Shadowing Practice: Life in the 80’s - Intermediate ESL Listening - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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So, Rachel, did you grow up in New Zealand?
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So, Rachel, did you grow up in New Zealand?
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Yes, I did.
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Nice.
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So I grew up in the States,
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and I thought we would talk about how life is so much different for teens today than it was for our generation.
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Okay, I think we can do that.
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So obviously the first thing is that when we were young,
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we didn't have like smartphones and things like that.
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We didn't have the internet, actually.
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We didn't have internet, we didn't have email.
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Yeah.
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So I remember if you wanted to meet a friend,
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you would have to plan it way in advance.
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Yes.
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You would have to wait by the phone.
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Remember that, waiting by the phone?
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You couldn't go outside because if you were waiting for the call,
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you had to wait at your house until you got the call.
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We didn't even have an answering machine.
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Wow.
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Oh, my gosh.
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That's really old school.
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We used to have to wait by the phone.
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Yeah.
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Actually, I used to spend every afternoon after school on the phone with my friends.
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After we got home from school,
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we would call each other and discuss the day's events, I suppose.
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Yeah, you had so much to share.
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That's true.
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So my teens these days,
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they come home from school,
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they get on their phone,
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and they text all their friends.
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Right.
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And they do it all day.
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Like it's constant, constant chatter.
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I think maybe that's why I'm not so much into texting.
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it's just too much work you know
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like I like to build up the mystery of not knowing what somebody did for a
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while um yeah but i was thinking about it recently
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and i think they it was similar because we used to telephone a lot
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but then we did have to wait a long time before
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finding the news true yeah i read once uh about how a lot of the movie plots from like the 60s,
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70s, and 80s wouldn't work today because of cell phones.
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Yes.
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Because a lot of the storyline...
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They're about missed communication.
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Right, right, yeah.
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Yes, and somebody arrived and somebody else didn't.
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So another one I think that's really obvious is bottled water.
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So when I grew up,
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there's no such thing as bottled water.
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Like you had to get water from a faucet, right?
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Yes.
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Yeah, and I think I remember when they first started coming out with bottled water,
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I think I was about 14 or 15.
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It was a bit later in New Zealand, I think.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So that was crazy.
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I mean, do you remember what it was like when people were first drinking bottled water?
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How strange it seemed at the time?
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Everyone was like, why don't you get it from the tap?
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The water's very clean in New Zealand.
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So the tap water is clean.
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So there was really no reason.
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Yeah.
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Like if you come from a temperate climate,
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it was never a problem, right? because you just,
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I'm from a temperate climate as well.
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And so the water doesn't really have problems with bacteria
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or things like that so it's always clean it used to be clean
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so in New Zealand it's probably still clean the rivers used to be clean
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but they're not
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so clean now oh really even in New Zealand yeah oh really shocking it's a bit sad
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so how about other things that we used to do
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when we were kids like one thing is i think compared
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to kids today is we used to spend a lot of
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time outside actually like our parents would not allow you to
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stay inside you had to be outside you had to go
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outside right it's the opposite today yeah make them stay inside
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and won't let them go outside why is that right what's the rationale for why they should stay inside Safety.
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Safety.
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Yeah.
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We didn't used to hear about all of the kidnappings and abuse in the media.
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Right.
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So people weren't afraid of it.
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Yeah.
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And the crazy thing is I think...
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We hear about it now.
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It's actually safer now, right?
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Yeah, it's safer now.
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Even in the States where they hear about this,
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I think statistics say that it's actually safer than it was before.
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Yes.
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But the perception is there.
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Although that could be because the children are all inside.
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That's true.
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That's a difficult one to figure out.
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But I don't think it's that unsafe to play outside.
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I think it's better for kids socially,
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for their bodies, for their development to play outside if they can.
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I agree.
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I totally agree.
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Kids definitely should be outside.
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And kids should be bored.
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I think that's one of the things that kids miss out on is boredom.
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They're never bored now.
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They've always got a screen to look at.
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Right.
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So, you know, obviously when we were young,
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you had nothing to do.
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So you had to go outside and find something tree yeah exactly oh that's
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so fun i thought of something um we used to have
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video watching parties oh yeah it's only one person in 10 had a video machine right
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so we would all go to the video store together and
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and argue over which videos to watch and choose some horror movies
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and some comedies and then go to some one person's house and or watch them all together i do remember that Yeah,
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it was a big thing.
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No Netflix binging, but having a video party at someone's house was a big deal.
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And I think movies were a much bigger deal back then because we didn't have screen time.
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There was no such thing as screen time.
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You had your TV, but that was not the same thing.
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Your parents wouldn't let you watch that much TV anyway.
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And so a movie was a big deal.
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It was more of a big deal.
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You didn't just watch it on Netflix when you were bored.
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Yeah, but a kid these days,
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it's just, you know, they're on their screen all the time.
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It's just more digital pixels.
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Yeah, different times.

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Context & Background

In this enlightening video titled "Life in the 80’s - Intermediate ESL Listening," Rachel and her friend discuss the significant differences in communication and daily life between their teenage years in the 1980s and today. As they reflect on their experiences, they highlight how the absence of modern technologies such as smartphones and the internet shaped their interactions. Their dialogue is rich with nostalgic references to a time when communication relied heavily on landline phones, showcasing the simplicity and challenges of that era. This content serves as a fascinating context for English learners, offering insights into cultural history while also providing practical language practice opportunities.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • *I grew up in the States / New Zealand.* - A common way to share background information.
  • *Waiting by the phone.* - This phrase describes the anticipation of receiving a call before the advent of answering machines.
  • *It's constant chatter.* - Used to describe ongoing conversation, particularly in the context of texting today.
  • *Missing the communication.* - This phrase refers to opportunities lost due to delayed or failed messaging, often in movie plots.
  • *Building up the mystery.* - An expression that conveys the enjoyment of not always being in immediate contact with others.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively improve your English speaking skills using this video, follow these steps for a productive shadowing practice:

  1. Listen Actively: First, watch the video attentively. Pay close attention to the intonation and pronunciation of the speakers.
  2. Select a Shadowing App: Utilize a shadowing app that allows you to repeat phrases easily. This will facilitate your practice as you mimic the speakers.
  3. Repeat in Real-time: Play short segments of the video and try to speak along with Rachel and her friend. Focus on matching their rhythm and tone to enhance your English pronunciation.
  4. Record Your Voice: After shadowing, record yourself speaking the same phrases. Compare your recordings with the original audio to identify areas for improvement.
  5. Reflect and Adjust: Consider the parts where you struggled. Use a shadowing site to find additional resources or videos that cover similar topics for further practice.

By consistently engaging in this shadowing technique, you will not only improve English pronunciation but also gain confidence in your English speaking practice. Happy learning!

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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