Shadowing Practice: IELTS SPEAKING PART 2 + 3 Band 8 Samples: Describe a time when you felt proud of a family member - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Describe a time when you felt proud of a family member.
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103 sentences
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Describe a time when you felt proud of a family member.
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I'm going to talk about the time I received the news
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that my older brother got accepted into two universities at the same time,
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which made me feel extremely proud.
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His name is Tim and he is four years older than me.
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Although it happened a while ago,
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I still remember it vividly,
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almost as if it were just yesterday.
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I was in my room scrolling through social media when I heard my parents screaming excitedly excitedly.
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I quickly rushed out of my room to see what was going on,
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and that's when I heard the news.
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Needless to say, at that moment,
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all of us exploded with joy and pride.
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My parents couldn't hide their happiness,
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and they immediately told my relatives about it.
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We threw a party later that night,
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and it was a blast.
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As for me, I not only took great pride in him,
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but also felt super happy for him.
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It was a well-deserved reward for his years of blood, sweat, and tears.
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You know what?
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To achieve this kind of success,
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he had put a lot of effort into his studies.
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I remember when he was in secondary school,
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he was only an average student,
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and it all changed after he entered high school.
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He spent at least four hours a day on self-study,
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and apart from attending classes at He also took some extra classes to improve his knowledge.
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On top of that, he stayed away from video games,
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which many students are addicted to at that age.
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His hard work was an inspiring example for me.
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As a matter of fact,
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what he did gave me strong motivation to study hard.
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And thanks to that, I also made it to university with good grades.
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Gosh, I really admire him,
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and he is honestly like a role model to me.
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Hopefully one day, I can be as hardworking and successful as him.
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When would parents feel proud of their children?
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As a parent myself, I'd say parents usually feel proud whenever their children achieve an important goal,
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especially one that takes a lot of time and effort,
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like getting a high I.O.
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Benz score, for example.
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You know, it's often the result of years of hard work and practice,
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so it means a lot not only to the child,
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but also to the whole family.
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In fact, I've read in the news
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that some families even hold a party to celebrate the day their children receive a good men's score,
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which really says a lot about how proud parents can feel.
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Should parents reward children?
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Why and how?
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I've got to say this is quite a controversial topic in parenting.
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But personally, I do think parents should reward their children,
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especially when they achieve something meaningful.
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I mean, as human beings,
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we all want some recognition for our hard work,
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and children are no exception.
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If that recognition comes from their parents,
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it carries even more emotional value because it makes children feel seen and supported.
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It can motivate them to keep pushing themselves.
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And more importantly, it shows them that their parents are always there for them,
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every step of the way.
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And the reward doesn't have to be anything expensive.
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It could simply be a family meal,
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a small gift, or even a few words of praise.
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Is it good to reward children too often?
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No, not really.
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In my view, too much of a good thing can be harmful.
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You know, if children are showered with rewards all the time,
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they may start to take them for granted and stop seeing them as something meaningful.
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So I think parents should be more selective when it comes to rewarding their kids.
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For minor achievements like finishing a Lego set or getting a good mark in class,
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a simple compliment or a few words of encouragement would be enough.
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Bigger rewards should be saved for more meaningful milestones.
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so children can truly appreciate them.
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What do you think about children working hard just for grades?
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Well, I wouldn't say it's necessarily a bad thing because after all,
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doing well at school is what many parents and teachers expect from children
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and grades are probably the clearest way to measure that.
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Plus, getting good grades does take a lot of effort so it's not something we should look down on.
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That said, it can become a problem if children study only for grades.
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You know, they may lose their natural curiosity and stop learning things deeply.
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They may just memorize information for exams instead of actually understanding it.
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Also, grades mainly show how well students perform in an academic setting,
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whereas in real life, practical skills can be just as important,
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if not more important.
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So I think the better approach is to strike a balance.
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What would children do to make their parents proud?
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I don't know about other parents,
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but personally, I don't set the bar too high when it comes to this.
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It may sound a bit cliche,
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but as long as my children grow up to be healthy,
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kind, and decent people, I'd already consider that a success.
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That said, children can make their parents proud in many different ways.
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It could be something as simple as behaving well at home or treating people around them with respect.
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Or something bigger, like achieving great academic results or reaching an important personal goal.
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On what occasions would adults be proud of themselves?
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It's hard to generalize because it varies greatly from person to person.
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But for the most part,
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I'd say adults tend to feel proud of themselves when they achieve something meaningful or reach unimportant milestones in life.
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This could be anything from finally getting rid of a bad habit to being able to afford something they've always dreamed of,
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like a car or a house of their own.
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For some people, it could even be something less visible,
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like becoming more financially independent or building a stable career after years of hard work.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Practicing your speaking skills with the IELTS speaking practice video about familial pride can enhance your fluency and confidence. This specific video encourages learners to articulate personal experiences, allowing them to connect emotionally with the content. By sharing moments of pride like the speaker does with his brother's academic achievements, you foster not only language skills but also storytelling abilities. Such practices improve your ability to answer personal questions in the IELTS exam effectively and with depth.

Utilizing the shadowing technique where you repeat after the speaker, helps you develop a natural rhythm and flow in your speech. As you shadow speak along with the video, pay close attention to the intonation and emotion in the speaker’s voice; mimicking this can make your spoken English more engaging and relatable.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Here are some key grammatical structures and expressions used in the transcript that you can use in your speech:

  • “I felt proud of a family member”: This structure can be modified to express pride in various contexts, e.g., “I felt proud of my friend when…”
  • “It was a well-deserved reward for his years of blood, sweat, and tears”: This idiom is effective for describing hard work. Consider using similar phrases like “He put in countless hours of effort to achieve this.”
  • “To achieve this kind of success”: This phrase helps you to transition your thoughts about hard work leading to achievement. For instance, “To reach my goals, I need to…”
  • “He is honestly like a role model to me”: This expression highlights admiration. You might say, “My sister is a role model for all of us because…”

Common Pronunciation Traps

While practicing, pay attention to these common pronunciation traps:

  • “Excitedly”: The stress on the second syllable can be tricky. Practice saying it several times to get comfortable.
  • “Blood, sweat, and tears”: This idiomatic expression should flow smoothly. Break it down: “blood” (short) + “sweat” (long) + “tears” (long).
  • “Achievement”: Make sure to pronounce the “ch” sound clearly, as it can be easily muffled in conversation.

Incorporating these features into your speaking practice will not only improve your IELTS performance but also enhance your overall communicative abilities. Remember, consistent practice using the shadowing technique helps you refine both your pronunciation and intonation, vital elements for effective speaking. Embrace the challenges and let your voice shine during your shadowspeaks sessions!

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.

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