Shadowing Practice: Learn English With Disney | Cinderella - Learn English Speaking with Video
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251 sentences
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My dress.
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I can't go in this dress.
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Can you mend it?
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Mend it?
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No, no, I'll turn it into something new.
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Oh, no, please don't.
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This was my mother's. And...
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And I'd like to wear it when I go to the palace.
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It's almost like taking her with me.
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I understand.
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But she wouldn't mind if I.. cleared up a bit.
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Wouldn't mind an ice blue.
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No. What's
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up Global Citizens, I'm Oli and today we are learning English with the classic story of Cinderella.
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Now there are many different versions of this fairy tale
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but one of the most well -known is the animation from Disney from the 1950s.
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And did you know that in 2015 it was made into a movie?
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If you've seen this movie let me know in the comments below.
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In this lesson we're going to watch two scenes from the 2015 movie
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and I'm going to teach you some vocabulary
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and then at the end you're going to have the opportunity to watch the two scenes without subtitles
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and I'm going to quiz you with some questions.
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So make sure you watch all of this lesson to test yourself at the end.
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But before we get started I want to tell you that we help you understand fast English without getting lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles.
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Just ask Anna Victoria who says she is now watching movies without subtitles.
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So take your English to the next level like Anna Victoria.
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It's really simple.
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All you need to do is hit that subscribe button
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and the bell down below so you don't miss any of our new lessons.
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Cinderella tells the story of an orphan girl who is made a servant by her stepmother and stepsisters.
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One day the king invites all the single ladies in the kingdom to come to a ball, so that the prince can choose one to be his wife.
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In hopes to attend the ball, Cinderella, along with the help of the house mice, fix an old dress of her late mother. But then...
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I don't want to ruin anything.
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I don't even want to meet the prince.
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No, and you won't.
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Because there's no question of your going.
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But all of the maidens of the land are invited, by order of the king.
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It is the king I'm thinking of.
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It would be an insult to the royal personage to take you to the palace dressed in these old rags.
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Rags?
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This was my mother's.
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Oh, I'm sorry to have to tell you, but your mother's taste was questionable.
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This thing is so old -fashioned, it's practically falling to pieces.
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The shoulder's frayed.
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Oh!
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Oh!
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It's falling to bits. And this?
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Oh!
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It's a ridiculous, old -fashioned joke.
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How could you?
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How could I otherwise?
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I will not have anyone associate my daughters with you.
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It would ruin their prospects to be seen arriving with a ragged servant girl.
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Because that is what you are.
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And that is what you will always be.
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Now mark my words.
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You shall not go to the ball.
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I don't want to ruin anything.
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I don't even want to meet the prince.
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No, and you won't.
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Because there's no question of your going.
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But all of the maidens of the land are invited by order of the king.
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Maiden is a word used to describe an unmarried young woman.
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Cinderella is a beautiful and kind maiden.
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Because of that, her stepmother keeps Cinderella as busy as she can, fearing she will be the centre of attention at the ball
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and her daughters won't be able to have the chance to meet the prince.
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So when she says, this is no question if you're going, she means that there's no chance, no possibility of her going to the ball.
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You must find the maiden that belongs to that sweet voice!
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Oh no, come back sire!
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Personage is used to describe distinct, famous or important people, such as the king.
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When speaking about the importance of the event, Cinderella's stepmother disdains her dress calling it old rags.
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Rags is a word used to refer to clothes that are visibly old and torn, like these.
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Mother, I don't see why everybody else seems to have such nice things to wear.
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And I always end up in these old rags.
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Another way of using this word is in the expression from rags to riches.
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This means that someone who grew up in poverty now has great wealth.
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We can even use it to describe Cinderella's story.
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Cinderella is a rags to riches tale of a servant girl who becomes a princess.
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Sorry to have to tell you, but your mother's taste was questionable.
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this thing is
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so old -fashioned it's practically falling to pieces it's a ridiculous old -fashioned joke
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if someone has questionable taste it means the things
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that this person likes or wears are not socially acceptable
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or are quite different and distinct from everyone else so
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when Cinderella's stepmother says that her dress is so old -fashioned she means
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that her dress is not contemporary and that Cinderella's style is not fashion in modern -day society.
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You can also use old -fashioned to describe someone who has old and outdated ideas.
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Fraid is used to describe clothes that are worn at the edges, especially if they are old or were worn many times.
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You use falling to pieces or falling to bits to describe something that is being physically ruined.
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The stepmother and the sisters say this as they destroy Cinderella's dress.
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However, you can also use this expression when someone is emotionally unstable or very upset.
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My hula career is falling to pieces, and you're worried about stinkin' work!
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How could you?
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How could I otherwise?
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I will not have anyone associate my daughters with you.
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It would ruin their prospects to be seen arriving with a ragged servant girl, because that is what you are, and that is what you will always be.
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how could you is a phrase used to express surprise
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or strong disapproval of another person's behavior or actions dear oh how frightfully upsetting had i but known
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what do you mean sadly the boy's sentence has already been carried out what sentence death by beheading.
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No. I am exceedingly sorry, Princess.
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How could you?
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I will not have anyone associate my daughters with you.
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What does associate mean in this context?
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That's right, to be associated with someone is to be connected and to have a relationship with that person.
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It could be a family, friend or business relationship.
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Cinderella's stepmother says
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that by having her daughters connected to her would ruin the girl's chances of becoming a part of the royalty.
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The reason for that is because Cinderella is a servant, that is, someone who does domestic services for another person.
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Servant is not a common word these days, so you will hear servants being referred to as attendants or domestic workers.
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Her stepmother and stepsisters ever misused her.
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By and by they considered Ella less a sister than a servant.
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Now mark my words, you shall not go to the ball.
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Shall is quite a formal word used to say that something certainly will or must happen.
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For example, your English teacher might tell you to do your homework.
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You could say, I shall do it.
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You are therefore telling your teacher that you will definitely do it.
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It is important to note that shall is quite an old -fashioned word.
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Ball is a large social gathering for dancing.
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Cinderella's stepmother wants to make clear that she won't allow Cinderella to go to the ball, so she says, mark my words.
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This expression can be used when you want the person to pay attention and remember what you are saying.
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unholy powers vested in me, I banish you with a curse.
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Mark my words, you and your family will die within the fortnight.
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If you love Disney movies then make sure you check out this playlist.
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We've made lessons with Ratatouille, Maleficent, Soul and much more.
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So despite her stepmother forbidding her to go to the ball,
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Cinderella is helped by the house animals and the fairy godmother and eventually makes it to the ball.
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Importantly, she must return to her house by midnight.
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Otherwise, the people at the ball will realise that she is not a royal personage.
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And can you imagine?
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Her stepmother would be outraged if she sees her there.
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While at the ball, she dances with the prince.
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However, when the clock strikes twelve, she runs out of the palace, leaving behind only a crystal slipper.
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I'm no princess I have no carriage no parents no dowry
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I do not even know if that beautiful slipper will fit but if it does will you take me as I am
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an honest country girl who loves you Of course I will.
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But only if you will take me as I am.
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An apprentice still learning his trade.
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Please. Who are you?
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I am Cinderella.
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Your Majesty, I'm no princess.
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I have no carriage, no parents, no dowry.
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Cinderella had no one to look after her, and she also had no access to her family's money as her stepmother made her a servant.
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For that reason, she couldn't offer anything of value to their marriage in some cultures it was
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and still is customary for the brides the woman's family to pay an amount of money
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or give a property to the prospective husband prior to marriage
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this is called dowry look at these shoes where did you
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get these they're danielle's dowry for her wedding cinderella married i do not even know if that beautiful slipper will fit
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Cinderella's glass slippers are an important part of the story.
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As she loses one in a hurry to leave the ball before midnight, the shoe becomes the only piece of evidence for the prince to find her.
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The slippers, in this context, are easy to wear shoes.
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Nowadays, you can use the word slippers to describe these types of shoes.
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Did you notice that she didn't contract the words do and not?
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You can hear the word do and not clearly.
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As the story is set in the past, they speak in a quite posh way.
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You can also hear how she connects the T from not with the E from even.
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But in connected fast speech, these two words often become one word, don't.
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Americans tend to omit the T sound in a sentence, so they would probably say, I don't even know.
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And they would connect the N sound with the E from even.
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I don't even know.
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Compare how the word don't is pronounced differently in these examples.
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Shut up, you're gonna get in.
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Don't even pretend to think otherwise.
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You don't even realise how lucky you are never to know what it is to grow old.
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But, if it does, will you take me as I am?
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Country is the region away from the big cities.
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Country girl then refers to a girl from a rural, pastoral area.
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So I'm a country girl I love the trees and the flowers Here
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Cinderella reminds the prince that she's poor and not sophisticated like other young women from the court.
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That's why she says, Take me as I am, which means accept me for who I am.
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This is said often in the context of a romantic relationship, to tell the other person that you might not have all the qualities and characteristics she or he expects.
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If you want to learn more about connected speech, then I highly recommend our Fluent with Friends course.
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In this 48 -week course, you're going to learn with the first two seasons of Friends.
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Each week you will receive PDF power lessons,
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vocabulary memorization software, lifetime access to our Fluency Circle global community and so much more.
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To learn more all you need to do is click up here or down in the description below.
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Of course I will, but only if you will take me as I am, an apprentice still learning his trade.
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Please.
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Trade is used to refer to a job that demands special training.
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An apprentice is a person who is still learning from a more experienced person the skills to perform a certain job.
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Common trade jobs include a carpenter, an electrician, a mechanic etc.
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Here we have two examples of how words can link together.
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First, you can notice that he connects the words but and only, making it sound but only.
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The word but will often connect with the next word if it starts with a vowel sound.
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Note that in American English it sounds more like this, but only.
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The T sound becomes a D sound.
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Try to say these sentences, connecting but with the words that come next.
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Repeat after me.
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I may come with you but I'm not sure.
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He tried reading this novel but after a while he gave up.
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I'm trying to help but if she doesn't say, I'll never know.
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Did you notice how my Australian pronunciation is similar to American pronunciation?
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While Brits would say, but only, for Americans and Australians the T becomes a flap T which sounds like a D sound, but only.
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Try and say it, but only.
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Then we have the word as connecting with I, becoming as I.
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Notice that although as is spelled with S, this letter sounds like Z, as.
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Pronouncing it with an S sound may cause some confusion because the word arse means something completely different.
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Alrighty, do you remember at the start I said you're going to have a quiz? well it's time for that.
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So we're gonna watch the two scenes again without subtitles
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and there's going to be a couple of questions in there that you will need to answer.
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Let me know if you get all the questions correct down in the comments below
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and don't forget to hit that subscribe button and the bell down below so you don't miss any of our new lesson.
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I don't want to ruin anything.
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I don't even want to meet the prince.
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No, and you won't.
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Because there's no question of your going.
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But all of the maidens of the land are invited.
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By order of the king.
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It is the king I am thinking of.
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It would be an insult to the royal personage to take you to the palace dressed in these old rags.
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Rags?
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This was my mother's.
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Oh, I'm sorry to have to tell you, but your mother's taste was questionable.
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This thing is so old -fashioned.
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Old -fashioned is the opposite of...
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A. Outdated B.
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Contemporary C.
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Unfinished Thank you.
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It's practically falling to pieces.
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The shoulder's frayed!
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No way you're leaving home wearing this frayed shirt.
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Which picture best represents the meaning of frayed?
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It's falling to bits.
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It's a ridiculous old -fashioned joke.
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How could you?
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How could I otherwise?
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I will not have anyone associate my daughters with you.
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It would ruin their prospects to be seen arriving with a ragged servant girl, because that is what you are, and that is what you will always be.
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Now mark my words.
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You shall not go to the ball. Who are you?
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I am Cinderella.
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Your Majesty...
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I'm no princess.
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I have no carriage.
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No parents.
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No dowry.
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I do not even know if that beautiful slipper will fit. But... If it does...
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Will you take me as I am?
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I'm an honest country girl who loves you.
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Of course I will.
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But only if you will take me as I am.
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An apprentice still learning his trade.
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What would be another word for trade?
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A. Task B.
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Hobby C.
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Job Thank you.
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I never hung out with you in the afternoon like this.
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And this lighting, man, man, you look disgusting.
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Yeah.
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Well, I don't know how you get me to fall for that egg -shaped head every morning.
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Oh, all I have to do is slide on my designer jeans and just kind of wiggle in front of you.
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You go nuts.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 251 sentences and 2701 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:49. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| servant noun | /ˈsɝvənt/ | One who is hired to perform regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. As opposed to a slave. |
| ruin noun | /ˈɹuː.ɪn/ | The remains of a destroyed or dilapidated construction, such as a house or castle. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| maiden noun | /ˈmeɪdən/ | A girl or an unmarried young woman. |
| associate noun | /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/ | A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or employee. |
| palace noun | /ˈpælɪs/ | Official residence of a head of state or other dignitary, especially in a monarchical or imperial governmental system. |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| questionable adjective | /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənəbl̩/ | Problematic; open to doubt or challenge. |
| apprentice noun | /əˈpɹɛntɪs/ | A trainee, especially in a skilled trade. |
| ridiculous adjective | /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/ | Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| practically adverb | /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.k(ə.)li/ | In practice; in effect or in actuality, though possibly not officially, technically, or legally. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| clear up verb | /klɪəˈɹʌp/ | To clarify, to correct a misconception. |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| leave behind verb | To abandon. | |
| shut up | /ʃʌt ʌp/ | Stop talking (usually in the form of making annoying, irrelevant, or false comments, during a period of peace and quiet, or when one is not allowed to talk)… |
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 it does, will you · if she doesn't say, I'll never |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was made · is hit · is made |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who grew · someone who has · someone who does |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've seen · has already been carried · We've made |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 59 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, stepmother /ˈstɛpmʌðə/, godmother /ˈɡɒdmʌðə/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, shoe /ˈʃu/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, animation /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, practically /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.k(ə.)li/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.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 connect, servant, ruin.
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.