Shadowing Practice: Learn English with WEDNESDAY — Fighting Bianca 🤺 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Let's see if you bleed in black and white.
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Your face finally got that splash of color.
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It's so desperately needed.
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Today, I have an exciting lesson for you with Netflix's Wednesday.
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In the scene we'll watch, she meets the most popular girl in school, Bianca, and challenges her to a fight, fencing.
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That's this sport like sword fighting.
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You'll be learning tons of new words in this lesson, like bleed and splash that we just saw.
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and to actually practice speaking the new words
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that you're learning with people from all around the world for
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free you can join our new speaking club on the real life app
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so just click the link down in the description below to get started
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and i'll also be telling you more about
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that in just a little bit now let's
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head over to fencing practice coach coach
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he tricked me it was a clean strike rowan maybe
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if you wind less than practice more you wouldn't suck seriously coach
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when am i gonna get some real competition anyone else want
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challenge me i do oh you must be the psychopath they let in
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and you must be the self -appointed queen bee interesting thing about bees pull out their stingers and they drop dead
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rowan doesn't need you to come to his defense he's not helpless he's lazy are we doing this or not
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so at the start we saw bianca fencing against another student
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named rowan coach coach she tricked me it was a clean
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strike rowan to trip someone means to make them stumble
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or fall usually by catching their foot
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but the coach isn't buying it he says it was a
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clean strike meaning a fair legal hit done properly within the rules.
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What do you think?
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Did Bianca cheat?
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Well next we see that Bianca isn't a very humble winner.
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To whine means to complain in an annoying high -pitched way, kind of like a small child would.
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Like in this example from the Addams Family.
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It's not gonna be easy.
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There are people everywhere.
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You can do it if you just stop whining.
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Nobody likes that.
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Diana, you gonna stop that whining and if something
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or someone sucks it means it's just really bad listen to
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this i got a stack of user complaints like a mile high look i know it sucks
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but the ip recognition is rock hard okay
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so don't even worry about it but another sonic youth album
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and it sucks it's just noise so
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which of these is the best example of whining i refuse to accept defeat but it's not fair.
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I always lose.
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I'll get you next time.
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Right, it's B.
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Moving on.
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Oh, you must be the psychopath they let in.
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And you must be the self -appointed queen B.
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So Wednesday is not having Bianca's insults
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if you appoint someone you're officially giving them a role
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or position so self -appointed means that someone gave themselves a title
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or authority that nobody else actually gave them my name is dawada
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and as team captain appointed team captain i'm not acknowledging that remark
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and a queen bee is a slang term for the most popular most powerful girl in a school
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or social group you know the one everyone either wants to be
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or wants to be friends with think regina george in mean girls this fame
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or popularity usually comes with power
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and influence just like the power a real queen bee has over her workers
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so wednesday is saying bianca just decided all on her own
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that she's the top girl here nobody voted for
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that interesting thing about bees pull out their stingers
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and they drop dead and this is a brilliant play on words from wednesday
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and kind of a threat so this is the beast stinger
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and drop dead means to die suddenly
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and immediately actually it's just like olivia rodrigo's new song
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that we recently made a reel to drop dead literally means to die suddenly
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but we can use it as an exaggeration to express a big emotion
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when the person you really like asks you on a date you feel like you might drop dead.
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When Messi scores a goal in the final minute of a game, many fans drop dead.
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And for more quick lessons like this, be sure to follow us on Instagram.
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Rowan doesn't need you to come to his defense.
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He's not helpless, he's lazy.
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If someone is helpless, it means they can't do anything to protect or help themselves.
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By the way, the suffix less means without.
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So helpless means without help or unable to help oneself.
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You'll see this pattern everywhere.
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Careless without care.
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hopeless without hope fearless without fear so Bianca's saying Rowan can help himself
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but he's too lazy to try ouch now the first time
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I moved to another country to Germany I felt pretty helpless see I've been studying German for three years
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but no one could understand me when I spoke that's
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because I'd had plenty of opportunities to study German
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but not to speak it but with time
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and patience I eventually became fluent but that wasn't
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because I studying more it was much simpler than
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that i finally had people to speak with
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and a reason to speak every day and honestly
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if you know a lot of english
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but you don't feel natural speaking it that's probably what's missing for you too
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so we built a place for exactly
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that inside the real life app a place where you don't
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just learn english you live it it's called the real life
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speaking club every single day you get a new fascinating topic
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that you can discuss with people from all around the world in real conversations
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and become more fluent this really is the best way to go from intermediate learner to advanced english speaker
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and if you're nervous about speaking you can practice the questions with your ai coach first
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and then jump into your first conversation it's free so start your adventure right now with a link in the description.
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All right now let's watch Wednesday and Bianca's actual fight.
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We heard en garde at the very start of the fight, which is borrowed straight from French.
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It's said right before a fencing match starts, telling both opponents to get into position and get ready to fight.
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All right, so, so far, Wednesday and Bianca are pretty evenly matched.
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means they're roughly equal in skill
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so neither one has a clear advantage think of france
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and argentina in the 2022 world cup they were pretty evenly matched now let's continue watching the
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that first point was clearly beginner's luck let's finish
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this for the final point i would to invoke a military challenge no masks no tips winner draws first blood
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so bianca says that wednesday had beginner's luck that first point was clearly beginner's luck
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this is when someone who's totally new at something succeeds purely by chance not skill Like when your friend, who's never played darts in their life,
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throws one dart and hits a bullseye.
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That's beginner's luck.
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Listen to these ways natives use it.
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I want to do it again.
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Going again.
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Everybody's a winner.
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Win a prize.
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Then we hear Wednesday wants to up the stakes or increase the challenge.
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For the final point, I would like to invoke a military challenge.
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To invoke means to formally bring something up or call upon a rule, tradition, or power like here in Pirates of the Caribbean.
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I invoke the rite of parley.
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According to the code of the brethren set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew, you have to take me to your captain.
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Let's hear exactly what a military challenge is in fencing.
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No masks, no tips.
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Winner draws first blood.
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so this is a fencing mask fencing swords have a soft rounded tip
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that keeps it from actually hurting anyone
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or in another context this is the tip of a pencil sure annoying
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when those break so by removing masks
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and tips this fight just got a whole lot more dangerous
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that's why the winner is the first to draw blood
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that means to actually cause bleeding but actually sometimes when you go to the hospital, they need to draw blood with a needle for tests.
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Alright, and finally, we can learn with the two insults Bianca used in that clip where she wins.
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Let's see if you bleed in black and white.
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To bleed simply means to lose blood, usually from a cut or an injury.
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Bianca's being sarcastic since Wednesday famously only wears black and white.
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And then when Bianca wins, she throws this at Wednesday.
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Your face finally got that splash of color.
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It's so desperately needed.
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A splash of something is just a small, unexpected amount of it, usually a color or a flavor.
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You'll hear this a lot with drinks, like a splash of milk in my coffee.
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It's just begging for a splash of color.
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Cappuccino with an extra splash of espresso, please.
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Again, it's a mean joke.
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Bianca's saying that a bit of red makes Wednesday look better.
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So in the end, Bianca comes out on top, meaning she wins.
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We could say Spain came out on top in the World Cup this year.
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However, there's a great lesson here about not judging a book by its cover.
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That is, not being tricked by your first impression of something, practicing being non -judgmental.
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Wednesday and Bianca both start out thinking they know who the other is.
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However, they eventually realize they have a lot in common.
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They both deal with challenges with their parents, and eventually they band together to defeat the villain, Joseph Crackstone, at the end of season one
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and become friends by the way a great way to increase your non -judgmentalism
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which really is an essential skill in a globalized world is
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by speaking with people from all around the world in the real life speaking club
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that I mentioned earlier remember
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that you can join for free with the link down in
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the description I hope you had fun learning with Wednesday
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and Bianca but we're not done yet now comes the most important part of the lesson you'll test everything
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that you learned by But watching the scenes again, this time without subtitles and answering some quiz questions.
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Let's do this.
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Coach, coach, you tricked me.
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It was a clean strike Rowan.
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Maybe if you whined less and practiced more, you wouldn't suck.
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If you whine, you are complaining, winning a competition, losing blood.
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Seriously, coach, when am I going to get some real competition?
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Anyone else want to challenge me?
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I do.
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Oh, you must be the psychopath they let in.
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And you must be the self -appointed queen bee.
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What does self -appointed mean?
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Chosen and voted in by others?
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Someone who gave themselves a title?
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Someone who was appointed by king or queen?
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Interesting thing about bees.
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Pull out their stingers and they drop dead.
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Rowan doesn't need you to come to his defense.
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He's not helpless.
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He's lazy.
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How else can you call someone courageous, using the less suffix?
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Fearless.
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Are we doing this or not?
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Anger!
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Point to Wednesday.
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The score is even.
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If two competitors are evenly matched, it means one is clearly much better than the other, they are roughly equal in skill, they refuse to compete against each other.
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What do you call it if someone new at something does well?
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Beginner's luck?
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Beginner's chance?
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Beginner's fortune?
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That first point was clearly beginner's luck.
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Let's finish this.
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For the final point, I would like to invoke a military challenge.
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No masks, no tips.
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Winner draws first blood It's your decision,
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Bianca Let's see if you bleed in black and white
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your face finally got that splash of color it's so desperately needed
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oh yeah great job today and
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if you want to be able to understand fast speaking natives without getting lost without missing the jokes
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and without subtitles every single week we help you to do
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it here on learn english with tv series with two new lessons
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so join over 11 million learners from around the world who
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are having a ton of fun learning this way by hitting
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that way you won't miss a single new lesson and
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if you are ready to stop being a lost insecure intermediate learner and become a confident natural advanced English speaker,
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then a really great way to do that is with the free membership to our speaking club.
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So again, use the link down below to join that now.
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And if you're sticking with us here on YouTube, you might want to check out this lesson next.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English with WEDNESDAY — Fighting Bianca 🤺”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: wednesday, bianca, coach, challenge, speaking. This video has 209 sentences and 2260 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:38. The speaker talks at a steady 128 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| rowan noun | /ˈɹoʊ.ən/ | Sorbus aucuparia, the European rowan. |
| appoint verb | /əˈpɔɪnt/ | To set, fix or determine (a time or place for something such as a meeting, or the meeting itself) by authority or agreement. |
| splash verb | /splæʃ/ | To hit or agitate liquid so that part of it separates from the principal liquid mass. |
| fence noun | /fɛns/ | A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc. |
| whine verb | /ˈwaɪ̯n/ | To utter a high-pitched cry. |
| helpless adjective | /ˈhɛlplɪs/ | Unable to defend oneself. |
| bleed verb | /ˈbliːd/ | To shed blood through an injured blood vessel. |
| invoke verb | /ɪnˈvoʊk/ | To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance. |
| mask noun | /mæsk/ | A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. |
| stinger noun | /ˈstɪŋ.ɚ/ | A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack. |
| lazy adjective | /ˈleɪ̯zi(ː)/ | Unwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion. |
| learner noun | /ˈlɜɹnəɹ/ | One who is learning; one receiving instruction. |
| psychopath noun | /ˈsaɪkəʊpæθ/ | A person with a personality disorder indicated by a pattern of lying, cunning, manipulating, glibness, exploiting, heedlessness, arrogance, delusions of… |
| evenly adverb | /ˈiːvənli/ | So as to form a flat surface. |
| desperately adverb | /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/ | In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pull out verb | To withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat. |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| set down verb | To write. |
| start out verb | To emerge suddenly; to jump out. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Let's see if you bleed in black and white.
- What do you think?
- I'll get you next time.
- Anyone else want to challenge me?
- Are we doing this or not?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is borrowed · being tricked · was appointed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | fight, which is · Someone who gave · Someone who was |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most popular · the best · the most important |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might drop · might want |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 32 contractions and reduced forms, such as you'll, you're, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: psychopath /ˈsaɪkəʊpæθ/, brethren /ˈbɹɛðɹən/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: splash /splæʃ/, exaggeration /ɪɡˌzæd͡ʒəˈɹeɪʃən/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/
- Long words — get the stress right: desperately /ˈdɛs.p(ə.)ɹət.li/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/, cappuccino /ˌkæpəˈt͡ʃinoʊ/, exaggeration /ɪɡˌzæd͡ʒəˈɹeɪʃən/, competitor /kəmˈpɛt.ɪ.tɚ/
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 rowan, appoint, splash.
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.