Shadowing Practice: J*b hunting in the big '26 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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A video complaining about the current state of the job market.

I'm really original.

No one's ever made a video on this topic before.

I'm a real innovator here.

But you know what?

You click on every single video about it and eat it up.

I'd know.

Because I also click on every video on how bad the job market is and eat it up.

You know why you're here.

So let's start complaining.

Full disclosure, I actually do have a job, but put a massive asterisk on job because, I mean, I'm a graduate with a part-time,

minimum wage job I don't like, which is increasingly common.

Of course, there are people who aren't that fortunate I would kill to have my job.

I just want more of life than what I have right now, and it's funny to complain, so let's yell at Clouds.

AHHHHHHHHH For talking about acting professional and being collaborative,

boy do these companies have like no sense of manners.

The amount of times I've been ghosted, I've lost count, I bet you've lost count,

we all know the Unfortunately we're unable to proceed with your application at this time email if you're lucky But honestly, they're like all worded, the exact same,

and probably written by a chatbot.

We'll get to that.

I'm not even talking about the jobs themselves.

Even recruitment agencies, whose job it is to literally find you a job.

I remember one morning, I sat down, I decided, you know what, I'm gonna lock in.

So I sent in my CV to every single recruitment agency in my area.

How many of those recruitment agencies got back to me?

None.

That's how you know it's bad.

By the way, if you've ever applied to jobs online, you know the part where you give them your email, input your number, and all your info, you know your address and all that, so they can, you know,

get back to you about that job.

Yeah, after that, after they've like ghosted you, the companies will 100% sell that information.

If I were a bigger channel, this would be an excellent segue into a VPN ad, but you know, keep dreaming big, you know what I'm saying?

When I entered the adult world and had to start applying for jobs, the amount of spam calls I started getting was absolutely ridiculous.

And I know they're spam calls and not companies reaching out because one, they never follow up or leave a message.

And two, the caller code shows me it's a personal number and not a company number, if the code is even for my country.

Sometimes even hide the number, like unknown number.

I don't even know how they do that.

Also, I don't know how true this part is, so take it with a grain of salt, but I once heard if you just reject the call right away, they know and still consider your number active,

so they keep you on the system.

So if I was using my phone, usually watching YouTube, I just need to let it ring and ring and ring.

Also, some of these websites have an option so recruiters can see your CV, which sounds good on paper, but in practice it isn't.

I had to switch that option off for all the websites I'm on

because no matter what your background is

or how good You know you can have like the best resume ever

But you will exclusively get calls from people hiring for call centers No, the girl who can't draw can't talk to strangers on the phone.

Where you gonna tell me next the sky is blue

meanie oh You gotta walk go in person or send it get a unique way You know if you walk in, most of them are just gonna tell you, oh, do it through a website

It just throw it away the second you walk out of

there now It is worth to try to do it this way It's worked for my dad in the past

But don't expect to just walk in and get the first job available

and everyone's gonna clap you can get rejected this way It's not a one-stop shop also

if you don't have a car It can be tricky unless you have in like a big city or something

So I haven't tried the in-person method, but I have tried sending physical mail

and of course none of them got back to me except for one

which brings me to from the team at Hacksmith Industries

so I decided quite some time ago

that I didn't want to pursue a career in my degree

I went through with it for the piece of paper because oh university you know you're guaranteed success

um and you know you can get work in something related you know

but since my school days my plan b

if my plan a didn't work out was going to business

because i found some parts of the subject actually interesting

so i started looking into an apprenticeship

and accounting i just didn't feel like accumulating more debt than i already had by going back to university

and i generally didn't enjoy it

so i really wanted to keep it as a last resort

and oh my local college is an apprenticeship program what's the

catch you you still have to find the position yourself now i did get sent some contacts

which they've worked with previously

and i decided to stand out i'm gonna send physical mail

you already know the results i mentioned it before one got back to me and offered an interview

oh my gosh a real interview whoa this is awesome i kid you not the day before my interview

or even maybe even the same morning i don't remember i get an email like oh sorry we're not looking anymore Well, I guess, you know, tough luck, I guess.

Maybe someone out there was so good, they decided to cut the process then and there and go with this person?

No, actually, a few weeks later, another male from this same company.

Hey, um, sorry about canceling on you last minute the last time.

Another position opened up, but do you want to come in for an interview?

Now, I still was a bit peeved about what happened, but at my current job, I initially got rejected.

Then the next day, my manager gave a follow-up about being super keen on me and I got it anyway.

So, you know, maybe it could just be a repeat of what happened to me the last time, right?

I'm a lifelong chronic overdresser, so of course I made sure I look absolutely fly for this interview.

I arrived so early, I sat in the car for a few minutes.

Of course, it was a casual wear office, but whatever, it's not the first time I've been overdressed for a function.

So we go through the generic interview stuff like, what is your creative strength and all that stuff.

I'm a bit nervous totally standard, but but I'm not bringing up this story because of the interview itself You want to talk about ghosting?

Literally after the interview when this guy is walking me to the exit he asks me

So have you had any luck finding other positions?

To this day I'm way more offended from this line than the countless amount of times I've been ghosted

which of course he ghosted me after.

This sounds like something you'd make happen to the comic relief

character in a 90s sitcom to follow with a deafening laugh track, but this actually happened.

At least humor me to the door, you know?

I can rant about this for hours, but I won't.

I'm just gonna move on, and I'm gonna hope you get the idea

This is really specific to apprenticeships But don't get me started on the tests that you have to do

Like I get taking tests for these sorts of things, but they give you so little time and the question is something like

If Timmy buys five apples and balances seven bananas on his nose, how many kangaroos will it take to build a rocket?

By the way, I don't want you to get me twisted as a falling under the stereotype of artist who's like really bad at math.

I'm actually pretty good at math.

If I wasn't, I wouldn't have tried to get into accounting.

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You think I'm passionate about spreadsheets or something.

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And again, this is if they reach back to you at all, which again, they usually don't.

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Another struggle if you decide, you know what, I want to change career,

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is that you're either not qualified at all for the entry-level positions because your background is just too unrelated, Or, this is even worse,

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if your knees deep in your career, or a graduate who regrets their decisions like me, if you try to take a step back to retrain,

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you get the overqualified response.

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Like, is this Goldilocks?

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I just can't win these people.

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So of course, I fail these silly little tests, keep getting ghosted, and then guess what?

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The college cancelled the program.

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No!

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I can't even make this up.

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What level of bad luck is this?

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Did somebody hex me or something?

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Oh, you know what?

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I'll just keep looking into companies who are giving the program independently Well, it turns out all the companies in my area did their program through my local college

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So now they can't take on applicants anymore either.

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I had one company who's keen to interview me, but I got turned away for that reason Anyway,

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after that I never touched numbers again THE END except it's not the end Yo,

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bimbouni- Oi, samui na, shimero EME NAN NO WERE NONE MAKE HOME NONE I already know with a lot of jobs,

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a bit reason you get turned down is because the CEO's nephew got the job or some current employee recommended a friend, blah blah blah It's especially like

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that in the arts I didn't really make any friends in my university course I had a couple in societies, but even then they're all in the same boat as you

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the same boat as you you've got to give it a year

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or two before your friends can get you some jobs

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my course didn't have a placement year for some reason

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and i didn't get noticed at all at my exhibition despite my final being

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so different and standing out but i did get one position

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somewhat related to what i did oh well it was a two hour drive

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and it was all sewing i hate sewing

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and before you type it yes i shot myself in the foot

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that was very stupid and now Now you will look stupid if you point it out because I said it already, but I did not apply for this position.

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My dad's friend happened to know someone.

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Um, I studied costume design.

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Yeah, it's not the usual suspects like animation

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or illustration for these types of channels or the opposite extreme

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or someone who posts the most stunning art studied law or something.

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Demand is high, but connections are everything.

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A lot of creative jobs don't tend to post on the usual websites, there are some specialist ones which my university recommended, so they're not scammy, but I've had no luck on that end either.

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Yeah, connections are great until someone else reaps the benefits, or you shoot yourself in the foot.

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On to the next point.

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Ghost jobs are a thing.

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I'm not gonna linger on this too long because I've never encountered a ghost job for myself, so I have nothing to say about this.

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There's a lot of videos which do a better job at explaining this than I can.

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You know, maybe I've applied to some, but I can't tell the difference because the real ones never get back to me either anyway, and they both have really generic descriptions probably written by a chatbot.

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Yes, we're going there.

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So here's your ice-cold take of the day.

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I don't like how much AI is being shoved down my throat

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I don't really care about companies being like Oh don't use AI in your application because I don't use AI anyway,

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so it doesn't affect me

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But what I do care about is how they use AI to write their job listings

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or even worse conducts the interviews I've never encountered one of these before because, well, you've basically heard my entire interview history.

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It's just such a slimy double standard.

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When you do it, you're cheating, but when they do it, oh, we're innovating, we're pioneering.

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What other company jargon can I use here?

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Something, something, clanker.

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Something, something.

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So, what can we learn from this here rant?

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I don't really know.

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I just wanted a screaming to the void you know, can you blame me?

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But jokes aside, these sorts of videos always help me feel less alone, and I just wanted to have a laugh about how cooked we are.

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So hey, if you're feeling seasick as you crouch in the corner of the ship as it sways in the storm, here I am with you.

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So, do you actually have a solution?

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Me?

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No, absolutely not.

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First of all, I will get this out the way.

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the irony of using Genshin Impact gameplay as outro footage of a video about not being able to find a job

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is absolutely not flown past me.

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I haven't played this boss since it came out for obvious reasons, but I needed the materials for Gordon Ramsay.

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I did eventually beat it, but I thought this failed run was funnier, so enjoy me getting beat up.

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By the way, I can't do the 90.

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I have to fight the 80 of this boss and just this boss.

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so yeah i had a cute little outro illustration planned out

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i wanted i wanted something a bit more high effort for the outro

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but um i have a nine hour flight in checks time 24 hours

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and i wanted to get this video out before then um this video is supposed to take me a month

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and it took me double that so i hope you understand

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and bear with i'll have something better for the next one promise.

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Anywho, thank you for watching my first ever YouTube video.

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How rude of me to not introduce myself for those in the back or who are watching this while you're drawing.

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Don't worry, I get it.

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My name's Razami.

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Thought I'd throw my hat in the ring with YouTube.

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I know there's been an uptick in channels like this.

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I've been eating up that content.

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And they usually make these cute little intro videos, which probably was a good idea, but for me at least was just an excuse to procrastinate this one

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because I'm a nervous wreck and I'm terrified of putting myself out there.

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Shocker, the artist is shy.

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I hope my little rant was fun to watch.

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I've got a couple of ideas floating around in my head for future videos already, so hopefully you'll stick around for that.

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Do all the things the algorithm likes to see if you feel compelled to.

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All the technical jazz I use, like my tablet, etc. in the description.

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That's about it.

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Yep.

193

Bye!

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “J*b hunting in the big '26”. This video has 193 sentences and 2603 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:56. The speaker talks fast, about 187 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% 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

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
apprenticeship noun	/əˈpɹɛn.tɪs.ʃɪp/	The condition of, or the time served by, an apprentice.
outro noun	/ˈaʊt.ɹoʊ/	A portion of music at the end of a song.
rant verb	/ɹænt/	To speak or shout at length in uncontrollable anger.
recruitment noun	/rɪˈkruːt.mənt /	The process or art of finding candidates for a post in an organization, or recruits for the armed forces.
chatbot noun	/ˈtʃætbɑt/	A computer program that holds conversations through a chat room.
sew verb	/soʊ/	To use a needle to pass thread repeatedly through (pieces of fabric) in order to join them together.
illustration noun	/ˌɪləsˈtɹeɪ̯ʃən/	The act of illustrating; the act of making clear and distinct.
spam noun	/spæm/	Any undesired electronic content automatically generated for commercial purposes.
generic adjective	/dʒɪˈnɛɹ.ɪk/	Very broad; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific instances.
keen adjective	/kin/	Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
mathematics noun	/mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/	An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them.
cancel verb	/ˈkæn.sl̩/	To cross out something with lines etc.
accumulate verb	/əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/	To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.
asterisk verb	/ˈæstəɹɪsk/	To mark or replace (text, etc.) with an asterisk symbol (*; noun sense 1.1); to star.
compel verb	/kəmˈpɛl/	To overpower; to subdue.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
get back to verb	Return to (an activity)
stand out verb	To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.).
beat up verb	To give a severe beating to; to assault violently with repeated blows.
bring up verb	To mention.
come in for verb	To be subjected to.
eat up verb	To consume completely.
fall under verb	To belong to for purposes of categorization.
follow up verb	To take further actions remaining after an event; to continue, revisit, or persist; especially, to maintain communication or verify.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I'm a real innovator here.
You know why you're here.
I'm not even talking about the jobs themselves.
Did somebody hex me or something?
What other company jargon can I use here?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've been ghosted · you've ever applied · haven't tried
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	I've been ghosted · I've been overdressed · being shoved
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	like, which is · people who aren · someone who posts

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 105 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, algorithm /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: apprenticeship /əˈpɹɛn.tɪs.ʃɪp/, illustration /ˌɪləsˈtɹeɪ̯ʃən/, shocker /ˈʃɑkɚ/, spreadsheet /ˈspɹɛd.ʃit/, shove /ʃʌv/
Long words — get the stress right: apprenticeship /əˈpɹɛn.tɪs.ʃɪp/, illustration /ˌɪləsˈtɹeɪ̯ʃən/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, accumulate /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/, innovator /ˈɪnəˌveɪtəɹ/

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 apprenticeship, outro, rant.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: J*b hunting in the big '26 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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