Shadowing Practice: (Level-Medium) Rosedale Library (MAP) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I turn to section 2 on page 3.
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Part 2.
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You will hear a talk given at a public library by a member of staff called David Laws.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 15.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 15.
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Good morning, everyone.
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Welcome to Rosedale Library Open Day.
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It's good to see that so many members of the public are interested in the future of the library.
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For those of you who don't know me, my name is David Laws.
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I'm the new personal assistant to Penny Williams, the library director.
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Penny was supposed to be leading this meeting, but due to unexpected illness, I will be taking her place this morning.
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We felt that this would be better than postponing the meeting to a later date.
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Firstly, a couple of small matters.
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The guest speaker talks this year have been incredibly popular, and the slight rise in ticket price has not put anyone off.
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We will continue to hold these events on a monthly basis
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It has, however, come to our attention that some people have missed events because they didn't know they were on
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We now intend to notify everyone through email reminders
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Also, you might be aware that we had a break -in last month
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and while the thief or thieves actually left empty -handed they did smash a number of windows
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and kicked down a door trying to get in.
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Police believe the offenders were just taking a chance that there might be something valuable in the library.
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Anyway, we hope that the new security cameras along Roberts Avenue might deter this kind of activity.
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Now, the purpose of the meeting, of course, is to present the proposals for a new library layout.
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Rosedale Library has been serving the public for 50 years, but it's not been extended since the renovations in 1969.
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Since opening, the number of books on our shelves and other items has more than doubled,
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and visitor numbers have increased 20 % in the last 10 years.
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There is therefore a clear need for an extension.
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We hope that you have noticed some recent improvements to the library, such as the eight new PCs that were installed back in June.
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We're also aware that the lighting is quite poor
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but you'll shortly see a big difference
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because the City Council continued to support us and have authorised the spending in this area.
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We've also applied to the Council to approve the addition of
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another member of staff to work part -time in the afternoons when mothers and children tend to use the library more often
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And this decision will be made in the next few weeks
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Before you hear the rest of the talk
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You have some time to look at questions 16 to 20
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Now listen and answer questions 16 to 20.
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Now, turning to the proposal for the extensions and alterations to the library, please see the second page of your handout.
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The double line indicates the rooms in the existing building, and the dotted lines show where the extensions might be.
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As you can see, the location of the entrance hall to the library would remain unchanged there at the bottom of the plan.
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Once you go all the way through the entrance hall, on your immediate left would be the local history display that would face the information desk
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Behind it, the plan is for an access ramp inside the existing building,
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meaning the mothers with pushchairs and wheelchair users could ascend to the first new area
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This new room is designed to be light and airy
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And could be the ideal location for a new children's room looking out onto the park
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You will notice there are steps that lead back down to the ground floor
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At the bottom of these, on the left, would be the adult fiction section
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So no change there
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But behind this is proposed to construct a new community room for public lectures, special events, and so forth.
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This will be the largest new room.
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To the right of the adult fiction room, with magnificent views of the sea,
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a café could provide visitors with light refreshments and an opportunity to browse a range of magazines.
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There would be external access to this area via a set of steps leading down towards Queen's Parade.
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Now, let's go back to the entrance hall again.
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On the right of the entrance hall, facing onto the right Roberts Avenue, is the new staff workroom
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The fact
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that the workroom would be overlooking Roberts Avenue means the staff
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will actually be able to see outside rather than be stuck in the small room behind the toilets
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The room looking out onto both
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Queen's Parade
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and Roberts Avenue would be the academic study room A facility
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we believe could be used by the growing number of local students
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Also facing Roberts Avenue but not
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Queens Parade Would be the multimedia room with our extensive audio collection right behind it
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That is the end of part two
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You now have half a minute to check your answers
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You will hear an art history student called Jack Talking to a lecturer,
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Dr. Rubin About an English artist called Samuel Prout First,
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you have some time to look at questions 21 to 25 on page 5.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “(Level-Medium) Rosedale Library”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: library, Roberts, Avenue, questions, entrance. This video has 71 sentences and 881 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:28. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| entrance noun | /ˈɛn.tɹəns/ | The action of entering, or going in. |
| extension noun | /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/ | The act of extending; a stretching out; enlargement in length, breadth, or time; an increase. |
| proposal noun | /pɹəˈpoʊzəl/ | A scheme or design. |
| fiction noun | /ˈfɪkʃən/ | Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose. |
| visitor noun | /ˈvɪzɪtɚ/ | Someone who visits someone else; someone staying as a guest. |
| thief noun | /ˈθiːf/ | One who carries out a theft. |
| audio adjective | /ˈɔ.di.oʊ/ | Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight. |
| shortly adverb | /ˈʃɔɹtli/ | In a short or brief time or manner; quickly. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| ideal adjective | /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| illness noun | /ˈɪl.nəs/ | An instance (episode) of a disease or poor health. |
| installed verb | /ɪnˈstɔːld/ | readied for use |
| incredibly adverb | /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ | In an incredible manner; not to be believed. |
| indicate verb | /ˈɪndɪˌkeɪt/ | To point out; to discover; to direct to a knowledge of; to show; to make known. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| kick down verb | To break or demolish something by physical bodily force, especially stomping. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been · have missed · it's not been extended |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been extended · were installed · will be made |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thief /ˈθiːf/, authorized /ˈɔθəɹaɪzd/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: extension /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/, fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, shortly /ˈʃɔɹtli/, smash /smæʃ/, shelf /ʃɛlf/
- Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/, magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/, renovation /ɹɛnəˈveɪʃən/, multimedia /ˌmʌltiˈmiːdi.ə/
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 entrance, extension, proposal.
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.