Shadowing Practice: Learn English with Podcasts: Real Conversations | Max & Mia EP 137! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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This is Max and Mia Podcast.
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Hey, everyone.
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Welcome back to Max and Mia Podcast.
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If this is your first time here, welcome.
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I'm Max.
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And I'm Mia.
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Honestly, we're really glad you're here today, whether you've been listening to us for a while or you just found us.
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Today we have a great episode.
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Simple and relaxed, but at the same time, it'll really help improve our English.
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This episode is what we like to call a classic, real conversations.
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The kind you actually have in everyday life.
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The kind that, if you're learning English, you need to feel comfortable with.
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Exactly.
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We're talking about things like meeting someone for the first time, planning a trip with your friends, your family, or your partner,
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going through a job interview, situations that come up all the time.
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And the best part?
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You don't need to sit down at a desk to get something out of this.
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If you're driving right now, perfect.
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On the bus, great.
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Maybe you're about to fall asleep and you just want something easy to listen to.
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Or you're at your desk or walking around the house.
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Honestly, it doesn't matter.
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This episode works wherever you are.
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It's a great one for your listening skills, and you'll probably pick up some useful vocabulary along the way without even noticing.
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Which is kind of the whole point, right?
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Learning without it feeling like studying.
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That's the goal.
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All right, let's not waste any more time talking about what we're going to do.
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Let's just do it.
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Let's go.
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conversation number one meeting someone for the first time okay is this seat taken
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i feel like every other spot in here is no no go ahead
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it's all yours thank you this place gets
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so packed on fridays i swear right i only started coming here like three weeks ago
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and it's already become a thing for me.
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I'm Owen, by the way.
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Nadia, nice to meet you.
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So you're kind of new here too?
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Kind of, yeah.
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I mean, I've been in Chicago for about two months now, so still figuring things out, you know?
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Oh, no way.
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Where did you move from?
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Portland.
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Oregon, not Maine.
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I get that question a lot.
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Okay, fair enough.
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That's quite the change.
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What brought you all the way here?
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Work, mostly.
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I'm in architecture, and the firm I was with back home was,
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it was fine, but I got this offer here and it just felt like the right move, you know?
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Like sometimes you just need a change of scenery.
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That makes sense.
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And how's that going, the adjustment, I mean?
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Honestly, it's been a lot.
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The city's great, don't get me wrong, but I underestimated how different the pace is.
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Portland is pretty chill.
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Chicago is not chill.
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No, it is really not.
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I grew up here, so I'm kind of used to it at this point.
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But yeah, people move fast here.
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You grew up here?
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That's actually kind of rare.
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Most people I've met are from somewhere else.
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I know.
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Everyone always says that.
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But yeah, born and raised on the north side.
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I did leave for a few years for college, though.
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Where did you go?
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Austin.
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I studied communications, which sounds very vague, I know.
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No, I wasn't going to say that.
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You were thinking it.
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It's fine.
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Everyone does.
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But I actually ended up in marketing, so it worked out.
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I'm at a mid -size agency downtown.
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Oh, that's cool.
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Do you like it?
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Most days, yeah.
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It gets stressful, but I like the people I work with, which honestly makes a huge difference.
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That's so true.
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I think I've spent more time at jobs where the work was okay, but the people were exhausting.
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And yeah, it takes a lot out of you.
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Exactly.
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Life's too short for that.
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So do you have people here or did you come knowing basically nobody?
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Pretty much nobody.
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I have a cousin somewhere in Evanston, but we're not that close.
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So yeah, it's been a bit of a lonely start, not gonna lie.
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Well, for what it's worth, this coffee shop is a solid place to be lonely at.
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That's actually really comforting.
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Thank you.
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Conversation number two, the job interview.
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Marcus, come on in.
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I'm Lorraine.
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Nice to meet you in person.
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Nice to meet you too.
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Thanks for having me. Of course.
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Go ahead and have a seat.
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Can I get you anything?
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Water, coffee?
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I'm good.
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Thank you.
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All right.
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So I've looked over your resume and I have a few questions, but first, why don't you just tell me a little about yourself?
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Just a quick overview.
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Sure.
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So I've been in sales for about four years now.
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I started out doing retail, which honestly taught me a lot about working directly with people, reading what they need, that kind of thing.
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Then I moved into B2B sales at a software company where I was handling accounts, doing outreach, closing deals.
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That's where I really got comfortable with the whole process from start to finish.
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That's a solid background.
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What made you want to make a move now?
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Your LinkedIn says you're still with that company.
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Yeah, I am.
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And look, it's been a good experience.
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I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but I feel like I've kind of hit a ceiling there.
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The team is small, there's not much room to grow, and I'm at a point where I want to be somewhere that actually challenges me.
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When I saw this opening, the company stood out to me right away.
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What specifically caught your attention about us?
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Honestly, your growth in the past two years.
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I did some research before coming in, and the way you've expanded into new markets is something I'd want to be part of.
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I think there's a lot of potential here, and I'd like to grow alongside that.
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Good answer.
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Okay, let's talk about numbers.
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In sales, results matter.
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What does your track record look like?
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In my last full year, I exceeded my quarter by around 30%.
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I was also the top closer on my team for two quarters in a row.
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I don't say that to sound arrogant.
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It's just that I take targets seriously, and I like having something to push toward.
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That's exactly the kind of mindset we look for.
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What about when things don't go well?
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How do you handle rejection or a tough month?
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I think rejection is just part of the job, you know?
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The way I see it, every no gets you closer to a yes.
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When I have a rough patch, I try to figure out what went wrong without being too hard on myself about it.
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I go back to basics, review my cause, check where I'm losing people in the conversation.
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It's more of a process thing for me than an emotional one.
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That's a healthy way to look at it.
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Last question for now, and this one's pretty open.
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Where do you see yourself in three years?
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Ideally, in a senior role, maybe leading a small team.
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I like the idea of eventually mentoring people who are just starting out
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because I remember how much it helped me when someone took the time to do that for me.
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I like that.
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Well, Marcus, this has been a great first conversation.
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We have a couple more interviews to get through this week, but we'll be in touch very soon.
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That's great to hear.
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Thank you for your time, Lorraine.
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Really.
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Thank you for coming in.
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Take care.
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Conversation number three, planning a trip.
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Okay, so I was thinking, what if we actually do the trip this year?
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Like, for real this time, not just talking about it.
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Wait, are you serious?
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Because last time you said that, we ended up going to your mom's for the weekend.
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That was different, and you know it.
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I mean, a real trip.
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I've been looking at some options, actually.
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All right, let's hear it.
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Okay, so hear me out.
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Japan.
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Japan.
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Claudia, that's, I mean, that's not exactly a weekend getaway kind of thing.
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I know, I know, but hear me out.
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Flights are actually not that bad if we book far enough in advance.
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And we've been saying we want to do something different, something we'll actually remember.
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I'm not against
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Japan at all.
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I actually love the idea.
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I just think we need to be realistic about the budget.
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How much are we talking?
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Okay, so I ran some rough numbers.
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Flights, probably around $1 ,800 for both of us, round trip, if we're lucky.
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Then accommodation, food, transport around the country.
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I'd say we're looking at somewhere between $4 ,000 and $5 ,000 total.
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That's a lot.
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I mean, it's doable, but we'd have to actually save for it.
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Like, start now.
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Which is why I'm bringing it up now.
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If we go in April, we have about six months.
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April's actually not bad.
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Isn't that when the cherry blossoms are?
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Yes, that's exactly why I picked it.
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Okay, I'll give you that.
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That does sound amazing.
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How long were you thinking?
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Two weeks, maybe 12 days if we want to keep costs down a bit.
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Two weeks is tight with work.
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I'd have to check with my team, but I think I can swing it.
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What cities were you thinking?
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Tokyo, for sure.
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And then maybe Kyoto.
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And I really want to go to Osaka because apparently the food scene there is insane.
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Okay, yes, Osaka is a must.
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But can we also do one of those smaller towns, like something off the main tourist path?
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Oh, like Nara with the deer?
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Yes, that's the one.
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Can we fit that in?
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I think so.
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It's close to Kyoto, so it's easy to do as a day trip.
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See, this is why we should plan together.
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You have good ideas.
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I have great ideas.
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Thank you very much.
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Okay, what about accommodation?
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Are we going hostels or actual hotels?
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I was thinking a mix.
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Like, in Tokyo, maybe a nicer place because it's Tokyo and I want to enjoy it.
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But in the smaller cities, we could do a ryokan.
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What's that?
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It's a traditional Japanese inn.
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You sleep on futons.
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There's usually a communal bath.
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The whole experience is very authentic.
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I'm in.
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That actually sounds really cool.
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Okay, so are we doing this?
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Are we doing this?
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Let's do it.
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But, Claudia, we have to actually start saving.
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I'm serious this time.
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I already set up a separate savings account this morning.
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Of course you did.
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All right, Japan it is.
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Conversation number four.
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How was your day?
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hey you're later than usual everything okay yeah just one of those days do you have anything to eat
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i'm starving there's pasta on the stove help yourself what happened
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serving himself nothing crazy just exhausting my manager put me on this new account last minute like literally this morning
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and expected me to already know everything about the client by the afternoon
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That doesn't sound very fair.
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It wasn't.
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And the client called for a check -in at 3, and I had maybe two hours to prepare.
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I pulled it off, but it was stressful.
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Well, if you pulled it off, that's actually impressive, Caleb.
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I mean, yeah, the call went fine.
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The client seemed happy.
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But I just wish my manager would give me more notice when he does stuff like that.
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It's not the first time.
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Have you said anything to him about it?
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Not really.
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I don't want to come across as difficult, you know?
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I'm still pretty new there.
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I understand that, but there's a difference between being difficult and just asking for a bit more heads up.
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You can say it professionally.
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Yeah, you're probably right.
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I'll figure it out.
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Aside from that, though, the rest of the day was fine.
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I had lunch with a couple of people from the team, which was nice.
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There's this girl, Priya.
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She just started two weeks ago and she's really funny.
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We talked for like an hour without noticing.
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Oh yeah?
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Mom, don't do that.
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I didn't say anything.
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You didn't have to.
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She's just a co -worker.
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Of course, of course.
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And how are you Feeling overall?
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Like, about the job in general?
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You've been there, what, three months now?
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Almost four.
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Honestly, it's good.
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It's not perfect, but I'm learning a lot.
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Some days are just harder than others.
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That's normal.
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Your first real job is always a bit of a shock.
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You think you know what to expect, and then you realize working is a whole different thing.
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That's exactly it.
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It's like nobody prepares you for how tired you are at the end of the day.
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Not physically, just mentally.
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Welcome to adulthood, sweetheart.
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Thanks.
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Really helpful.
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This pasta is really good, by the way.
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I know.
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Conversation number five.
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Catching up with an old friend.
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Oh my God, get over here.
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It's been way too long.
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I know.
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I know.
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I'm sorry.
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Life just kind of happened.
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You look amazing, by the way.
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Stop it.
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I just came from work.
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I look exhausted.
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Well, exhausted looks good on you.
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Sit down.
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I already ordered us drinks.
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I hope that's okay.
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More than okay.
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So tell me everything.
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Last time we actually talked properly was what?
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Your birthday?
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March.
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Yeah.
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Which is terrible.
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We live in the same city.
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We really do.
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Okay, you go first.
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What's been going on with you?
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Okay, so, big news.
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I quit my job.
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Wait, what?
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The consulting thing?
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Yeah, about six weeks ago.
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Petra, why didn't you tell me?
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Because I knew you'd worry, and I didn't want to hear, are you sure, a hundred times.
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I mean, are you sure?
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No, okay, I'm sorry.
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Tell me what happened.
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Honestly, I just hit a wall.
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I was putting in like 50, 60 hours a week.
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And I looked around one day and thought, what am I actually doing this for?
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I wasn't happy.
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I wasn't growing.
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I was just going through the motions.
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That's a huge step, though.
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Like, financially, are you okay?
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I saved enough to give myself some breathing room.
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And I've actually been doing some freelance work on the side.
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So it's not like I'm just sitting around doing nothing.
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No, I didn't think that.
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You've never been someone who just sits around.
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What kind of freelance work?
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Mostly brand consulting, smaller companies.
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It's actually kind of fun because I get to pick who I work with, which I never had before.
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That sounds really good, Petra.
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Like, genuinely.
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I'm happy for you.
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Thank you.
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It's scary, but it feels right.
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Anyway, enough about me.
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What's going on with you?
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Last I heard you were moving into a new place.
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Oh, I did.
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Finally.
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I've been in the new apartment for about two months, and I'm obsessed with it.
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Alone?
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Alone, and it's the best decision I've ever made.
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No offense to past roommates.
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None taken on their behalf.
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Do you love it? So much.
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Like, I come home and everything is exactly where I left it.
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Nobody's dishes in the sink.
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Nobody's Netflix shows messing up my recommendations.
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That last one is very specific.
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It was a real problem, but honestly, yeah, I feel like I finally have my own space.
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And it's done something for me mentally.
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Like, I didn't realize how much I needed it.
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I get that completely.
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Sometimes you just need a place that's fully yours.
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Exactly.
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Oh, and I started taking pottery classes.
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No way.
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Yes, every Thursday.
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I'm terrible at it, but I love it.
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I love that for you.
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We really need to do this more often, like actually commit to it.
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Once a month.
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Let's put it in the calendar right now before we leave.
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Deal.
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It's so good to see you.
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It really is.
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Conversation number six, discussing a TV show.
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Okay, please tell me you watched it.
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Last night, I couldn't sleep after.
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Right?
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Like, what was that ending?
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I had to just sit there for a minute.
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I wasn't ready.
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I genuinely didn't see it coming.
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And I feel like they'd been setting it up the whole season, and I still missed it completely.
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Same.
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And the worst part is I can't talk to anyone else about it because nobody's caught up yet.
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That's why I texted you immediately.
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Okay, without saying too much, what did you think of what they did with Marcus's storyline?
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Oh, I have so many feelings about that.
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I think they're finally taking him somewhere interesting.
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Like, all of season two, I felt like he was just kind of there, you know?
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Reacting to things, but never really driving anything.
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Yes, exactly.
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He always felt like a side character in his own storyline.
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But now it feels like they've actually figured out what to do with him.
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And the actor is so good.
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Like, when he barely says anything, and you can still feel everything he's thinking.
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He's probably my favorite on the show at this point.
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I used to say Alana, but honestly, her arc this season has been a little all over the place for me.
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I actually disagree.
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I think what looks messy is kind of intentional, you know?
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Like she's unraveling and the writing is reflecting that.
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Maybe.
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I'll give you that.
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I just feel like two episodes ago, they made a choice with her that didn't quite land for me.
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Hmm.
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I actually disagree.
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I think what looks messy is kind of intentional.
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Like she's unraveling and the writing is reflecting that.
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Maybe.
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I'll give you that.
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I just feel like two episodes ago, they made a choice with her that didn't quite land for me.
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I know which moment you mean.
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Yeah, that one was a stretch.
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A big stretch.
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But overall, the season is strong.
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What do you think is going to happen in the finale?
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Okay, here's my theory.
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And tell me if this sounds crazy.
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I think they're going to bring back the character from season one that everyone forgot about.
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Wait.
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Oh.
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Oh, that would actually make a lot of sense.
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Right?
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Because there were like two or three moments this season where they referenced that whole situation, and I don't think that was an accident.
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If that happens, I'm going to lose my mind.
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Okay, also, someone at work told me to watch something while I'm waiting for the finale, and I can't remember what it was.
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Do you have anything?
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Depends.
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What do you want?
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Same kind of slow burn tension or something completely different?
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Uh, same energy, I think.
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I need something that actually respects my intelligence, you know?
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I'm tired of shows that explain everything to you.
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Okay, then you need to watch Slow Horses.
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It's a British series, spy thriller, but nothing like what you'd expect.
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It's sharp, kind of dark, and the characters are genuinely complex.
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Is it finished or still going?
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Still going.
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Multiple feasons, and they're all good, which almost never happens.
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Okay.
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Sold.
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What else?
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If you haven't seen Severance yet, that one's a must.
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Completely different world, but same kind of thing where every episode ends and you immediately need the next one.
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I've heard that one so many times.
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I'll actually start it this weekend.
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You won't regret it.
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And then we'll have even more to talk about.
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Like we need an excuse.
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Conversation number seven, first day at the office.
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Dominic, hey, welcome, welcome.
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I'm Rhonda.
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We spoke briefly on the phone last week.
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All right.
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Yes.
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Hi.
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Good to finally meet you in person.
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You too.
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Okay.
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So HR asked me to show you around before you get set up at your desk.
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Fair warning.
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The office isn't huge, but it's a little confusing at first.
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So don't feel bad if you get lost the first couple of days.
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Good to know.
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I already walked into the wrong floor on my way up.
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Oh, that happens to everyone.
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The elevators don't help.
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The buttons are labeled terribly.
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All right, so this is the main floor.
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This is where most of the team sits.
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Your desk is going to be over there by the window, which honestly, you got lucky because the light is great.
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Oh, nice.
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I'll take that.
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Now, the bathrooms.
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Important information.
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The ones on this floor are fine, but if you ever come in early or stay late and it's quiet, go to the third floor ones.
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Way cleaner.
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Nobody really uses them.
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Noted.
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That's the kind of thing they don't put in the onboarding email.
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Exactly.
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This is the real onboarding.
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Okay.
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Kitchen is this way.
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So we have a coffee machine and I will tell you upfront, it looks more complicated than it is.
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There are like 12 buttons, but you really only need three of them.
483
I'll show you later.
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There's also a fridge.
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Just make sure you label your stuff because things tend to disappear on Fridays for some reason.
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I've heard that's a universal office experience.
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100%.
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Now, lunch.
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Most of us eat around 12 .30, sometimes 1 if things get busy.
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There's a good sandwich place right downstairs that a lot of people use.
491
And there's also a decent
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Thai spot about two blocks away if you want something a bit more exciting.
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Some people bring their own.
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Totally up to you.
495
Good to know.
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Is it an eat -at -your -desk kind of culture, or does everyone actually take a break?
497
Honestly, it depends on the day, but the team here is pretty good about actually stepping away.
498
Sandra, our manager, is big on not eating in front of your screen.
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She thinks it affects focus, and honestly, she's not wrong.
500
That's refreshing.
501
At my last job, lunch breaks were kind of frowned upon without saying so out loud.
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Yeah, we don't do that here.
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Okay, last thing before I take you to your desk, the printer.
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Everyone's nemesis.
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Already?
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It's not bad.
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It just has one quirk.
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If you're printing more than like 15 pages, give it a second between sending the job and actually walking over.
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It needs a moment to process or it'll just freeze and then you have to restart the whole thing.
510
And nobody wants that.
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Okay.
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Send, wait, then walk over.
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You've got it.
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All right.
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I think that covers the basics.
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Oh, one more thing.
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Wednesday afternoons, we usually grab coffee as a team around three.
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Nothing formal, just a bit of a reset.
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You're welcome to join whenever you feel like it.
520
Yeah, I'd like that.
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Thank you, Rhonda.
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Seriously, this already feels a lot less intimidating.
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That's the goal.
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Come on, let's get you to your desk.
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Conversation number eight, water cooler chat.
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Monday already.
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I don't know where the weekend went.
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Tell me about it.
529
I feel like I blinked and here we are.
530
How was yours though?
531
Actually pretty good.
532
We drove out to the lake on Saturday just for the day.
533
It was exactly what I needed honestly.
534
Oh nice. Which one?
535
Lake Geneva.
536
It was a bit of a drive but worth it.
537
We just walked around, had lunch by the water.
538
Nothing special but really relaxing.
539
You?
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Mostly stayed in which I needed.
541
Saturday I did absolutely nothing and I have zero regrets.
542
Sunday I went to my brother's place for dinner, so that got me out of the house at least.
543
Sometimes doing nothing is the whole point.
544
Exactly.
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The problem is I stayed up too late both nights and now I'm paying for it.
546
How was the traffic coming in this morning?
547
Awful.
548
I left at my usual time and it still took me almost 50 minutes.
549
There's construction on 5th again, apparently.
550
Oh, I saw that.
551
I ended up taking a completely different route and it still wasn't great.
552
I think everyone had the same idea.
553
There's no winning on Mondays.
554
I need about two more of these before I'm functional.
555
Same.
556
Oh, did you see they rearranged the whole kitchen area over the weekend?
557
I did notice that.
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They moved the microwave.
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They moved everything.
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The coffee machine is on the other side now.
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The toaster is gone for some reason.
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And they put a little plant on the counter.
563
I actually like the plant.
564
The plant is fine.
565
I just don't understand why the microwave had to move.
566
It was perfectly placed before.
567
It really was.
568
Nobody asked for that change.
569
Nobody, but I'm sure we'll adjust.
570
We always do.
571
That's kind of just office life, isn't it?
572
Things change for no clear reason and you just figure it out.
573
Deep.
574
All right, I should get back before Sandra notices I've been gone for 10 minutes to make one coffee.
575
Go.
576
See you at lunch.
577
And that's a wrap on today's episode.
578
Honestly, this one was a lot of fun to put together.
579
It really was.
580
We went through a lot of ground today.
581
First conversations, job interviews, planning trips, catching up with people you haven't seen in forever.
582
Talking about TV shows for way too long, which I think everyone can relate to.
583
Always.
584
And if you made it all the way to the end, first of all, thank you, that genuinely means a lot.
585
And second, your listening skills are getting sharper whether you noticed it or not.
586
That's kind of how it works.
587
You don't always feel it in the moment, but it adds up.
588
Every conversation you listen to, every phrase that starts to sound familiar, it sticks.
589
So, keep going.
590
Put on another episode on your commute before bed, whenever.
591
It all counts.
592
And if there's a type of conversation you'd like us to cover in a future episode, let us know.
593
We're always open to ideas.
594
We'll be back soon with more.
595
Take care of yourselves.
596
See you next time.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English with Podcasts: Real Conversations”. This video has 595 sentences and 4342 words to shadow. The speech runs for 26:24. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| sharp adjective | /ʃɑɹp/ | Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded. |
| label noun | /ˈleɪ.bəl/ | A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached. |
| reflect verb | /ɹɪˈflɛkt/ | To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface. |
| regret verb | /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/ | To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead. |
| stretch verb | /stɹɛt͡ʃ/ | To lengthen by pulling. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| lonely adjective | /ˈloʊnli/ | Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people. |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| mentally adverb | /ˈmɛntəli/ | In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally. |
| chill verb | /tʃɪl/ | To lower the temperature of something; to cool. |
| disagree verb | /dɪsəˈɡɹi/ | To fail to agree; to have a different opinion or belief. |
| accommodation noun | /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/ | Lodging in a dwelling or similar living quarters afforded to travellers in hotels or on cruise ships, or students, etc. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| sit around verb | To spend time sitting idly, not doing anything important. | |
| start out verb | To emerge suddenly; to jump out. | |
| add up verb | To take the sum of; to total. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Where did you move from?
- You've been there, what, three months now?
- What's been going on with you?
- Petra, why didn't you tell me?
- What's going on with you?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've been listening · I've been looking · we've been saying |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've been · it's been · I've met |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who are · team, which was · someone who just |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are labeled · was perfectly placed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 139 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, breathe /bɹiːð/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, thriller /ˈθɹɪ.lə/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sharp /ʃɑɹp/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, rejection /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, shock /ʃɔk/
- Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, accommodation /əˌkɒm.əˈdeɪ.ʃən/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, universal /ˌjunəˈvɜɹs(ə)l/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like desk, genuinely, exhaust.
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.