Shadowing Practice: Inside London’s 900-Year-Old Secret Garden - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 10 sentences and 153 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:02. The speaker talks at a steady 148 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| rebuild verb | /ɹiːˈbɪld/ | To build again or anew. |
| flower noun | /ˈfloʊɚ/ | A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens… |
| situated adjective | /ˈsɪt͡ʃueɪtɪd/ | Located in a specific place. |
| accessible adjective | /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/ | Easy of access or approach. |
| reminder noun | /ɹɪˈmaɪndə(ɹ)/ | Someone or something that reminds. |
| medieval adjective | /mɪdˈi.vəl/ | Of or relating to the Middle Ages, the period from approximately 500 to 1500 AD. |
| locate verb | /ˈloʊˌkeɪt/ | To place; to set in a particular spot or position. |
| tuck verb | /tʌk/ | To pull or gather up (an item of fabric). |
| enchant verb | /ɪnˈt͡ʃænt/ | To attract and delight, to charm. |
| steeple noun | /ˈsti(ː)pəl/ | A tall tower, often on a church, normally topped with a spire. |
| escape verb | /ɪˈskeɪp/ | To get free; to free oneself. |
| destroy verb | /dɪˈstɹɔɪ/ | To damage beyond use or repair; to damage (something) to the point that it effectively ceases to exist. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| leave behind verb | To abandon. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was built · being damaged · is situated |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has had |
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like rebuild, flower, situated.
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.