the written review.

193

That's a review of those academic articles in the first part of the reading list, right?

194

Yes, but you only have to choose five of them.

195

That first assignment is worth 30%.

196

And the second assignment?

197

There are two parts to that also, and both are graded.

198

Twenty marks will go towards your participation in a seminar, and then there's a 5,000-word essay, which will be graded out of 50.

199

Thanks.

200

Before you hear the rest of the conversation, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30.

201

Thank you.

202

you with?

203

Yes.

204

The reading list is quite long.

205

Where do you think I should start?

206

Well, I'd suggest you leave the articles until the semester is underway, but a good preparation would be to look at some of the major texts.

207

These ones here.

208

In any particular order?

209

You could start with this one by tower here at the

210

bottom of the page sorry who tower t-o-w-e-r 2007 comparative education

211

that should give you a good basis then move on to elliot educational issues of the new millennium

212

but be sure to get the 2008 edition not the original 1998 edition because so much has changed since 1998.

213

The new edition has extensive revisions and a lot of new material.

214

OK, so that's Tower first, then Elliot.

215

I think I could handle a couple more over the summer break.

216

Well, in that case, look for Brown's Education and Globalisation, published in 2009.

217

Actually, there are quite a few books by Brown, but I'd start with that one and leave his others till much later.

218

And I'd also really recommend this one here, Globalization and Knowledge Policy, by York, published quite recently in fact, 2010.

219

That is the end of part three.

220

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

221

Thank you.

222

Now turns to part 4.

223

Part 4.

224

Here a lecture on the research on teen brain.

225

Now you have half a minute to read the questions, 31 to 40.

226

Now listen to the lecture and answer questions 31 to 40.

227

Today our guest is Joseph Parks, Medical Director for the Botany Department of Mental Health.

228

He's going to give a lecture about the research on teenage brain.

229

Good morning everyone.

230

Today I'm going to introduce the new research about adolescent mind, the teenage brain.

231

How much do you know about that?

232

Do you believe in brain scanning?

233

Do you think we can judge whether a teen is normal or mentally ill?

234

Or it's just another immature test.

235

The new research shows a teen brain is in the middle of disordered changes.

236

Those changes, scientists now believe, are so significant that they may reveal the mysteries of mental illness,

237

explaining why some teens commit suicide, why others harm their classmates, and why some emerge later in life with mental disorders.

238

The research looks forward to a day

239

when teens could be tested for suicidal depression as easily as they are for heart disease.

240

But there are signs that society and parents in particular would reject such a tool.

241

Many parents question the validity of a mental health diagnosis.

242

They fear that their children will be falsely tagged with a mark that he or she is abnormal.

243

At the center of the debate is the teen brain.

244

confusing architecture and the difficult question of what's typical in a teen and what's not.

245

Under the old thinking, the adolescent brain was fully formed, needing only to be filled with facts,

246

figures and experiences to become an adult mind.

247

At the same time, many people rejected the idea that young people were even capable of developing mental illnesses.

248

However, the new research shows A teenage brain is an organ in transition.

249

It has an unstable and vulnerable composition.

250

The evolving teenage brain clearly isn't adult-like until the early 20s.

251

If teens act young and stupid, it may be because brain areas that govern rational thought are not mature yet.

252

All that is fine when the brain develops normally.

253

But if the teen brain fails to successfully reinvent itself as an adult brain, mental illness may happen.

254

Researchers increasingly believe if that process stops for some reason, teens are likely to develop mental illness.

255

Early warning signs might be disregarded, as adults may think them the typical teen behaviors.

256

Perhaps the chief hope of the new research is

257

that it could make a difference for teenagers suffering from mental disorder and major depression.

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These can lead to suicide, which for years has been the leading cause of death for teens.

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Until recently, scientists couldn't peer into living brains to look for changes associated with normal development or mental diseases.

260

That is beginning to change as researchers develop ever more sensitive brain scanners.

261

However the composite pictures are somewhat misleading.

262

A snapshot of an individual brain may fall somewhere between normal and mentally ill.

263

For now psychiatrists and psychologists must still rely on interviews and observations of children's behavior to diagnose mental illness.

264

That is the end of part 4.

265

You now have half a minute to check your answers.

266

I'm sorry.

267

You've been calling me, give me that to me You've been calling me,

268

give me that to me

269

You've been calling me

270

I love you so much Bye.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 270 sentences and 2897 words to shadow. The speech runs for 25:38. The speaker talks at a steady 113 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

bite /baɪt/ (verb) — To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
spider /ˈspaɪ̯dɚ/ (noun) — Any of various eight-legged, predatory arthropods, of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs to catch prey.
illness /ˈɪl.nəs/ (noun) — An instance (episode) of a disease or poor health.
shoe /ˈʃu/ (noun) — A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of…
teenage /ˈtiːneɪd͡ʒ/ (adjective) — Of or relating to an age between thirteen and nineteen years old.
symptom /ˈsɪm(p)təm/ (noun) — A perceived change in some function, sensation or appearance of a person that indicates a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache or rash; strictly, a…
carefully /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ (adverb) — With care; attentively, circumspectly.
flood /flʌd/ (noun) — An overflow of a large amount of water (usually disastrous) from a lake or other body of water due to excessive rainfall or other input of water.
disorder /dɪsˈɔɹdɚ/ (noun) — Absence of order; state of not being arranged in an orderly manner.
assignment /əˈsaɪn.mənt/ (noun) — The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks.
lecture /ˈlɛk.t͡ʃə/ (noun) — A spoken lesson or exposition, usually delivered to a group.
semester /sɪˈmɛstɚ/ (noun) — Half of a school year (US) or academic year such as autumn or spring semester.
assessment /əˈsɛsmənt/ (noun) — The act of assessing or an amount (of tax, levy or duty etc) assessed.
intense /ɪnˈtɛns/ (adjective) — Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering.
painful /ˈpeɪn.fl̩/ (adjective) — Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
look for (verb) — To seek.
sign up (verb) — To add a name to the list of people who are participating in something.
think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
ask for (verb) — To request; to order.
clear up /klɪəˈɹʌp/ (verb) — To clarify, to correct a misconception.
come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
come with (verb) — To join and come along.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 54 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'd, I'm, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, measurement /ˈmɛʒ.ə.mənt/, transition /tɹænˈzɪʃ.ən/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/
Long words — get the stress right: inquiry /ɪnˈkwaɪ(ə)ɹi/, adolescent /ˌæd.əˈlɛs.ənt/, successfully /səkˈsɛs.fə.li/, architecture /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/

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 bite, spider, illness.

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	You've been calling
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've seen · have made · I've ever screamed
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be contacted · be covered · was bitten
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	woman who was · essay, which will

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: IELTS LISTENING PRACTICE TEST 2026 WITH ANSWERS | 04.09.2026 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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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?