Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Part 1 Masterclass | IELTS with Charles - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Today we're going to be focusing on part one.
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Remember, if you have a strong start to the IELTS test, I promise you your confidence will develop.
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So part one normally lasts around four to five minutes.
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They will ask you a number of questions, but try to aim to give answers that are not too long.
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Don't overthink it.
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Remember, aim for around 15 to 25 seconds per answer.
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On some occasions, you might push that up to 30, but don't be afraid if the examiner interrupts you.
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Team, for IELTS part one, I need you to imagine that you're having a conversation with a friend.
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I want you to have that natural passion, enthusiasm, and intonation in your voice to be successful.
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But let's also share a few tips.
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Tip number one, if possible, try not to repeat the question when speaking.
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If they ask you, do you like the gym?
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Don't say, yes, I like the gym.
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We can say, yes, I absolutely love visiting the gym or I'm a big fan of visiting the gym.
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If you want to be even more natural, you can use phrases such as, well, it's a great question.
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Yes, I've always been a big fan of hitting the gym to work out and get a body to die for.
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Remember guys, if possible, try to paraphrase.
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Don't repeat the question.
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Next, always focus on topic-specific vocabulary.
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This is really important.
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In IELTS part one, there are so many topics they can ask you, but guys, there are certain hot topics.
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I will tell you them now.
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Work, study, hometown.
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This is a good one, hometown.
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Travel, hobbies, food and family.
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They may also ask you about your accommodation.
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So let's think about topic-specific vocabulary about the topic of your hometown.
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Now as you know my hometown is London.
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If I describe London as having good schools, friendly people and beautiful weather, it's okay but it's a little bit basic.
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Remember, lexical resource is 25% of your mark.
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Lexical resource just means wide range of vocabulary.
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So team, don't just say good schools, say a world-class education system.
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It's really nice.
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Next, don't just say that your hometown has lots of foreigners, say that it's multicultural.
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I love that word.
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Finally, don't say, oh there are lots of good jobs.
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You can say there are lots of prestigious jobs in fantastic global companies.
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Do you see?
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I'm not asking you to prepare thousands of words and use them unnaturally,
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but try to get some topic specific vocabulary about those topics.
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Moreover, think about grammar.
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Now team, I will tell you now, simple with no mistakes is always better than being really advanced
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and complicated with a huge amount of grammar structures and using them incorrect.
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So focus on making sure that your grammar is perfect.
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One thing I will tell you to be aware of, first is your tenses, especially the past tense.
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Make sure that you're confident with using that.
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Moreover, and here's a little secret, a really fantastic grammar structure you can use is which is important because?
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The important we can change to significant or special or wonderful or vital but this is a great structure.
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So if you say my hometown is a thriving metropolis that is very
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multicultural which is important because I can practice my English with handsome foreigners.
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Another one you can say Ho Chi Minh has lots of prestigious job opportunities
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which is vital because people can earn a high salary and have a better quality of life.
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I love that.
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If you want to talk about something being negative you can say which leads to Ho Chi Minh is very overcrowded,
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which leads to a very high cost of living, especially property prices.
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Secret grammar structures you can use.
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My next piece of advice is try not to list.
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If they ask you in the IELTS exam, who do you live with?
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A lot of students will be very nervous and say, oh, I live with my mum, my dad, my brother, my sister, my grandma, my granddad, my uncle, my auntie.
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If possible, try to use adjectives.
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I stay with my handsome dad, my stunning mum, and my cute wife.
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The people I love most in the world.
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We're using adjectives.
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If they ask you about your house, don't just say, I have a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room.
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You can say no. Instead use phrases.
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Oh, I have a luxury kitchen where I love to cook for my stunning family.
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Or, I have a spacious master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom
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which is very comfortable it's beautiful moreover I have a balcony
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with a breathtaking view of the vibrant city of Ho Chi Minh City next tip try to remember don't list okay?
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Trying to speak in a really natural way.
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Next guys, one thing that students often ask me is can I give negative answers?
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And the answer to that is absolutely yes.
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Not everything has to be wonderful or amazing or fantastic.
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So if they ask you is there anything you dislike about your school?
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You can be honest.
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I would avoid using the word hate.
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Oh I really hated my teachers hate's a little bit strong.
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Better to say hmm I was not really keen on or I was not a big fan of something.
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That's a great one.
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Remember guys in part one you're just talking to a friend yeah.
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Smile.
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You can be honest.
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Tell the truth okay.
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For me I would say hmm to be honest I was
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not a big fan of the heavy workload due to the fact that it made me feel exhausted every day.
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Great tip guys, don't be scared to be negative sometimes.
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Next, and this is a top tip, please do not forget about the power of examples.
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In part one remember you can talk about yourself, your family, your friends.
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There are two great ways to give examples and I want to show them to you now.
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The first way is just to say for example last year
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or last week or last month then we can say in order to as well as.
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Second one is to say I can vividly remember
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when I was a child when I was younger and then tell a mini story.
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Let's look at a question now the question do you like to travel?
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Now you don't always have to say yes you can say absolutely.
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Absolutely I love nothing more than getting away from it all,
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not only because I can learn about new cultures but also I can try new mouth-watering cuisine. For example,
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last year I travelled to the majestic mountains of Dalat in
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order to try the delicious coffee as well as take photos of the breathtaking views.
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Do you see?
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I've given an example.
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I've supported my idea.
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The next way is to use the second technique.
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Let's say they ask you, do you like street markets?
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I would say yes, absolutely.
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I can vividly remember when I was younger, I visited street markets with my stunning grandma.
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We always used to go to Bunham market and I remember once she even bought me a Louis Vuitton handbag. Do you see?
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Two great ways to give examples in part one.
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I love that.
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Always impresses the examiner.
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Team, can I share with you a secret that high-level students use?
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A really beautiful technique is to compare the past to the present.
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This is excellent.
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So, you can say in the past, but now.
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Here's an example.
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Well, Charles, what is your favorite subject?
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Well, in the past I absolutely loved maths because it taught me critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
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But now I'm a big fan of English
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because in the future I dream of traveling around the world and exploring new cultures.
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For example, I would love to visit King Charles and enjoy drinking a cup of tea with him in the royal palace.
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Team, you notice I'm combining the new strategy in the past,
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now and even a little bit in the future and I'm showing my sense of humour.
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I want to have tea with King Charles, is that realistic?
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No, but I'm showing my sense of humour just like a native.
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If you can make the examiner laugh in the IELTS test.
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You will be a one in a million.
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So I encourage you to do this.
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Don't be afraid.
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Remember, examiners are humans too.
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Okay guys, so we're getting to the end now.
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The biggest thing that I want to encourage you to do is in the IELTS test, smile.
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Don't forget to smile.
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It's really important, not only because it helps with your pronunciation, but also because it shows your confidence.
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Please look smart in the test, make eye contact with the examiner and have fun because when you have fun your intonation,
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the rise and fall of your voice will always make you sound more natural.
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Thank you for watching guys.
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Please let me know in the comments what was the best piece of advice for you in this video.
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I look forward to seeing you in the next video and and please hit subscribe.
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Bye for now.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 140 sentences and 1557 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:38. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| hometown noun | /ˈhoʊmˌtaʊn/ | An individual’s place of birth, childhood home, or place of main residence. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| examiner noun | /əɡˈzæmɪnɚ/ | A person who investigates someone or something. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| moreover adverb | /mɔːˈɹəʊ.və/ | In addition to what has been said. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| bedroom noun | /ˈbɛdˌɹum/ | A room in a house, apartment, hotel, or other dwelling where a bed is kept for sleeping. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| resource noun | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel. |
| vital adjective | /ˈvaɪtəl/ | Relating to or characteristic of life. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| handsome adjective | /ˈhæn.səm/ | Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly |
| grandma noun | /ˈɡɹænmɑː/ | Grandmother. |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathtaking /ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, enthusiasm /ɪnˈθuziæzəm/, thrive /θɹajv/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: passion /ˈpæʃən/, occasion /əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/, luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: examiner /əɡˈzæmɪnɚ/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/
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 topic, hometown, grammar.
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.