This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn to Speak German about Your Daily Routine”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: ich, ein, hat, und, wash. This video has 108 sentences and 561 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:49. 60% 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

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
mirror noun	/ˈmiɹɚ/	A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
routine noun	/ɹuˈtin/	A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.
cloth noun	/klɒθ/	A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes…
helmet noun	/ˈhɛlmɪt/	A hard, protective head covering, typically part of armour.
everyday adjective	/ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/	Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions.
telephone noun	/ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/	A telecommunication device which converts data or sounds (usually speech) into electrical signals which are then transmitted to enable two or more people to…
jacket noun	/ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/	A piece of clothing worn on the upper body outside a shirt or blouse, often waist length to thigh length.
breathe verb	/bɹiːð/	To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
shoe noun	/ˈʃu/	A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of…
stairs noun	/ˈstɛɹz/	A contiguous set of steps connecting two floors.
pause noun	/pɔːz/	A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.
colleague noun	/ˈkɒliːɡ/	A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate.
sofa noun	/ˈsoʊ̯fə/	An upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.
mâche noun		Valerianella locusta, a small dicot annual plant of the family Caprifoliaceae often cultivated as a salad green or herb.
paar noun		A hypothesized shifting of four geologic blocks: northeast Africa west of Red Sea and north of the Ethiopian valley, the Arabian Peninsula, the Sinai…

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go back to verb	To stem from; to originate in.
go down verb	To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
go under verb	To descend into a body of water; to founder.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm, we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: cloth /klɒθ/, breathe /bɹiːð/

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 mirror, routine, cloth.

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 →