Shadowing Practice: Learn Everyday British English Exploring the British Seaside in Summer 🇬🇧 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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145 sentences

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There's something magical about the British seaside in summer.

Let me show you.

Today is special because I am actually on holiday.

I'm on something called a staycation, a term coined for when you stay within the UK in Devon with my family.

There are five children under six so it is a little bit chaotic

but I have snuck you away to show you some of the beautiful landscape in Devon.

Once again this is going to be an unscripted video

and I'm not going to speak

that slowly I'm going to speak at a normal pace

so as always

if you can understand this video then that's a very good

sign for your English are you ready to sample some of the delights of this gorgeous county let's go

I am at somewhere called Colton Fish Acre, which is a National Trust property.

And I've spoken to you about National Trust properties before.

They're a brilliant part of the UK, a charity that preserves buildings.

And this one is in Devon.

It's actually a really magical story.

A couple were sailing by on a boat by the coast, and they saw this valley that ran all the way down to the water's edge.

and they thought that is where they wanted to build their house.

And the house belonged to a family who were responsible for the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

Also, I believe the man's father owned the Savoy Hotel in Claridge's.

So they were quite a wealthy family.

And you can see in this property, they just saw this, as I said,

this ravine leading down and they've made it this beautiful garden leading down to the plunge pool at the bottom.

and this lovely house which is part of the arts

and crafts era and I'll show you the inside right now let me show you a spectacular viewpoint

and this is how big the property is

so it runs all the way down to the sea

and it's quite a stunning view so I can understand why they fell in love with it.

Here the garden is running down to the water and I can just hear the sea.

This garden has such a tropical feel to it.

All kinds of exotic plants.

It's because it's part of the Devon coast and that has a really mild climate, almost as warm as Cornwall.

Here's a rhododendron tree in full bloom.

It feels very British even though it is imported from from the Himalayas.

Have to watch our step here.

You wouldn't think you were in England, would you?

Bamboo palm trees.

As I said, the climate is mild here so tropical plants can grow.

And here is where the garden ends at the coast, where you can see where the family built an old plunge pool in the 1920s.

Very glamorous.

Shall we head back up though?

We just had our picnic lunch as a family on the lawn, I'm going to sneak you away again.

And here you can see the house a bit closer.

It's an arts and crafts house, which means everything was made by hand using local materials.

And the stone you can see here was actually quarried from the garden itself.

So the house and the land are literally made from the same thing.

It's so wonderful.

Here is the more formal garden closer to the house.

Are you ready to go inside?

Should I show you inside a bit?

Let's go.

So on the outside it's arts and crafts and on the inside it is pure art deco.

A completely different world.

Step inside and you're in the jazz age.

Art deco everywhere.

The lights, the furniture, the colours.

It's like walking into a different era.

You can almost hear the jazz playing everywhere.

I hope you enjoyed the tour around the house and that peak into a national trust property in the UK.

As I said, quintessentially British.

A day's outing, going to a national trust, a lot of people will have memberships, which means you pay an annual fee.

But now I want to show you some of the countryside around here

because it's very different from the sorts of scenes that I have shown you before.

It's about 5pm, it's peaceful, it's quiet.

We have also been so lucky with the weather.

We Brits complain a lot about the weather, but we have had a week of glorious sunshine.

It's actually been called a heat wave in...

It has been a heat wave in some parts of the UK.

Luckily, where I was, it wasn't quite as hot.

But even then, typical, you still have everyone complaining that then it's too hot.

And that's the trouble.

We always complain about the weather.

It's either too overcast, or when there is sunshine, we get really excited about it.

We'll all flood out into the sunshine and then we will all moan that it is too hot.

But for our getaway, we've been really lucky.

I'm going to show you that landmark properly later.

It's so rugged and beautiful along this part of the coast.

It's very rocky.

There are lots of rocky, pebbly beaches and I'm going to take you down to show you the water's edge.

One of the things I love about the UK is the diversity of the landscape.

Yes, the landscape changes so quickly.

You can drive an hour in any direction and end up somewhere completely different, whether it be the coast like here,

or a mountain or moorland You can see behind me the coast

And this bit of Devon has its own particular feel

Rugged cliffs dropping down to the sea Hidden coves you have to walk to

And this wonderful wildness about it It feels properly remote Even though you're not far from anywhere Well,

we have to watch our step on these steps But there's something that I really want to show you

One of the things I love about walking in the UK is that you're always walking through history

Here we are on a beautiful coast path and then suddenly

These are the remains of a second World War battery

They were built to defend the entrance to Dartmouth from German attack Most of these defenses were demolished after the war, but this one survived.

And it's quite something to walk through, isn't it?

There's something haunting about these old wartime buildings.

Walking through them, you can imagine what it must have been like with the soldiers stationed here, just watching the sea, waiting.

And this whole stretch was a Second World War battery.

What have we discovered?

It's like a secret gem, So obviously it's had its fair share of graffiti and things, but my goodness, what a lookout.

I'm so happy that I discovered this with you.

100

I can hear the waves down there.

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As I said, there are lots of Second World War bunkers and buildings and lookouts along this part of the coast.

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So yeah, it must be what it is, but goodness.

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It's a strange mix, isn't it?

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The graffiti, the concrete, and that sea.

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It feels almost poetic somehow.

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There were soldiers here once looking out at that.

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Now it's just wild flowers and the view.

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Oh, it's a long climb back up.

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I have to say it was much easier going down than it will be going up.

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Worth it though, definitely worth it.

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Nearly at the top.

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That is quite a climb.

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And as we say, that's my workout for the day done.

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I hope I haven't bombarded you with too much history but bear with me because there's one more thing worth seeing.

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This is called the Day Mark and it's exactly what the name suggests,

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a landmark that sailors could spot by day telling them where Dartmouth was.

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So this obviously was before GPS or modern navigation

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and ships approaching from the south couldn't see the harbour entrance because it's tucked away behind the cliff.

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So in 1864 they built this.

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It's 80 feet tall, standing on the headland, visible from miles out at sea.

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Simple, but it worked.

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And it's quite a cool building, isn't it?

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It feels almost futuristic, like it should be in a Star Wars film made of burnt metal.

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Although obviously it was built in 1864, so not that futuristic but worth seeing if you are in this part of the world.

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Finally here we are taking the Dartmouth Ferry.

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Dartmouth is one of the prettiest harbour towns in England with the colourful houses, the boats, the river.

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It's the kind of place that looks like a postcard

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so we might call it postcard pretty

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and it's been a working port for over a thousand years

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and just across the water is a little town called Kingsweir

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and that is well known for having a working steam train

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and that's a lovely tourist attraction so this whole area is very Agatha Christie meets summer holidays very charming

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I hope you enjoyed this peek into a British staycation and enjoyed seeing more variety in our landscape and a new area.

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I've had a lot of positive comments about these videos

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so I will keep doing them every now and then alongside my usual talking head videos.

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So yes, expect more of these to come.

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In fact, if you have any requests, let me know.

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Is there a particular part of British life you would like to experience.

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If you understood all of it, well done, because at times I was speaking quite fast.

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Let me know in the comments how much you understood, and don't forget to check out my free PDFs listed below, little plug there.

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Also you can find out more about my courses and lessons with me.

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Sorry, I'm so out of breath.

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I've been walking quite fast up the hill.

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I hope you enjoyed that.

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Take care, and hopefully I will see you in my next video.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn Everyday British English Exploring the British Seaside in Summer 🇬🇧”. This video has 145 sentences and 1667 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:49. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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
sunshine noun	/ˈsʌnʃaɪn/	The direct rays, light or warmth of the sun.
deco noun		A friendship book in which people add decorative elements such as drawings, stickers and sequins.
futuristic adjective	/ˌfjut͡ʃəˈɹɪstɪk/	Of technology, a concept, etc, so far advanced as to appear to be from the future.
plunge verb	/plʌnd͡ʒ/	To thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse.
postcard noun	/ˈpoʊstˌkɑɹd/	A rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically used for sending messages by mail without the need for an envelope.
staycation noun	/ˌsteɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/	A vacation spent at or close to home.
rugged adjective	/ˈɹʌɡ.ɪd/	Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough.
lookout noun	/ˈlʊkaʊt/	A vantage point with a view of the surrounding area.
graffiti noun	/ɡɹəˈfi.ti/	Drawings or words drawn on a surface in a public place, usually made without authorization.
landmark noun	/ˈlændmɑːk/	A recognizable natural or man-made feature used for navigation.
harbour noun		Standard spelling of harbor.
sneak verb	/sniːk/	To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen.
cliff noun	/klɪf/	A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
mild adjective	/ˈmaɪld/	Gentle and not easily angered
goodness noun	/ˈɡʊdnəs/	The state or characteristic of being good.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
walk through verb	To explain (something) to (someone), step by step.
back up verb	To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
go down verb	To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
go up verb	To move upwards.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

You wouldn't think you were in England, would you?
Shall we head back up though?
Are you ready to go inside?
Should I show you inside a bit?
Step inside and you're in the jazz age.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've spoken · they've made · have shown
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is imported · was made · was actually quarried
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	Acre, which is · house which is · house, which means

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 27 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, isn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/, staycation /ˌsteɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/, demolish /dɪˈmɒl.ɪʃ/, quintessentially /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəli/, navigation /nævɪˈɡeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: futuristic /ˌfjut͡ʃəˈɹɪstɪk/, quintessentially /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəli/, rhododendron /ɹoʊdəˈdɛndɹən/, navigation /nævɪˈɡeɪʃən/, spectacular /spɛkˈtæk.jə.lɚ/

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 sunshine, deco, futuristic.

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 technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Learn Everyday British English Exploring the British Seaside in Summer 🇬🇧 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?