Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Part 1: Robots, Puzzles and Borrowing Things (Band 6.0) - Learn English Speaking with Video

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “IELTS Speaking Part 1: Robots, Puzzles and Borrowing Things”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: puzzles, robot, borrow. This video has 40 sentences and 338 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:08. The speaker talks at a natural 158 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 10 of its 40 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:

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

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

• Could you tell me your full name, please?
• Have you ever used a robot at home?
• Do you think robots will replace teachers?
• Did you do puzzles when you were a child?
• What kind of puzzles do you enjoy now?

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'd, I'm, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “th” sounds: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, grandfather /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/
• Long words — get the stress right: calculator /kæl.kjə.leɪ.tɚ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like puzzle, robot, borrow.