Shadowing Practice: Learn English with TANGLED — Rapunzel's Birthday Wish - Learn English Speaking with Video
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320 sentences
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This is it.
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This is a very big day, Pascal.
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I'm finally gonna do it.
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I'm gonna ask her.
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Rapunzel!
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Let down your hair!
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It's time!
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I know, I know.
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Come on, don't let her see you.
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I'm not getting any younger down here.
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Coming, Mother.
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What's up, Global Citizen?
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I'm Xenia, your real -life English fluency coach, and today we're learning advanced English with Tangled.
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Rapunzel has spent her entire life locked in a tower, but today is her birthday,
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and he's finally gonna ask for the one thing she's always wanted it.
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First, though, she has to get past Mother Gothel.
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We'll see what happens in today's lesson.
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You're gonna master tons of great expressions that native speakers actually use, and if you learn those,
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they will make your English sound more natural and fluent.
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Along the way, you're gonna master tons of great expressions that native speakers actually use, like run down, distinctly, and safe in sound,
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and to help you truly learn and never forget these important expressions.
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I want to give you access to the smart flashcards we created for this lesson for free.
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You can practice with them in our app by clicking the link below.
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Thousands of learners just like you are learning to speak English fluently every day and having fun while doing it.
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So make sure to try out our method.
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You only need a few minutes a day to see real progress.
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And for now, let's watch today's first scene with subtitles in English.
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All right.
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So, Mother, as you know, tomorrow is a very big day...
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Rapunzel, look in that mirror.
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You know what I see?
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I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady.
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Oh, look, you're here too.
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I'm just teasing.
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Stop taking everything so seriously.
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Okay, so, Mother, as I was saying, tomorrow is...
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Rapunzel, Mother's feeling a little run down.
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Would you sing for me, dear?
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Then we'll talk.
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Oh, of course, Mother.
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Flower gleaming glow, let your power shine.
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Make that clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.
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Do what has been hurt, change your faith's design.
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Save what has been lost, and let what once was mine.
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Rapunzel.
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So, Mother, earlier I was saying tomorrow was a pretty big day, and you didn't really respond,
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so I'm just going to tell you, it's my birthday!
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Ta -da!
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No, no, no, can't be.
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I distinctly remember.
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Your birthday was last year.
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That's the funny thing about birthdays.
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They're kind of an annual thing.
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Mother, I'm turning 18, and I wanted to ask what I really want for this birthday.
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Actually, what I wanted for a quite a few birthdays.
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Okay, Rapunzel, please, stop with the mumbling.
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You know how I feel about the mumbling.
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Blah, blah, blah, blah.
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It's very annoying.
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I'm just teasing.
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You're adorable.
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I love you so much, darling.
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What a terrible mother she is.
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I feel so angry.
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And I feel so sorry for Rapunzel.
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She's been preparing for this moment for so long.
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Now let's get back to what we heard her say at the start.
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This is it.
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This is a very big day, Pascal.
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This is it means this is the moment.
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The one you've been waiting for.
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Like you could say this to yourself before a job interview you've been preparing for, or before going on stage for a big performance.
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Let's hear how many times they repeat this phrase, this is it, when Princess Fiona is about to introduce Shrek to her parents.
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Now, this is it.
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This is it.
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This is it.
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This is it.
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Going back to Mother Gothel, once she's up in the tower, she watches Rapunzel pull her hair back and says this.
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Rapunzel, how you manage to do that every single day without fail?
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It looks absolutely exhausting, darling.
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To manage to do something means to succeed at it, especially when it's not easy.
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Like...
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Remember how Gru was trying to prove how badass he was by stealing the moon?
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Well, he actually managed to do it.
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Although he didn't keep it for very long.
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Check it out.
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What happened, Gru?
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All your dreams of becoming a famous villain?
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They go poof poof, huh?
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I don't know if you know, but I did manage to steal the moon.
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Really?
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You mean that moon?
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And there was a great idiom she used without fail.
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It means every single time, no exceptions.
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Like, I read every evening without fail.
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And you can practice your English speaking every single day without fail in the Real Life English Speaking Club.
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Now, Mother Gothel will repeat this next phrase a few times.
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Oh, darling, I'm just teasing.
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What do you think tease means?
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When I'm teasing my daughter, I make fun of her in a playful way. For example,
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I might call her a sleepyhead when she sleeps for too long
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or a silly forgetter when she forgets to do something I ask her to do.
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But watch Mother Gothel closely.
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Her teasing always goes just a little too far.
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Don't you agree?
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Well, Rapunzel tries to bring something up or mention it, but Mother Gothel finds a way to delay it.
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Rapunzel, if mother's feeling a little run down, would you sing for me, dear?
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Then we'll talk.
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Run down means exhausted, like a nearly empty battery.
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Natives have a few ways to say the same thing.
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Wiped out, drained, or beat.
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They all mean you have very little energy.
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Check out these quick examples.
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When you're feeling run down, you always got a shoulder to sit on.
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I'm wiped out.
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The heavy day, you know, I'm drained.
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Ah, Pumper, I'm beat.
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You go ahead, I'm calling it a day.
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So, Rapunzel goes through her magic singing way too fast and then tries to tell her mother something important.
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It's my birthday!
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Ta -da!
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No, no, no, can't be.
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I distinctly remember.
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Your birthday was last year.
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To distinctly remember something is a collocation meaning to remember it clearly, with total certainty.
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Without the word distinctly, the phrase I remember sounds neutral.
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Let's compare how I could use it in a conversation with my daughter.
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I remember telling you to clean your room.
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I distinctly remember telling you to clean your room.
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Distinctly makes the second sentence stronger.
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And here's another mother -daughter situation.
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Take my hand, honey.
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I distinctly remember telling you to stay off this log.
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What do I know?
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I'm just your mother.
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That's the funny thing about birthdays.
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They're kind of an annual thing mother i'm turning 18.
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annual means once a year you'll see it in phrases like annual report
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or annual meeting
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and turning a certain age is the most natural way to say your birthday is coming up
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i'm turning 40 this year you can also say hitting she's hitting 27
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this year same idea just more casual then mother gothel cuts her off again
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so please stop with the mumbling you know how i feel about the mummy
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when you speak too quietly and don't pronounce your words clearly you're mumbling
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so it's hard for people to understand you people often mumble
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when they're nervous just like rapunzel is right now now have you ever noticed
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that you sometimes forget new words soon after learning them like
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to manage to do something to distinctly remember to turn a certain age.
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All these expressions are super useful and it's only natural
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that our brains forget them because we don't have the habit of learning and practicing.
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Learning and practicing.
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That's why it's so important to review the vocabulary you are seeing today.
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It's one of the best things you can do for your fluency.
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And I know this not only from my own experience as an English learner, but also because we've taught millions of learners just like you.
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And so we created the perfect solution for it.
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A set of flashcards for this lesson with Tangled that is available for free on our app.
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These will help you remember the new words forever.
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It's really cool.
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The app knows the exact expressions from the lessons you've watched and just when you're about to forget one,
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we bring it back to you for practice.
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All you need is 10 -15 minutes daily for more natural English speaking.
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Super easy!
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Just click the link in the description below to try the RealLife app right now for free.
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and start getting a bit more fluid every day.
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Now let's see what Rapunzel wishes for her birthday in the next part of the scene.
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I want to see the floating lights!
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What?
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Oh, well I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights.
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Oh, you mean the stars.
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That's the thing.
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I've charted stars and they're always constant, but these?
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They appear every year on my birthday, Mother.
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Only on my birthday.
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And I can't help but feel like they're...
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They're meant for me.
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I need to see them, Mother.
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And not just from my window, in person.
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I have to know what they are.
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You want to go outside?
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Why, Rapunzel?
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Look at you as fragile as a flower.
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Still a little sapling, just a sprout.
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You know why we stay up in this tower.
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I know, but...
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That's right.
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To keep you safe and sound, dear.
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Guess I always knew this day was coming.
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Knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest.
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Soon, but not yet. But shh.
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Trust me, pet.
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Oops!
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From now on, every time I want to say mother knows best to my daughter, I'll remember Mother Gothel and just keep it to myself.
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to see the floating lights.
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Usually, when we make a request, we start with, could you, to sound polite?
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Could you take me to see the floating lights?
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I was hoping is even softer because it makes your request more indirect and thoughtful.
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Let's hear more examples.
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We were hoping you could help us.
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Well, I was hoping you could run a play for us.
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Mother Gothel tries to dismiss the floating lights as just stars, but Rapunzel knows the difference.
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That's the thing.
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I've charted stars and they're always constant, but these, they appear every year on my birthday, mother.
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To chart something means to carefully track and record it, often to understand where things are or how they change.
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Sailors in the past used to chart the stars to help them navigate.
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And did you know
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that you can also chart your workouts check out this example
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you have no idea how hard it is to make
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it as a professional athlete do you every workout was charted every calorie was counted
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and i can't help
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but feel like they're they're meant for me can't help means you can't stop yourself from doing
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or feeling something even if you want to can't help but has the same meaning with a slightly different structure.
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Compare the two.
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I can't help laughing.
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I can't help but laugh.
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Both mean you can't control it.
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Meant for me means you feel that something is supposed to happen for you, like it's part of your destiny.
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And a very common expression with a similar idea is meant to be.
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For example, we were meant to be together.
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But Mother Gothel isn't moved.
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She closes the exit and starts talking down to Rapunzel.
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Look at you, as fragile as a flower.
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Still a little sapling, just a sprout.
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Fragile means delicate and easily broken.
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Something or someone that needs to be handled with care, like glassware.
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That's why you might see fragile written on a delivery box if it contains something made of glass.
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You may hear it pronounced fragile in American English and fragile in British English.
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Let's hear the difference.
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It's fragile.
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It's fragile.
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Now, what do you think sapling and sprout mean?
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I'll give you a hint.
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They have something to do with plants.
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This is a sapling, a young tree that's still small and growing growing, and here's a sprout.
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It's even smaller, the first little shoot that grows from a seed.
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Mother Gothel uses these words to compare Rapunzel to a young plant that is still small and needs to be protected.
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That's right, to keep you safe and sound, yeah.
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Safe and sound means completely safe with nothing bad happening to you.
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Sound here refers to being healthy and in good condition.
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You may say, we made it home safe and sound.
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We will now check a few quick examples and I want you to notice how it's pronounced in natural speech.
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The end gets reduced to just N, so it comes out as safe and sound, safe and sound.
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Check out the examples and try to say the phrase yourself.
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Were you surprised to hear
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Mother Gothel call her daughter a pet?
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You probably know pet as an animal we keep at home, like a dog or a cat.
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But pet can be a word of endearment, like deer or darling.
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You may hear it in British English, especially in parts of Northern England.
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So when Mother Gothel says, trust me, pet, she's using pet to sound warm and affectionate, even though, as we know, she's only pretending.
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All right now, are you ready for the most important part of the lesson?
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Let's test everything you've learned today, the new vocabulary and pronunciation, and put it into practice.
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You'll watch the two clips again, this time without subtitles, and answer some quiz questions.
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Let's do it!
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I'm not getting any younger down here.
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Coming, Mother.
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Hi.
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Welcome home, Mother.
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Oh, Rapunzel, how you managed to do that every single day without fail.
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If you managed to finish something, that suggests the task was done quickly, done even if it was difficult,
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done with somebody else's help.
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a very big look in
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that mirror you know what I see I see a strong confident beautiful young lady oh look
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you're here too I'm just teasing stop taking everything so seriously okay
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so mother as I was saying tomorrow mother's feeling a little rundown
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if someone is feeling a little rundown they most likely need more exercise,
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rest and recovery or they need a little encouragement.
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Would you sing for me dear?
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Then we'll talk.
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Oh of course mother!
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If you distinctly remember something, you remember it because you wrote it down.
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You remember it only vaguely or you remember it clearly with specific detail.
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Your birthday was last year.
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That's the funny thing about birthdays.
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They're kind of an annual thing.
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Mother, I'm turning 18, and I wanted to ask what I really want for this birthday.
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Actually, what I wanted for a quite a few birthday.
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Okay, okay, Rapunzel, please stop with the mumbling.
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You know how I feel about the mumbling.
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Blah, blah, blah, blah is very annoying.
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I'm just teasing.
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You're adorable.
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I love you so much, darling.
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I want to see the floating lights.
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What?
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Oh, well, I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights.
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Oh, you mean the stars.
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That's the thing.
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I've charted stars, and they're always constant.
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But these, they appear every year on my birthday, Mother.
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Only on my birthday.
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And I can't help but feel like they're meant for me.
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The sentence, I can't help but smile, means you choose not to smile.
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You're trying to smile but not being able to.
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You smile without being able to stop yourself.
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I need to see them, mother.
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And not just from my window, in person.
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I have to know what they are.
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You want to go outside?
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Why, Rapunzel, look at you as fragile as a flower.
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Still a little sapling, just a sprout.
300
You know why we stay up in this tower?
301
I know, but...
302
That's right.
303
To keep you safe and sound, dear.
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Guess I always knew this day was coming.
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Knew that soon you'd want to leave the mast.
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Soon, but not yet.
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But shh, trust me, pet, mother knows best.
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Mother knows best, listen to your mother, it's a scary world out there.
309
And I can't help but smile when I think about how many new words you've learned today.
310
Amazing job, guys.
311
Thank you for learning with us.
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And if you've made it this far, you should really subscribe.
313
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English with TANGLED — Rapunzel's Birthday Wish”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mother, rapunzel, birthday, English, sound. This video has 320 sentences and 2826 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:41. The speaker talks at a steady 125 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| distinctly adverb | /dɪˈstɪŋktli/ | In a distinct manner. |
| fragile adjective | /ˈfɹæd͡ʒəl/ | Easily broken, not sturdy; of delicate material. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| tease verb | /tiːz/ | To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material). |
| chart noun | /t͡ʃɑɹt/ | A map illustrating the geography of a specific phenomenon. |
| float verb | /fləʊt/ | To be supported by a fluid of greater density (than the object). |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| darling noun | /ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/ | Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one. |
| flower noun | /ˈfloʊɚ/ | A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens… |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| mirror noun | /ˈmiɹɚ/ | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| steal verb | /stiːl/ | To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. |
| ton noun | /tʌn/ | The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each. |
| drain noun | /dɹiːn/ | A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK) |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| run down verb | To hit someone with a car or other vehicle and injure or kill them. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| wipe out verb | To destroy (especially, a large number or complete set of people or things); to obliterate. | |
| bring back verb | /ˈbɹɪŋ bæk/ | To fetch something. |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| get past verb | To continue around a blockage; to get around (something); to surpass something that is in the way. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You know what I see?
- Would you sing for me, dear?
- All your dreams of becoming a famous villain?
- What do you think tease means?
- I've charted stars and they're always constant, but these?
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 | She's been preparing · you've been waiting · you've been preparing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has spent · has been hurt · has been lost |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | has been hurt · has been lost · was charted |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 92 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, can't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/, thoughtful /ˈθɔːtfəl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: exception /əkˈsɛpʃən/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, shine /ʃaɪn/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/
- Long words — get the stress right: adorable /əˈdoɹ.əˌbəl/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/, encouragement [ɪnˈkʌɹɪd͡ʒmənt], pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like distinctly, fragile, lesson.
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.