Shadowing Practice: Joanna's psychology study | IELTS LISTENING TEST | SECTION-3 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
You will hear a student called Joanna talking to her new supervisor about some research she has done on psychology and music.
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You will hear a student called Joanna talking to her new supervisor about some research she has done on psychology and music.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.
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you Thank you.
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26. Hi, Joanna.
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Good to meet you.
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Now, before we discuss your new research project,
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I'd like to hear something about the psychology study you did last year for your master's degree.
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So, how did you choose your subjects for that?
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Well, I had six subjects,
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all professional musicians and all female three were violinists
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and there was also a cello player and a pianist
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and a flute player they were all very highly regarded in the music world
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and they'd done quite extensive tours in different continents and quite a few had won prizes and competitions as well.
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And they were quite young, weren't they?
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Yes, between 25 and 29.
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The mean was 27.8.
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I wasn't specifically looking for artists who'd produced recordings,
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but this is something that's just taken for granted these days,
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and they all had.
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Right.
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Now, you collected your data through telephone interviews, didn't you?
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Yes.
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I realised if I was going to interview leading musicians,
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it'd only be possible over the phone because they're so busy.
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I recorded them using a telephone recording adapter.
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I'd been worried about the quality,
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but it worked out alright.
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I managed at least a 30-minute interview with each subject, sometimes longer.
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Did doing it on the phone make it more stressful?
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I thought it might.
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It was all quite informal,
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though, and in fact they seemed very keen to talk.
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And I don't think using the phone meant I got less rich data.
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Rather the opposite, in fact.
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Interesting.
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And you were looking at how performers dress for concert performances.
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That's right.
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My research investigated the way players see their role as a musician
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and how this is linked to the type of clothing they decide to wear.
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But that focus didn't emerge immediately.
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When I started, I was more interested in trying to investigate the impact of what was worn on those listening,
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and also whether someone like a violinist might adopt a different style of clothing from,
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say, someone playing the flute or the trumpet.
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It's interesting that the choice of dress is up to the individual, isn't it?
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Yes.
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You'd expect there to be rules about it in orchestras,
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but that's quite rare.
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Before you hear the rest of the discussion,
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you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30.
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Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30.
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You only had women performers in your study.
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Was that because male musicians are less worried about fashion?
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I think a lot of the men are very much influenced by fashion,
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but in social terms, the choices they have are more limited.
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They'd really upset audiences if they strayed away from quite narrow boundaries.
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Now, popular music has quite different expectations.
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Did you read Mike Frost's article about the dress of women performers in popular music?
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No.
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Well, he points out that a lot of female singers
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and musicians in popular music tend to dress down in performances and wear less feminine clothes,
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like jeans instead of skirts.
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And he suggests this is because otherwise they'd just be discounted as trivial.
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But you could argue they're just wearing what's practical.
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I mean, a pop music concert is usually a pretty energetic affair.
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Yes, he doesn't make that point,
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but I think you're probably right.
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I was interested by the effect of the audience as a musical performance
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when it came to the choice of dress the subjects i
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interviewed felt this was really important it's all to do with what we understand by performance as a public event
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they believed the audience had certain expectations
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and it was up to them as performers to fulfill these
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expectations to show a kind of esteem they weren't afraid of looking as if they'd made an effort to look good.
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I think in the past,
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the audience would have had those expectations of one another too,
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but that's not really the case now.
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Not in the UK anyway.
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No. And I also got interested in what sports scientists are doing too with regard to clothing.
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Musicians are quite vulnerable physically, aren't they?
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Because the movements they carry out are very intensive and repetitive,
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so I'd imagine some features of sports clothing could safeguard the players from the potentially dangerous effects of this sort of thing.
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Yes, but musicians don't really consider it.
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They avoid clothing that obviously restricts their movements,
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but that's as far as they go.
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Anyway, coming back to your own research,
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do you have any idea where you're going from here?
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I was thinking of doing a study using an audience, including...
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That is the end of section 3.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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Context & Background

In this video segment, we delve into a conversation between Joanna, a student, and her new supervisor regarding her psychology study related to music and musicians. Joanna shares insights about her research project from her master’s degree, focusing on the ways in which professional musicians perceive their roles and how these perceptions influence their clothing choices during performances. The dialogue emphasizes the informal yet structured nature of her telephone interviews conducted with six highly regarded female musicians, which sheds light on their experiences and views on dress codes within the music industry.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • “It was all quite informal, though…” - A way to express that a situation is relaxed and not overly formal.
  • “I managed at least a 30-minute interview…” - Useful for discussing the duration of an event or conversation.
  • “I thought it might…” - A phrase for expressing a pre-conceived notion or expectation about something.
  • “You'd expect there to be rules about it…” - A way to suggest what is generally anticipated in a particular situation.
  • “It’s interesting that the choice of dress is up to the individual…” - A phrase to highlight personal decision-making in a specific context.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To improve your English speaking skills and fluency using the shadow speech technique with this video, follow these simple steps:

  1. Listen Carefully: Start by watching the video without any subtitles to get a sense of the conversation flow between Joanna and her supervisor.
  2. Transcribe Key Phrases: Write down the top 5 phrases highlighted above along with any other sentences that resonate with you. This will help in reinforcing your memory.
  3. Shadow Speak: Play a short segment of the video and repeat the phrases aloud right after Joanna speaks them. Focus on mimicking her intonation and rhythm to enhance your pronunciation.
  4. Record Yourself: Use your phone or a recording device to capture your shadow speaking. This practice will help you identify areas where you need improvement in fluency and clarity.
  5. Review and Reflect: Listen back to your recordings to assess your spoken English. Compare your pronunciation and intonation to Joanna’s. Aim for improvement each time you practice.

By following this shadowspeak approach, you can effectively learn English with YouTube content like this, enhancing both your listening comprehension and speaking proficiency.

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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