Shadowing Practice: If You Know These 20 Words, Your English is SHOCKINGLY Good - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This is the toughest vocabulary quiz I've ever created.
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Twenty questions all fill in the blank.
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But watch out, because the words are going to get tougher and tougher as we go.
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Ready to get started?
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Here comes round one.
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Good luck.
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Question one.
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Gina's apology was totally blank.
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I don't think she even regrets what she did.
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Is it frank, austere, glib, or sullen?
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If something is glib, it seems insincere or superficial.
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Gina's apology was totally glib.
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I don't think she even regrets what she did.
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Question 2.
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City officials voted to blank a new tax on short -term rentals to pay for more affordable housing.
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Is it forfeit, squander, absolve, or levy?
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To levy means to officially impose a tax or a fee for something.
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City officials voted to levy a new tax on short -term rentals to pay for more affordable housing.
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Question three.
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The chairman surrounded himself with blanks who agreed with every foolish decision he made.
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Is it toadies, curmudgeons, envoys, or skeptics?
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A toady is someone who constantly flatters or praises a superior.
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The chairman surrounded himself with toadies who agreed with every foolish decision he made.
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Question 4.
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After three days of heavy rain, the soil was thoroughly blanked.
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Is it dilated, curtailed, saturated, or occluded?
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To saturate means to fill something up completely, usually with liquid.
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After three days of heavy rain, the soil was thoroughly saturated.
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Question 5.
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Our legal system is founded on the blank that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
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Is it anomaly, axiom, vestige, or caveat?
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An axiom is a principle or a rule that's accepted as true without needing proof.
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Our legal system is founded on the axiom that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
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Question six.
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Jack calls himself an art critic, but he's really just a blank who visits galleries a few times a year.
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Is it misanthrope, dissident, voyeur, or dilettante?
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A dilettante is someone who has a superficial or shallow interest in something.
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Jack calls himself an art critic, but he's really just a dilettante who visits galleries a few times a year.
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Question seven.
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The lawyer presented a blank argument that persuaded even the most skeptical members of the jury.
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Is it credulous, erratic, cogent, or listless?
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If an argument is cogent, it's clear and convincing.
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The lawyer presented a cogent argument that persuaded even the most skeptical members of the jury.
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Well done, you've now finished round one.
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And if you've ever dreamed of becoming fluent in another language, the world's best one -to -one language tutors are on Preply.
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And right now, you can get half off your first lesson by clicking the link below
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or using the code BRIAN50, all caps.
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Alright, it's time for round two, and the questions are going to be a little tougher this time around.
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Good luck.
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Question eight.
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The company is investing heavily in blank technologies that might one day transform the entire industry.
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Is it moribund, nascent, profligate, or effete?
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Something nascent is emerging or just coming into existence.
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The company is investing heavily in nascent technologies that might one day transform the entire industry.
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Question 9.
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In exchange for land and protection, medieval nobles were expected to swear an oath of blank to the king.
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Is it calumny, temerity, fealty, or probity?
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Fealty is unwavering loyalty or allegiance.
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In exchange for land and protection, medieval nobles were expected to swear an oath of fealty to the king.
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Question ten.
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Many countries blank the sale of ivory to protect global elephant populations.
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Is it prescribe, lionize, inveigle, or expedite?
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To prescribe, spelled with an O, is to forbid something, or to make it illegal.
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Many countries prescribe the sale of ivory to protect global elephant populations.
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Question 11.
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I'm a complete blank when it comes to gardening.
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I just started last week.
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Is it polymath, savant, iconoclast, or neophyte?
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A neophyte is a beginner.
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I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to gardening.
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I just started last week.
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Question 12.
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The clinic provides free medical services to blank families who can't afford private care.
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Is it indigent, stolid, mendacious, or tawdry?
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The adjective indigent means impoverished or very poor.
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The clinic provides free medical services to indigent families who can't afford private care.
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Question 13.
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The sharp decline in consumer spending may blank a difficult year ahead for retailers.
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Is it circumscribe, mollify, gainsay, or auger?
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To auger means to predict, or to serve as a good or bad sign for the future.
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The sharp decline in consumer spending may auger a difficult year ahead for retailers.
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Question 14.
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The soldier spoke in a rough military blank filled with acronyms and dark humor.
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Is it dogma, codex, umbrage, or argot?
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The noun argot refers to the specific words or expressions used by a certain group of people.
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The soldier spoke in a rough military argot filled with acronyms and dark humor.
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That's two rounds down.
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Excellent work.
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Now it's time for some truly expert -level vocabulary.
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Here comes round three.
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Good luck.
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Question 15.
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During the debate, the candidates tended to avoid meaningful engagement.
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For the most part, they just repeated old party blanks.
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Is it pariahs, shibboleths, vicissitudes, or soliloquies?
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A shibboleth is a phrase or a belief that identifies someone as a member of a particular group.
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During the debate, the candidates tended to avoid meaningful engagement.
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For the most part, they just repeated old party shibboleths.
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Question 16.
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A respectful biography should avoid blank speculation about a person's private life.
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Is it aseptic, phlegmatic, tenuous, or prurient?
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The adjective prurient suggests that something takes an inappropriate interest in a person's sexual behavior.
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A respectful biography should avoid prurient speculation about a person's private life.
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Question 17.
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The actress made it clear that she would not answer personal questions, but the interviewer continued to blank her all the same.
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Is it importune, traduce, abscond, or inveigh?
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To importune someone is to pester them with questions or requests.
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The actress made it clear that she would not answer personal questions, but the interviewer continued to importune her all the same.
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Question 18.
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Mark Twain rejected ornate literary language and instead wrote in a blank style that captured the sound of everyday speech.
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Is it bellicose, recondite, demotic, or dolorous?
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The adjective demotic refers to the language or culture of the common people.
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Mark Twain rejected ornate literary language and instead wrote in a demotic style that captured the sound of everyday speech.
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Question 19.
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The bird's feathers shimmered with a blank sheen and shifted from silver to pale green in the light.
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Is it nacreous, hirsute, munificent, or friable?
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Something nacreous has an iridescent or pearl -like quality.
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The bird's feathers shimmered with a nacreous sheen and shifted from silver to pale green in the light.
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Question 20.
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The film was visually impressive, but the plot was a chaotic blank of cliches and random twists.
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Is it palimpsest, cynosure, synecdoche, or farrago?
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A Farrago is a confused or jumbled mix of things.
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The film was visually impressive, but the plot was a chaotic Farrago of cliches and random twists.
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Congratulations, you've now finished the quiz.
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I hope you'll leave a comment below and let me know your score.
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As always, thanks for watching, and until next time, keep learning and be well.

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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

This video is a goldmine for English learners aiming to boost their vocabulary and speaking skills. With its fill-in-the-blank format, it forces you to think critically about word choice, a key skill for natural conversation. Practicing with it using shadowing techniques—repeating phrases aloud as you hear them—helps you internalize complex words like "glib" and "cogent" while improving your fluency. Whether you’re using a shadowing site or practicing on your own, this video’s structured yet engaging style makes it easy to build confidence in using advanced vocabulary in real contexts.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The video uses several key structures that are essential for clear communication. First, it frequently employs passive voice to focus on actions rather than doers, as in "a new tax on short-term rentals was levied." This is common in formal speech and writing. Second, it uses relative clauses to define nouns, such as "a toady is someone who constantly flatters a superior," which helps clarify meaning in complex sentences. Third, the speaker uses conditional statements like "if you know these 20 words, your English is shockingly good" to make strong claims, a useful tool for persuasive or evaluative speech. Mastering these structures will make your own speaking more precise and sophisticated.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Several words in the video pose pronunciation challenges. "Glib" is often mispronounced with a hard "g" (like "glub") instead of the correct soft "g" (rhyming with "lib"). "Cogent" can trip learners up—remember to stress the first syllable ("KOH-jent") and not the second. "Dilettante" is another tricky one; the correct pronunciation is "dil-uh-TAHNT," not "dill-uh-TANT." Practicing these with shadow speak techniques—mimicking the speaker’s intonation and stress—will help you avoid these common mistakes. Even advanced learners can benefit from focusing on these nuances to sound more natural.

By combining vocabulary building with grammar practice and pronunciation drills, this video is a powerful tool for anyone looking to level up their English. Whether you’re using shadow speech exercises or simply repeating the phrases, consistent practice with content like this will make your speaking more confident and compelling.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowI've ever created · you've now finished · you've ever dreamed
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itis founded · were expected
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingsomeone who constantly · someone who has

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →