Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Part 1: History, the Sky and Sharing - Learn English Speaking with Video

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “IELTS Speaking Part 1: History, the Sky and Sharing”. This video has 31 sentences and 257 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:43. The speaker talks at a steady 149 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 10 of its 31 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

• What's your full name, please?
• Did you enjoy history lessons at school?
• Do you like visiting historical places?
• Do you often look at the sky?
• Do you like sharing food with friends?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: dish /dɪʃ/, toothbrush /ˈtuːθ.bɹʌʃ/, ancient /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like lesson, castle, toy.