Shadowing Practice: It's Been Ages - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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If you're speaking American English and you see an old friend or a colleague you haven't seen in a while, you can say, It's been ages since we've talked.
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What does this mean?
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To find out, let's listen to an actual conversation.
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How are you?
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I haven't seen you for a few years.
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I'm doing great.
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It's been ages since we've talked, hasn't it?
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It's been a long time, that's for sure.
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In American English, it's been ages is another way of saying it's been a long time
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or a long time has passed since you've seen each other.
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You may remember the word ages being used to talk about different periods of history, like the Ice Age or the Stone Age or the Bronze Age.
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Saying it's been ages uses exaggeration by saying it's been many of those long stretches of time since something has happened.
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And that's English in a Minute.
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About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "It's Been Ages" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →