Shadowing Practice: Learn English with Disney+ | Soul [Advanced Lesson] - Learn English Speaking with Video

How'd it go for it?

Today started out as the best day of my life.

Yes!

Woo -hoo!

You know what that's going to say?

Joe Gardner.

Ha ha ha ha.

I did it.

I got the gig.

Ah!

Oh!

Oof.

What the?

What is this place?

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I play this jazz teacher who's sort of stuck, happily stuck, but still stuck in a job where he's teaching jazz,

which is a sort of a throwback of a trade when it comes to musical trade.

He's teaching jazz to his little kids in school.

So in the following clip from Seoul, Joe receives some news.

Watch it and then answer in the comments.

How would you explain his reaction to that news?

our full -time band teacher job security medical insurance pension Wow

that's great welcome to the MS 70 family Joe permanently thanks

but Joe has always dreamed of being something else in his heart he's a musician at heart

and since he was very young Joe always wanted to be a professional jazz musician you could say

that jazz music is the dream that Joe's been pursuing on nights and weekends his entire adult life.

I play this jazz teacher who's sort of stuck, happily stuck, but still stuck in a job where he's teaching jazz.

When you say you're stuck, you're unable to escape from a bad or boring situation.

I've been stuck with you since birth and that was never there before.

Yes it was.

Then I realized we had done this same silly charade our entire lives.

I tried to get my mind off how I was feeling, but I just felt stuck.

Joe, the character that Jamie Foxx plays, has big dreams.

However, he feels stuck because he's unable to make progress towards that dream.

In which of these three clips is the word stuck used literally, meaning unable to move.

I've been stuck in that job for eons.

I needed a change.

Huh?

You're stuck.

Stuck?

Nah, what?

Stuck?

Nah.

This is not enough.

Yeah, I'm stuck.

McQueen's probability of winning is 1 .2%.

Wow.

Numbers never lie.

I mean, I knew his career was stuck in the mo -

Jazz is a throwback music genre

because you associate it with the past this is true of jazz

and you could say blues as well here's an example her whole outfit was a throwback to the 1970s

if you use Instagram you'd probably be familiar with throwback Thursday

which is a day

that people commonly upload old pictures of themselves back to Jamie

he refers to jazz as a trade what do you think

that means a job a music genre an item of clothing

if you chose a you're right however trade is not an

exact synonym of job in a general way a trade is a particular business

or industry it also refers to the skills a person needs

to do a particular job see here how joey from friends

teaches tricks of the acting trade okay some tricks of the trade.

Let's say I want to convey that I've uh just done something evil.

Well that would be your basic I've got a fish hook in my eyebrow and I like it.

I'll be right back.

Practice your scales.

We say this or be right back for short, denounce

that we're leaving a place for a

short period of time what he

means by you're doing my ears a favor is

that his students are playing music so badly

that he is relieved to take a break from hearing them

let's now take a look at the connected speech in this

sentence what can i do for you principal arroyo i wanted

to deliver the good news personally first this is one single

word chunk what can i do for you what can i do for you but

if you first divide it into two you'd first say what

can i what is said with a stop t what not

a true t what can is reduced to can in do for you for is also reduced for.

This is the whole sentence with IPA symbols.

What can I do for you?

If your job is part -time, it means that you work for only a part of the usual working day.

In this clip, Joe is a substitute teacher, meaning he's stepping in for the regular teacher who at the moment isn't available because of an illness or other reasons.

On the other hand, a full -time job is one in which you spend most of your available time doing, usually considered 40 hours a week.

Let's analyze the pronunciation of this sentence.

He barely emits the T in but he says, but Joe.

Note the clear Z sound in has and always, but Joe has always dreamed of being something else.

Normally when you see the letter S in a final position after a vowel sound, it is pronounced as z.

In dreamed of being, there's a link between the last D in dream and of, dreamed of being.

By the way we've seen a couple examples already in this lesson of fascinating speech.

Now do you get frustrated when you speak like this and you can't understand?

If you're like most learners that I know, I'm sure that your answer was an emphatic yes.

100

Well I'm here to tell you that it does not have to be frustrating.

101

That's exactly why we created our masterclass to help you master the three keys to understanding natives at any speed,

102

which are vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

103

It's absolutely free, so I highly recommend that you give it a try so

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that you can take a step closer to reaching your dreams of understanding English as well as you understand your native language.

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Just click up here or down in the description below to get started.

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This to mean that even though Joe's day job is being a teacher, his real passion is being a musician, more specifically a pianist.

107

To pursue a dream is a way of saying that you're working hard to make your dreams come true.

108

We also commonly say to go after a dream or to chase a dream.

109

it takes a lot of work to achieve your dreams there's always the idea that they are elusive.

110

So that's why we use these words that in their literal sense mean to try to catch a person or an

111

animal hello how you been mr g uh it's curly lamont

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lamont baker hey curly hey good to hear your voice man uh yeah listen You can call me Joe now, Curly.

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I'm not your teacher anymore.

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Okay, Mr. Gardner.

115

Hey, look, I'm the new drummer in the Dorothea Williams Quartet, and we're kicking off our tour with the show at the Half Note tonight.

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Dorothea Williams?

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Are you kidding me?

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Are you kidding me?

119

Congratulations, man.

120

Wow.

121

I would die a happy man if I could perform with Dorothea Williams.

122

Oh, well, this could be your lucky day.

123

There's this big gig that's coming up, and he wants to go play for it and he finally goes

124

and auditions and he gets lost and for musicians

125

or anybody out there

126

when you get lost in your craft he's just in his thing auditioning no nerves he just went

127

and they said wow you're great you will have the gig

128

and then has a accident that causes his soul to leave his body

129

and almost go to the great beyond and

130

so he is trying to get back into his body and back to his life

131

this question is also interesting as an expression a lot of

132

students ask me what's the difference between how are you

133

and how have you been

134

when you ask how have you been you're casually asking how life has been for

135

that person since the last time you saw him or her.

136

Also, natives often reduce this to, have you been?

137

How are you is simply used to ask about a person's state or feeling in the present moment.

138

with the show at the half note tonight dorothea williams are you kidding me are you kidding me

139

congratulations man the phrasal verb to kick something off means to start

140

that thing in this case they're starting the tour

141

which is a journey in which a person

142

or group visits several different places in order to play

143

or perform when joe hears he's playing with dorothea williams he is very surprised

144

so he expressed this by saying are you kidding me wow i would die a happy man

145

if i could perform with Dorothea Williams.

146

Oh well this could be a lucky day.

147

To die a happy man or woman is a phrase that expresses extreme happiness.

148

This is also used to literally describe a person's status or condition before they passed away.

149

Example, he died a hero.

150

Now let's go back to hearing Jamie Foxx talk about this once -in -a -lifetime opportunity that Joe came across.

151

There's this big gig that's coming up.

152

A gig is a performance by a musician or a group of musicians.

153

the beatles tribute band plays several gigs every weekend this is

154

also an informal word used to refer to a job especially one

155

that doesn't last for a long time check out this example

156

you're gonna be great jared i'm just

157

so excited about this gig sir i mean what a what

158

a sweet gig i've got a gig yeah you're saying gig a lot oh

159

so i haven't worked in a while uh

160

and he wants to go play for it and he finally goes

161

and auditions and by play for it he means

162

that he needs to play well enough to convince dorothea

163

or the person in charge of selecting the best musician an audition is an occasion where an actor

164

or singer performs in front of a judge and

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if they're good enough they can get a role in a play movie etc

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or as in this case play an instrument in a concert

167

or gig this is commonly used as a verb to audition uh he gets lost

168

and for musicians or anybody out there

169

when you get lost in your craft he's just in his thing auditioning no nerves he just went and they I said, wow, you're great.

170

You will have the gig.

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Sorry, I zoned out a little back there.

172

And then has an accident that causes his soul to leave his body and almost go to the great beyond.

173

And so he is trying to get back into his body and back to his life.

174

The soul is defined by the part of a person that is not physical and that contains their character, thoughts, and feelings.

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The great beyond is another term for heaven the afterlife

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or a mystical place where the soul of a person goes after they die.

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So we still have one more clip to learn with, but I have a quick question.

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Do you love Disney movies like this one?

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Then next you should check out this playlist where you will find a bunch of other lessons with Disney movies

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that you will adore.

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You can find that clicking up here or down in the description below.

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Uh, hey, uh, is this heaven?

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No. Is it H -E double hockey sticks?

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Help.

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Quiet coyote.

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It's easy to get turned around.

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This isn't the great beyond.

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It's...

189

The Great Before.

190

The Great Before?

191

I play a character named 22 who is a soul that's never been born

192

because even though the people in The Great Before have been trying to convince her, she's had a lot of mentors trying to convince her that life is great and she should go live on Earth,

193

she is very suspect of it.

194

She thinks it sounds scary, painful, difficult, depressing, smelly.

195

She just doesn't want any part of it.

196

She is Joe's chance.

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If he can kind of convince her to go back, then maybe he'll get a chance to go back also.

198

Heaven or paradise is the opposite of hell.

199

Joe's soul is apparently so scared at the possibility

200

that where he wound up is hell that he doesn't even want to utter it, so he spells it, and in a rather childish way by double hockey sticks he

201

means double l a hockey stick looks like a capital l

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by quiet coyote she's gently asking these young souls to be quiet then she made this hand gesture

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because it looks like a coyote closing its mouth so as not to make any noise Also notice the pronunciation, coyote.

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To get turned around means to get lost.

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I play a character named 22 who is a soul that's never been born, because even though the people in the great before have been

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trying to convince her there are some interesting features of connected speech

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and how she says have been trying to convince her have is reduced to of

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and connects to people people of the g in trying isn't pronounced in fact to gets reduced

209

and morphs with trying resulting in tryna finally the h in her is dropped as well

210

and connects to convince convince her she's had a lot of mentors trying to convince her

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that life is great and she should go live on earth.

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A mentor is an experienced person who advises and helps a less experienced person.

213

You took away my future, I'm simply returning the favor.

214

Oh don't worry, I'll be a good mentor, supportive, encouraging, everything you weren't.

215

She is very suspect of it, she thinks it sounds scary, painful, difficult, depressing, smelly, she just doesn't want any part of it.

216

If you suspect something or are suspect of something, you think there's something wrong with it example no one suspected anything was wrong then

217

if you say you don't want any part of something it means

218

that you're unwilling to participate in something or be involved in any way okay

219

so now you're going to test everything you learned today by watching all the clips a final time without subtitles

220

and answering some quiz questions but before you go I wanted to remind you

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that we make three lessons every week to help you understand natives and get confident English fluency.

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So the fastest way to do this is by not missing a single one.

223

So remember to hit that subscribe button and the button below if you haven't yet.

224

I play this jazz teacher who's sort of stuck, happily stuck, but still stuck in a job where teaching jazz

225

which is a sort of a throwback of a trade and

226

when it comes to musical trade he's teaching jazz to his to his little you know his little kids

227

and in school I'll be right back practice your scales sorry

228

to interrupt mr. Gardner you're doing my ears a favor not

229

you though you're good what can I do for your principal

230

arroyo i wanted to deliver the good news personally no more

231

part -time for you you're now our full -time band teacher job security medical insurance pension wow

232

that's uh great welcome to the ms70 family joe permanently thanks but joe has always dreamed of being something else

233

In his heart, he's a musician at heart, and since he was very young, Joe always wanted to be a professional jazz musician.

234

You could say that jazz music is the dream that Joe's been pursuing on nights and weekends his entire adult life.

235

Hello?

236

How you been, Mr. G?

237

It's Curly.

238

Lamont.

239

Lamont Baker.

240

Hey, Curly.

241

Hey, good to hear your voice, man.

242

Listen, you can call me Joe now, Curly.

243

I'm not your teacher anymore.

244

Okay, Mr. Gardner.

245

Hey, look, I'm the new drummer in the Dorothea Williams Quartet, and we're kicking off our tour with the show at the Half Note tonight.

246

Dorothea Williams?

247

Are you kidding me?

248

Are you kidding me?

249

Congratulations, man.

250

Wow.

251

I would die a happy man if I could perform with Dorothea Williams.

252

Oh, well, this could be your lucky day.

253

There's this big gig that's coming up, and he wants to go play for it, and he finally goes and auditions,

254

and he gets lost, and for musicians or anybody out there, when you get lost in your craft he's just in his thing auditioning no nerves he just went

255

and they said wow you're great you will have the gig

256

and then has a accident that causes his soul to leave his body

257

and almost go to the great beyond and

258

so he is trying to get back into his body

259

and back to his life no

260

is it he double hockey sticks it's easy to get turned around this isn't the great beyond it's the great before

261

the great before i play a character named 22 who is a soul that's never been born

262

because even though um the people in the great before have

263

been trying to convince her she's had a lot of mentors trying to convince her

264

that life is great and she should go live on earth She is very suspect of it.

265

She thinks it sounds scary, painful, difficult, depressing, smelly.

266

She just doesn't want any part of it.

267

She is Joe's chance.

268

If he can kind of convince her to go back, then maybe he'll get a chance to go back also.

269

Hey, is this heaven?

270

No. Is it H -E double hockey sticks?

271

Help.

272

Help.

273

Help.

274

Quiet coyote.

275

It's easy to get turned around.

276

This isn't the great beyond, it's the great before.

277

The great before?

278

Wait, what?

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What are you doing?

280

Elsa!

281

Oh, no!

282

Olaf, help me stop!

283

Give me a hand!

284

Carry on!

285

Wait, wait, no, no, no!

286

Come on!

287

Anna, this might sound crazy, but I'm sensing some rising anger!

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 287 sentences and 3088 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:21. The speaker talks at a steady 132 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
jazz noun	/d͡ʒæz/	A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time…
convince verb	/kənˈvɪns/	To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence.
musician noun	/mjuˈzɪʃən/	A composer, conductor, or performer of music; specifically, a person who sings and/or plays a musical instrument as a hobby, occupation, or profession.
audition noun	/ɑˈdɪʃən/	A performance, by an aspiring performer, to demonstrate suitability or talent.
curly adjective	/ˈkɝli/	Having curls.
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
hockey noun	/ˈhɑ.ki/	Any of a family of sports in which hockey sticks are used to move a ball or puck into a goal.
clip noun	/klɪp/	Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
mentor noun	/ˈmɛn.tɔː/	A wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
pronunciation noun	/pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/	The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
refer verb	/ɹɪˈfɜː/	To direct the attention of (someone toward something).
congratulations	/kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/	Expressing praise and approval, expressing approbation.
commonly adverb	/ˈkɑmənli/	As a rule; frequently; usually.
scary adjective	/ˈskɛə.ɹi/	Causing fear or anxiety

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go back verb	To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time.
turn around verb	To physically rotate (usually around a vertical axis) for a half turn (180 degrees), a whole turn (360 degrees), or an indefinite amount.
come up verb	To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
kick off verb	To make the first kick in a game or part of a game.
come across verb	To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
go back to verb	To stem from; to originate in.
pass away verb	To die.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
“Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true	used to ask · used to literally · used to refer
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been trying
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if you use Instagram you'd probably
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	I've been stuck · was stuck · is relieved

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 66 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/, audition /ɑˈdɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, pension /ˈpɛnʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/

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 jazz, convince, musician.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Learn English with Disney+ | Soul [Advanced Lesson] - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?