Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Test- Perfect Band 9 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Let's talk about travel.
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139 sentences
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Let's talk about travel.
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Tell me about the last place that you went to.
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The last place that I traveled to was Thailand, Bangkok to be specific.
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Big city, but also has places that are close by that you can travel to that are not cities.
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It's more countryside or nature like Kharabe.
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One of my favorite countries in the world.
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It has the best food, the best people, quite multicultural and just fun experiences.
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It has something for everyone, whether you're a man, woman, old, young.
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You can find something to do in a city like Bangkok or in a country like Thailand.
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So would you prefer a city break or a beach holiday?
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Definitely a beach holiday because I grew up in a city and although it has its perks, I feel like sometimes it can be too much.
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So when I like to get away, it's definitely to something that's more nature and hence a beach holiday.
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Sun, sand, the ocean, peace, quiet, the slow life is definitely something that I like to get away to.
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Is there anywhere you haven't been yet that you would love to go to?
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Several places.
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Istanbul, Turkey is at the top of that list.
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I haven't been to the Philippines.
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I'd really like to go to the Philippines.
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Yeah, very many places that I haven't been to.
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I'm a huge fan of different cultures.
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So any chance that I get, I'm excited to get out of my hometown and go visit other places.
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Now let's talk about the future.
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In 10 years time, what job would you like to have?
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I would like to have my own business.
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I'm a closeted entrepreneur.
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So, and it's always been my dream to be able to have a business of my own.
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Hopefully in the home design, buying and selling space.
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I have a passion for interior design on a separate note.
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But yes, a businesswoman is definitely something that I hope I'm able to be in the next 10 years.
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And will English be useful in your future career?
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Yes.
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Where I come from, English is a very commonly spoken language.
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And the places that I see myself living in, English is the official language.
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So English would not only be useful, it would be necessary for me specifically.
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So, yes.
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And in your future career, would you like to travel a lot or would you like to be in one location?
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I think when I have children, I will slow down the traveling a little bit just to have some structure and a feeling of groundedness in their lives, especially when they're younger.
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But up until then, in the near future, because I don't have any children at the moment, I would love to travel as much as possible.
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So a bit of both, I would say.
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How do you think your life will change over the coming five to ten years?
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I don't know about how it would change but I know how I want it to change.
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I would like to get married.
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I would like to start a small family and by small I mean have three daughters.
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That's big to some people.
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I would like to start a business of my own and I would like to retire
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my parents and see them take care of their health and grow older in a
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safe place and yeah and just be healthy happy wiser hopefully now let's talk about social media which
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social media sites do you use the most um before we continue i have a gift for you i've analyzed hundreds of band nine transcripts from our successful vip students and i've put the hundred most used words into a PDF for you.
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If you want that, go to the description or the pinned comment.
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You can download it for free.
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Instagram.
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It's my most frequently used.
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I think it's the only one unless YouTube counts as social media, which in that case, YouTube as well.
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And how much time do you spend on those social media sites?
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It depends on the day.
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So on busy days when I'm working, I don't get a chance to spend too long on my phone or any social media in general.
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And then Even on the weekend when I'm rotting on my couch, I can doom scroll for sometimes a couple hours.
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What kind of information do you feel comfortable and uncomfortable putting on social media?
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I feel uncomfortable posting anything, any personal information.
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So I don't like posting anything about my family, about my relationships, about too much about my friendships.
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I'm just not somebody.
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private so I don't like to post too much about it on social media but if it's something
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related to work something that I can benefit off of using using social media to promote something or promote something that
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my friend's doing or you know just get more eyeballs on something I'm happy to post that on social media and is
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there anything that you dislike about social media yes very many things I think sometimes social media can have a very negative effect on your mental health.
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Sometimes sitting behind a screen and looking at the highlights of everyone else's life makes you feel like you're not doing enough because you see all the things that people are doing, whether it's someone looking really good or someone getting married or someone buying a new house or a new car.
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And it kind of gives you a skewed perception of someone's life without showing you the negative things and it's very easy to spiral and feel like everybody else has
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a fantastic life and I'm here and I have these problems and why isn't it working out for me and I think that's not a very fair representation of reality.
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A website that I bought something recently from is called Etsy, etsy.com to be specific.
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I bought a, oh sorry, the website is basically a place where you can go and buy things from small businesses or people that run businesses from their houses.
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So it's art, craft.
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It's like very niche things that you can buy, like key chains, mugs.
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And more importantly, it's from small businesses and stay at home moms and that kind of vibe, if that makes sense.
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What I bought was a dog bed for my dog.
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It was customizable, so I could get the size that I wanted and I could get the color that I wanted and get a custom dog tag.
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I loved it.
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I loved it because not only was it something that I needed, it fit my home aesthetically in every way because it was it.
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I could pick out the color.
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I could pick out the texture.
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I could pick out the height, the width, everything.
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My dog loves it.
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Needless to say, she doesn't sleep anywhere else other than the bed.
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She's on it.
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She's probably on it right now.
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When I go home, I'll see her on it.
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I also like the fact that I could support small businesses.
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I hope to be a business owner in the future.
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So I like to support small businesses over big corporations.
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That's the end of part two.
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So we've been talking about a website that you bought something from.
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And we're going to continue to talk about shopping online and online business.
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In your country, what are the most popular things people buy online?
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Everything.
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We buy groceries online.
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we buy electronics online, clothes, bags, shoes.
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Amazon is probably the most famous website that you can buy things on.
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And entirely, I don't think people go to stores anymore.
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It's very, especially our generation.
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I think online shopping, you can buy everything online.
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And why has online shopping become so popular in your particular country?
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It can be quite overwhelming in a place like India, in the big cities, to kind of go through all the the stores.
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It's a lot of stimulus and it takes a lot of effort to do it because there's a lot of people and it's a lot of interaction with people.
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It's a little bit noisy and it's you know, so I think our generation, we're a bit, I don't want to say introverted, but we like a personal space a little bit more.
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So just the convenience of having, being able to click things on a screen and have it shipped to your house and not having to interact with people is very enticing.
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So for those reasons, I think people prefer to buy things online more than in store.
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Are there any possible disadvantages of the growth of online shopping?
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Perhaps in terms of how it may pollute the environment.
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And I say that only because when you buy something online, usually with the big corporations, they have a pretty good return policy.
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And although that's very handy as a consumer, a lot of people take advantage of it and they order things that they don't need and return it just to be able to return it.
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And I think that in terms of delivery, in terms of packaging, in terms of shipping, in general, I think can cause a lot of pollution to the environment that you don't need.
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If you go to a store and pick up a shirt you can just pick it up put in a bag and bring it home but if the same shirt gets shipped to you it comes in a lot more excessive packaging than is necessary.
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It can be quite damaging, a lot of waste.
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Do you think it's justified that some brands charge more for you to purchase something in store compared to online?
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It depends.
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I think for to be able to buy something in store, if they're able to create a certain experience that differentiates the buying experience from a consumer's point of view, it would make sense.
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But I imagine if you're going to get the same product online and in store,
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although I understand it from the business's perspective that that's a brick and mortar store has a lot more overheads that they have to worry about,
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thinking about it from a consumer's point of view, if you can buy the same product online and in store and there's no difference in the experience, as a matter of fact it's perhaps a bit more of an inconvenience to go to a store, I don't see why it should cost more.
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And do you think that in the future shopping malls will continue to be popular or will they be less popular because of online shopping?
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I think it depends on the place.
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In certain places, I recently visited Dubai and shopping malls are a part of the culture because they have such extreme weather for many months of the year.
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Malls are where people are able to spend a lot of their times when the outside weather conditions aren't as good.
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And I imagine that's the case for places where there's torrential rain in the monsoon season or it's really hot in the summer or really cold in the winter.
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It has everything.
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It has food, shopping, entertainment.
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So I don't see it being something that will go out of style in a lot of places.
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But I don't think that it will compete with online.
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I think online in the long term will continue to grow even more.
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And do you think some businesses in the future, for example, banks or travel agents, will go 100% online?
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I don't know about 100%, but I would say pretty darn close.
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A lot of the services that are offered by banks and travel agencies can be quite efficiently executed online.
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So I'm trying to think of why there would be a reason, At least travel agencies, I couldn't think of a reason why they would need to have a physical store.
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With banks, they can have maybe a small section for their VIP clientele.
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But I would say pretty close to 100% of it can be executed online.
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I'll leave the 1% for any extraneous variables that I can't think of at the moment.
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Very good.
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That's the end of the test.
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If you want to hear Priyanka again, we have two more speaking tests, including some where I give detailed feedback on her performance.
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Check out this one or this one.
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About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will engage in practical exercises focusing on travel-related topics, reflecting on personal experiences, preferences, and future aspirations. By analyzing a conversation about travel, social media, and career ambitions, students will practice constructing their own responses while enhancing their fluency and coherence. This is an excellent opportunity to improve English pronunciation and speaking skills through focused shadowing techniques.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Travel - The act of going from one place to another, particularly for pleasure.
  • Beach holiday - A vacation spent on the beach, often involving relaxation and nature.
  • Multicultural - Involving several cultural or ethnic groups; diverse.
  • Entrepreneur - A person who starts and runs their own business.
  • Interior design - The art or process of designing the interior of a room or building.
  • Groundedness - A state of being well-balanced and stable, often referring to emotional wellness.
  • Social media - Platforms that allow users to create and share content or participate in social networking.
  • Shadowing technique - A language learning method where students mimic speech to improve pronunciation and fluency.

Practice Tips

To effectively enhance your English speaking skills, consider using the shadowing technique mentioned in this lesson. Follow these guidelines:

  • Listen Actively: Play the video and listen carefully to the speaker’s tone, intonation, and pacing. Understanding these nuances will enhance your practice.
  • Shadow the Speech: Use a shadowing app or simply pause the video frequently to repeat phrases immediately after the speaker. Pay close attention to their pronunciation and rhythm.
  • Slow it Down: If the video plays too quickly, use the playback settings to reduce the speed. This will make it easier to mimic the speaker accurately.
  • Record Yourself: Use your phone or computer to record your shadowing practice. Listening back will help you identify areas for improvement in your English pronunciation.
  • Build Context: After shadowing, try to create your own sentences using the key vocabulary. This not only reinforces memory but also allows you to personalize your learning.

Remember, consistency is key! Regular practice with the shadowing technique can significantly improve your fluency and confidence in English speaking.

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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