Shadowing Practice: Lecture 12: Retina, Part 2: Retinal vascular occlusions - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Lecture 12: Retina, Part 2: Retinal vascular occlusions”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: answer, artery, ischemic, arthritis, Celiuretinal. This video has 278 sentences and 2989 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:42. The speaker talks at a natural 152 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 54 of its 278 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| artery noun | /ˈɑɹ.təɹ.i/ | Any of the muscular- and elastic-walled blood vessels forming part of the circulation system by which blood is conveyed away from the heart regardless of its… |
| arthritis noun | /ɑːˈθɹ(a)ɪtɪs/ | Inflammation of a joint or joints causing pain and/or disability, swelling and stiffness, and due to various causes such as infection, trauma, degenerative… |
| vein noun | /veɪn/ | A blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries back to the heart. |
| temporal adjective | /ˈtɛm.pə.ɹəl/ | Of or relating to the material world, as opposed to sacred or clerical. |
| vessel noun | /ˈvɛsəl/ | Any craft designed for transportation on or in water, such as a ship, boat, or submarine. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| nerve noun | /nɝv/ | A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics. |
| optic adjective | /ˈɑp.tɪk/ | Of, or relating to the eye or to vision. |
| associate noun | /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/ | A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or employee. |
| defect noun | /ˈdiːfɛkt/ | A fault or malfunction. |
| pillar noun | /ˈpɪlɚ/ | A large post, often used as supporting architecture. |
| vascular adjective | /ˈvæskjələ/ | Relating to the flow of fluids, such as blood, lymph, or sap, through the body of an animal or plant, or to the vessels that carry such fluids |
| relative noun | /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv/ | Someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption; someone in the same family. |
| diagnosis noun | /daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ | The process of, or an instance of, identification of the nature and cause of a medical condition or illness. |
| fiber noun | /ˈfaɪ.bɚ/ | A single elongated piece of a given material, roughly round in cross-section, often twisted with other fibers to form thread. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| drop out verb | To leave (school, a race, etc.) prematurely and voluntarily. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What do you think?
- This is what I'm going to do.
- I'm not going to be able to do something.
- I'm going to do it.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is occluded · is called · is affected |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Enzymes, which is · artery, which is · thing, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 29 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, I'm, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: arthritis /ɑːˈθɹ(a)ɪtɪs/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, thrombus /ˈθrɑmbəs/, neuropathy /ˌnjuːˈrɒ.pə.θiː/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, injection /ɪnˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃən/, flash /flæʃ/, transaction /tɹænˈzækʃən/, initiate /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/
- Long words — get the stress right: arthritis /ɑːˈθɹ(a)ɪtɪs/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, inferior /ɪnˈfɪɹ.i.ɚ/, peripheral /pəˈɹɪf(ə)ɹ(ə)l/, consecutive /kənˈsɛkjʊtɪv/
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 artery, arthritis, vein.
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.












