Shadowing Practice: Inside the Butterfly House: A Guided Tour - Learn English Speaking with Video
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33 sentences
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1
Welcome! Come through the double doors, quickly please.
2
Why two doors? Is that to keep the butterflies in?
3
Exactly. And it keeps the heat in, too.
4
Wow, it's so hot and humid in here!
5
It's about twenty-eight degrees, just like a rainforest.
6
Ugh, my glasses have completely steamed up!
7
Oh, that's better. Now I can see everything.
8
The path goes in a circle around the big pond.
9
There are flowers everywhere, and I can hear water!
10
That's our little waterfall. The plants love the damp air.
11
Wait, was that a butterfly? It was bright blue!
12
Yes, a blue morpho! Watch, it'll land in a moment.
13
Oh, it's brown with spots when it closes its wings.
14
Those spots look like eyes. They help to scare birds away.
15
Here's the feeding station. We put out fresh fruit every morning.
16
Hang on, they're eating old bananas? Really?
17
They love it! Old fruit is sweet and soft.
18
But how do they eat without teeth?
19
They've got a long tongue, like a straw. It curls up afterwards.
20
And this glass case is my favourite part!
21
Um, they look like... little dry leaves?
22
They're chrysalises. Butterflies are growing inside them.
23
Oh! That one's moving! Is it coming out?
24
It is. Now it needs a few hours to dry its wings.
25
Oh no, its wings look all crumpled. Is it okay?
26
Don't worry. They'll open up and get stronger soon.
27
Oh my goodness, one just landed on my sleeve!
28
Stay still. Please don't touch its wings.
29
Why is it walking around like that?
30
It's tasting you. Butterflies taste with their feet!
31
Ha! I hope I taste nice.
32
Before you leave, check the mirror for any hitchhikers.
33
What an amazing place. Thank you so much!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Inside the Butterfly House: A Guided Tour”. This video has 33 sentences and 288 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:04. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 10 of its 33 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| butterfly noun | /ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/ | A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring. |
| chrysalis noun | /ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/ | A butterfly pupa or the pupal stage of the butterfly lifestyle; (originally) any pupal stage of any insect wherein the pupa is largely inactive and takes no… |
| crumple verb | /ˈkɹʌmpəl/ | To rumple; to press into wrinkles by crushing together. |
| hitchhiker noun | /ˈhɪtʃˌhaɪkɚ/ | A person or thing that hitchhikes. |
| morpho noun | Any of the genus Morpho of large tropical American butterflies. | |
| rainforest noun | /ˈɹeɪn.fɔɹ.ɪst/ | A forest in a climate with high annual rainfall and no dry season. |
| humid adjective | /ˈhjuːmɪd/ | Containing perceptible moisture (usually describing air or atmosphere); damp; moist; somewhat wet or watery. |
| curl noun | /kɜɹl/ | A curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet. |
| waterfall noun | /ˈwɔːtəfɔːl/ | A flow of water over the edge of a cliff. |
| damp adjective | /ˈdæmp/ | In a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist. |
| sleeve noun | /sliv/ | The part of a garment that covers the arm. |
| pond noun | /pɑnd/ | An inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is smaller than a lake. |
| straw noun | /stɹɔ/ | A dried stalk of a cereal plant. |
| banana noun | /bəˈnænə/ | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. | |
| open up verb | To open. | |
| put out verb | To blind (eyes). | |
| walk around verb | To walk with no planned destination; to meander. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | they're eating · are growing · is it walking |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | it'll land · They'll open |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, they're, it'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 butterfly, chrysalis, crumple.
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.