Shadowing Practice: Learn Real English on a Slow Countryside Walk 🌿 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
There is something very British about a flask of tea on a walk.
168 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
There is something very British about a flask of tea on a walk.
2
Today that's all we're doing,
3
just a walk in late spring and a cup of tea.
4
Today is unscripted and I'll be talking at a normal pace.
5
So if you can understand everything I say today,
6
your English is doing really well.
7
Come along with me.
8
Good morning.
9
Today I'm going to take you for a walk with me in the Cotswolds in late spring.
10
First I'm going to make a flask of tea.
11
I'm going to pop the kettle on,
12
good phrase to have, pop the kettle on.
13
I am making what we call builder's tea,
14
which is strong tea with milk in it.
15
In the UK we drink lots of tea,
16
we are known for it most people will have several cups of tea a day.
17
I have always had a sweet tooth and I always have to have sugar with my tea.
18
I've actually managed to cut down a bit.
19
When I was younger, it used to be quite a lot of sugars.
20
Now it's just the one.
21
And the tea needs to stew for a nice amount of time.
22
When something happens in the UK,
23
good or bad, people tend to say,
24
I'll put the kettle on.
25
And it isn't really about the tea.
26
It's about taking a moment together.
27
That's what we're going to do today.
28
We're going to take a moment together.
29
Make a cup of tea to share with me and I'm going to get my boots on for the walk.
30
That is a typical view in spring of a lounge.
31
And this is called a kissing gate.
32
You get lots of these.
33
The aim to be to let the people through on the footpaths but to keep the sheep in.
34
When I was younger we used to always say
35
that we had to kiss over the top of it
36
and we would do that every time we went through a kissing gate.
37
And there are lots of kissing gates, so lots of kisses.
38
A very common feature on the paths in late spring is this white flower called cow parsley.
39
And you see it growing all along the hedgerows and all along the lanes.
40
It's like white lace.
41
I'm currently on what we call a footpath.
42
And the thing that's wonderful about the UK is that there are thousands of them all over the country.
43
This is what we call right of way,
44
or specifically a public right of way.
45
So in the UK they are legally protected routes across private or public land that anyone can use at any time.
46
And that is protected.
47
It's a protected right that we have.
48
It's something that's actually really magical and wonderful about the UK and people who don't have it comment on it a lot.
49
Well, let me know, is there an equivalent in your country?
50
Can you just walk wherever you want all over the country?
51
Because as I said, there are thousands of footpaths all across the United Kingdom
52
and they have been walked for hundreds of years.
53
People have been walking on these paths for hundreds of years
54
and if someone buys a private property and it has a footpath going through it,
55
there's absolutely nothing they can do.
56
They have to let people go through their property.
57
You could, in theory, walk across the whole of the country.
58
One of my American friends was absolutely shocked by this because obviously in the US,
59
trespassing is not welcomed.
60
It seemed like a bit of an alien concept to her that we have this right of way,
61
but as I said, it's one of the most wonderful things about the UK and it's why walking here is so popular.
62
There are so many wonderful places if you love walking and because of this right of way,
63
these footpaths that you have to honour,
64
you can walk pretty much anywhere.
65
Walk through the gate and just go.
66
It's really useful to have the OS maps
67
so you can get an app
68
that shows you all of the footpaths across the country
69
so I use it all the time and it has saved me from getting lost many times.
70
And there you can see all of the yellow arrows pointing to all the various different footpaths.
71
And what road shall we take?
72
Which path?
73
We're going to take this one.
74
A bit windy today.
75
a bit chilly as we would say in the UK it's
76
a bit chilly we moan a lot about how much it rains in the UK
77
but if it didn't we wouldn't have this green
78
and that's what I talked about what's so nice
79
when winter is over and all these wonderful leaves come through
80
and they've come through now and it's just It's just so luscious and vibrant.
81
As we moan about the rain,
82
it wouldn't be this green without it.
83
In fact, sometimes in August,
84
when it's been very dry and we have weeks of dry, it's really brown.
85
We lose that luscious green in the grass because it's so used to water.
86
It goes actually quite brown so this is the best time.
87
Cows in the field, that is a pretty standard sight.
88
I have to say I'm a big fan of walking.
89
Whenever everything seems too much
90
or the world seems a bit overwhelming just getting out for a walk always makes it feel better.
91
Just wait because up ahead there is something that I want to show you.
92
Here it is, the best bench in the world and you might ask why?
93
Well it's because of.. look at that view.
94
It doesn't get better than that.
95
I have to say any Lord of the Rings fans out there,
96
Tolkien definitely based the Shire on areas like this Gloucestershire,
97
Oxfordshire, these areas of the Cotswolds.
98
This is one of my favourite spots.
99
I come here, sit, look at that view and just think.
100
And now you're here sharing this beautiful view with me,
101
I think it is time for a cup of tea.
102
So I'm going to get that flask that we made together.
103
Grab a cup or have one with me and enjoy this view.
104
That just hits the spot.
105
A good cup of tea on a day like this with that view.
106
I have to say, I've said this before on the channel,
107
it's true of many British people, we love the seasons.
108
So I know that's a generalisation.
109
Personally, I could never live somewhere where the climate was the same the whole year round
110
because I just would miss the seasonal changes that you see throughout the year.
111
And part of what makes this time of year so magical is we've just come out of a long winter.
112
And while there are aspects that I love about winter,
113
you know, I love Christmas,
114
I love autumn as well,
115
spring comes just at the right time,
116
especially because of daylight saving time, which I've talked about.
117
The peak of winter, it's getting dark at about 3.30 p.m.
118
The days are so short and that is just quite grim and quite depressing.
119
So when spring comes, it just feels so good.
120
Trees, they have this ancient feel.
121
It really is magical.
122
And at this time of year,
123
it's now light until 9 p.m.
124
So it makes such a difference having those longer days,
125
knowing that summer is on its way.
126
I almost think though spring,
127
this time of year, is better than summer.
128
All the flowers are out.
129
By the time you get to late summer, things are much browner.
130
The green is not nearly as bright
131
so we're at probably the peak in terms of nature's beauty at this time of year.
132
Okay, so that's its own little ritual,
133
having a flask of tea,
134
coming out, sitting on a bench,
135
enjoying a day like that.
136
One more sip and we'll get going again again.
137
And this is another classic feature of walks in the UK.
138
This is called a stile.
139
You have to climb over them and this is a classic feature of a walk in England because
140
you hop over like that.
141
This is another common thing you see in spring in the UK.
142
It's called wild garlic Oh wow,
143
yeah, you can really smell the garlic.
144
So this is wild garlic and it's the leaves are not the flowers People come foraging.
145
That's a good word foraging in woods for wild garlic
146
and they make things like wild garlic soup there are areas where it just
147
carpets the floor of the wood and it's really magical Again,
148
you can see how different it is now all the leaves have come out
149
because this was the same view I showed you about a month ago.
150
And look how different it is.
151
And here's a good example of the different types of paths that you get because you have obviously the yellow footpath,
152
public footpath that we've talked about.
153
blue sign is the bridal way and a bridal way means that horses,
154
well you can ride along them,
155
so horses can go along them.
156
Okay let's head home.
157
Boots off, now we're home and here's our lovely water feature on the deck.
158
In fact the deck is a good way to show you how much it changes through the seasons
159
because here is the deck in late spring
160
and let me show you again
161
that footage from about a month ago where the leaves weren't out yet
162
so you can see there is quite a difference there.
163
Time for another cup of tea in a proper mug this time.
164
I told you we drank lots of tea.
165
Thank you for keeping me company on the walk today.
166
I hope you enjoyed it and that it gave you a moment of peace in your day.
167
Don't forget to check out the free pdfs I offer that are listed below.
168
Have a lovely day and I will see you in the next one.
Download App
AI scoring for every sentence you speak
TRENDING
Popular
Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with this video offers a unique opportunity to practice English in a real-life context. The speaker takes you on a leisurely walk through the picturesque Cotswolds, combining tranquil scenery with insightful commentary. By immersing yourself in this relaxed setting, you can naturally shadow speak and mimic the speaker's phrasing and intonation. This method not only helps you improve English pronunciation but also allows you to absorb everyday vocabulary and expressions used in casual conversation. The unscripted nature of the dialogue is particularly beneficial for learners, as it mirrors authentic interactions and encourages you to practice speaking in a fluid manner.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout the video, several key structures and expressions exemplify everyday British English:
- "I'm going to pop the kettle on": This phrase showcases the future tense with "going to," a common way to express future intentions. Learning to use this structure effectively will enhance your conversational skills.
- "We drink lots of tea": The present simple tense is used here to express habitual actions. Mastery of the present simple allows you to talk about routines and customs within your own culture.
- "There are lots of kissing gates": This construction uses the plural form to describe countable nouns, a fundamental grammar point. Understanding how to use countable and uncountable nouns is crucial for clear communication.
- "Is there an equivalent in your country?": This question format illustrates how to engage listeners and encourage dialogue, vital for building conversational skills.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you practice with this video, be aware of some tricky words and potential pronunciation challenges:
- "Kettle": Pay attention to the 'k' sound at the start and ensure it’s pronounced clearly.
- "Kissing gate": The blending of sounds can be challenging. Practice saying it slowly before increasing speed to replicate natural speaking rhythm.
- "Cow parsley": This term is less common and may trip you up. Take time to enunciate both words separately before saying them in sequence.
By focusing on these elements, you can leverage this YouTube video to learn English with YouTube in an immersive way. Utilize the shadow speech technique to deepen your understanding and enhance your command of spoken English.
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.
☕ Buy us a coffee
ShadowingEnglish remains 100% free thanks to your support. Server and AI costs are high — your coffee keeps us going! 🙏