Shadowing Practice: Learn English with UP 🎈 | Sweet & Slow Shadowing Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English with UP 🎈”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: explorer, wilderness, badge, assistance, afternoon. This video has 71 sentences and 528 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:24. The speaker talks slowly, about 82 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| badge noun | /bæd͡ʒ/ | A distinctive mark, token, sign, emblem or cognizance, worn on one’s clothing, as an insignia of some rank, or of the membership of an organization. |
| wilderness noun | /ˈwɪldɚnəs/ | Uncultivated and unsettled land in its natural state inhabited by wild animals and with vegetation growing wild; (countable) a tract of such land; a waste or… |
| explorer noun | /ɛkˈsplɔːɹə(ɹ)/ | One who explores something |
| skip verb | /skɪp/ | To move by hopping on alternate feet. |
| elderly adjective | /ˈɛldɚli/ | old; having lived for relatively many years. |
| assist verb | /əˈsɪst/ | To help. |
| sweat verb | /swɛt/ | To emit sweat. |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| polite adjective | /pəˈlaɪt/ | Well-mannered, civilized. |
| audio adjective | /ˈɔ.di.oʊ/ | Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| formal adjective | /ˈfɔɹməl/ | In accordance with established forms. |
| finale noun | /fəˈnɑli | The grand end of something, especially of a show or piece of music. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| scout noun | /ˈskaʊ̯t/ | A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| stick around verb | To stay; to linger; to remain. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may notice |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is missing |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will train · will play |
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 badge, wilderness, explorer.
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.













