Shadowing Practice: Learn English Naturally: Going for a Walk in English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Learn English naturally, while walking with your teacher Turn on your closed captioning.
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Today we're going for a walk.
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I'm going to take you with me as I walk through a nature preserve Here in Minnesota,
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and later, I'm going to continue my walk through a residential neighborhood and my way to the school where I teach.
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So this isn't going to be a traditional English lesson.
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I'm not going to sit down and explain a lot of grammar rules.
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Instead, I'd like you to simply listen to me as I talk about what I'm doing what I see.
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And what I think about while I'm walking.
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If you hear a word or expression that you don't know, Don't worry about it.
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Just keep listening.
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you might be able to understand the meaning of the word in context,
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contextual, or situational meanings are sometimes more important than the meaning of a word as it is found in a dictionary.
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And of course, you can always come back and listen again.
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So let's go for a walk.
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I'm just getting started.
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I'm walking along a path through a nature preserve.
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The path is fairly wide here, so it's easy to walk.
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Thank you.
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I don't have to worry about cars or traffic.
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It's just me.
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the path the trees, My dog is with me.
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And everything else that's around me.
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When we talk about walking, there are several different ways we can describe what we're doing, We can say...
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I'm walking.
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we can say, I'm going for a walk.
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Or we can say, I'm taking a walk.
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These are all very common expressions.
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If someone asks me What are you doing?
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I could simply say, I'm going for a walk. And if someone asks...
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Where are you going?
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I could say, I'm just taking a walk through the preserve.
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There's something nice about going for a walk without having a particular destination.
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Sometimes when I walk, I have somewhere I need to go.
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Thank you.
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But sometimes, I just walk.
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for the sake of walking.
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I want to get some exercise.
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I walk because I enjoy being outside.
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I enjoy...
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observing nature and sometimes a walk.
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because I just want to clear my head.
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Thank you.
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That's a useful expression.
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to clear your head if you have a lot on your mind You might go for a walk.
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to Clear your head.
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You don't necessarily have to think about anything in particular.
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You can just walk and pay attention to what's right in front of you.
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You can't clear your head with a cell phone in your hand.
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As I walk along this path, I'm surrounded by trees and plants.
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This is one of the things I like about walking in a nature preserve.
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You can get away from the noise of the city.
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You can hear birds and insects.
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You can see how nature changes according to this season.
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And depending on where you are, You might see squirrels.
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rabbits deer or other wildlife I'm looking around.
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as I walk.
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There are trees and open fields.
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on both sides of the path.
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some of the trees are quite tall.
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there are bushes and other plants growing along the path Thank you.
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you might notice that I'm not walking particularly fast.
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I'm just taking my time.
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Take your time.
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is a very useful expression in English.
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If someone says, Take your time.
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they mean Don't hurry.
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There's no need to rush.
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So.. when I'm walking like this I'm taking my time I'm not in a hurry.
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to get anywhere.
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Thank you.
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I'm just enjoying the walk.
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I'm following the path.
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as it goes through the preserve.
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We use the word path for a place where people walk.
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especially in a park or an area like this.
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You might also hear the word Trail.
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trail is usually a path through a natural area For example,
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you could say, I'm walking on a nature trail.
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or There is a hiking trail.
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through the woods a hiking trail is more natural and less developed than a sidewalk.
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A sidewalk, of course, is what you normally find alongside a street.
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later in this video I'll be on a sidewalk.
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I'll be walking on the sidewalk.
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But for now, I'm walking on a trail.
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The trail isn't perfectly straight.
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it curves from one side to the other.
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we can say that the path curves.
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or we could say that the path winds through the trees.
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or it winds through the fields.
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when something whines, It doesn't go in a straight line.
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It goes.
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This way...
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and that way. So we could say...
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The trail winds through the woods.
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or it winds through the preserve That's a very natural expression. as I continue walking.
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The ground.
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isn't completely flat.
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There are some areas where the trail goes slightly uphill when you're walking,
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You might say, I'm walking uphill.
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And when the path goes down, say: I'm walking downhill.
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You can also say I'm going up the hill or I'm going down the hill.
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If the hill isn't very steep, Thank you.
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you might say it has a gentle slope a slope is an area of ground that goes up or down gradually
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it's very steep you might say Thank you.
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It's a steep hill.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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walking uphill can be good exercise.
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You may notice that you have to work a little harder.
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heart starts beating faster and You may start breathing.
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a little more heavily Thank you.
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but when you get to the top Thank you you can walk downhill again.
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And of course, walking downhill, is usually easier.
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This is where I like to stop.
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and take a look at the surrounding area.
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Thank you.
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It's a beautiful day today you What a day!
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Let me say a few things about what we see while walking.
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One nice thing about walking is that you have time to notice things.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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If you're driving, you're moving too quickly to notice every little thing.
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But.. when you're walking, you can slow down.
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you can stop You can look around.
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You can listen.
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you can notice small things that you might otherwise miss.
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Maybe there is an interesting tree.
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Maybe there's a bird.
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sitting on a branch.
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Maybe you notice some flowers.
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You might see a deer or a rabbit.
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running across the path.
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You never really know what you're going to see.
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That's one of the things I like about walking.
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It's a simple activity.
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but there's always something to notice.
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Thank you.
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Walking is also a very simple form of exercise.
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You don't need a gym.
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You don't need special equipment.
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You don't need to be an athlete.
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You just need a comfortable pair of shoes.
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and a place to walk.
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You can walk around your neighborhood.
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You can walk.
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in a park.
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You can walk.
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on a treadmill.
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Thank you.
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You can walk on a trail, as I'm doing now.
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You can even walk to work or school.
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And that's actually what I'm going to be doing in the next part of the video.
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I'm going to walk to the school where I teach So this video is going to change a little bit.
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Right now, I'm surrounded by nature.
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later, I'll be walking through a residential neighborhood.
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Now I'm walking through a residential neighborhood.
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a residential neighborhood, is an area where people live.
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This particular neighborhood is next to a public park.
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Here you'll see sculpture and beautifully maintained gardens.
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You'll see.
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houses apartment buildings Office buildings.
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sidewalks, driveways, lawns, and other things associated with people's homes.
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this neighborhood is fairly quiet.
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It's early in the morning.
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There isn't a lot of traffic.
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I can hear the sounds of the neighborhood as I walk.
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Thank you.
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When we talk about walking in a neighborhood, we often use the expression walk around the neighborhood.
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- For example, I like to walk around my neighborhood in the evening Thank you.
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or I usually take a walk around the neighborhood after dinner.
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you don't necessarily have a specific destination.
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You're just walking around.
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But today, I actually do have a destination.
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I'm walking to school.
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I'm on my way.
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to the school where I teach.
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When we have a destination, we use "walk to" I'm walking to school.
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I'm walking to work.
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I'm walking to the store.
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I'm walking to the park.
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But notice that we don't usually say, I'm walking to home.
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Instead, we say, I'm walking home.
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That's an interesting thing about English.
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you can say, I'm walking to school. But...
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I'm walking home.
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You can also say, "I'm walking back home." If I've been somewhere and I'm returning to my house,
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I might say, I'm walking back home.
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Now I'm walking along a sidewalk.
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the sidewalk runs next to the street.
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There are buildings on one side of the street and There are cars driving along the street.
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when you're walking in a neighborhood, You need to pay attention to traffic.
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even when you're on the sidewalk.
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You should be aware of cars coming out of driveways or turning at intersections.
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An intersection is a place where two or more streets meet.
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you might have to across the street, at an intersection Here's an intersection coming up ahead.
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when you cross the street, You walk from one side of the street, to the other.
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you might wait for traffic.
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You might look both ways.
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In fact, you should look both ways.
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And then when it's safe, You cross.
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I'm entering a residential area.
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As I walk through the neighborhood, I'm passing houses.
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Many of the houses have front yards, A yard is the area of grass and plants.
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around a house.
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the area in front of a house is the front yard.
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the area behind the house is the backyard.
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Some people have gardens in their yards.
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Other people just.. let their yards go.
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They don't do any special landscaping. which is okay.
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It is their yard.
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And they can do as they please.
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Now I'm passing by a church.
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There are many churches in neighborhoods.
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Thank you.
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People don't always walk at the same speed.
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Sometimes you walk slowly.
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Sometimes you walk quickly.
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if you're in a hurry, you might walk fast.
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You might even "Hurry along." To walk briskly means to walk fairly quickly and with energy.
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You might hear someone say, I try to get 30 minutes of brisk walking every day.
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that's a little more formal than saying I go for a walk.
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Another expression is to take a stroll.
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A stroll is a slow, relaxed walk.
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For example, After dinner, we took a stroll around the neighborhood.
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That's a nice expression.
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A stroll isn't about exercise.
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or getting somewhere quickly It's about enjoying the walk.
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But today, I'm walking to school.
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I'm not strolling have a destination, and I have to get to the building on time.
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Thank you.
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One of the reasons I enjoy walking is that walking gives me time to think.
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when you are sitting at a desk all day You spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen.
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when you're walking, you're moving your body.
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and looking at the world around you.
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Sometimes I think about what I'm going to teach that day.
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sometimes I think about things I need to do.
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There are a lot of things on my mind.
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Sometimes I think about a video I'm working on.
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And sometimes I don't think about anything in particular.
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I just walk.
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I walk to get some fresh air.
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That's another expression we use.
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get some fresh air.
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Fresh air means air outside especially air that feels clean and refreshing.
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Someone might say, Why don't you go outside?
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and get some fresh air.
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That's a very common suggestion.
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If you've been inside for several hours, getting outside and going for a walk.
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can make you feel refreshed.
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This is a very large field that I walk through and every day.
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Sometimes I'd ride my bike through this field, I'm getting closer to the school now.
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I've been walking for quite a while.
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The scenery has changed.
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but I'm still doing the same basic thing.
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I'm walking.
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That's one reason I wanted to make this video.
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The vocabulary we use to talk about walking isn't difficult.
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but there are many small expressions that are useful in everyday life conversation.
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We can go for a walk.
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We can take a walk.
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we can take a stroll we can walk along a path.
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We can walk through the woods.
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We can walk around the neighborhood.
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We can walk to work.
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we can walk home.
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we can walk uphill.
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We can walk.
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Downhill.
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And we can walk briskly if we're getting some exercise.
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Or we can walk quickly if we have a destination to get to.
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These are the kinds of expressions that become easier when you hear them repeatedly in context.
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And now I'm getting close to the school. So...
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My walk is almost over.
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I started in a nature preserve and then I changed locations.
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walking through a residential neighborhood.
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And soon I'll arrive at my destination.
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which is the school.
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where I teach.
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I've had a chance to get some exercise.
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get some fresh air and spend some time outside.
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I've also had a chance to talk to you in English.
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That's what Learn English Naturally is all about.
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I don't want you to feel that you always have to sit down and study English.
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Of course, studying is important.
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Learning vocabulary is important.
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learning grammar is important.
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But it's also important to hear English being used naturally Listen to English.
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listen to people talking.
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Listen to podcasts.
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Watch videos.
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watch videos made by other teachers And if possible,
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spend some time actually using the language.
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You don't have to understand every single word.
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In fact, You probably won't. and that's okay.
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Try to understand.
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the general meaning.
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Listen for words that you already know.
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and when you hear a new word try to understand it from the context.
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then if you're still not sure what it means, Look it up later.
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you So that's my walk for today.
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I started in the nature preserve.
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and I walked along a trail.
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I walked through the trees.
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and went uphill and downhill.
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Then I left the preserve and walked through a residential neighborhood I walked along the sidewalk.
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Thank you.
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I walked on the sidewalk.
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I passed houses and yards.
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I I crossed streets.
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and continued toward the school. And now I've arrived.
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Here you'll see: a soccer field outside of the building where I teach.
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These are the Lincoln soccer fields.
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If you're learning English, you can use that time to practice.
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as you're walking.
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look around, describe what you see in English.
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There's a car.
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There's a tree.
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There's a dog.
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There's a soccer field.
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You can say to yourself, "I'm crossing the street." Or,
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"I'm walking toward the park." Or, I'm walking home.
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You don't have to make complicated sentences.
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Start with simple sentences.
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as your english improves You can make your sentences longer and more descriptive.
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For example, I'm walking along the sidewalk.
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or "I'm walking toward the school." I'm taking a walk through the park.
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because I want to get some fresh air.
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That's how you can practice English.
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naturally.
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learn English naturally as you think to yourself, and think in English.
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Here is the building.
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where I teach.
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This building was built in 1957.
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It used to be a high school and now it's several schools together.
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using the same building.
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My students are adults.
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I don't work with children.
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But there is a school for children within this building.
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It's a beautiful building.
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On the outside, And the inside.
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I hope you enjoyed the walk.
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I'll see you again soon.
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on Learn American English Online on YouTube.
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What You'll Learn from This Walk
This video is perfect for english speaking practice and even IELTS speaking practice—it teaches you to talk about daily activities naturally. You’ll learn how to describe a walk using common phrases like "going for a walk" or "taking a walk," and how to explain your reasons for walking, such as "to clear my head" (a great phrase for casual or exam conversations). Plus, you’ll pick up how to talk about your surroundings, like "surrounded by trees" or "observing nature," which are useful for both everyday chats and structured speaking tests.
Listen For These Sounds
Pay attention to connected speech in the dialogue. The speaker often links words, like "going for a walk" (sounding more like "gonna for a walk" with soft linking) or "I'm just taking a walk" (where "I'm just" blends into "I'mjus"). You’ll also hear reductions, such as "don't worry about it" becoming "don't worry ‘bout it" and "because" shortened to "‘cause." These small sounds make your speech flow like a native’s—key for learn english with youtube success.
Say It Like a Native: Try Shadowing
To mirror the speaker’s rhythm, practice shadowspeak (or shadow speak)—repeat the words aloud as you hear them, matching the stress and pace. Notice how she stresses words like "nice," "enjoy," and "clear" to emphasize feelings, and keeps a relaxed, conversational speed. For example, when she says, "Sometimes I walk just for the sake of walking," stress "just" and "sake" to sound natural. This technique not only improves your pronunciation but also helps you think in English, making it easier to respond quickly in real conversations. Whether you’re prepping for IELTS or just want to chat more smoothly, shadowing this video is a fun, effective way to practice.
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 been · you've been · has changed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is found · was built |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might be · might go · might see |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | more important than · less developed than · more formal than |
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.