Shadowing Practice: Learn English with Native Speakers | English Podcast | Episode 01 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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281 sentences
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to EnglishPod.
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My name is Marco.
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My name is Catherine, and today we're talking about someone who's very, very dirty.
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That's right.
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And actually, not only are we talking about something being dirty, but also that we want to clean everything.
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Okay, so you'll learn how to call someone who likes clean things in English today.
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Let's take a listen to our dialogue.
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ugh this bathroom is a pigsty helen why do you keep
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slushing the toilet what's wrong i just can't stand it it's
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really gross in here there's a stain on the toilet seat
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and the floor was wet and slippery
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so i cleaned it you did what helen i know it's gross
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but i've seen many public washrooms
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that are much worse why are you cleaning the countertop are you out of your mind i can't help myself.
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It's just so disgusting in here.
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Helen, this is not like your own bathroom.
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Just leave it to the cleaners, okay?
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Hang on.
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I'm just going to quickly wipe the sink and sweep the floor.
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You're such a neat freak.
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I'm out of here.
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All right, we're back.
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So this girl was very much of a neat freak, and we're going to take a look at that word a little bit later on.
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Why don't we go back to the very beginning and take a look at some vocab on Language Takeaway.
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Language Takeaway.
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The first word we have here on Language Takeaway today is pigsty.
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Right, this bathroom is a pigsty.
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Okay, so a pigsty is a place where pigs live.
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Okay, so now this obviously, the bathroom is not really a place where pigs live.
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So if you call something a pigsty, you're saying that it's very...
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Dirty.
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You're saying it's disgusting.
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It's very, very dirty, like a pigsty.
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So actually, if you go to a farm and you see where all the pigs are, that is actually called a pigsty.
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Right.
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There's mud and dirt.
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Yeah, that's a pigsty.
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So someone who is very, very dirty, you can also call a pig.
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Okay.
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Now, she was saying that the bathroom is so dirty and it's really gross in here.
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Okay, so gross means something is, she doesn't like it.
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It's really dirty and, you know, makes her uncomfortable.
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So something that doesn't taste good, you can say it's gross.
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That's right.
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So I don't like to eat snake.
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I think eating snake is gross.
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Okay, very good.
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So something that is gross is something that's not really nice.
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Maybe it tastes bad or it smells bad, something that is bad in general.
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That's right.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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So she went on to talk about the toilet seat and that there was a stain on the toilet seat.
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Okay.
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A stain is usually a bad thing.
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It means that there's a color or a mark that's permanent or maybe can be washed away on something.
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So in this case, the toilet seat has a mark on it.
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Okay.
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Maybe it's brown or yellow.
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But I can also say I was drinking wine and I spilled the wine on my shirt and it left a stain.
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So now there's always this red part on my shirt.
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It won't go away.
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Okay, so a stain is a mark that usually won't go away.
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Okay, so then she went on to describe the bathroom as being disgusting.
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So I guess this is very similar to gross.
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That's right.
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Something that is gross is usually also disgusting.
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I can say, ugh, this food is awful.
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It's just disgusting.
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Okay.
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But I can also say, in this case, oh, your room is disgusting.
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You need to clean it.
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It's so dirty or bad or unappealing.
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So something that is gross, something that is disgusting is something negative.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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And then we have our keyword and the title of this lesson for today, a neat freak.
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Her friend says, you're such a neat freak.
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That's right.
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So a neat freak is someone who likes things to be very clean.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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And so a neat freak does not live in a pigsty, right?
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A neat freak does not like to be in pigsties.
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A neat freak likes things to be in order and organized and clean.
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So maybe somebody that's cleaning all the time or that's very, very organized.
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You can say that that person is a neat freak.
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He is a neat freak or she is a neat freak.
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Now it's not necessarily a good thing to be a neat freak, but it's not terrible either to call somebody a neat freak.
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You can say, hey, are you a neat freak?
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Right.
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That means, are you really concerned about cleanliness?
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Uh -huh.
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Okay.
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Very good.
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So a lot of great vocab.
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Why don't we take a look again at our dialogue, and we'll be back in a bit.
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Ugh, this bathroom is a pigsty.
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Helen, why do you keep flushing the toilet?
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What's wrong?
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I just can't stand it.
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It's really gross in here.
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There's a stain on the toilet seat and the floor was wet and slippery, so I cleaned it.
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you did what helen i know it's gross but i've seen many public washrooms that are much worse
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why are you cleaning the countertop are you out of your mind i can't help myself it's just
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so disgusting in here helen this is not like your own
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bathroom just leave it to the cleaners okay hang on i'm just gonna quickly wipe the sink
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and sweep the floor you're such a neat freak i'm out All right, we're back.
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So now let's take a look at Fluency Builder.
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Fluency Builder.
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So the first thing we want to talk about today is this phrase, I can't stand it.
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So this is our neat freak talking.
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She says, I just can't stand it.
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I just can't stand it.
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So, if you can't stand something, that means that you can't tolerate it.
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That's right.
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It means, I don't like it.
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I don't want it anymore.
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I need to change it.
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Okay.
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So, for example, if a bar is too loud, you say, I have to leave.
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I can't stand it.
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It's too loud in there.
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That's right.
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Or if you are next to me all day and you do tap, tap, tap, tap, tap with your pen, I say, Marco, stop it.
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I can't stand it anymore.
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Okay.
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Very good.
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Good.
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And then she went on to explain or to justify why she was cleaning the public restroom.
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And she said, I can't help myself.
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It's just too disgusting in here.
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I can't help myself.
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So this means that I cannot control my actions.
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I cannot control what I do.
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And so in some cases, like with a neat freak, the person really needs everything to be clean.
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And so she says, I can't help myself.
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I have to Okay.
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So it's a phrase like this.
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Don't try to separate it.
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Don't try to separate it and try to define what help and help yourself.
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It's more of a phrase saying, I can't control myself.
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I can't control my actions.
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I can't help myself.
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Or in the case of another person, you say, she can't help herself.
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He can't help himself.
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Right.
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So maybe you'd like to smoke and you're smoking all the time and you say, stop smoking.
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You say, I can't help myself.
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I have to smoke.
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Okay.
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And for our last phrase, she said, hang on, I'm just going to quickly wipe the sink and sweep the floor.
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Hang on.
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This means wait, wait, wait a moment.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So this is a really common phrase we hear in English.
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It's something that you'll hear all the time in a pretty relaxed environment, not maybe in school, but if someone says, you know, okay, I'm going to go see you later.
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And the other person wants to say something to you, say, hang on, hang on, Wait a moment, I have to tell you this thing.
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So you wouldn't really use it with your boss or a customer.
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You wouldn't say, hang on a second.
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No, you would say that with a friend or family member, things like that.
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Okay, so it's a very informal way of saying, wait a moment, wait a minute.
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That's right.
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So the formal way is, please wait.
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Please wait.
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And the informal way is, hang on.
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Hang on.
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Or hang on a sec, which is hang on a second.
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All right, that's all the words we have for today why don't we
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review our dialogue one last time this bathroom is a pigsty
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helen why do you keep slushing the toilet what's wrong i
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just can't stand it it's really gross in here there's a stain on the toilet seat
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and the floor was wet and slippery
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so i cleaned it you did what helen i know it's gross
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but i've seen many public washrooms that are much worse Why are you cleaning the countertop?
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Are you out of your mind?
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I can't help myself.
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It's just so disgusting in here.
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Helen, this is not like your own bathroom.
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Just leave it to the cleaners, okay?
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Hang on.
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I'm just going to quickly wipe the sink and sweep the floor.
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You're such a neat freak.
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I'm out of here.
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All right, so talking about cleanliness and being a neat...
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What type of person are you?
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Do you usually, are you a neat freak?
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Do you keep everything very clean and ordered?
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I'm not a neat freak, but I'm also not a pig, not a slob.
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I like things to be very organized, but I'm not really concerned about cleaning so much.
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I'm too lazy.
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So there's a difference for me.
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In my house, I know where everything is, but maybe there's clothes on the floor and there's books in the bathroom and yeah.
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So I'm in the middle.
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What about you?
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Are you a neat freak?
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No, I'm not really a neat freak per se, but I do like everything to be very clean on the other hand.
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So I can't really stand it when things are, if things are out of order a little bit, that's okay.
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But if things are dirty, that really gets to me.
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But I'm not the type of person that has, you know, folders with all my bills in one folder or labels, or even when I was in school, I didn't have my notebooks in order.
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Really?
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So we're the opposite.
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Yeah, exactly.
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But I hate things that are dirty.
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Interesting.
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Well, let us know, are you a neat freak?
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Our website is EnglishPod .com.
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You can talk about yourself all over that lesson comments area.
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That's right.
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And if you have any other suggestions or comments, we're always there as well.
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And we'll see you guys next time.
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Bye.
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Bye.
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The EnglishPod Audio Review Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.
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Dirty or untidy place.
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Pig's die.
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To cause water to clean a toilet.
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Flush.
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Disgusting.
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Gross.
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Saying to indicate someone's idea or actions is unbelievable or crazy.
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For example, are you out of your mind?
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You can't fight a bear.
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Are you out of your mind?
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Likes to have every element of their life tidy and in order.
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Neat freak.
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Let's try that faster.
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Disgusting.
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Gross.
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Gross.
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To cause water to clean a toilet.
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Flush.
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A dirty or untidy place.
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Pigs die.
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Likes to have every element of their life tidy and in order.
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Neat freak.
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Saying to indicate someone's idea or actions is unbelievable or crazy you.
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For example, are you out of your mind?
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You can't fight a bear.
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Are you out of your mind?
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Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
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Pig star.
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Mike never cleans his room.
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It's It's like a pigsty in there.
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Pigsty The kitchen looked like a pigsty after the party.
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Pigsty Don't use that washroom.
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It's like a pigsty.
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Flush Someone forgot to flush the toilet.
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It's so disgusting.
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Flush.
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Make sure you flush the toilet when you're done.
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Flush.
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Robert is training his cat how to flush the toilet.
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Gross.
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The bathroom is so gross.
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Can you clean it please?
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Gross.
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Guy's wearing a bikini brief.
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It's so gross.
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Gross.
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I saw some worms on the floor.
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It's so gross.
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Are you out of your mind?
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Are you out of your mind?
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This is going to cost you a fortune.
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Are you out of your mind?
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She's dating a married man.
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Is she out of her mind?
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Are you out of your mind?
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I can't believe he's going to quit.
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He must be out of his mind.
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Neat freak.
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Lily is such a neat freak.
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She cleans the bathroom three times a day.
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Neat freak.
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My mom is a neat freak.
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She asks me to clean my room three times a day.
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Neat freak.
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Johnny organizes all his CDs and books alphabetically.
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What a neat freak.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English with Native Speakers”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: neat, freak, gross, pigsty, toilet. This video has 281 sentences and 2179 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:10. The speaker talks at a steady 144 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pigsty noun | /ˈpɪɡˌstaɪ̯/ | An enclosure where pigs are kept, either a building or part of one. |
| toilet verb | /ˈtɔɪ.lət/ | To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet. |
| disgusting adjective | /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ | Causing disgust; repulsive; distasteful. |
| flush verb | /ˈflʌʃ/ | To cleanse by flooding with generous quantities of a fluid. |
| stain noun | /steɪn/ | A discolored spot or area caused by spillage or other contact with certain fluids or substances. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| washroom noun | /ˈwɒʃrʊm/ | A room intended to wash the face and hands. |
| sweep verb | /swiːp/ | To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| wipe verb | /waɪp/ | To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.) |
| pig noun | /ˈpɪɡ/ | Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus… |
| sink verb | /ˈsɪŋk/ | To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance. |
| countertop noun | The top surface of a counter, for preparation of food, etc. | |
| slippery adjective | /ˈslɪpəɹi/ | Of a surface, having low friction, often due to being covered in a non-viscous liquid, and therefore hard to grip, hard to stand on without falling, etc. |
| cleaner noun | /ˈkli.nɚ/ | A person whose occupation is to clean things, especially rooms, floors, and windows. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You can say, hey, are you a neat freak?
- That means, are you really concerned about cleanliness?
- Helen, why do you keep flushing the toilet?
- Are you out of your mind?
- What type of person are you?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who likes · someone who is · sec, which is |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | i've seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is actually called · can be washed |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | keep flushing · stop smoking · keep slushing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 80 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: flush /ˈflʌʃ/, washroom /ˈwɒʃrʊm/, slush /slʌʃ/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/
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 pigsty, toilet, disgusting.
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.