Shadowing Practice: L'interview vérité de Zendaya et Tom Holland - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Ready ?
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On est bon ?
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J'ai passé une partie de l'après-midi avec Zendaya et Tom Holland.
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J'adore ça !
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Et on était en pleine canicule.
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Dans cette interview exclusive, on a parlé de leur début.
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Vous devez se développer très rapidement.
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C'est bien de faire ça, donc vous savez, aller à la promesse.
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Ils m'ont partagé des anecdotes.
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Pourquoi vous avez appris ça ?
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Discuté de leur travail.
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Si vous ne travaillez pas, vous allez aller à la travail.
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Parce que c'est fun !
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Mais aussi comment chacun voyait l'autre.
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Il est très.. je ne sais pas comment...
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Il est...
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Qu'est ce...
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C'est...
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C'est génial.
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Yes, so many great words out there.
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This interview is also available in audio podcast.
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Don't forget to subscribe to the channel, but it's not yet done.
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Spider-Man, a brand new day, it's coming on the 29th of the cinema.
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Good video to all.
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When you work in the business, when you start as young as we did, you have to grow up really quickly.
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You've got to learn how to set boundaries for yourself and learn how to be an adult, really.
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One of the reasons why I struggled so much at school, I think, is because I was in a professional environment, I was treated like an adult, I was working like an adult,
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and then I went back to school and felt like I didn't fit in
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because all of my peers were kind of behaving like their age.
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There's nothing wrong with that.
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I was just a little grown up like, I'm just gonna do as I'm told because that's what the teacher's saying.
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So yeah, it definitely shapes who you are for sure.
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That's especially something, Tom, you were training for Billy Elliot at the time and I've heard that, you know, and you've said that some kids
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when you were training for Billy Elliot sort of used to make fun of like you dancing and everything.
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Of course, years later you did so many things, you did Spider-Man and so many things.
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Do you have a message maybe for like little boys
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or little girls who are afraid to follow their passion because of this social pressure that might exist?
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Yeah, I mean, it's so much easier said than done to kind of block out the haters.
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You know, I think that it's something that, you know, even today is something that I know that we work on and our peers work on.
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And, you know, we've been dealing with things like that for a long time.
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But it's important to find your community and find your tribe and the people that you feel comfortable with.
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And most importantly, the people that you feel comfortable being yourself with.
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You know, expressing yourself is something to be really proud of.
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And whether that's dance or art or acting or sport or, you know, or reading books, whatever it is.
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You know, if you find your group of people where you can be yourself with, then, you know, you'll always find happiness.
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But before we continue the interview, we'll talk about something that we use every day, electricity, in collaboration with EDF.
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You know maybe, electricity in France was a long time a monopoly.
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In 1946, the state created EDF, whose publics fix the price with a regular price of the sale of electricity.
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But EDF doesn't offer that only.
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In fact, since the opening of the market to the competition, EDF also offers offers and they can be 10% more expensive on the annual TTC.
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And according to your habits of consumption, some can be even more interesting.
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Imagine a building.
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Here, a young couple does the work and consumes a week in a day.
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In another apartment, a young active is also present on the weekend.
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There, a family recently passed the electric car and the recharge each night.
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In short, everyone has their own habits of consumption.
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And EDF offers even more advantageous offers in terms of their habits.
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To discover the offers that can correspond, you can scan the QR code that is on the screen or call EDF at 34 04.
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And don't forget, the energy is our future, let's get into it.
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Because I think that's also something, I guess, young people struggling with the social pressure often see people like you and they're like, oh, they managed it.
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They managed to deal with that social pressure.
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They managed to go through all of this.
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And I guess also some people sometimes wonder if that social pressure sort of turns down in a way through the years.
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Or if, no, it's always there.
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Sometimes it's even bigger, but you just have to live with it and cope with it.
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Yeah, I think it's always there.
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It's always present.
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Yeah.
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I think it's just about the skills
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that you develop to like to know better you know it's like know better do better
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but yeah it's funny because i think that
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that like without trying to be like oh let's bring it back to the movie
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but it is so much about what peter's going through you know um
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and you know to like sum it up
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or make a joke about it is like work-life balance you
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know it's like who am i am i like betraying myself by worrying about all the pressures
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and the things that i i have to live live up to
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or who I'm trying to protect or who I'm trying to take care of?
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Am I ultimately doing a disservice because I can't do my best work if I'm not taking care of myself?
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I think we all do that sometimes.
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I think there is such an importance of, like you're saying, having a community,
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having friends, having people to lean on and support you through things.
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Life is hard sometimes, you know?
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Like we need other human beings to get through it, so.
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And you can just have bad days sometimes for no reason.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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That doesn't have to be something.
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It just be like that.
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Yeah, it doesn't have to be for any particular reason.
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Sometimes I just wake up, I'm like, ooh, I want to go back to bed and I'll start again tomorrow.
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You've been playing those roles, MJ, Peter Parker, for a few years now.
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Does coming back to a Spider-Man movie feel like coming home something you're used to now?
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Yeah, I really think it does, you know.
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Our jobs and our, you know, we're really blessed in our careers that there's like real variation.
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And sometimes our variation can be quite scary.
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But then coming back to a character that you know and love and that you've played, you know, really since we were kids is a really lovely privilege.
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Even on set, you know, there's such a warm familial vibe.
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And I think it's funny because Destin, obviously this is our first film with him, and it feels like we've known him like our whole lives.
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You know, he's like an older brother, a cousin, like it feels like a true— He fit right into the family right away.
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So it's been really, really special.
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That's great.
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That's also something, Tom, when of course you were announced as the new Spider-Man, everyone was like, oh, he's the new Spider-Man.
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Now a few years have gone by.
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Do you still feel like yourself, you're the new Spider-Man?
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You're like, no, I'm Spider-Man myself.
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And I assume this for all of you.
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I do want to say too, like literally my mom was there.
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Well, those days that we were seeing, remember that scene?
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My mom was there and she was crying.
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Oh, yeah.
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Watching us.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Why did you bring that up?
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No, because I was saying it's like a family event.
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Oh, my mom was literally on set.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Following that, yeah.
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Yeah, my mom came.
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Oh, yeah.
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I was bringing her mom to work day.
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So she was there laughing, crying.
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She was used to like...
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She really dove in the deep end.
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She sat down and was like, what are you shooting today?
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We were like, buckle up, right?
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Yeah, this is a tough day for her.
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This is a big day.
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Sorry.
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Just to...
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No, no, no. It's interesting to me.
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Like it's something important for you, yeah.
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Do I feel like the new Spider-Man?
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Not anymore, no. You know, Spider-Man, it's almost like harder to remember a time where we weren't making these movies, if you know what I mean.
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The thing that I am really excited for is like figuring out what happens next, you know, and who do we pass the baton on to and,
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you know, what does that look like?
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I think that's a really exciting question and something
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that I really hope I get to be a part of and I'm very excited about it.
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That's great.
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And why do you think Spider-Man is such a cultural icon for so many generations?
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It's like young boys and girls today, but it's also like older generations.
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How do you explain that Spider-Man is that huge and that big for so many people in their lives?
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I guess for me, it's always been that he felt, I mean, I hate to say the word relatable, but he feels the most like someone that you know.
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Normal guy, yeah.
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You know, he's just that friend that everybody would really want to have.
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He feels like he could be your brother, your cousin, your, you know, whatever.
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And there's so many qualities, I think, that he has that hopefully we all strive to have inside of ourselves as well.
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And it makes us feel like we all could.
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Like, if Peter can do it, we can do it.
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And I think that uniqueness in the fact that he is so normal
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makes him feel so special to so many people and feel like he is a part of their family.
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He is someone that, you know, and I feel like we feel that way for sure.
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But that's what I think, at least.
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We've seen you in the drama, which was amazing.
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We've seen you, of course, in Emporia, Spider-Man, there's the Odyssey with both of you in a few weeks.
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Dune, of course, coming back.
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I can't wait for the next Dune.
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It's going to be great.
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It's going to be so crazy.
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And how do you manage to keep up this rhythm with like such amazing movies, but with, you know, different roles?
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I mean, that's not the same role in Spider-Man that it'll be in June or in the drama.
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It's so different.
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How do you manage to keep up with this?
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And, you know, how do you avoid burnout or like those challenges you can face?
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Um, I think I've gotten lucky because I get to do it with people that I really care about.
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And I've also just been, you know, blessed with really special characters and crews that I really love.
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I think a huge part of our job and what, you know, brings me my own social life is like having great crews.
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And you end up kind of building these little families and every kind of crew you work on.
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Specifically like Euphoria, like they've seen me since I was a kid going through, they've seen me in all the ways, you know what I mean?
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I don't know if I've necessarily figured anything out or if I have a clear answer or anything, but I just really love what I do do
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and I love my job and
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so you know the actual creative part of making it doesn't
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always feel like a job you know it some days you're like okay we're ready to clock out you know
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but most of the time it's a joy like if
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if I'll go to set
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if I'm not shooting all the time I just want to
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be around sets I want to you know watch everyone work
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I want to learn I love I just love the process of making And she really does do that too.
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Like if you're not working, you will go to work.
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Yeah, because it's fun.
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I mean, I remember like they were shooting this incredible opening sequence for Dune, and I was like, you know, is it cool if I just...
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I was there early in Budapest, and it was cold, and they had this crazy setup, and I was like, I got to see this.
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Like, I want to see this, you know?
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So it's just cool.
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It's just cool as a fan alone, you know, it's just cool to be able to watch.
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And by the way, I think it's interesting for you to say that, like, yeah, sometimes you don't have everything figured out.
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And I feel like it's also refreshing for probably people who are watching this interview to understand that like, yeah, you can be hugely successful in your career and everything
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and still like struggle in some aspects
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and like we'll still ask yourself all those questions
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so i feel like it's super inspiring a few words now
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about um mj your role of course in the movie mj
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feel like she's not only the love interest in the in the movie she's way more than
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that i was wondering um was it something
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that you sort of consciously you know fought for as an actor is it the way of course this
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and then all the look at it and sees it.
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The fact that she's not just the love interest in movies, she's way more than that.
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Well, it's been cool
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because I think John had a very clear perspective from the
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beginning about his interpretation of what MJ was gonna be in our Spider-Man movies.
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And he kind of took some big swings and I was excited to be a part of that.
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I think giving her a very unique sense of humor and personality and very strong sense of self.
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I think although maybe sometimes different from the comic books, there are a lot of things that, you know, I do feel that MJ is a very confident personality,
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you know, in herself.
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And in our own way, our MJ is that too.
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And it was nice to kind of speak to Destin
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because now we're maturing and learning new things about the character
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and developing her in a way and trying to understand her at a mature point in her life, but also still holding on those core elements that we built from previous movies.
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And it was fun to blend those things.
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And I remember my first chat with Destin, he was just like, so tell me all the things
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that you've ever wanted to do or were hoping and maybe didn't make it to other movies.
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And I feel like this is...
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You got it.
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Okay, it went away.
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This is probably one of the, you know, I guess the most we've been able to explore and to really try things with this character,
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I think at least.
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I think so too.
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It's also something we often hear that playing a character long enough eventually makes you resemble them.
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Is there something of Peter or MJ that you've absorbed yourself in your daily life?
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I think everyone that's worked on these movies could say that there's a part of Peter Parker in them.
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His positivity is something that I think is infectious.
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Especially in the way that we make the movies.
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The film sets are such happy, fun places and everyone gets along
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and we do the work with a smile on our face and everyone's always laughing all the time.
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It's just such a really, it's such a happy place.
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I think that the character brings that out in everyone.
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And you, about MJ, do you feel like you're close to MJ in a way? Of course.
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I think it's very rare that you get to live with a character this long.
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Usually we only, you know, you just have one movie or you know, you, I don't know, it's It's more brief, your interaction with your character,
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and you don't have 10 years that you get to live with them and really form this connection with these characters.
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And also the fans who also love them and care for them in the ways that we do.
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So yeah, I definitely think I have some MJ-ness.
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And it's funny, it was funny trying to, after five years or however long it's been, or six years, going, oh, where is she?
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to find her again and and find in fact there was a like a little
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when we first got to set well you first got set you were working before i was
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and i had a like a week off of dune
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and i came to visit for your first week of work
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and i was reading through the script
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and i remember being in the tent with justin keritskis who
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came on um spider-man to kind of really figure out some nuance of the character
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and we he's a dear friend of ours um
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because he we did challengers together and we we were just talking about how I can add in some more MJ-ness,
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you know, because we had built this kind of quirky character, and I was like, I feel like she's just not weird enough.
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You know, we need to do a little MJ pass and bring some of that back.
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It's also something, Peter Parker gives up a sort of a normal life in order to save the world
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and save many people.
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What's the biggest sacrifice you'd say you've made, whether it's your own life or in your career?
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Cool, that's a tough question.
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I don't know how I could answer.
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I'd have to really think about that.
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Is it like, yeah, because it could be something specific.
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It can be like in your daily life, in your way of, I don't know.
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It's hard because, you know,
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so much of it is a blessing and a gift and I wouldn't give it back or I wouldn't trade for anything.
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And I don't want to, you know, you don't want to seem like you're complaining.
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It has a negative connotation.
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And I don't think that we're in any position to be complaining about the sacrifices we've made when people make real sacrifices.
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It's more like a choice you made.
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So, you know.
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Yeah.
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Well, I will say like, and I wouldn't say it's a sacrifice, but like maybe being really young and being in this industry,
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I think is sometimes a little bit of a, yeah, sure.
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There's, you know, it would have been nice.
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It's going to be a weird one at times.
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It could be a weird one.
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It would have been nice to like, you know, go to prom and maybe not have, you know, those embarrassing videos of yourself when you're a kid and you haven't really figured it out.
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Not that I ever have, but, you know, it would be nice.
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Yeah.
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But, you know, you got to live with something.
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What's the best advice Tom has ever given you in the year?
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And the other way around, what's the best advice you received Tom?
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I think something I am always impressed with Tom about, which I feel like I want to inherit more of, but he's very...
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I don't know how to...
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He's...
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What's the...
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Awesome?
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Legendary.
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Yeah, so many great words.
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But you really stand on your big stickler for respect and kindness,
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and not to say that I'm not doing that, but I just...
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Super respectful.
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But you just make sure that that is in the front, and then if that line is crossed,
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I think sometimes he's better at drawing boundaries and making things clear.
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And I'm a little bit more like, okay, guys, you know, it's all right, everything's all right, you know what I mean
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and you're good at being like no no this is we're
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not doing this you know yeah you're you're good at like setting the boundaries really clearly really strong
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and i'm like kind of like i'll put the boundaries like hey guys can we just you know
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if that's okay if i could just put the boundary there okay we're good we're good you know
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so i like
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that you you have you know you really know what you feel is right for yourself
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and you and you do it and for others you're very like protective in that way.
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Thank you.
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I appreciate that.
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What did you the other way around?
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How would you see it?
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Speaking of boundaries, I'm not going to share my most valuable piece of advice I got.
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That's great.
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That's a perfect example for this question.
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To end this interview, we've got two for each of you, a sort of a 60 second format.
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The idea, I think we did it at the time for June is like I'll ask him some questions
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and you can answer yes, no or pass if you want to pass, no problem.
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Are you ready?
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I love this.
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Was Spider-Man your favorite superhero when you were a kid?
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Yes.
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Is New York the best city in the world to be a superhero?
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Yes.
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Would you like to be able to teleport?
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Yes.
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Would you rather spend a year in ancient Greece than in the multiverse?
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What kind of Am I a prosperous person in Ancient Greece?
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That's a nice answer.
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But also, aren't we living the multiverse, really?
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That's a...
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Well, we don't really... Who knows?
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We don't know.
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We could be in it now.
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I think it'd be pretty cool to go and sit down with, you know...
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I'm good on that.
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The great thinkers, what are those guys?
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The great philosophers?
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Why can't I think of their names?
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That's why I need to sit down with them.
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I'd go to Ancient Greece for a year, that'd be cool.
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Love it.
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Peter Parker survive Odysseus journey?
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Oh, yeah.
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Did you cry at the end of...
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Helpful.
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Did you cry at the end of shooting No Way Home?
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Yes.
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Is Peter Parker the most relatable superhero?
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Yes.
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Could you direct a Marvel film one day?
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Yes.
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We could.
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If you wanted to, you could.
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Yeah, I guess I could.
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Totally could.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Great.
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Would you do a fifth Spider-Man without hesitation?
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Pass.
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Okay.
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Maybe two or three to finish.
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We're about to talk about football.
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Could you survive without football for a month?
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Yeah.
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Is PSG the best European team?
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No. Okay.
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Is England winning the World Cup in your lifetime?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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Well, I don't know when it's going to be published, but we'll have to follow this.
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I don't know if we have time for the other one.
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Yeah, very quickly.
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Okay, very quick.
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Let's go.
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Is MJ smarter than Spider-Man? In some ways, yes.
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In some ways, yes.
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Is comedy harder than drama?
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Ooh.
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Yes.
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Could you ever play a villain in the Marvel Universe?
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I don't know about that.
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Would you trust Peter Parker with a secret?
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Yeah.
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Would you rather have Spider-Man's powers than Doctor Stranger's?
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Ooh.
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Eee.
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Yeah, I don't know.
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Not sure about that one.
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I feel like you could do a lot with Doctor Strange's powers.
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You could do a lot.
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Which is also like, do I want that much?
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Do you know what I mean?
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Like maybe I should just, you know what I mean, be super strong and...
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Could be something.
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Did the Spider-Man set feel like home after three movies?
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Yes.
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Would you rather travel to the future rather than the past?
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I don't know.
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Both are kind of, I don't know.
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Oh, I don't know.
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That's a good question.
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I'm kind of scared of traveling in the future.
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That's an easy question for you, Sam.
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Yeah.
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That's great.
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Thank you very much.
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Thank you.
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Thank you so much.
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That was a great interview.
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Some really thoughtful questions.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for taking the time.
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Good to see you again.
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Thank you again.
399
Good to see you again.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “L'interview vérité de Zendaya et Tom Holland”. This video has 399 sentences and 4092 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:02. The speaker talks fast, about 195 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| boundary noun | /ˈbaʊndɹi/ | The dividing line or location between two areas. |
| dune noun | /djuːn/ | A ridge or hill of sand piled up by currents of wind or water. |
| superhero noun | /ˈs(j)upɚhɪɹoʊ/ | Any fictional crime-fighting character, often with supernatural powers or equipment, in popular children's and fantasy literature; a fictional hero who does… |
| multiverse noun | /ˈmʌltəˌvɝs/ | The world, considered as lacking in purpose, design, or predictability. |
| relatable adjective | [ɹɪˈleɪ.tə.bɫ̩] | Able to be related to something else; connected with. |
| travail noun | /tɹəˈveɪl/ | Arduous or painful exertion; excessive labor, suffering, hardship. |
| ness noun | /nɛs/ | A promontory; a cape or headland. (Frequently used as a suffix in placenames.) |
| variation noun | /ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/ | The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing. |
| peer noun | /pɪɹ/ | Somebody who is, or something that is, at a level or of a value equal (to that of something else). |
| bless verb | /blɛs/ | To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify. |
| advantageous adjective | /ˌædvənˈteɪd͡ʒ(i)əs/ | Being of advantage, beneficial. |
| anecdote noun | /ˈæn.ɪkˌdəʊt/ | A short account of a real incident or person, often humorous or interesting. |
| betray verb | /bɪˈtɹeɪ/ | To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly. |
| burnout noun | /ˈbɜː(ɹ)naʊt/ | The experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, especially in one's career. |
| connotation noun | /ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/ | A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| get along verb | To interact or coexist well, without argument or trouble. | |
| get through verb | /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/ | To overcome; to endure. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Why did you bring that up?
- How do you manage to keep up with this?
- What did you the other way around?
- How would you see it?
- Why can't I think of their names?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | we've been dealing · You've been playing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've heard · you've played · we've known |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was treated · were announced · is crossed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | drama, which was · people who are |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 109 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thinker /ˈθɪŋ.kɚ/, thoughtful /ˈθɔːtfəl/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: variation /ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/, connotation /ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/, hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, refresh /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/, infectious /ɪnˈfɛk.ʃəs/
- Long words — get the stress right: superhero /ˈs(j)upɚhɪɹoʊ/, advantageous /ˌædvənˈteɪd͡ʒ(i)əs/, connotation /ˌkɑnəˈteɪʃən/, positivity /ˌpɑ.zɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/, hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/
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 boundary, dune, superhero.
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.