Shadowing Practice: IELTS PART 2 + 3: Describe a time when someone you know found a clever solution to a problem - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Describe a time when someone you know found a clever solution to a problem.
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I'd like to tell you how my older brother came up
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with a brilliant way to stop his son from eating too much junk food.
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Actually, I didn't witness it in person, but I saw it in a video he posted on social media.
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It happened quite recently, around two months ago.
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At the time, his son had developed a habit of eating unhealthy snacks on a daily basis.
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No matter how hard his parents tried to talk him out of it, he kept asking for them.
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My brother then came across an idea online and decided to give it a try.
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First, he used an AI tool to create what looked like
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an ultrasound scan of a stomach with some creepy -looking worms moving around inside it.
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He then pretended to be a doctor and performed an ultrasound scan on his son's belly.
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When his son saw the footage, he completely freaked out and started crying.
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From that moment on, he promised to try his best to stay away from unhealthy snacks.
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It was quite hilarious but clever at the same time.
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To tell you the truth, I'd never imagined that someone could use AI for something like that.
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I called my brother afterwards and asked him whether it had actually worked.
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And believe it or not, it had.
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The whole thing actually reminded me of my own childhood.
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You know, my parents used to tell me
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that something nasty might grow inside my stomach if I ate too much junk food.
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Even though it scared me at the time, it did help me stay away from unhealthy snacks.
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So based on my experience, I could understand why my brother tried this method.
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It might not work for every child, but in his son's case, it worked like a charm,
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which is why I thought it was such a clever solution.
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Do you think children are born clever, or do they learn to be clever?
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That's an interesting one, I must say.
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I think it can be both.
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Geniuses aside, some children may be naturally more intelligent than their peers, partly because of genetics.
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Others may not be so pried at first,
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but they can develop their intelligence over time by doing mentally stimulating activities like reading, studying, or solving puzzles.
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Then there are also kids who are born smart and work hard to become even better.
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How important are schools in helping children become more clever?
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I'd say schools play a crucial role in that.
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You know, schools provide an environment where children can discover their strengths and weaknesses.
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With their teacher's support, they can get a clearer picture of what they're good at and where they need to improve,
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which can help them develop in a more well -rounded way.
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That said, the role of parents is just as important, since nobody understands a child better than their mom and dad.
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Do you agree or disagree that very clever children are usually happy?
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I partly agree with this idea.
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It's true that smart kids tend to have an easier time academically since they can learn much faster than others.
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They may also receive a lot of praise and admiration from people around them,
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but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're happier than those who aren't as clever.
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For me personally, the way they're raised, the environment they grow up in,
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and the experiences they have growing up play a much bigger role in their levels of happiness.
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Why may a person be very good at one thing but not another?
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Oh, I guess that's perfectly normal because as far as I know, to become excellent at something,
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you need to spend a huge amount of time practicing and learning, potentially thousands of hours.
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That's why it's extremely hard for one person to master many different things.
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Of course, there are some people who excel in multiple fields, but they're only a small minority.
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Why does society need people with different types of intelligence?
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Well, I'm not an expert on intelligence, but I suppose it probably comes down to variety.
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I mean, if society only had people with one type of intelligence,
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there would be an oversupply of workers in one field and a shortage in others.
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And that definitely wouldn't be ideal for a sustainable economy.
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For example, if everyone were a doctor, then it would be the engineers, entertainers, or teachers.
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Do you think people can become very good at anything if they try hard enough?
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I wouldn't say so.
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I don't deny that with enough effort and practice, you can become reasonably good at almost anything.
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But it takes more than just hard work to achieve greatness.
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You will also need a bit of talent and, in some cases, certain physical attributes.
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For example, in professional sports, factors like height, body type,
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or natural athletic ability can give some people a significant advantage.
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And these aren't things that you can completely change through hard work.
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At the end of the day, it really depends on what you are trying to become good at.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “IELTS PART 2 + 3: Describe a time when someone you know found a clever solution to a problem”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: clever, intelligence, brother, unhealthy, snacks. This video has 64 sentences and 862 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:28. The speaker talks at a natural 158 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| clever adjective | /ˈklɛv.ɚ/ | Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept. |
| snack noun | /snæk/ | A light meal. |
| unhealthy adjective | /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/ | Characterized by, or conducive to poor health. |
| stomach noun | /ˈstʌmək/ | An organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion. |
| partly adverb | /ˈpɑɹtli/ | In part, or to some degree, but not completely. |
| scan verb | /skæn/ | To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely. |
| junk noun | /d͡ʒʌŋk/ | Miscellaneous items of little value, especially discarded or unwanted items. |
| ultrasound noun | /ʌl.tɹə.saʊnd/ | Sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, which is approximately 20 kilohertz. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| happiness noun | /ˈhæpinɪs/ | The emotion of being happy; joy; elation. |
| ideal adjective | /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| worker noun | /ˈwɝ.kɚ/ | One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor. |
| afterwards adverb | /ˈæf.tɚ.wɚdz/ | At a later or succeeding time; after that; |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| move around verb | To relocate to new homes repeatedly; to not live in any one place for long. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- That's an interesting one, I must say.
- I'd say schools play a crucial role in that.
- Do you agree or disagree that very clever children are usually happy?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | kids who are · those who aren · people who excel |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are born |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, I'd, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: unhealthy /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/, athletic /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, crucial /ˈkɹuː.ʃəl/, shortage /ˈʃɔː(ɹ)tɪd͡ʒ/, admiration /ˌæd.məˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, minority /maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/
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 clever, snack, unhealthy.
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.