Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Band 9: Perfect Pronunciation - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Let's start off by talking about belongings in your daily life.

Do you prefer having fewer or more belongings in your daily life?

I think personally for me,

I'd prefer having fewer belongings just because I feel like it would be more easier to deal with on a daily basis,

especially when it comes with technology, trying to decide like if I had a laptop and an iPad and a phone, I have all three of like the same kind of thing.

to function in life with less.

- What things can you not live without?

- Ooh, my phone.

I can't live without my phone.

What else can't I live without?

Water.

always staying hydrated, Um...

and my cats.

How do you organize your belongings?

Sometimes I do it by color.

If it was like things related to books, I like to organize them by colors on the shelves.

Yeah.

Now let's talk about technology in modern life.

How has technology changed your life?

I think technology has changed.

my life in so many different ways.

One of them being the ability to connect with people.

I have personally I have a lot of long distance friends, and technology has allowed me to stay in touch with those people.

And even though they don't, they're not with you personally, you do feel like you never miss that connection because of technology.

And I think work related technology offers

um me a lot of opportunity to connect and network with many different kind of people

Would you like to have more technology in your life or less technology in your life?

I personally would like to have less technology in my life just because I feel like technology sometimes defeats

the purpose of humanity in a sense of if there's too much of it, like like nowadays with the AI and all of that,

it's kind of starting to replace human beings in a sense.

And Yeah, I would like to depend less on technology generally.

Do you think technology has made your life better now than in the past when you had less technology?

Yes, to a certain extent, just because I feel like back then, We didn't have Instagram.

We didn't have those social media, the iconic social media platforms that all young teenagers use.

And those are the main platforms people are using now to connect with people and to network.

And especially if you're running your own business, for example, like trying to share your music or share art,

that's how you Um, come out to a bigger platform.

So definitely I feel like it has a bigger advantage than what we had in the past.

Now let's talk about reading.

Do you enjoy reading?

I do enjoy reading, but I wish I did more of it.

I feel like with technology and all the modern things coming up.

I feel like I used to read more as a child, and I'm trying to get back into it,

some of the things I love reading about are self -help books.

Those are my favorite.

Now let's talk about outdoor activities.

What activities do you like to do outdoors?

Outdoors, I love to go running sometimes.

I like to do morning yogas.

I've had yogas by the beach before.

I really love joining group classes outdoors as well.

I once did this thing where we started off with a morning yoga

and then it went into a HIIT workout and then a yoga workout cool down.

I love to go swimming, I love the ocean, I love to be by the beach.

How often do you spend time outside?

Not as often as I would like just because given the location I'm in right now, it gets pretty hot and humid.

And I wish our weather would accommodate being outdoors more often.

But I try my best to be outside as much as possible.

When you are outside, do you prefer being alone or with other people?

I think...

I prefer being alone just because it gives you that space to be with yourself and to disconnect from everyone around you.

For me personally, sometimes I feel like when I'm around people, my social battery dies very quickly and it could be a lot to take in.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Of course, I'd love to hang out with my friends and be around my friends.

I spend most of my time by myself in nature walking around the city

and I find that one learns a lot when they spend time with their self and the energies around them.

In the future, would you like to do more activities outdoors?

Yes, for sure.

I always wanted to try out paragliding, skiing.

Skiing has been one of like an outdoor activity I'd always wanted to do.

A time where I had to adapt to a new situation, it came when I graduated from high school and I had to finally move to college.

And I was one of the people that decided ultimately to move out of my home place to go abroad for university,

just because I felt like university had a university abroad had more resources and opportunity.

It was pretty difficult to fit in, people have different culture over there,

different outlook, on life, but I needed to adapt because That was the only...

way I could grow in that environment.

I think that some days were better than others.

It was pretty difficult in the beginning just because I felt like in the beginning you feel very out of place.

Like for example when I started my degree I didn't really have prior experience to the art world

and everything related to the art world from in my home country.

So when I moved I kind of was like in between everyone that was inexperienced or less experienced.

And it got to me sometimes, sometimes I cried in class, I had my breakdowns.

But I think I learned a lot that you keep

pushing through in those situations it could be

so easy to cave in to the bad or the negative

but if you just take it as a learning experience and keep moving after a year two years pass by

one starts to acclimate to their environment and one starts to adapt properly.

We have been talking about a new situation you had to adapt to.

We're going to continue to talk about change and adaptation and personal growth, things like that.

Why do some people find it harder to adapt to change than others?

To thank you for watching this video, I want to give you a free course that has helped thousands of students improve their IELTS speaking score.

What it's going to do is take you through every single part of the test and give you strategies for part one, part two, and part three,

and also allow you to practice at home for free and get feedback.

To sign up for that for free, all you have to do is just click the link in the description.

Thanks very much, and let's get back to the video.

we don't like change.

I think humans like to stay the same.

We grow up, our brain, our brain, the way it's formulated, um, is that we get specific programs put into us when we're kids,

and straying away from those kind of programs, whether it's the environment you grew up in or the relationships you've had throughout your life.

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I think it puts the human being in a state of fight or flight.

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That's why some people resist change or never want to change.

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Now let's talk about cultural adaptation.

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Why do some people adapt more easily to living abroad than others?

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I think sometimes a person finds themselves abroad.

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Maybe that culture fits them more as a person, as a soul.

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I think that sometimes people find, they empathize with the people that they live with outside.

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- Thank you.

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When one finds that freedom and that belonging somewhere else, they start to adapt a new lifestyle and way of living.

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What challenges do people face when adapting to a new culture?

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One of the many challenges I think people face

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when adapting to a new culture is sometimes there are some things about

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that culture that will not resonate with you as a person.

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For example, me personally, I decided to ultimately move out of America after I got my degree just

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because there were a couple of values in that culture that personally I didn't resonate with.

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elsewhere, somewhere elsewhere where I could feel more at home and more like everything was incoherence with me.

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And last question in part three: How does facing challenges help people develop as individuals?

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I think facing challenges...

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most importantly, makes you listen to yourself more, makes you follow your gut more.

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And I'm a personal believer that Nobody grows without pain and going through challenges.

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I think pain is a big...

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life teacher.

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It's something that people have to go through in order to become a better version of themselves.

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Well done, I'm going to give you some feedback now.

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My feedback will be on part one and then part two, part three.

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So we're going to talk more strategic, tactical things that you could do to ensure you get the highest score possible

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and that people watching at home can learn from that.

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And then we're also going to talk about your band score.

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So pronunciation, fluency, grammar, vocabulary.

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What would I give you?

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How would I help you get the highest score possible?

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So part one.

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If you have any questions, about the VIP course, always feel free to get in touch with us.

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We answer a hundred percent of the questions that we get.

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Hope that you become a VIP.

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If not, enjoy the rest of this free video.

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Part one, you did something that many, many people do, which is you were quite nervous in the beginning.

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And that affected your fluency a little bit.

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Myself as a native English speaker, if I was doing this test, the first few answers probably wouldn't be the most fluent ones because you are a little nervous in the beginning.

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That is why in part one they don't start off with the really difficult questions, they little getting to know you questions at you,

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but you cope pretty well after that.

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So as you, as you went on, your answers became more fluent, and you became less nervous.

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And a good examiner will recognize that a lot of people think that if you have one

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bad answer that you immediately get a low score.

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That's not how the test works.

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The examiner will base your score on the totality of your answers.

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For example, you gave some very short answers at the beginning or you just were like, oh, listed lots of different things.

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The examiner knows that's just nerves based on your subsequent answers.

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So pick the things that are easy to talk about and it's okay to have some nerves.

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Just understand that that's part of the test.

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to you could tell that you were thinking a lot.

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You were trying to come up with the best ideas, I think.

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Is that true or not?

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So remember that it's not an ideas test.

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It is a speaking test.

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A lot of people think that they'll get a higher score or sound more impressive if they choose the best ideas.

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The best ideas are the ones that are easiest for you to talk about, the simplest ideas.

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At the beginning, your fluency wasn't bad or anything like that, but it was just that you could tell

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that the cogs in your brain were working overtime trying to think of the correct thing.

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And our brains are obviously connected to our speech.

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And if our brains are overworked, just like a computer with too many tabs open, then the speech coming out will be affected sometimes.

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It wasn't that affected.

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But again, the examiner won't listen to the first few sentences and go, oh, terrible fluency.

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Not that it was terrible, but a lot of people watching think that that's the case.

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They've been taught in their school that if they don't sound fluent the entire time, that they're going to get a lower score.

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That is not the case.

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But overall, your part two was great, some great vocabulary, some great grammar.

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But on test day, you might get a question that you don't feel comfortable talking about,

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is just unusual for you that could affect your fluency

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because unusual topic plus overthinking could lead to you just having fluency issues

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so again my advice is pretty repetitive but you know talk about the things

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that are easy to talk about know

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that it's not a performance it's a conversation all right

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so sometimes it felt like you were performing rather than talking

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to me everybody's different some people don't like making eye contact but when you were thinking you were looking away

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They always look up, maybe that's part of your brain that deals with ideas and you can tell they're really thinking deeply.

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When you did that, you were thinking a lot and your fluency suffered at times.

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You did this thing as well.

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You did it at the start of part two

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and you did it in part three where you think and speak at the same time and you usually repeat the question.

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So what you do is you're like, so describe a time when you had to adapt to a new situation

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So you're talking and thinking all at the same time and repeating the question.

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A better way might be to just give yourself a little bit more time.

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You don't have to answer immediately.

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Think about it for a second or two and just say, "That's an interesting question.

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I haven't thought about that one before." Or "That's a really good question.

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Let me think about that for a second." And then give your answer.

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Because some examiners might think that you're just repeating the question back at them.

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your English is and your fluency is not great at the same time the first 10 -20 % of your answers,

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the fluency seems to be lower than the final 80 -90 % because you're thinking what to say.

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Does that make sense?

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Is that helpful?

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You probably don't even know you're doing it, it's probably just a habit.

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And in normal life, you probably don't need to do that, but we want to make sure that you get one of the top marks.

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Another way that you could improve, especially your part three, would be to include more examples.

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So you talk generally about situations that happened, like when you were crying in college, or the values that you disagreed with.

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Maybe you didn't want to say that because you don't want to be controversial, or whatever, maybe you want to not offend anyone.

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But in the real test, the cameras are not rolling, nobody.

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Feel free to give those real examples, because they're often easier to talk to.

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Goodbye.

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Another way is just to imagine you're talking to someone who doesn't know anything about what you're talking about, and you need to help them understand.

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So using examples is just a way that human beings help.

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It's just a communications tool.

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Explanations are communications tools.

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Again, nothing bad, but we want to make sure that you get one of the top marks.

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And these are just me being overly cautious and helping the people learn at home as well.

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So what scores would you get?

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The best part of your performance is your pronunciation.

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Even though you didn't grow up in an English -speaking country, you have picked up the accent.

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You don't sound like an American per se, but you don't sound like you're from Lebanon or Iraq either.

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No, you don't get extra marks for sounding American, but you do get extra marks for being as clear as possible.

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And the thing about the American accent, not a lot of people know this,

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but the reason so many people from so many different parts of the world moved to America.

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So everybody developed this accent that is super clear.

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So it's actually a good accent to have for communication.

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Standard American accent.

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Standard American accent.

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Most people in the world will be able to understand you, whereas me, I'm Irish, not everyone understands the Irish accent.

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So I'm not saying that...

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Anybody watching needs to move to America or learn the American accent, but having that accent for you, it doesn't sound forced.

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It doesn't sound like you're putting it on.

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It sounds like that's your natural accent and it really does help communication.

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Yeah.

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or voices going down.

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Like for example, when we're listing things, I like sushi and I like Italian food and I like steak and I also like Indian food.

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So I went up and I went up and I went up and then I went down at the end.

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That's I'm listing, I'm listing, I'm listing.

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No, I'm done.

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So I'm conveying meaning through tone, not through actual words.

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And you do that very, very well.

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So Bandai for amazing vocabulary.

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Things that many English speakers would not be able to use.

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One I noted down was draining a social battery.

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I really liked that.

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That was quite poetic.

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The reason why that is so good is that you used fewer words to explain something quite complicated.

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Draining of a social battery, what does that actually mean?

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It means that you are maybe an introverted person, that when you're around other people, you have less energy.

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You like and that boosts your energy a little bit.

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That took me, what, three or four sentences to explain that.

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Or I can just say something like, "It drains my social battery." So it is very precise, and very economical, and elegant.

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And you had lots of examples of that, like this.

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For vocabulary, you would definitely get a band 9.

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Grammar, you do make some little tiny slips like this.

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That is totally normal, even for native English speakers.

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A lot of people think that if you make one tiny little grammatical error, you're going to get a band 5 or band 6 or something like that.

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That is not true because even as an educated native English speaker who teaches English for a living, I make little grammatical errors.

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Every English speaker does.

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errors and in the marking criteria it actually says for band 9 makes slips very infrequently.

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That's exactly you.

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You do make tiny little errors but very infrequently.

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So you would get a band 9 for grammar.

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Your weakest area is your fluency.

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This is related to the things that we talked about at the beginning which is being nervous at the start.

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So there were We would call them audible pauses,

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or fillers, like, you know, kind of.

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Again even high level native English speakers use those little words when we're nervous.

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I'm doing it right now.

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So don't worry too much about it.

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But for the purposes of an IELTS test, the less nervous that you are, the better your fluency is going to be.

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Also, you have that issue of when you're thinking, it slows down the pace that you're speaking at.

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And you also have more of those audible pauses.

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Nerves can be solved quite easily through preparation.

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So doing stuff going into the real test because you've been there,

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done that, I've practiced so much.

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So it's going to be a walk in the park for you.

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And the other thing is try less to perform and more conversation.

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I know it's difficult, not every examiner is someone that you would consider a friend, but you know for 15 minutes pretend you're talking to a friend in a coffee shop.

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Literally picture that friend or that family member and they're asking you these questions.

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And I think that will really, really help your fluency.

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Coherence is fine, you're answering every question, you're developing them enough.

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I think examples could also help with that.

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Just pick really, really simple things.

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There's nothing in the marking criteria that talks about levels of idea ideas.

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You don't get extra marks for good ideas.

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You get extra marks for pronunciation, fluency, grammar, vocabulary.

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So everything that you do, all the advice that I'm giving you is designed to help those things.

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And for someone like you at a very, very high level, it is more important that we simplify your ideas,

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because you're not thinking about English. so much.

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You're thinking about how do I give them the best answer, the best idea, and that can actually hinder your fluency.

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So that would be, but overall I think you would get about nine, but on a bad day, you know, let's say you didn't sleep the night before

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and you didn't get a good breakfast and you're late

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and then you get a question that you're not happy with and you try to overperform, that could drop you down.

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But I don't think it's going to happen, but well done.

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Thank you.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will enhance their English speaking practice by exploring themes related to daily belongings, technology in modern life, and personal preferences. Through the discussion in the video, you will engage with various scenarios that require the use of descriptive language, opinions, and organization. This exercise not only helps you practice important conversational skills but also aids in improving English pronunciation by allowing you to mimic the natural flow and tone of native speakers.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Belongings
Staying hydrated
Long distance friends
Connect and network
Self-help books
Outdoor activities
Morning yoga
Technology in life

Practice Tips

To effectively utilize the shadowing technique while practicing with this video, follow these steps:

Watch and Listen: Start by watching the video without any distractions. Listen carefully to the speaker's pronunciation and intonation.
Pause and Imitate: Break down the video into smaller parts. Pause after each sentence or phrase and repeat it aloud, ensuring that you mimic the speed and tone.
Rewind and Replay: Don’t hesitate to go back and repeat sections that you find challenging. This is a crucial part of the shadowing site practice.
Use Study Aids: Write down key vocabulary and phrases you encounter, using them to create your own sentences. This builds familiarity and confidence.
Record Yourself: After practicing, record your voice. Compare your pronunciation with the original to identify areas for improvement. This self-assessment is vital for growth.

By following these tips, you can effectively learn English with YouTube content while also engaging with practical and relatable topics. Keep practicing and watch your speaking skills flourish!

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	has changed · has allowed · has made
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was inexperienced · are overworked · They've been taught
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	someone who doesn · beginning which is

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 Speaking Band 9: Perfect Pronunciation - Learn English Speaking with Video

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