Shadowing Practice: Josh Klinghoffer Interview (2016) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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43 sentences
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1
My first guitar that I had that I kind of, when I first started playing guitar, I broke fighting with my parents about,
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you know, whatever you fight about when you're young. So I broke it.
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And that guitar is now in the Hall of Fame.
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I think the fight was about, you know, not going to school or not doing, you know, being, playing the role of a normal child or something.
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And, yeah, I slammed the guitar down, regretted it instantly.
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But, yeah, when I joined the Chili Peppers, I found it and I thought, oh, I should take it to my new, you know, expert guitar repairman.
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And he fixed it and then I played it on I'm With You.
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And then when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing came up, they asked if there was a guitar that they could hold on to and display.
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And I said sure you can have that one.
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It's very hard for me to feel that proud about it
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because I didn't do you know I wasn't touring in a van like the rest of my bandmates or I didn't
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Change history and I didn't do all these things that warrants one to be in a Hall of Fame But you know,
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I'm definitely just I'm just as honored to be My bandmates friends than I am to be in the Rock,
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you know, that's that's the real honor Is it really the same shirt that you're wearing here?
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It is, but I changed a patch.
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I moved one patch.
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I changed that patch that used to be here, is now there, and I put this patch on.
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Flea got them for us.
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They were presents from Flea, because he, someone gave him his, and on the back of his it says, Hard to Concentrate, which is a Chili Pepper song.
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And we thought they'd be nice tour jackets, so we all picked a song name, and it's on the back.
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Mine says, Never Is A Long Time, which is a song that didn't make it onto I'm With You.
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But yeah, Chad's got Factory of Faith on the back of his, and I think Anthony says Death Song.
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The first time any of us heard the chord progression, Flea was showing us the chord progression that he had come up with.
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I'm like, oh, that's nice when we were playing along.
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And then it started to sound a little bit like it reminded us of Benny and the Jets.
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And then Anthony's vocal when he came up with the vocal sounded even still again like Benny
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and the Jets a little bit and just a little bit, I don't know, so I think we thought
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that the best way around this unique problem was to call Elton
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and see if he would want to be a part of it
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and he luckily he was I mean I think I think
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we called him you know on a on a weekend
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and he was in there by Tuesday he just happened to be in town he's he's really generous
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and sweet with his time
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and he came in he just kind of hung out with
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us in the control room for half hour talked about photography and
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touring and then just went out
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and you know played four times all the way through and
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that was it and we it was just very simple and easy he didn't sing No, he felt that the piano was enough, you know, that was the thing, the song was pretty much done,
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but it, you know, it definitely had a lot of space for, you know, an extra element and he came in and he played piano and he thought, yeah, I think, you know,
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the vocals done, doesn't need me.
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I like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I like an album called Blue Moves,
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I think that came out in the 79 one of my favorite songs is from the 80s
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and it's that song uh i guess that's why they call it the blues
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 43 sentences and 683 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:31. The speaker talks fast, about 194 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- guitar /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ (noun) — A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).
- patch /pæt͡ʃ/ (noun) — A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a…
- vocal /ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/ (adjective) — Of, pertaining to, or resembling the human voice or speech.
- piano /piˈænɪː/ (noun) — A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers…
- progression /pɹəˈɡɹɛʃən/ (noun) — The act of moving from one thing to another.
- chord /kɔɹd/ (noun) — A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously.
- element /ˈɛləmənt/ (noun) — 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.
- photography /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/ (noun) — The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its digital counterpart.
- regret /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/ (verb) — To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
- remind /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ (verb) — To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
- jacket /ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/ (noun) — A piece of clothing worn on the upper body outside a shirt or blouse, often waist length to thigh length.
- warrant /ˈwɔɹənt/ (noun) — Authorization or certification; a sanction, as given by a superior.
- instantly /ˈɪnstəntli/ (adverb) — At once; without delay.
- generous /ˈd͡ʒɛn(ə)ɹəs/ (adjective) — Noble in behaviour or actions; principled, not petty; kind, magnanimous.
- slam /ˈslæm/ (verb) — To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
- come up with (verb) — To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
- come out in (verb) — to be afflicted by (a visible disruption of the body)
- come up (verb) — To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
- go out (verb) — To leave, especially a building.
- play along (verb) — To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke.
- talked about (adjective) — Discussed by many people.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 guitar, patch, vocal.
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.