Shadowing Practice: Learn Some Relaxing English Phrases - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Well, hello and welcome to this English lesson about being free.
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There's a funny little phrase in English and that's the phrase,
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"school's out for the summer." It's actually lunchtime and this is my last day at work.
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and then I have a few weeks off before school starts again in September.
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For those of you that don't know, I am actually a high school teacher.
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And I do have the very, very cool benefit of having the summer off.
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So school's out for the summer.
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Another phrase I might use to describe this situation is that I am free as a bird.
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If you ever go outside and if you see a bird, the bird is free to go wherever they want.
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And for a few weeks, I will now be free as a bird.
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I can do whatever I want every day, Unless, of course, Jen has some chores for me to do on the farm or if there's other things.
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I should be working on like making YouTube lessons for you guys.
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There's an older phrase too, kind of a funny phrase, to be footloose and fancy free.
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I haven't heard that one for a while, but if you can imagine in your head, someone being footloose and fancy free.
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It brings about an image of someone who is extremely relaxed and just enjoying their life.
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So I would say this though, I can certainly feel like there is a weight off my shoulders right now.
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In English, when you say that there is a weight off your shoulders, it's as if you were carrying something and now you no longer are.
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and you're just enjoying life.
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And I certainly need Time to unwind.
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When you're working during the school year or when you're working at your job, it can be stressful.
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and you can feel very, very tense.
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And so we have this English phrase
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take time to unwind or have time to unwind where you're just spending time becoming less stressful
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less stressed uh de -stressing a little bit and it's a time to recharge your batteries.
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If you think about your phone, when the battery is almost dead, it's like the phone doesn't have a lot of energy.
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So people as well can feel that.
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And so sometimes they need time, to recharge their batteries, and that certainly what I need right now.
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And I'm going to do two things.
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I'm going to take it easy.
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I'm going to kick back Oh, actually three things, and I'm going to put my feet up.
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So when you take it easy, it means you relax.
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When you kick back, you can imagine someone leaning back in a chair and just enjoying life.
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And then when you put your feet up, It's like you're even more relaxed.
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So I'm going to definitely take it easy, I'm definitely going to kick back and I'm definitely going to put my feet up.
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Now you might have heard the English phrase R &R.
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R &R is kind of a funny phrase that means rest, and relaxation.
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So I'm going to have a little bit of R &R.
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I'm going to enjoy life as best as I can for the next few weeks.
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And it certainly feels good to be able to take a breather When you run for a long time and stop, you have to stop and breathe.
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And when you work really hard for a long time, we sometimes use a similar phrase to take a breather to
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refer to a time where you are going to relax and just enjoy life for a little bit.
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So I'm definitely going to take a breather. And then...
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I think I might sleep in.
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I don't sleep in very often.
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I've been setting my alarm.
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for 6 :15 every morning, sometimes 6 :30.
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for a very long time but now I can just sleep and get up whenever I want.
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And at my age, that doesn't actually work.
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I will probably still wake up at around 7 o 'clock and for me, that would be sleeping in.
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So how do I feel right now?
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I don't have a care in the world.
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There's another English phrase for you.
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I don't have to worry about anything else except just enjoying making English lessons for you here on YouTube, and helping Jen on the farm a little bit.
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But other than that, I do not have care in the world.
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And now you might be wondering if Jen and I are going to get away from it all.
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When you get away from it all, it means you go on vacation, and you enjoy some time, doing something else?
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And the answer is actually...
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Yes and no. we will probably go to Toronto here and there to see a Blue Jays game, or to do some other fun and relaxing things.
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And that will be how we get away from it all.
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But we aren't planning on doing any kind of major vacation.
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So we're not going to totally get away from it all.
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for a week or two, but we are going to certainly Take some time off and enjoy it.
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Anyways, thanks for watching this little walk and talk English lesson.
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I hope you enjoyed it.
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I'm excited to to make some pretty cool English lessons for you this summer.
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I have some really neat ideas for places I can go and lessons I can make, so look for those on Tuesdays.
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But other than that, thanks for watching this little English lesson.
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I hope you learned some new English words and phrases you can use in a future English conversation.
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If this is your first time here, Don't forget to click the red subscribe button.
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Give me a thumbs up if you enjoyed this video, and I'll see you next week with another English lesson.
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Bye.
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you
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
This video is a goldmine for shadow speech practice, as it uses casual, conversational English packed with relatable phrases about relaxation. The speaker’s natural tone and everyday context—talking about summer break—make it easy to mimic rhythm and intonation, key for IELTS speaking practice. By shadowing, you’ll learn to use phrases like "free as a bird" or "take a breather" in real-life scenarios, boosting fluency and confidence.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The video highlights practical idioms and structures. First, "school’s out for the summer" uses contraction and prepositional phrasing to describe a common life event. Next, "a weight off my shoulders" is a metaphorical expression—perfect for describing relief. Finally, phrasal verbs like "kick back" and "put my feet up" show how multi-word verbs add informality. These are essential for sounding natural, whether in shadow speak drills or daily conversations.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Watch for reduced forms: "I am" becomes "I’m" (not "eye am"), and "it is" shortens to "it’s". The phrase "footloose and fancy free" has a tricky rhythm—stress "foot" and "fan" to keep the flow. Also, "unwind" is pronounced with a short "u" (like "uh") and a soft "w", not "un-WIND". Using a shadowing app to repeat these can help master natural speech patterns, avoiding stiff pronunciation.
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 | might use · might have · might sleep |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | I'm going to do · I'm going to take · I'm going to kick |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will now be · will probably still wake · will probably go |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're just enjoying · you're working · you're just spending |
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.