Shadowing Practice: INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 💭A Dream Career💭 B1 - B2 | Level 4 - Level 5 | English Listening Practice - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
Hello and welcome to Lovely English Stories.
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Hello and welcome to Lovely English Stories.
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Thank you for stopping by.
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This story is written for intermediate English learners.
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Ready?
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Let's get started!
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B1, B2 English Story.
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A Dream Career.
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One person's dream career could be another person's nightmare.
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Some people love variety and others prefer routine.
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Whether you love to mess around or take life seriously,
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do what makes you happy.
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Elizabeth realised she had a different vision for her life than most people.
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She left school at 16 and trained up to be a hairdresser.
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Then she realised that she didn't really enjoy standing up and leaning over people for nine hours a day.
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She decided to reassess her options.
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She spent hours online filling in quizzes about the kind of personality she had and what she would be good at.
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Time and again it came back to creative jobs.
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Elizabeth loved to be creative,
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but she wasn't a painter,
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a builder or an actor.
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She liked to create beauty from a blank canvas Since she was a little girl,
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she loved to paint
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and draw on people She didn't do very well in her GCSE exams As she wasn't interested in academic subjects
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She just wanted to go to college and study B.T.E.C.
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National Diploma in hairdressing.
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She had dreams of one day starting up her own business.
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Now she was 22 and in just a few years she had worked her way up
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from being a junior to one of the head stylists in a trendy hairdressers.
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Elizabeth knew she was on the right track.
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She was glad she didn't follow a conventional route and she was good at what she did.
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But she needed more.
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She wanted to move on.
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One Thursday lunchtime, she was scrolling through her phone on her break
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and came across an advertisement for a media makeup and beauty course.
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At first, she dismissed it,
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but then she decided to go back and she clicked through to the advert.
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She had heard of the school.
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It was world-renowned and many people who trained there went on to work in film and TV,
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creating prosthetics and amazing period looks on talented actors.
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It was always a dream of Elizabeth's to work in TV,
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but she lived in a rural town and no one she knew was in the industry.
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How could she possibly afford to pack up and go to Manchester for three months to do the course?
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She disregarded it again and got on with her day.
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That night, after a long bath to relax her aching legs,
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she laid on the sofa with a hot mug of tea and picked up her phone to catch up on her messages.
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While she was scrolling, she saw the advert for the makeup course again.
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She had done some make-up as part of her course at college
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and now and again she helped out at weddings with bridesmaid make-up.
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She was naturally good at it.
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Elizabeth always dreamed of being a creative.
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She had started on the right track and was doing well,
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but felt like she needed to focus on what she wanted.
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She continued to look through the website and tentatively clicked on the Finance and Funding page.
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She wasn't from a rich family and wanted to be sensible with her money.
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She read that if she were successful in gaining a place after an interview and an assessment,
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that she could be eligible for the full funding of the course.
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Elizabeth decided to delve deeper and read up on how competitive the course was.
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She researched and found out that they receive thousands of applications every year for just 12 places.
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For the application, she would have to submit images of her work to date,
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as well as answer some questions about why she wanted to work in film
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and TV and why taking the course would help her career prospects.
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She looked through her phone and computer.
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She had thousands of photographs from the weddings she had helped at
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and she had even done some hair and makeup for her friends who had a band.
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They recently created a low-budget music video and she used lots of different beauty techniques to make them look like sea creatures.
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The deadline for applications for the course was in two weeks.
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Elizabeth had some time to put together a strong portfolio of work and write her answers to the questions.
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She decided to look up the course on some social media sites
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and found that people who had successfully completed the course were now living and working all over the world.
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Suddenly, the dream life she had always wanted might be within her grasp.
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Elizabeth decided not to tell anyone about the course.
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She didn't want the added pressure of people knowing and asking her how the application process was going.
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She would quietly apply and get on with her life.
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Over the next two weeks,
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Elizabeth put together a selection of her best photographs
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and put them into a portfolio form with notes and explanations of what she had done.
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She also worked hard on the answers to the questions.
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She found it was easier than she first anticipated.
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The words flowed from her mind.
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Maybe she wanted this more than she realised.
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She submitted the application two days before the closing date and then promised herself not to think about it again.
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It was difficult.
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Luckily, she was distracted as her sister was getting married
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and she had promised to do her hair and the makeup for the bridesmaids.
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She had something to focus on.
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The distraction was welcomed.
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Elizabeth was in her element creating elegant looks and beautiful hairstyles.
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She didn't mind that she was stood up so long because she was having such a laugh.
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After the wedding, she was busy for a few days catching up with relatives who were in town for the occasion.
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They went for long walks, dinners and played games.
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It was wonderful.
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Then on a murky Tuesday morning,
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Elizabeth received an email out of the blue,
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inviting her to Manchester for an interview the following week.
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She almost screamed in the staff room.
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She replied and gratefully accepted.
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She told her manager she had a dentist appointment.
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They knew she had some issues with her wisdom teeth,
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so they didn't suspect anything,
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as she never normally made things up.
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When the day came, she left her parents' house as she does every day.
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Little did they know she was driving up to Manchester.
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She arrived at the school and was taken to a room.
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In there she had to complete an assessment.
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She was introduced to a lovely model called Sally and more makeup,
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beauty and hair products than she had ever seen.
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She had to make Sally look like she had burnt off one side of her face
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and the other side had to look like a 1940s model.
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She had two hours.
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Two of the teachers on the course inspected Elizabeth's work.
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They were blown away.
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They asked her questions about her technique and then they spoke to Sally separately about what she thought of Elizabeth.
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It was important for them to find friendly, approachable students.
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Elizabeth sat in the canteen and waited for the second part of the assessment,
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which was an interview.
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Just as she took the last sip of her hot chocolate,
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a friendly man called Harry came over to collect her.
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He interviewed her along with the two teachers who had assessed her work.
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She raised her concerns about the course fees and they assured her
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that she would be eligible for some sort of financial help.
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With that, the assessment was over and she made her way back home.
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The winding roads back to her parents' house felt so tiny compared to the big streets of Manchester.
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She knew it was time for a change.
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She was blown away by the school and Manchester.
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Now she had to play the waiting game again.
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A week went by and Elizabeth heard nothing.
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She looked up online how long responses usually took and it stated on the school's website that she would get a response,
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negative or positive, within two weeks.
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Then, after a long Friday at work,
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Elizabeth hung up her apron and drove home.
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She walked through the door,
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exhausted at 8.30pm and was greeted by a letter.
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She opened the letter and saw in big bold writing confirmation of place.
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She had done it.
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She had secured a place at the best media make-up school in the country.
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She read it out and saw she wasn't lucky enough to gain a full bursary,
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but a part bursary.
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She did some calculations and worked out
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that she would be able to afford the course if she got a weekend job while she studied.
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This was it.
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Time for Elizabeth to take the first tentative steps on the path to her dream career of being a full-time creative.
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she wouldn't let herself down.
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Of course, she knew life was never perfect,
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but at least she could spend her time doing something she was incredibly talented at and thoroughly enjoyed.
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How would you describe your dream career?
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Tell us in the comments below.
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We hope you enjoyed this lovely English story.
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Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to like, subscribe and share.
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See you soon!
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will focus on listening to an engaging story titled "A Dream Career," tailored specifically for intermediate English learners at levels B1 and B2. This story revolves around Elizabeth, a young woman navigating her career path and discovering her passion in makeup artistry. Through this narrative, you will practice your English listening skills, gain fluency in contextual vocabulary, and enhance your overall comprehension. The story will help you reflect on the importance of following your dreams and making choices that align with your true self.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Dream career: A job that one aspires to have, often aligned with personal interests and passions.
- Creative: Relating to the use of imagination or original ideas to create something.
- Reassess: To evaluate or reconsider one's thoughts or decisions.
- Advert: Short for advertisement; a notice promoting something.
- Trendy: Fashionable or popular at a particular time.
- Prosthetics: Artificial body parts, often used in film and television to enhance performance or appearance.
- Rural town: A settlement in the countryside, typically characterized by a small population.
- Passion: A strong enthusiasm or interest in something.
Practice Tips
To fully benefit from this lesson, consider practicing shadow speech techniques while listening to the story. Here are some tailored tips to enhance your experience:
- Listen carefully: Pay attention to Elizabeth's narrative and tone. Note how emotions and expressions are conveyed through language.
- Shadow along: As you listen, try to repeat Elizabeth's words in real-time. This will not only help you improve your English pronunciation but also train your ear to the nuances in speech sounds.
- Take breaks: If the pace of the story is fast, pause occasionally to repeat sentences or phrases. This will allow you to process the information more effectively.
- Vary your speed: Initially, you may shadow at the same pace as the video, but try varying your speaking speed afterward to build confidence in your fluency.
- Record yourself: Use your device to capture your voice while shadowing. Listening back will help you identify areas of improvement in your speech and pronunciation.
By employing these techniques, you'll be well on your way to mastering the art of shadowspeaks and enhancing your English-speaking abilities!
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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