Shadowing Practice: LanguageCert Academic Speaking - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hello, my name's Ian Chance, and you are Carlotta de Miguel, right?
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Yeah, that's right.
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Can you please spell your surname for me?
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Yeah, it's D -E space M -I -G -U -E -L.
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Thank you.
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Where are you from?
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I am from Spain.
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Thank you.
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Exam begins.
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Language cert academic.
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Now, part one.
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I'm going to ask you some questions about yourself and your ideas.
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The first topic is study skills.
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Tell me where you go when you want to concentrate on your studies.
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Well, what I would usually do
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when I was an undergraduate I will book an individual private
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study room at the library for usually nine to ten hours a day
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and I will find it's a very quiet
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and very beneficial environment for me to study as I could lock the door I will be there by myself
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and I had a very large desk for my books and my computer
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and also the library in general it was a very pleasant environment so that's what will tend to do.
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I want privacy and a calming space essentially.
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That does sound like a pleasant environment.
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Okay, thank you.
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The next topic is daily life.
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Is it good to follow the same routine every day?
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Well, I would say that no, because that can become a bit stale over time.
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As time goes by people have to involve
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and accept even embrace change in their lives so I will say
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that every once in a
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while someone should try well should sounds perhaps not the right word
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because that makes it feel mandatory
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but it will be good for someone to find a new hobby a new activity to make
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or make small changes and make small changes, excuse me, in the routine,
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so as to make life less mundane and more challenging, more exciting.
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Yes, small changes can help with that.
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Thanks very much.
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Now, next topic is phones.
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In what situations do you use your phone most?
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Mostly for work, to communicate with my colleagues, especially when I'm not at my workplace.
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When I'm on the go I use the applications that we have to communicate with each other.
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I also use it a lot to send emails
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but unfortunately as well before I go to bed I usually listen to a podcast
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or watch videos and I know that's not a very good habit
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because actually it's quite detrimental to my sleep due to being exposed to the blue lights and the phone screen before bed.
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However, that's what I do.
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Yes, I think a lot of us do that.
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Thank you very much for your answers.
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Let's move on to part two.
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Now, part two.
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We're going to roleplay some situations.
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I want you to start or respond.
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OK, the first situation.
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I start.
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Do you know where to find the reading list for the semester online?
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I've looked everywhere on the college website.
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Oh, it's actually not on the college website.
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The teachers and the tutors use another separate site where they upload all the material they want us to study, and they also categorise it according to module,
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according to week, and according to semester.
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Oh, I didn't know that.
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How can I access it?
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It's actually really easy.
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Do you have your booklet that they gave to you when you started the course?
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Oh, it must be somewhere.
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I must check.
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OK, well, even if you don't remember where it is, I can forward the link to you, or I can even forward you the whole booklet.
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It's also in PDF format.
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Thank you so much.
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You're a great help.
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No worries at all.
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And now the second situation.
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We're both students in self -catering accommodation.
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You like to save time and money by buying food and cooking together.
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You start. So you know what?
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I had this great idea the other day.
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I think it will be very economical when it comes to saving both time and money.
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So what if we went to the grocery store every week together, we plan our budget and then we will cook and prepare our meals for the week together.
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That sounds nice, but I don't know if we share the same interests and the same food preferences.
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Erm, well, I will say that I'm not nitpicky at all.
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I probably like every sort of food that you can think of and I am very open to suggestions.
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OK, that's nice.
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I'm not a very good cook, though. Are you?
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Well, yeah, I think I'm very good, actually.
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I've been cooking since I was very young, because I have a lot of younger siblings.
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Great, that sounds good.
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I'm excited, actually.
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It'll be fun.
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Thank you.
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So that is the end of part two.
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Now, part three.
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You're going to read a short passage out loud.
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When you've finished, I'll ask you some questions about the topic of the passage.
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You now have twenty seconds to look at the passage,
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then I'll ask you to read it out loud
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okay please start okay in the 19th century the invention of
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man -made plastic was hailed as a breakthrough The discovery of this cheap
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and versatile material allowed a seemingly endless supply of affordable everyday products to appear on the market.
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Since the 1950s, an estimated 9 .1 billion tons has been produced today.
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Today, however, attitudes towards plastic have changed dramatically.
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Most plastic is virtually indestructible
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and plastic waste is now a main source of pollution as it ends up either in landfill sites or in the oceans,
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where it will never decompose.
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Even recycled plastic will eventually add to this environmental disaster.
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Thank you.
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Now I'm going to ask you some questions.
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What main point is the writer making in this passage?
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I would say the main point of the passage is that it is referring to how plastic was a major discovery,
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but environmentally it is not beneficial and it will create a problem as time goes by.
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Thank you very much for your answer.
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Now I have another question for you.
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What can ordinary people do to help reduce the amount of plastic waste that's produced?
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Erm, well, I would say that people can use alternative materials and they can also choose to buy alternative materials there.
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For example, straws made out of other materials and there are also,
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erm, packages and products that come in packaging that is inscribed on it, that it's made out of something else,
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something renewable instead of plastic.
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OK, yes, renewable packaging instead of plastic packaging.
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Thank you very much for sharing your ideas.
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This is the end of part three.
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In part four, you're going to talk for about two minutes on the topic of undergraduate attitudes to looking for a job.
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Here is some information about the topic.
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you now have one minute to look at the information then
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i'll ask you to talk about it you can write some
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notes to help you of course can i ask will the information remain there
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while i'm talking about the subject or will you have to take it away no no it will stay
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Thank you.
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OK, so now you have two minutes to talk about the topic.
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Please start.
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of course so today's topic is attitude to looking for a job
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or to starting a career in undergraduate students as far as I can see I will say
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that there is a direct correlation between the year they are in
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and also by extension their age and the things
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that they value most or least I can see for example
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that first -year students tend to care less about pragmatic
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and essentially practical aspects of looking for a job such as salary and benefits and career opportunities.
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They tend to put a lot more thoughts I would say
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and they tend to prioritize the values of the company that they will likely work for.
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Quite likely a first -year student will care more about the values of the company, which is essentially a more vague and abstract concept to them,
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and they also connect that to their own personal values and ideals.
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So likely they will not work for a major company that has shown that they have very little care about ideals,
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the environment, progressive politics, etc, etc.
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unfortunately what we see a trend
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that as time goes by they tend to put less value on such pursuits such thoughts
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and they start focusing more on the quote unquote adult aspects
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of looking for a job such as as I said before
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salary benefits flexible hours working in arrangements etc um perhaps they are also considering other factors
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that will be introduced to their lives, such as family, needing to take care of one's family,
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needing to be financially stable, needing to have stable hours,
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so that you can combine your work life with the other aspects of your life.
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OK, thank you for your interesting insight.
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Now, another question.
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Do you think it's always an advantage to be able to work from home i will say
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that it is an advantage depending on the situation
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so well the the answer to your question is no um
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if you are living in a remote area
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and you don't want to move due to whatever circumstances
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and commitments then yes it's brilliant but
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if you live in the middle of the city
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and your office is close by why not go to your office and socialise with your colleagues, it might be a great opportunity to make friends and get out of the house.
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Yes, indeed.
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It is good to get out of the house.
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Well…
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “LanguageCert Academic Speaking”. This video has 161 sentences and 1624 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:42. The speaker talks at a steady 128 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| passage noun | /ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/ | A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning. |
| package noun | /ˈpæk.ɪd͡ʒ/ | Something which is packed, a parcel, a box, an envelope. |
| essentially adverb | /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ | In essence: by nature. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| undergraduate noun | A student at a university who has not yet received a degree. | |
| stable noun | /ˈsteɪ.bəl/ | A building, wing or dependency set apart and adapted for lodging and feeding (and training) ungulates, especially horses. |
| discovery noun | /dɪˈskʌv.ɹi/ | Something discovered. |
| ideal adjective | /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| salary noun | /ˈsæləɹi/ | A fixed amount of money paid to a worker, usually calculated on a monthly or annual basis, not hourly, as wages. Implies a degree of professionalism and/or… |
| pleasant adjective | /ˈplɛz.ənt/ | Giving pleasure; pleasing in manner. |
| communicate verb | /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ | To impart or transmit (information or knowledge) to someone; to make known, to tell. |
| beneficial adjective | /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ | Helpful or good to something or someone. |
| semester noun | /sɪˈmɛstɚ/ | Half of a school year (US) or academic year such as autumn or spring semester. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| make out of verb | To construct from; to create (something) using (a material or substance). |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Can you please spell your surname for me?
- Where are you from?
- In what situations do you use your phone most?
- However, that's what I do.
- How can I access it?
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 | I've looked · you've finished · has been produced |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being exposed · was hailed · has been produced |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 25 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, extension /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
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 topic, passage, package.
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.