Shadowing Practice: Inside Dakota Johnson's Serene Hollywood Home | Open Door | Architectural Digest - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Hi, AD.
⏸ Paused
182 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hi, AD.
2
I'm Dakota.
3
Welcome to my house.
4
I moved here about five years ago,
5
and it was the second house I looked at,
6
and the first house I ever bought bought.
7
I love wood and I love light and windows and green so I just fell in love.
8
Ryan Murphy lived in this house first and he loved it
9
so much too but his family got bigger so he moved out.
10
Lucky.
11
And this is the living room.
12
I hang out in here.
13
I read people kind of are always coming in
14
and out of my house and everyone hangs out in this room obviously not only
15
because it's a living room but because it's like one of the only places to sit.
16
The furniture is vintage and the couches were original
17
and we recovered them in this amazing crushed mohair
18
and this table came with the house I bought it with the house
19
which was lucky it's pretty cool on the bottom it's bamboo
20
the piano is vintage it's an antique Wurlitzer I play like
21
badly hi that's Zeppelin he wants to show you his dinosaur this is not an antique this thing
22
but I have a record collection that goes all the way and I just alphabetized them and it's really exciting.
23
Right now is Ram, Paul McCartney.
24
It's a really great album and a really great album to listen to on vinyl.
25
And this amazing thing happens at certain times of day,
26
like really early in the morning, 7am.
27
Light from the sun on the pool does this on the ceiling and I think it's the coolest.
28
This is my office.
29
I read scripts in here.
30
I have meetings in here sometimes.
31
I actually don't really get any work done because I get distracted by everything that's in here.
32
My favorite thing about it,
33
I guess, is these bookshelves that I built into the walls.
34
Originally, they were just these really beautiful,
35
like, clean wood slabs, and then they started to fall because I have a lot of books.
36
These ones were sent to me by Patti Smith.
37
I said, I love your poetry so much.
38
I love your work.
39
And so she wrote me little notes in all of these books that she sent me.
40
This is a weird pile.
41
Don't focus on this pile of books.
42
Let's just put these ones in a different,
43
we'll just put them down here go to a cooler pile
44
this is cool it's a wax mushroom this i was working with chanel a long time ago
45
and my alias was punk rock and i thought
46
that was funny they're silly awards i don't even know i'm
47
not an awards person barb is such a great character barb didn't come back in season two, did she?
48
They totally forgot about Barb in the Upside Down.
49
That sucks, she's still there.
50
Oh, sex and the Constitution,
51
that's a really interesting one.
52
Sex, religion, and law from America's origins.
53
Oh Jesus!
54
What a weird girl.
55
This was a Polaroid of Hunter Thompson,
56
who was my dad's best friend and a very dear like godfather figure to me
57
and I love it
58
so much even with his boobies this is an amazing photographer named Alice Mann
59
and she photographs these marching band girls in South Africa
60
and the energy is amazing and it makes me feel hopeful
61
that is a photograph of my grandma at her house at Shambhala with one of her tigers.
62
Let's go in the dining room.
63
This table actually we designed it and had it made.
64
I mean it's a smaller room and we didn't want to lose the rug
65
and the light and we kind of wanted the table to disappear and these chairs look like little humans.
66
They're so gorgeous.
67
This I found on First Dibs maybe.
68
I f***ing love First Dibs so much.
69
I have some crystals, yeah.
70
This one is cool because it has a dandelion inside.
71
Isn't that so cool?
72
People tend to give crystals as gifts in LA and that's great.
73
I love them.
74
There's a really big one over there in the corner.
75
That guy, that crystal is crazy and it projects good vibes into you know,
76
the house and at people.
77
This is my little kitchen.
78
We painted it.
79
We painted it this green color.
80
I love green.
81
I lived in New York before I moved into this house,
82
and then before I moved to New York,
83
I lived in a house and I painted the kitchen green,
84
but I totally f***ed up the color,
85
and it was like the most atrocious color green.
86
It was so hardcore.
87
It looked insane, like terrible.
88
But then I got it right on this one, I think.
89
I love cooking.
90
I cook a lot and I bake a lot.
91
I love limes.
92
I love them.
93
They're great.
94
I love them so much and I like to present them like this in my house.
95
And how cool is this?
96
It's dying, that plant, now that I'm looking at it.
97
That's so sad.
98
There we go.
99
I never ever thought that I'd be like a dish person because I don't get it at all the psychology of it.
100
I don't understand why anyone would collect loads of dishes.
101
Or people who have china and like china cabinets,
102
I was always like, what?
103
Why?
104
I don't get it.
105
But this is so cool!
106
Here I am with loads of dishes.
107
Look at these.
108
Never have I used this.
109
What is that for?
110
Oh, it's for teacups.
111
Got it.
112
I mean, can you stand it?
113
They're the coolest.
114
Wouldn't you want a drink out of that?
115
I never do, because they're too cool.
116
They're just for sitting in this...cabinet.
117
My company is called Tea Time Pictures,
118
so tea is a big deal for me.
119
But also caffeine is a big deal for me,
120
which I need some of it now.
121
That's upstairs where my bedroom is,
122
but we're not going up there.
123
This is outside.
124
I wanted you to see this table and chairs over here
125
because this was made out of the wood from Winston Churchill's yacht.
126
I'm not lying.
127
And I think that's the coolest thing ever.
128
And look at how these chairs fit.
129
Nobody can really sit in this table
130
because the chairs wobble in these cracks in the slabs of pavement and people fall out of them and it sucks.
131
But isn't that so satisfying and amazing?
132
I planted this tree when I moved in and it was a little baby and I got some
133
Whoppers of lemons on that one,
134
but this one look they're like perfectly placed oranges on this tree Can you believe that how beautifully they're placed?
135
It's like I did it for this very reason this was meant to be an herb garden
136
and I never planted any herbs in it
137
and I'm just looking at it now and And it looks so crazy in here.
138
I didn't ever do anything and all this wild started growing in it, like this guy.
139
What are you even?
140
Weeds.
141
You know that on a lot of tea bags,
142
they have little fortunes on the back of the tea tab.
143
And I really take them very seriously.
144
And one that I get all the time is the difference between a flower and a weed is judgment.
145
So think about that.
146
I finally recently got outdoor furniture.
147
For a while it was looking pretty grim out here.
148
This is like an amazing little double chair situation that I love.
149
It's one piece.
150
I thought it would be really,
151
really pretty if there were some flowers and things out here,
152
because this house can tend to feel really masculine.
153
These chairs are not meant to be put outside.
154
They're very delicate and expensive,
155
but they look so good out here, so who cares?
156
My cat chicken is buried here,
157
which is not funny, but I don't know why I think it's funny to tell you that.
158
The pool's heated a little,
159
so I can go in it all the time,
160
and also it doesn't really get cold here.
161
So up here, these are some stairs that lead you to this place up here,
162
which is a hot tub, which is so cold.
163
Bamboo grows so crazy fast,
164
I don't know if you know that,
165
and my neighbors on that side are in a war with me about how high the bamboo in the driveway is growing,
166
which is insane.
167
Because why would I want people to be able to see in my house?
168
I can't believe that I'm even letting you guys in my house!
169
So they can just shove it.
170
This is this gorgeous, just randomly placed flower arrangement.
171
And that's my bedroom!
172
Sneaky.
173
Yeah, let's go back downstairs now.
174
Zeppelin...oh sh**!
175
Don't...what are you gonna do?
176
Go get it!
177
That one's probably lost forever.
178
Thank you so much for coming, A.D.
179
I hope you liked the tour in my house,
180
but I really would like for you to leave now, so...
181
Beat it.
182
Thank you.

Download App

AI scoring for every sentence you speak

Scan To Download
Scan To Download
Download on theApp Store
Get it onGoogle Play
TRENDING

Popular

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by immersing yourself in a fascinating YouTube video featuring Dakota Johnson as she gives a tour of her Hollywood home. By engaging with the natural flow of conversation, you will learn how to describe spaces, express personal preferences, and discuss home decor. This exercise is designed to help you improve your English pronunciation and fluency, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to enhance their conversational skills through real-life examples. You will also explore key vocabulary and phrases related to houses, furniture, and personal touches that make a space unique.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Serene - Calm and peaceful, often used to describe a relaxing environment.
  • Vintage - Refers to items that are from a previous era, often considered classic or traditional.
  • Recover - To replace the covering of furniture, giving it a fresh look.
  • Alphabetized - To arrange items, such as a record collection, in alphabetical order.
  • Beautiful wooden slabs - Referring to pieces of wood that are aesthetically pleasing and often used in furniture or decor.
  • Distraction - Something that takes your attention away from what you're supposed to be doing.
  • Light from the sun - This phrase describes how natural light influences the aesthetic of a space.
  • Antique - An item that is over a hundred years old, often valued for its age and historical significance.

Practice Tips

To make the most of this practice session, use a shadowing technique to mimic Dakota Johnson's speech. Start by watching the video multiple times to familiarize yourself with her tone, rhythm, and pronunciation. Since the video maintains a conversational pace, repeat phrases aloud just after hearing them. This method will help you improve your English speaking practice and pronunciation.

Make sure to pay special attention to the phrases she uses when talking about her preferences, as these will enrich your vocabulary. You might find that using a shadowspeaks approach and a shadowing app can enhance your learning experience by allowing you to compare your pronunciation with Dakota's.

As you practice, try to visualize the spaces she describes to solidify your understanding of the words and phrases in context. By connecting language to real-life scenarios, you'll find it easier to remember and use your new vocabulary in conversations with others.

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.

☕ Buy us a coffee