Shadowing Practice: Learn English Through Travel Stories | Listening Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I have to tell you something embarrassing.
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The first time I traveled abroad, I packed three weeks before my flight.
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Three weeks.
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My suitcase was just sitting in the middle of my bedroom like a piece of furniture.
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My family kept walking around it.
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Nobody said anything.
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I think they were being kind. But here's the thing.
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I wasn't nervous about the flight or the hotel or even being in a completely different country for the first time.
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What made me nervous was talking.
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Just talking to real people. In English.
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Outside of a classroom.
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Without a textbook somewhere nearby.
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And I remember thinking, what if I freeze?
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What if someone asks me something simple and my brain just goes completely blank, and I stand there looking like I've never studied a single word in my life?
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That fear is real, by the way.
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It's not dramatic.
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A lot of people feel exactly that.
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This gap between knowing a language and actually using it when it matters.
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When someone is standing in front of you, waiting for an answer.
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So today I want to talk about traveling abroad and how to actually talk about it, before, during, and after in English.
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Not in a textbook way.
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In a real, useful, human way.
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Because traveling gives you so much to say.
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And honestly, it's one of the best topics to practice with.
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It's personal, it's interesting, and almost everyone has something to share,
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even if their trip was just a weekend in a nearby city that didn't go exactly as planned.
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Let me start with something small but important.
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When people ask you about a trip, past or future in English, they usually don't start with complicated questions.
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They start with things like, Where did you go?
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Or, How was it?
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Or, Have you ever been to...
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Simple questions.
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But if you're not used to answering in English, even simple can feel hard.
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So what helps?
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Having a few sentences ready.
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Not memorized like a robot, just familiar, comfortable, like words you've said before and know how to hold.
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Think about a place you've been, or a place you really want to go.
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Hold that in your mind for a second, because we're going to use it.
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So you have that place in your mind.
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Good.
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Hold on to it.
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Now, one thing I've noticed, and this took me a while to figure out, is that when people talk about travel in English,
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they use a pretty specific set of phrases.
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Not fancy ones, just natural ones that keep coming up again and again in real conversations.
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Things like, I've always wanted to go there,
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which is perfect when someone mentions a destination and you feel that little spark of excitement.
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Or, it was my first time abroad.
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Simple, honest, and it immediately gives the conversation somewhere to go.
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And then there's, I didn't expect it to be like that.
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That one is so useful, because travel almost never goes exactly the way you imagined, right?
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Sometimes it's better.
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Sometimes it's weirder.
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Sometimes you end up eating something you can't identify, and you're not sure if you liked it or not, but you ate the whole thing anyway.
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That's a real travel story.
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That's the stuff people actually want to hear.
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What I find beautiful about talking about travel is
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that it's one of those topics where your personal experience is the whole point.
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Nobody expects you to be an expert.
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Nobody wants a Wikipedia summary.
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They want to know what you saw, what you felt, what surprised you.
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And that's actually great news if you're learning English, because you already have the content, you lived it, you just need the words to carry it.
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So here are a few more phrases worth getting comfortable with.
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The thing that surprised me most was, that one opens up so many honest, interesting answers.
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Or, I wish I had more time to.
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Which is lovely because it shows what mattered to you.
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And, I'd definitely go back because… Or, on the other side, I probably wouldn't go back, but I'm glad I went.
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Both are valid.
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Both are interesting.
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Notice how all of these invite a real answer.
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They're not yes or no. They pull out a story.
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And you have stories.
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I promise you do.
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Even if you think your trip was ordinary, it wasn't.
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Not really.
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The best travel conversations, the ones you actually remember are never the ones you planned.
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They happen in random places, in a queue at the airport, at a small cafe where you sat down because your feet hurt and you needed five minutes,
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on a bus where you accidentally made eye contact with someone
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and then felt like you had to say something so it wouldn't be awkward.
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I had one of those once.
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I was waiting at a train station somewhere, completely lost.
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Not geographically, I knew where I was.
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But I couldn't figure out which platform I needed, and the signs were confusing, and I was doing that thing where you look at your phone,
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then at the sign, then at your phone again, hoping the answer will change.
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And this older woman just looked at me and said, where are you trying to go?
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And I told her.
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And she pointed.
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And then somehow we ended up talking for 20 minutes about food.
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I don't even remember how we got there.
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But I remember she told me the best thing she'd ever eaten was something her grandmother made, and she couldn't even describe it properly, and she laughed at herself for that.
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That conversation happened in English, imperfect English.
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Both of us stumbling a little, neither of us caring.
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And that is the thing I want you to hold onto.
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Fluency isn't what makes a conversation real.
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Connection is.
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When you're traveling and speaking English, you don't need to be perfect.
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You need to be present.
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You need to be willing to try, to ask, to respond even when you're not sure you have the right word.
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Phrases like, sorry, could you say that again?
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Or I'm not sure I understood.
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Do you mean?
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These aren't signs of weakness.
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They're signs of someone who actually wants to communicate.
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People respect that, more than you'd think.
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And honestly, most people you meet while traveling are also a little outside their comfort zone.
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You're not alone in that feeling.
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Not even close.
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There's this specific feeling that happens when you come back from a trip.
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You walk back into your normal life.
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Your room.
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Your routine.
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Your usual coffee.
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Your usual everything.
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And But for a day or two, something feels slightly off.
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Not bad, just different.
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Like you've changed a small amount and your surroundings haven't caught up yet.
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I love that feeling actually, even when it's uncomfortable.
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Because it means something happened.
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Something shifted.
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And one of the best things you can do with that feeling, especially if you're learning English, is talk about it.
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Write about it.
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voice memo it to yourself at midnight if you have to.
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Get it out in English while it's still fresh and alive inside you.
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Because here's what traveling does that no classroom can fully replicate.
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It gives you real memories attached to real language.
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And that combination is powerful in a way that's hard to explain, but very easy to feel.
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When you say, I was standing in front of this incredible view and I didn't have the words for it.
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That moment lives in you.
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And the next time you look for those words, they come a little easier, because now they're connected to something true.
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So when someone asks you about your trip, a co-worker, a friend, someone you just met, don't just say, it was good.
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Try, reach for something real.
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Say, it was overwhelming in the best way.
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Or, I came back feeling like I needed to go back already.
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Or even, honestly, it didn't go as planned, but I learned a lot from that.
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Those answers start conversations.
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They invite people in.
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They make you memorable.
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And isn't that part of what language is for?
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Not just to exchange information, but to actually reach someone.
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To make them feel like they were almost there with you.
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You've been traveling, even if only in your imagination today And Charlotte's been right here with you
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Same time tomorrow Take care of yourself
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will enhance your English speaking skills through real-life travel stories. You will practice formulating responses to common questions about travel experiences, both past and future. By the end, you will feel more confident discussing your travel adventures with others. This lesson is designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world conversation, making it perfect for those preparing for IELTS speaking practice or simply looking to improve their English conversation skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Where did you go? - A common question that opens up conversations about travel destinations.
- How was it? - An informal inquiry about someone’s experience, inviting them to share stories.
- I’ve always wanted to go there. - A great phrase to express enthusiasm for a travel location.
- It was my first time abroad. - Use this to share your inaugural international experience.
- I didn’t expect it to be like that. - Useful for discussing unexpected aspects of travel.
- Travel gives you so much to say. - A reminder of how engaging travel stories can be.
- Talking to real people. - Refers to the experience of conversing outside of a classroom setting.
- I remember thinking... - A great way to initiate sharing personal thoughts or feelings.
Practice Tips
To effectively use this lesson for your speaking practice, consider shadowing the video. Shadowing involves mimicking the speaker's tone, pace, and pronunciation. As you listen, pay attention to how the speaker delivers each phrase. Start at a comfortable speed, even if it means pausing the video frequently. Aim to capture the essence of shadowspeak, where you not only repeat words but also emulate the emotion and rhythm.
Given the speaker’s natural pace, don't rush. Instead, focus on clarity and expression. As you shadow, think about the improve English pronunciation techniques you can employ. Listen for intonation patterns and stress, especially on key phrases mentioned above. This approach will not just bolster your vocabulary but strengthen your overall shadow speech capabilities.
Finally, integrate the phrases into your daily conversations. Share travel stories with friends or join speaking clubs where you can practice. Whether you’re preparing for IELTS speaking or looking to enhance your conversational skills, frequent practice is crucial. The more you engage with these phrases in real scenarios, the more confident you will become in your English speaking abilities.
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 never studied · Have you ever been · you've said |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was just sitting · were being · was talking |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | kept walking · keep coming |
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.