Shadowing Practice: Làm thế nào để mở quán cafe thành công? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Làm thế nào để mở quán cafe thành công?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: price, thi, product, coffee. This video has 295 sentences and 5387 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:40. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 12 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| menu noun | /ˈmɛn.juː/ | The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare. |
| beverage noun | /ˈbɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | A liquid to consume; a drink, such as tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice, or a soft drink, often excluding water. |
| costable adjective | For which a monetary cost may be assessed. | |
| cinnamon noun | /ˈsɪnəmən/ | A small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka and southern India, Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum, belonging to the family Lauraceae. |
| syrup noun | /ˈsɪɹ.əp/ | Any thick liquid that has a high sugar content and which is added to or poured over food as a flavoring. |
| gram noun | /ˈɡɹæm/ | A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g. |
| microwave noun | /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/ | An electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves. |
| sour adjective | /ˈsaʊ.ə/ | Tasting of acidity. |
| expense noun | /ɪkˈspɛns/ | A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds. |
| franchise noun | /ˈfɹænt͡ʃaɪ̯z/ | The right to vote at a public election or referendum; see: suffrage. |
| slide noun | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again. |
| chip noun | /t͡ʃɪp/ | A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| buy out verb | to purchase the entire stock or extent of something | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. | |
| set up verb | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | To make ready for use. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you buy the coffee, it will be |
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | has been working · have been looking |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are focused · will be shared · are involved |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person who has · those who have · people who know |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 20 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, I'll. 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.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like menu, beverage, costable.
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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