Shadowing Practice: Learn English with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA — Meryl Streep & Anne Hathaway - Learn English Speaking with Video

Here.

It's a tough call.

They're so different.

Mmm.

Something funny?

No. No, no, nothing's...

You know, it's just that both those belts look exactly the same to me.

You know, I'm still learning about this stuff and, uh...

This stuff?

Choosing just one scene from our favorite movies to turn into lessons like this one is a tough call.

That means it's a very hard decision to make,

just like the bells they're trying to decide on.

And if you're new here,

you should know this is exactly what we help you do.

Have fun learning with your favorite movies and tv series

so you can finally understand fast speaking natives without getting lost without missing the jokes

and without subtitles so subscribe and hit the bell down below

and you won't miss the new lessons we create every week

now let's step into the world of high fashion with the amazing meryl streep and anne hathaway in this powerful scene

Oh, okay.

I see.

You think this has nothing to do with you.

You go to your closet and you select,

I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater,

for instance, because you're trying to tell the world

that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back.

But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue.

It's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean.

And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002,

Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns.

And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent,

wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets?

I think we need a jacket here.

Really impressive speech by Meryl Streep here, right?

Anyway, you want to stick around to see the second part of this theme.

We'll see it later in today's lesson.

For now, though, there is a lot of advanced English we can learn in this first part,

so let's get into it.

I should also tell you that we are saving all the advanced words and expressions you learned today on the RealLife app,

so you can practice them over there.

Just click the link in the description below to unlock this

lesson with the Devil Wears Prada completely for free on the RealLife app and continue watching it over there.

It's a tough call.

They're so different.

As I said before, a tough call is a difficult decision.

Just like with the word decision,

we use the verb make with the expression tough call.

To make a tough call.

Check out this example of how to use this expression with the TV show The Office.

think is hotter.

Pam or Karen?

Yeah, I'm not gonna talk about this now.

Pam is taller.

You sure?

I think Karen has a prettier face.

Really tough call.

Yeah.

Now, I don't know if you noticed,

but why does Miranda Priestly,

Meryl Streep's character, have this reaction when she hears the word stuff?

Let's see it again.

No, no, no, nothing's, you know,

it's just

that both those belts look exactly the same to me you know i'm still learning about this stuff

and uh this stuff

what is stuff what do we usually call stuff stuff is a vague word we use

when we don't want to be specific it can be anything

but when andrea casually calls high fashion stuff this makes Miranda reacts strongly.

You see, fashion for Miranda isn't just stuff.

It's an industry, art and a billion dollar business.

By using such a generic word,

Andrea unintentionally dismisses something Miranda deeply values.

And by the way, the verb to dismiss is a nice one to learn.

It means to treat something as unimportant,

to ignore it, or not pay enough attention as Andy did by not caring

so much about the difference between the two belts.

Okay, I see.

You think this has nothing to do with you.

When something has nothing to do with you,

it means it is not connected to you in any way.

So, Miranda is saying to Andy that even though she believes fashion doesn't affect her,

in reality, the clothes she wears are influenced by the high fashion industry.

Let's see how she explains that.

Pay attention to the advanced vocabulary she uses.

You go to your closet and you select,

I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater for instance

because you're trying to tell the world

that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back but...

So here Miranda describes Andy's sweater as lumpy.

Based on how it looks,

can you guess what lumpy means?

Badly shaped, of bad taste, funny looking.

Lumpy can describe anything that is uneven or not smooth.

It may also refer to some shapeless, baggy clothes.

And a couch can also be lumpy and uncomfortable to sit on.

What you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue,

it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean.

Now, these are three shades of blue.

You don't have to memorize these words,

100

but you may hear them in some context,

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so it's important you at least know they refer to types of blue.

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Hey, just a quick question.

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What do you do to remember all the new words and expressions you are learning?

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Like in this lesson, we've already covered phrases like have nothing to do with,

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a tough call, the word lonely,

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and we'll go through many more in the rest of the lesson.

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Will you be able to remember and use them when you need them?

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I'm saying this because

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I know it's quite frustrating when you get into conversation in English

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and right when you need to use a certain expression you've learned before,

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it doesn't come to you.

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I've been there myself.

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Your brain simply goes blank and that totally ruins the flow of your conversation, right?

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That is exactly why we created the RealLife English app to help you become a confident

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and natural English speaker by practicing with these lessons the way they were meant to be.

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On the app, every lesson like this one with movies,

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TV series and podcasts, it comes with a full transcript and flashcards of the most advanced expressions.

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By practicing just 10 minutes a day,

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you'll be able to remember the new words and expressions you are learning forever.

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This happens because of the spaced repetition technology we developed,

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which lets you review words just when you are about to forget them.

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Can you imagine being able to use all this vocabulary when you speak?

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what you can get with a real life English app

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and you can unlock this lesson with the Devil Wears Prada for free

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which comes with all the resources I mentioned by clicking the link in the description below.

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You can also look for real life English in the App Store

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or Google Play but the link below will take you straight to this lesson

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which is free if it's your first one and I'll see you there.

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Okay now we know different shades of blue.

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We know that Lumpy is uneven and badly shaped.

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But what is to be blithely unaware?

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Let's hear it again.

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You're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002,

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Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns.

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When you are blithely unaware,

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it's as if you choose to be unaware.

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You don't follow the trends,

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like in this case, or you just don't bother to learn more about the situation.

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And again, Miranda says Andy has no idea how much history and influence are behind the fashion choices around her.

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For example, those cerulean gowns from the designer collection that later influenced the mass market.

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By the way, this is a gown,

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a long elegant dress usually worn for formal occasions like weddings or red carpet events.

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Now are you ready for the second part of the scene?

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Let's watch it.

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And then Cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers.

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And then it filtered down through the department stores

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and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you no doubt fished it out of some clearance bin.

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However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs.

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And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice

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that exempts you from the fashion industry when in fact,

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you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.

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And then Cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers.

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And then it filtered down through the department stores and then...

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Miranda explains how fashion trends start at the top and gradually influence mainstream clothing.

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We first see how cerulean spread within high fashion,

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it showed up or it appeared in eight different collections.

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And then mass market brands and department stores start selling similar colors and styles.

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You know, those large stores that sell different types of products like clothes,

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furniture and electronics all in one place.

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And then Cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers.

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And then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic...

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Miranda uses the phrasal verb filter down to show this gradual spread from a higher to a lower level,

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from designers to department stores.

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And then it trickles down to even smaller retailers,

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like Casual Corner, a US chain retailer located in shopping malls and so accessible to average consumers like candy.

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So, both phrasal verbs, filter down and trickle down,

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are about movement, this slow spreading from the top levels to lower levels,

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like when you are making coffee.

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Let's check a few examples.

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If we plant a virus into that mother ship,

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it's going to then filter down into all the corresponding ships below.

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According to

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Miranda, Andrea likely grabbed something randomly from the clearance bin.

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She uses the phrase fish out to emphasize that Andy pulled the sweater from a messy pile,

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contrasting it with the careful and deliberate selection that happens in high fashion.

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This is a clearance rack.

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A clearance bin or a clearance rack is a section in a store where discounted or out-of-season clothes are placed for sale.

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Casual corner where you no doubt fished it out of some clearance bin.

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However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs.

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And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice

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that exempts you from the fashion industry when in fact… Miranda shows Andy that fashion isn't just about clothes.

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It's an industry that creates countless jobs.

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When something is so large that you can't count,

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we use the word countless.

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And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice

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that exempts you from the fashion industry when in fact you're wearing a sweater

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that was selected for you by the people in this room

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if you are exempt from something you don't have to do it

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or aren't affected by it because of a special condition status

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or reason

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so to exempt means to free a person from some obligation to do something like to pay taxes

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or take a test and the things she's outside of fashion She's not affected by it.

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But she isn't.

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As Miranda illustrated, even her simple sweater is the result of a fashion trend.

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Bart, you and the other perfect scoring superstars are exempt from taking the actual test today.

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No test?

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Don't be too disappointed.

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We are throwing you a pizza party at a bowling alley.

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And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice

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that exempts you from the fashion industry when in fact

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you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room.

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That's an amazing job you've done today.

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Now the test part.

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Let's watch the scene without subtitles and see how much you understand

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and there are some questions to the words and expressions from today's lesson.

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Let's do this!

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It's a tough call.

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They're so different.

209

Mmm.

210

Something funny?

211

No. No, no, nothing's...

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You know, it's just that both those belts look exactly the same to me.

213

You know, I'm still learning about this stuff and, uh...

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This stuff?

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Oh, okay.

216

I see.

217

You think this has nothing to do with you.

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You go to your closet.

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What does the phrase it has nothing to do with you mean?

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It is not related to you?

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You know nothing about it?

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You can't work here.

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You go to your closet and you select,

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I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater for instance

225

because you're trying to tell the world

226

that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back

227

but what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not...

228

When your sweater is lumpy,

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it is dirty and untidy,

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shapeless and not smooth, weird and fun looking.

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You're all so blithely unaware of the fact

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that in 2002 Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns and then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent,

233

wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets?

234

I think we need a jacket here.

235

And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers.

236

I'm going to filter down through the department stores

237

and then trickle on down into some tragic casual corner where you no doubt fished it out of some...

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What does it mean when products trickle down to stores?

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People are tricked into buying more stuff,

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products are being delivered to the stores,

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products gradually enter smaller stores.

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Casual corner where you no doubt fished it out of some clearance bin.

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However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs.

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And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice

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that exempts you from the fashion industry when in fact you're wearing a sweater

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that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.

247

What is the word to use if you are free from paying taxes?

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You are exerted, exempted, accepted.

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That's it for today.

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Now remember to go and practice what you learned today on the Real Life English app.

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You'll find a special link right in the description below.

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That'll take you straight to this lesson over there.

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And here's another great lesson for you to watch next if you are staying on YouTube.

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Amelia, does your bad posture affect your hearing?

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Well, carriage, obviously.

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Hairstyle.

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Complexion.

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Stop.

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Eyes, lovely.

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But hidden beneath Bushman eyebrows.

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I suppose.

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The neck is seemly, and you will wear stockings.

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Not tights, not socks.

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And I never want to see those shoes again.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing Practice: Learn English with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA — Meryl Streep & Anne Hathaway - Learn English Speaking with Video

About This Lesson

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Practice Tips

What is the Shadowing Technique?