Shadowing Practice: Learning English Through Listen CNN Student News #13 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS, where Fridays are awesome.
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Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS, where Fridays are awesome.
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Well, they're pretty much awesome everywhere.
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I'm Karl Azuz.
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We hope you've got a great weekend ahead of you.
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Let's get you caught up on current events before that.
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First up, a setback for the European space agency.
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Working together with Russia, the ESA is testing its ability to land a spacecraft on Mars.
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Its scientists are hoping to find out whether life has ever existed there.
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But the latest lander it sent, named Schiaparelli, appears to have crashed on the red planet instead of landing softly as planned.
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It looks like its parachute and landing rockets malfunctioned,
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and Schiaparelli didn't send back any signals after its high-speed descent through the Martian atmosphere on Wednesday.
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This wouldn't be the first lander the ESA has lost on Mars,
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but the agency says another part of its $1.5 billion mission involving a craft that's orbiting Mars is working.
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And ESA officials are moving forward with plans for a bigger project.
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They want to send a rover to Mars in 2020.
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Next to the Philippines, the Pacific Island nations been hit by two typhoons in one week, and both of them were the equivalent of category four hurricanes.
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At least three people were killed last Sunday when Typhoon Sirica made landfall in the northern Philippines.
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Thousands had to leave their homes.
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And then on Thursday, the cleanup began again, this time from a typhoon named Haima.
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It hit the northeastern Philippines, affecting crops, buildings and as many as 2.7 million people in some way.
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Both systems were headed to China afterward, where hundreds of thousands were evacuated and recovery teams were deployed.
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Meantime, a political storm is brewing between the Philippines and the U.S.
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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has spoken out recently against U.S.
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President Barack Obama.
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And though the U.S and the Philippines historically have been allies, President Duterte appears to be pivoting, realigning his country more closely with China.
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During his visit to China on Thursday, he announced his, quote, separation from the United States.
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Analysts are trying to figure out what exactly that means.
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Militarily, the United States and the Philippines are treaty allies with a mutual defense obligation.
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The U.S regularly rotates military troops and equipment through the Philippines,
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and the two countries have also conducted several joint naval patrols in the South China Sea this year.
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A true separation, as President Duterte suggested, would mean an end to both the treaty and the troop presence.
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But President Duterte has made statements before that his staff then has been forced to walk back or clarify.
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CNN reached out to Duterte's office for more details on his announcement, we've received no reply.
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In the past, Duterte has expressed anger over the U.S military presence, but said the treaty would remain because his advisors told him it was necessary.
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He did, however, cancel joint military exercises set for next year.
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What Duterte meant by separating economically is less clear, though U.S.
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Philippine trade is worth tens of billions of dollars.
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In that same speech, the president also indicated what he has said for months now, that he wants to leave the U.S behind in exchange for new, stronger allies.
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Last week, we told you how the U.S government has accused the Russian government of hacking into American computers
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and stealing political documents.
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This subject came up again during Wednesday night's U.S presidential debate.
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Some of the information that's been released from the hacks has been damaging to the Democratic Party.
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The Obama administration says Russia is meddling in the upcoming election, something that Russia has repeatedly denied.
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But what could happen next if a fight broke out in cyberspace?
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The U.S has now publicly blamed Russia for hacking the U.S election.
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So what are its options to respond?
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First option is to publicly name and shame Russia for hacking the U.S election.
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This is something that the U.S has now done.
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A second option is economic sanctions, either against the hackers themselves or groups working for the Russian government,
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individuals, perhaps senior Russian leaders who approve the hacks, or Russian institutions.
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And this is a tactic that the U.S has used and is using against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
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Another option is to file criminal charges against the hackers or hacking group.
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Trouble with that is you have to meet a very high legal standard to pursue those charges.
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A further option would be diplomatic response, perhaps in the UN, perhaps punishing Russia on other areas of agreement.
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Final option, perhaps the most serious, would be to attack back in the cybersphere.
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And again, a whole range of options here.
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This could be limited, hacking the hackers, going after the groups that are carrying this out.
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Could be something similar to what Russia has done here to the U.S., exposing what could be embarrassing information about senior Russian leaders,
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or something more serious, cyber attacks that could, say, turn the lights out in Moscow.
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The trouble with these options, one, you have to be certain that it is Russia that's doing this.
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But also the bigger fear, and this is something, a particular concern to the Obama administration is escalation.
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If you attack back, does that push Russia to attack back again and worse?
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You don't have to look too far to see examples of cyberbullying, particularly at the grade school level or the programs that try to reduce it.
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But as an eighth grader, Matthew Kaplan came up with his own program, a workshop to help his younger brother.
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And that led to something that's been shared with more than 4,600 middle school students, mostly in Arizona.
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School is supposed to be this positive place where people can be themselves.
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And when you're bullied, you feel like you're on the outside.
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You feel alone.
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My younger brother Josh and I were always really close.
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In middle school, Josh started to receive text messages and emails telling him that he was stupid and worthless.
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So I took action.
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In eighth grade I decided to create a program just for my brother's class.
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The B1 project is an interactive program for middle school students.
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We start the day with icebreaker games to get kids up meeting new people.
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We're each going to take time to share a little bit more about ourselves.
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And as we build that sense of trust and community...
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If you really knew me, you'd see that.
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Then we slowly start to incorporate elements of anti-bullying.
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I act very kind of outgoing so that I don't have to talk about the harder stuff.
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The program just brings people together.
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If you have ever received a text message that had a hurtful message.
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When kids see that their classmates have similar struggles, they realize that they're not alone.
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So put your ones up if you're willing to be open to creating the school environment that you want to see.
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Everyone should be able to go to a school where they feel valued and accepted by their classmates.
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And I want to make sure that they can.
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Before we go, check out this big old lobster.
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A fisherman in Bermuda caught it a day after Hurricane Nicole hit the island.
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Marine biologists think the storm brought the deep water bottom feeder closer to shallower surfaces.
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For perspective, the average lobster weighs about a pound.
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This one weighs 14.
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Too bad it wasn't caught with a bucket of drawn butter.
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That didn't matter anyway, though.
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It was released shortly afterward back into the deep blue sea.
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More like a crush station.
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You couldn't lob it back into the ocean.
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Instead of a carapace, it had a scarapace.
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Needed an XL exoskeleton to cover the long longost.
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But even though a storm lobstered it up, it's now free and probably feeling a lot less crabby.
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I'm Carl Azuz, we'll see you Monday.
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Thank you.
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you Thank
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you.
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Context & Background
The video titled "Learning English Through Listen CNN Student News #13," hosted by Karl Azuz, presents engaging news stories that are highly relevant for learners aiming to enhance their English language skills. The dialogue features a range of current events, prompting learners to not only expand their vocabulary but also improve their listening comprehension and speaking abilities. By addressing international topics like space exploration and political relations, the transcript provides a rich context for learners to assimilate complex linguistic structures, current affairs vocabulary, and cultural references.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "We hope you've got a great weekend ahead of you." – A common way to express well wishes.
- "It looks like its parachute and landing rockets malfunctioned." – A useful phrase when discussing technology or engineering failures.
- "The cleanup began again." – This phrase can apply to many situations, from environmental disasters to personal organization.
- "Hundreds of thousands were evacuated." – An important phrase in emergency communications.
- "A political storm is brewing." – Commonly used to describe escalating tensions in political scenarios.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
Engaging with the transcript through shadowing can significantly boost your English skills. Here’s a step-by-step guide to using shadow speech effectively:
- Listen attentively: Start by listening to the video without taking notes. Focus on the speaker's tone, intonation, and rhythm.
- Read along: Follow the transcript while listening. This will help you connect spoken language with written forms.
- Break it down: Split the transcript into smaller sections. Concentrate on one section at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Shadow speak: Repeat phrases immediately after hearing them. Aim to mimic the speaker’s pronunciation and cadence. Use a shadowing app if available for additional support.
- Practice regularly: Incorporate these new phrases into your daily conversations. This will not only enhance your vocabulary but also prepare you for IELTS speaking practice by enabling you to discuss various topics with confidence.
By following these steps, you will not only improve your listening and speaking skills but also gain insights into current events, making language learning more enjoyable and contextually relevant. Embrace the power of shadowing, and transform your English proficiency.
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.
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