Shadowing Practice: Jonathan Bailey: What you don't know about me | Bazaar UK - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello, my name's Jonathan Bailey
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and I'm here with Harper's Bazaar UK in my home in London and here is what you don't know about me.
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My guilty pleasure at the moment is I've been going down wormholes of looking at flash mobs of musical theatre numbers.
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They're extraordinary.
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There's one in particular that a friend sent me that was my trigger.
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It's an amazing sort of version of One Day Mall from Les Mis in an American mall
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and I just think it sort of creates this really interesting sub-genre of high stakes drama,
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reality TV, and all into the sort of nice balm of self-expressionism.
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And it's extraordinary.
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Love is a game of hide and seek, or a game of sardines, depending on your vibe.
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My first crush was probably Anita in Heartbreak High, which possibly could be niche to some people.
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But the soundtrack to that is sort of etched into my mind.
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Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
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Yeah, she was everything to me.
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And it's also just been put on Netflix, for anyone who wants to go and have an introduction to Anita.
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Yeah, and if not Anita, Prince Eric from Little Mermaid.
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The big blue eyes and just, you know, just the whole idea of wanting to be on shore with Prince Eric is pretty dreamy, yeah.
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Perfect dates, really tricky.
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For me, I think going on a little adventure, getting a pint, exploring, I think it's good.
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I think, so maybe a ramble or a bike ride or something like that I think is nice.
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Change of scenery.
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The most romantic thing I think someone's done for me is running a bath
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and then sitting with you while you have your bath and having a chat.
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I think is pretty mega.
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Put the toilet seat down and just sort of be there while you bathe.
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I think there's something really like, it's just really sweet and brilliant and you know, you're naked and you know, yeah I think that's really romantic.
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My party trick is, once upon a time I could do a backflip and when the party, you know, sort of halfway through I always feel like perhaps,
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you know, I can recreate those previous achievements and you know it's quite, again, quite high stakes because obviously it can really get the party going or it can sort of,
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yeah, bring it all to a terrifying end.
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signature dance moves always really sort of welcoming, hippy, hands in the air, like a mum at a wedding,
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really trying to get everyone going.
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Yeah, I had to ask a friend for that and that's how he described it.
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I think anyone who can play a stadium, sing and dance at the same time, I'm sort of starstruck by.
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But last year we went to the Netflix party, sort of on behalf of Bridgerton and I was introduced to Rihanna.
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And of course, really starstruck, also just like really thrilled and she sort of disappeared at the party
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and then she came back in and everyone was like, my God, RiRi, RiRi, RiRi, RiRi, RiRi, RiRi, RiRi, RiRi, I was like, RiRi, I was like, yeah, I've just been introduced to her, yeah, I'll go and say hello.
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So I went over and I was like, hey, it's great, how are you doing?
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You have a good night?
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Yeah.
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I was dancing around and the team sort of enveloped her and sort of, you know, made it very clear that perhaps that wasn't,
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you know, my little space to get down.
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So I walked back and someone went, he was sort of jaw open and just said, we don't do that to Riri.
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And I said, no, you don't.
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I do.
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And then I walked out of the party and got in a taxi and went home.
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Still learning.
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What makes me angry, I think is probably dishonesty or, yeah, a confused sort of transparency.
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I think it can be really limiting.
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I think I think things stop when things are dishonest and things can't progress.
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And actually I think even true of acting and storytelling, I think the truer the better.
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Yeah, authenticity also in storytelling, I think is super key.
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What makes me the happiest is definitely music.
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Always has and always will.
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It's also like a diary.
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I've got like on Spotify my starred playlist
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and yeah as music comes into your life I can remember very specifically emotional moments
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and they're linked to music so music, music, music.
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My superpower it would be to be able to go back in time and be present at certain music gigs.
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Yeah Wembley Queen 100%.
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Also Paul Simon in Zimbabwe.
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Spice Girls first tour.
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And then relive some that I've been to, like, you know, Celine Dion.
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Unbelievable.
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Yeah, and seeing Kanye, Girls Aloud and Beyonce all at Wembley in one night.
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I'd go back and relive that on repeat.
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Yeah, that'd be great.
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My strangest audition experience was, it was for something called Treasure Island.
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It was before the sort of hashtag me too era and those sorts of conversations were taking place.
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But I went in and they said to me, we're just going to do an improvisation.
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You know, say that you're ordering a Happy Meal and you really want the cheeseburger, but they've run out of cheeseburgers.
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And so you're so livid at the fact
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that there's no cheeseburgers for your Happy Meal that you just rip your t-shirt off, throw it on the floor and storm out.
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And I did it.
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And so somewhere there's a video of my pubescent bod on some hard drive somewhere.
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And actually there's a lot to be challenged and questioned and talked about there.
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So maybe that's for the next video.
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The job that's changed my life, it was quite early on but it was working on the lemon curd line at the local honey factory.
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You know every summer, Christmas holidays at school, there's something about having to open up a piping hot vat
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of lemon curd to check the temperature at five in the morning.
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That really sort of spurs you on
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and makes you think about perhaps what you know what you'd like to do
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and something that might be a bit more creative.
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It was groundbreaking in that it made me realise that I don't ever want to see or have lemon curd ever again, but also perhaps maybe acting's,
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even though it's kind of unstable, it's just you don't get a lemon curd facial that early in the morning.
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If I wasn't an actor I think I'd love to be a primary school teacher.
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I mean I think all teachers are basically you know modern-day heroes
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and I love going to take going to see my my niece in like nativities
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and stuff at school and I just always think that is
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so sweet and lovely and generous
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and watching my like the next generation of Baileys grow up
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but you just realize how informative those years are and yeah I think being a part of that is pretty special.
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Best career advice I've ever been given is just do what you want
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and don't try and conform to an idea of what you think you should be doing
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and also good friends get good friends I think in acting stick with your friends, school friends, nurture those relationships because they will keep you sane.
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Dream role to play?
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Rum Tom Tugger? In Cats?
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I think when you go towards characters you're looking for a distance between presentation
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and what they're actually feeling and I think in Cats there's a lot going on there.
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And also you always want to learn a new skill.
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So for instance in Bridgerton you learn how to horse ride
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but in Starlight Express I'd love to be able to roller skate really well.
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So yeah, along those lines in that ballpark would be great.
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How would I describe my personal style? personal style.
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If you've got your own strapline for your vibe, I think it probably means you don't really have that much style.
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But, I don't know, navy marshmallow at the moment.
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Texture.
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Yeah, depth of field, I'd say.
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I would give my teenage self the advice of, you'll find your tribe and your tribe is there for you, no matter who you are.
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Ultimately, You will get the luxury of choice in who you spend your time with
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and you'll find confidence in knowing what your sense of right
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and wrong is and kindness and that's all waiting for you so don't worry.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 111 sentences and 1449 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:01. The speaker talks fast, about 181 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lemon noun | /ˈlɛmən/ | A yellowish citrus fruit. |
| bath noun | /bɑːθ/ | A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub. |
| romantic adjective | /ɹoʊˈmæn(t)ɪk/ | Fantastic, unrealistic (of an idea etc.); fanciful, sentimental, impractical (of a person). |
| introduce verb | /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ | To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else). |
| extraordinary adjective | /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/ | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual. |
| mall noun | /mɔːl/ | A pedestrianised street, especially a shopping precinct. |
| stake noun | /steɪk/ | A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay. |
| vibe noun | /vaɪb/ | An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing. |
| storytelling noun | The act and skills of presenting stories and tales. | |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
| adventure noun | /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ | A feeling of desire for new and exciting things. |
| flash verb | /flæʃ/ | To cause to shine briefly or intermittently. |
| naked adjective | /ˈneɪkɪd/ | Bare, not covered by clothing. |
| behalf noun | /bɪˈhæf/ | The interest, benefit, or wellbeing of someone or something. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get down verb | /ɡɛt ˈdaʊn/ | To bring or come down; to descend; to cause to bring or come down. |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. | |
| go over verb | To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| open up verb | To open. | |
| storm out verb | To leave or depart angrily. | |
| walk back verb | To withdraw or backpedal on a statement or promise. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 38 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I've, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, thrill /θɹɪl/, authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/, bathe /beɪð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: flash /flæʃ/, luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/, shore /ʃɔɹ/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, crush /kɹʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/, transparency /tɹænsˈpæɹənsi/, informative /ɪnˈfɔːmətɪv/, authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/
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 lemon, bath, romantic.
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 | it's also just been put · I've just been introduced · I've been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been put · was introduced · been introduced |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | anyone who wants · anyone who can |
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.