Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Part 1 - Accommodation 🏘️ | Model answers - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hello everyone, I'm Maria.

And hi, my name's Joe.

And we are the hosts of IELTS Speaking for Success podcast,

a podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills as well as your listening skills along the way.

We are doing this podcast to give you a look at

how a native English speaker would answer some of the IELTS speaking questions.

We have Joe with us today.

Rory is on holiday with Robert, thinking about his age.

So Joe will be answering some of the most common IELTS speaking questions.

The examiners have two topics to start off with.

their accommodation or work or studies.

So in the exam you will have one of these topics: accommodation or work or studies.

The secret is that these are the only topics you can actually prepare for.

Joe, are you ready to talk about accommodation?

Yes I am.

So the first question is: Joe, do you live in a house or an apartment?

I live in an apartment.

I've been living there for about three months now.

And it's fantastic, I really enjoy it.

What do you like about living there?

I think the most important thing is the location.

I'm only about a five minute walk from the metro.

And for someone like me, who has a very busy schedule, the convenience of living so close to the metro is probably the most important thing.

Which is your favorite room in your home?

I don't have a very big home, so unfortunately I don't have much of a choice.

But I'd say my favorite room is my bathroom,

because after walking through Moscow in a bitterly cold day.

I love to get home and take a hot shower at night before I go to bed.

So, um, so although I don't have much of a choice, I would probably say that my bathroom is is my favorite room.

Would you change anything about your home?

Why, why not?

You know, that's a really good question.

I...

unfortunately, when I moved into my home, There was a lot of junk and rubbish in my home already, especially on the balcony.

Things that belong to the owner and he just never took out.

So unfortunately my balcony is...

is very crowded now.

It would be great if he would take those things away and I could have the balcony to myself.

Would you like to move to a different home in the future?

You know, I'm not the type of person that really thinks about the future.

I mostly live in the present. But

No, I suppose in the near future I would like to stay in my home

because as I said the location is perfect.

In the distant future, I suppose that would depend on a lot of factors.

As I mentioned previously, it's a quite small apartment.

So if I happen to have a family in the future, I would have to move, of course.

But for the time being, No, my apartment is perfectly fine.

What sort of accommodation would you most like to live in?

Well, you know, to be honest, this changes every day.

It really depends on my mood or how I'm feeling.

For example, sometimes in the middle of our Moscow winters,

I really picture myself living in a tropical bungalow in some sort of warmer climate.

But on the other hand, on most days, I'm perfectly fine living where I am now.

So like I said, it really depends on my mood.

Now, Joe has just used gorgeous vocabulary.

Let's have a look at it now.

So Joe, you said that your home is a five minute walk from the metro, right?

Yes.

Could you give me another example with this phrase?

Sure.

So this means that it only takes me five minutes to walk somewhere.

So I live about a two minute walk from a supermarket.

I live about a 20 minute drive.

from my work.

So we would have A, plus a unit of time,

plus either a walk or a drive or a flight, then from and the location.

Exactly, yeah, that's a lovely phrase.

Also, you've mentioned that you have a busy schedule.

What else can you say?

I've got a busy schedule, like timetable.

Yes. Or...

We could say my day is packed, or I have a heavy load.

Yes, yeah.

Like my day is packed, like I have a lot of work to do.

Absolutely.

You also said, mentioned the word convenience.

Yeah, I think I mentioned that the location is very convenient.

And then I paraphrased it, I turned that word into a noun.

And I said that the convenience...

of my location is really important to me.

Exactly.

Yeah, like convenient, like we say comfortable, but we say comfortable clothes, right? But convenient...

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Yeah, I think this is difficult for some Russian speakers, because I believe you only have one word for this.

Exactly.

Convenience talks about how easy something is, whereas comfort or comfortable talks about feeling.

It might feel physically comfortable or emotionally comfortable.

Convenience means if something is easy to do.

Yes, exactly.

And about the location, we say the location is convenient.

Exactly.

Whereas a chair, for example, would be...

Comfortable.

Yay!

Joe, you've used a lot of phrasal verbs.

One of them was walk through.

What did you say about walk through?

I believe I mentioned walking through Moscow.

100

We could also walk through a park.

101

Walk through a building.

102

- Yes.

103

Also you've said that when I moved into my apartment.

104

Oh yeah, this means I changed locations.

105

I changed my accommodation.

106

I moved from my old house to a new apartment.

107

Yeah, so we say, "Oh yesterday I moved into my new home." - Something, yeah.

108

And when we leave a place, we move Out of.

109

Yes, I moved out of my old flat.

110

My old home and I moved into my new one.

111

Exactly.

112

About the junk, you said you have some junk on your balcony, like some rubbish.

113

So the previous person didn't take it out.

114

Yes.

115

So take out.

116

Junk is an informal word and we have a lot of other ways to say it.

117

We can say, as you said, rubbish.

118

Maybe trash, garbage, and just generally this means useless things, things I don't need.

119

Yeah, and we say like take out the rubbish.

120

Exactly.

121

A lot of these phrasal verbs are very informal and there's usually a formal equivalent.

122

So instead of if I wanted, if I was writing for example a formal letter, instead of take out I could write remove.

123

Exactly.

124

But especially in the speaking part of the test, take out is perfectly fine.

125

Yeah, speaking is informal, so phrasal verbs, yeah, are perfectly fine.

126

When you talked about Moscow's weather, you said that on a bitterly cold day, bitterly cold, what does it mean?

127

Well, what do you think in Moscow in winter, are the winters very cold or a little cold?

128

- Very cold.

129

- Yeah, and bitterly means very, very cold.

130

- Super cold.

131

- Super duper cold.

132

- Bitterly cold.

133

All right.

134

Now, Joel, let's talk about the grammar that you've used.

135

So, for example, you said "I've been living there for..." for how long?

136

About three months now.

137

Yes, "I've been living there for three months." Present perfect continuous, a nice structure to use.

138

That means that Joel started living there, is living there now, and will continue.

139

to live there in the future.

140

So I've been living there for five years.

141

I'm talking about both the past and right now.

142

Exactly.

143

Right.

144

You also, you've used some second conditional sentences.

145

Wow, yes.

146

Like, it would be great if I could, for example.

147

Could you give me an example?

148

Yeah, I mentioned that it would be great if the, if the owner of the apartment would come and take all the junk off, the junk out of my balcony.

149

Exactly.

150

So, of course, unfortunately this is not a very realistic scenario.

151

I don't think he's going to do this.

152

No. But hypothetically, yes, so like if, and to use this structure, you can say that.

153

Yeah, So if something's not very realistic, or I don't think it's gonna, there's a good chance it will happen, I can use this structure.

154

You also, you've used it about your future home.

155

So like, if I had a family, I'd move to a new home, for example, right?

156

So if I had a family, do you have a family now?

157

No, I don't.

158

Not yet, not yet.

159

So we are imagining, so if I had a family, I'd move, I would move, right?

160

Or for example, if I had more money, I'd buy a house in the center of Moscow.

161

Would you buy a house in Moscow?

162

If you had a lot of cash?

163

trees.

164

And I know my neighbors.

165

If you had lots of money, where would you buy it?

166

Oh, actually if I had a lot of money, I definitely would live right in the center of Moscow.

167

Maybe right on the Moscow River.

168

Kroponskenskaya district.

169

I'd say maybe.

170

Next to the Kremlin?

171

I'd say right next to the Kremlin, so I could keep an eye out on what's happening over there.

172

Perfect.

173

Joe, you've also used a nice structure.

174

I picture myself living in a bungalow.

175

A very complex construction with a precise word bungalow.

176

So not a building, not a house, but a bungalow.

177

A bungalow has one floor or like a...

178

A bungalow only has one floor and it's common in very tropical countries.

179

Exactly.

180

So it's a very precise word and I picture myself living.

181

Yeah, we could also say I view myself or I imagine myself living in this place in the future.

182

Joe, thank you very much for your answers.

183

Absolutely my pleasure.

184

Yeah, we give you a high score for your speaking band 9.

185

Yes.

186

Excellent to hear.

187

Dear listeners, now you can listen to Joe's answers again and notice all the beautiful words and grammar structures he's used.

188

Joe, do you live in a house or an apartment?

189

I live in an apartment.

190

I've been living there for about three months now.

191

And it's fantastic.

192

I really enjoy it.

193

What do you like about living there?

194

I think the most important thing is the location.

195

I'm only about a five minute walk from the metro and for someone like me who has a very busy schedule,

196

the convenience of living so close to the metro is probably the most important thing.

197

Which is your favourite room in your home?

198

I don't have a very big home, so unfortunately I don't have much of a choice.

199

But I'd say my favorite room is my bathroom because after walking through Moscow in a bitterly cold day.

200

I love to get home and take a hot shower at night before I go to bed.

201

So although I don't have much of a choice, I would probably say that my bathroom is my favorite room.

202

Would you change anything about your home?

203

Why, why not?

204

You know, that's a really good question.

205

I, unfortunately, when I moved into my home, there was a lot of junk and rubbish in my, in my home already, especially on the balcony,

206

things that belong to the owner and he just never took out.

207

So unfortunately, my balcony is, is very crowded now.

208

It would be great if he would take that those things away and I could have the balcony to myself.

209

Would you like to move to a different home in the future?

210

You know, I'm not the type of person that really thinks about the future.

211

I mostly live in the present.

212

No, I suppose in the near future, I would like to stay in my home because as I said, the location is perfect.

213

In the distant future, I suppose that would depend on a lot of factors.

214

As I mentioned previously, it's a quite small apartment.

215

So if I happen to have a family in the future, I would have to move, of course.

216

But, but for the time being, no, my apartment is perfectly fine.

217

What sort of accommodation would you most like to live in?

218

- Well, you know, to be honest, this changes every day.

219

It really depends on my mood or how I'm feeling.

220

For example, sometimes in the middle of our Moscow winters,

221

I really picture myself living in a tropical bungalow in some sort of warmer climate.

222

But on the other hand, on most days, I'm perfectly fine living where I am now.

223

So like I said, it really depends on my mood.

224

Thank you very much for listening.

225

And see you soon.

226

Bye.

227

Bye bye.

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Context & Background

In this engaging podcast episode, Joe, an experienced English speaker, shares his thoughts on accommodation—one of the essential topics encountered in the IELTS Speaking exam. This dialogue exemplifies how native speakers approach common questions about their living situations, providing valuable insights into both vocabulary and structure. By tuning into this conversation, learners have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how to discuss their own living arrangements, preferences, and aspirations when it comes to housing. Such real-world context is vital for effective English speaking practice, allowing students to learn English with YouTube as a dynamic resource.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

"I live in an apartment." - A straightforward way to describe your current residence.
"The convenience of living so close to the metro is..." - Highlighting the benefit of your location adds depth to your answer.
"My favorite room is my bathroom." - Expressing personal preferences helps convey personality in responses.
"Would you change anything about your home?" - This question allows for elaboration on improvements or desires.
"In the near future, I would like to stay in my home." - Discussing future plans can showcase your ability to express time in English.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively utilize the speaking techniques demonstrated in this podcast, consider following these steps to practice shadow speech through the shadowing technique:

Listen attentively: Play the video and focus on how Joe speaks. Pay attention to his intonation, pacing, and pronunciation.
Repeat immediately: After hearing a phrase like "I live in an apartment," pause the video and repeat it aloud, mimicking Joe's tone and rhythm. This practice helps improve your English speaking skills and provides a level of familiarity with conversational phrases.
Analyze the structure: Break down how Joe navigates his answers. Notice how he begins with a direct response and then elaborates, which you can apply to your own answers.
Record yourself: Use a device to record your shadow speech. Play it back and compare your pronunciation with Joe’s. This will help identify areas for improvement and boost confidence in your speaking abilities.
Practice regularly: Consistency is key in language learning. Schedule time each week to engage with similar videos, reinforcing your shadowing technique. This regular practice enhances fluency and helps you become more comfortable discussing topics like accommodation.

By integrating these strategies into your English learning routine, you will not only enhance your vocabulary related to housing but also develop a more natural speaking fluency. Make the most of the resources available and embark on your English speaking practice journey with confidence.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if I had a family, I'd move · if I had more money, I'd buy
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	I've been living
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is brought · is packed
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've mentioned · you've said

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 →

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Context & Background

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?