Shadowing Practice: Introduction to Contract Law - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everybody and welcome to our first lesson in the study of contract law.
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In this lesson what we're going to do is take an
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introduction to the subject of contract law looking at the importance of it within the general legal system of England
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and Wales and then we're also going to outline the structure and the scope for this series in more detail.
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This is the first lesson in terms of our subject and our study of contract law.
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We'll take an advanced analysis of the study of contract law in this series of lessons.
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It's going to be a lot of lessons.
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We're going to be taking a long time to really get into a lot of detail.
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And in this lesson specifically, however, we're going to introduce some basic themes and ideas.
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So essentially defining a contract, looking at the importance of the contract within everyday life,
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and then talking about the fundamental characteristics of the contract before
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going on to having a look at the scope of this series of lessons.
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So ultimately the question that needs to be asked here is the question of what actually is a contract.
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Now one of the things that's quite interesting is despite the fact
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that you might not know what a contract is at the moment, contracts are potentially where individuals within society have the greatest interaction with law.
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So for example contracts are made, tens of thousands of contracts are made every single day for all kinds of purposes.
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So some of these purposes might include very small things, such as the purchase of an item from a shop.
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They could also include very large things like the signing of a lease on a property,
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something that would actually commit you to a significant sum of financial liability,
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as well as a significant period of time managing and owning or at least being the leasehold owner of a particular property.
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So ultimately the conclusion to this point is
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that essentially there are tens of thousands of contracts
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which are formed on a day-to-day basis
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and for the most part for the most part there are very few problems with these contracts.
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Of the tens of thousands of contracts which are formed every single day
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some of them being very implicitly established like for example purchasing an item from a shop
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some of them being far more formal and substantive, like the signing on a lease on a property.
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Most of them have very little in terms of controversy.
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But there will be a very small number of these contracts
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which are challenged or put under scrutiny in a court of law.
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And this is really where we get our idea of what
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contract law is essentially getting to the heart of these difficult issues
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and these difficult questions relating to the nature of a contract, the enforcement of a contract, bringing a contract to an end.
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What actually is a contract?
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All of these different kinds of questions.
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So simply put, the most simple way in which we can define what a contract is, is that a contract is simply just a legally enforceable agreement.
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This does not tell the whole story because not all agreements are classed as contractual,
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because this idea of what is legally enforceable in terms of
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an agreement is essentially doing quite a lot of heavy lifting in this definition.
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There are there are certain formalities and requirements for what essentially creates a contract, one that is actually an actual contract,
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which is a legally enforceable agreement.
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So not just all agreements at all can be classed as a contract as a contract.
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So a person that I have an agreement with, if they were to fail with their obligations, that does not automatically mean that I can sue them for breach of contracts.
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The question of whether or not a contract is present requires more than just this simple definition that is stated here.
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Given the fact that contracts require a number of different elements to be considered binding, we have to then think about,
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well, what are these different elements which are to be considered binding?
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So even though we're going to spend a lot of time examining this in far more detail in future lessons, I will give you right now the essential elements of a contract as defined
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and as established by just essentially the history of contract law.
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So the first part of a contract is that in order for a contract to exist there has to be an agreement.
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Now the agreement factor, the part of the contract which is considered to be an agreement, is made up of two distinct elements.
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You have to have an offer in conjunction with an acceptance of
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that offer and in this series of lessons what we're going to do is despite the fact
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that essentially you can't have um an agreement without both of
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these um without both of these factors um you you should uh we're going to essentially delineate
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each of these topics separately
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so we're going to talk firstly about the concept of an
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offer what is an offer what is the distinction between an offer and for example an invitation to treat
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and what kinds of circumstances do we find an offer.
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And then we will also talk about what is an acceptance of an offer?
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What constitutes the acceptance of an offer?
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How ought acceptance be conveyed to the person who is making said offer?
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The second part of a contract that is required is this idea known as consideration.
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Now, consideration essentially just means something for something else.
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So there has to be some kind of exchange of some kind of value.
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So if I were to purchase an item from a shop, the reason why that is a contract is because there is consideration.
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There is the fact
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that the shop owner is going to get some of my money in return for me getting the item that I want.
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This is the sort of quid pro quo that exists within all kinds of contractual arrangements.
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That's what we'll look at in a future set of lessons.
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We'll talk about what actually it means to have good consideration in relation to a contract for a contract to exist.
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There also has to be a combination of certainty and an intention to create legal relations.
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Remember, from our previous definition, a contract is a legally enforceable agreement.
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So there has to also be the intention to create legal relations.
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There has to be this belief that the parties who are entering into this agreement with this consideration, with this offer and the acceptance of the offer,
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that all of these things together are done under the auspices of this intention to create legal relations.
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Now, those are the three main requirements or elements of a contract, but there are also other requirements depending on the type of contract which you are signing.
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So there may also be formality requirements for certain contracts to be valid.
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So, for example, in certain circumstances, it might be a requirement that a contract be done in writing rather than an oral contract,
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which is just done via spoken mouth.
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Now, while this is a necessary requirement for some contracts, it is not a necessary requirement for all contracts.
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So we would not suggest that the idea of it being in writing
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or formally enshrined in writing as a condition for contracts as a whole, a necessary condition for contracts as a whole.
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It might just be a necessary condition for specific contracts of specific types.
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But we will get to that and we will get to looking at the distinction that is made between oral contracts, verbal agreements, as well as written based contracts, too.
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So, given that, let's look at the scope of this series of lessons.
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What are we actually going to cover and in what order are we going to cover it?
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We're going to begin, as you might expect, by talking about the creation of a contract, talking about all of these elements that we see here and what they actually mean,
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what they actually require and how people have interpreted them over the years.
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So we will talk about the nature of an agreement.
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We will talk about the idea of the offer versus the acceptance.
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And then we will talk about the subsidiary factors.
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subsidiary not implying that they are less important but just implying
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that they are not part of the enshrined part of an agreement for example
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so we're going to talk about certainty intention to create legal relations
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and consideration we'll then also finish this little first topic on
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the idea of promissory estoppel the second major topic is going
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to talk not about where contracts come from what contracts are
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and how they are formed but more the contents of a contract.
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We will talk about the terms of a contract, talk about the idea of terms versus representations,
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talk about this idea of warranties in certain consumer-based contractual arrangements, exclusion clauses, and unfair terms.
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The third section will talk about bringing a contract to an end,
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the various circumstances whereby a contract may come to an end, including by way of misrepresentation,
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duress, undue influence, as well as the doctrine of frustration and mistake.
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In relation to this as well, we will cover very, very briefly the idea of performance, which is, of course, the most common way in which a contract comes to an end.
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Performance is really where all the parties make a contract, they agree to a contract, a contract exists, and then they just perform the terms of their contract.
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They perform their obligations under the contract, and then once they're done, the contract ends.
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Of course, that is the most important
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or at least the most common way in which a contract would come to an end.
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Of course, that's not particularly very interesting for lawyers
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because we're talking about all of the more messy situations where contracts come to an end, like frustration, mistake, undue influence and duress.
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And then finally, we're going to talk about the various different remedies and damages for potential breaches of contract.
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So we'll talk about what it means to breach a contract, the idea of compensatory damages, liquidation of damages or liquidated damages,
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limitation of damages and other remedies which may be available in both law
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and potential equitable remedies that could exist in relation to contracts being breached.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 114 sentences and 1770 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:24. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| essentially adverb | /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ | In essence: by nature. |
| relation noun | /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ | The manner in which two things may be associated. |
| requirement noun | /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹmənt/ | A necessity or prerequisite; something required or obligatory. Its adpositions are generally of in relation to who or what has given it, on in relation to whom… |
| element noun | /ˈɛləmənt/ | One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based. |
| consideration noun | /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The thought process of considering, of taking multiple or specified factors into account (with of being the main corresponding adposition). |
| acceptance noun | /əkˈsɛp.təns/ | The act of accepting; the receiving of something offered, with acquiescence, approbation, or satisfaction; especially, favourable reception; approval. |
| intention noun | /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/ | A course of action that a person intends to follow. |
| legally adverb | /ˈliːɡəli/ | As permitted by law; not contrary to law. |
| breach noun | /ˈbɹiːt͡ʃ/ | A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| define verb | /dɪˈfaɪn/ | To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly. |
| scope noun | /skəʊp/ | The breadth, depth or reach of a subject; the extent of applicability or relevance; a domain, purview or remit. |
| remedy noun | /ˈɹɛmədi/ | Something that corrects or counteracts. |
| circumstance noun | /ˈsɝ.kəmˌstæns/ | Something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| put under verb | To anesthetize someone or render them unconscious through the use of narcotic substances, usually either alcohol or pharmaceutical drugs. |
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 | be asked · are made · are formed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | contracts which are · elements which are · contract which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 19 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we'll, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, relation /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/, consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, establish /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, subsidiary /sʌbˈsɪ.di.əɹ.i/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like lesson, essentially, relation.
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.