Shadowing Practice: Listen and Repeat: SPEAK with me in English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Do you want to improve your English speaking skills so that you can become a fluent English speaker?
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Yes?
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Well, you're in the right place.
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Today you are going to practice with the number one technique that will help you to level up your speaking skills.
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And I've got a little twist for it today to help you really go from beginner to intermediate to advanced.
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If you're new here, hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com
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and I have been teaching real life English here on my
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YouTube channel for over the past 10 years to now more than 7 million of you.
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I can't believe it.
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Thank you so much for learning English with me.
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And like always, I have created a free PDF worksheet to go with today's lesson.
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This is your study aid.
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Some of you like to just listen, but for me as a learner, I like to listen and also see at the same time.
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I also like to take notes sometimes.
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So with this PDF worksheet, you can download it.
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You can review every sentence we're going to talk about today.
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And within the worksheet, I have included a special bonus to get you using what you've learned.
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There is a free speaking practice inside the worksheet where you can download this, practice speaking with my voice,
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and really use what you've learned immediately so that when you go out into the real world, whether it's at your job or in the community or as you travel,
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you will have the skills and the confidence you need to use the English that you have learned.
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So how can you get this free worksheet plus the bonus speaking practice?
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All you need to do is click the link in the description, enter your name and email address, and voila, it will land in your email inbox.
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It is my gift to you.
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All right, let's get started with our practice repeating sentences today.
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Remember how I talked about a little twist that we are going to have on today's lesson?
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That's true.
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Today we're going to be answering this question.
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Where did you go on vacation this summer?
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But we are going to be answering it in three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
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So I want you to practice each one after my voice.
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You're going to practice the beginner sentence, the intermediate sentence, and the advanced sentence.
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I'm going to say each one.
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I'm going to pause and I want you to speak out loud during the pause.
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You're welcome to read the sentence, but I also want you to try to imitate my voice, imitate the vocabulary, the grammar, but also the pronunciation.
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This is essential to help you have the correct rhythm and flow of English.
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So let's get started.
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Where did you go on summer vacation?
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Rome.
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Too simple, right?
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You want to say more.
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A beginner would say, I went to Rome.
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Go ahead.
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I'm going to pause and you can repeat it.
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Good work.
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An intermediate would say, I went to Rome with my family for a few days.
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And an advanced English learner would say, I went to Rome with my family for a few days and I finally got to see the Colosseum.
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It was a dream come true.
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Now you can say this advanced sentence as well.
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Go ahead.
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Excellent work.
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Do you see how with each level we're getting slightly more complex,
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but the important thing is with the beginner and the intermediate and the advanced sentences,
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all All of this grammar and vocabulary is real life English.
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The advanced sentence is not more formal, it's not more academic.
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It is what normal, common native English speakers would say, but it includes longer sentences,
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more phrases, and it's slightly more advanced.
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All right, let's go to our next answer for where did you go on vacation this summer?
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The mountains.
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That's okay, right?
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But let's make it into a full sentence.
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Beginner, my husband and I went to the mountains.
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Intermediate, my husband and I reserved a cabin up in the mountains for the weekend.
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Advanced, my husband and I reserved a peaceful cabin in the woods for the weekend.
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We were surrounded by some beautiful forest trees and we even hiked some trails while we were up there.
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Good work with that advanced sentence.
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How are you doing?
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Let's go to our next answer.
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Where did you go on vacation this summer?
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Answer, I stayed home.
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How would a beginner say this?
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I decided to stay home this summer.
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Intermediate.
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I didn't go anywhere.
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I decided to stay home and have some me time.
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Advanced.
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I didn't go anywhere.
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I had myself a little staycation because I'm on a budget.
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I caught up on a few things that I wanted to do.
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Excellent phrase.
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I want to tell you about this expression, to have myself something.
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This is a very casual expression that we often use in daily conversation,
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especially when we're trying to talk about something small or cute.
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I had myself this little staycation.
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Instead of a vacation, it was a staycation.
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I had myself a little staycation.
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You can also use this to talk about other special things.
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Yeah, I had myself a little hot chocolate this afternoon, or maybe with something else like, well, I had myself a cup of afternoon coffee.
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It was so nice.
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It's a very casual phrase.
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All right, let's go to our next answer.
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Where did you go on vacation this summer?
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A road trip.
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What would a beginner say?
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I went on a road trip.
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Intermediate, I packed a few of my things and went on a spontaneous road trip.
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Advanced, I took off on a spontaneous road trip and I stopped at a few states along the way.
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I've been dying to see some historical local landmarks.
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Where did you go on vacation this summer?
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Answer, the beach.
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A beginner would say, I went swimming at the beach with my friends.
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Intermediate.
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I got together with a few friends at the beach and we had fun playing in the water.
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Advanced.
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I got together with a few friends at the beach and we had fun splashing around in the water.
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Unfortunately, I got a pretty bad sunburn too.
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Great work practicing all these beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
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We have two more that we are going to practice together.
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Are you ready?
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Where did you go on vacation this summer?
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Answer, my home country.
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This is what you would say if you are living outside of your home country.
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A beginner would say this, I traveled to my country.
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Intermediate, I traveled back to my home country because I haven't been back in two years.
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Advanced?
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I flew back to my home country because I haven't been back in two years.
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It was nice to be able to revisit some old places and see my family.
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Excellent work.
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Our final answer for the question, where did you go on vacation this summer? is something I have never done.
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The answer is a cruise.
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A beginner would say this.
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I went on a cruise and I had a great time.
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Go ahead.
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Intermediate would say, I had a peaceful stay on a cruise.
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We stopped off on some beautiful islands.
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Advanced, I spent a week cruising around the Caribbean.
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Each day, I woke up excited to see new places and visit different ports.
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Excellent work.
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I am proud of you for repeating after me for all of these beginner, intermediate, and advanced answers.
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None of these answers are more correct than others, but they will help you to level up your speaking skills
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so that you can express yourself better every time you have a conversation.
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So don't forget to download today's free PDF worksheet that includes all of the sentences you practiced today, plus a bonus speaking practice.
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I know you practice speaking during this lesson, but it's not enough.
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You need to continue practicing.
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So I have included in the worksheet a downloadable speaking practice
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with me where you can actually use all of this much more and be able to remember it,
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train your pronunciation and speaking muscles so that when you go out into the real world,
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you will be armed and ready with so much confidence and so much speaking practice practice,
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that it will be no problem to have conversations with people in the world.
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All you need to do is click the link in the description, enter your name and email address, and voila, just like that,
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the PDF worksheet and bonus speaking practice will land in your email inbox.
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It is my gift to you.
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Well thank you so much for learning English with me, and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.
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Bye.
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But wait, do you want more?
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I recommend watching this video next where you will practice listening and repeating to talk about your hobbies.
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Some of these include some beautiful expressions
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that you need to be able to use to accurately talk about what you enjoy doing in your free time.
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I hope you can enjoy that video and I'll see you there.
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Bye.
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Master English Speaking with This Interactive Practice Lesson
Ready to boost your English speaking skills? This lesson focuses on a proven technique—shadowing—to help you move from beginner to advanced fluency. You’ll practice answering the question “Where did you go on vacation this summer?” at three levels, mimicking pronunciation, rhythm, and grammar to sound natural in real conversations. Whether you’re prepping for IELTS speaking practice or just want to communicate confidently, this exercise builds the foundation you need.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases to Master
- Fluent (able to speak smoothly)
- Level up (improve skills)
- Study aid (tool to support learning)
- Rhythm and flow (natural pace and structure of speech)
- Dream come true (something you’ve long wished for)
- Colosseum (iconic ancient Roman landmark)
Pro Shadowing Tips for Success
The shadowing technique works best when you imitate not just words, but tone and speed. Here’s how to make the most of this video: Pause after each sentence and repeat aloud immediately—don’t wait! Focus on matching the speaker’s intonation (rising and falling tones) to convey meaning. If the speed feels tough, slow the video down (most platforms let you adjust playback) until you can keep up. For extra practice, use a shadowing app or shadowing site to record yourself and compare it to the original. This helps refine English pronunciation and builds muscle memory for natural speech. Remember: Consistency beats perfection—even 10 minutes a day will make a difference. By the end, you’ll not only answer the vacation question confidently but also apply these skills to other real-life conversations.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | have been teaching · I've been dying |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have created · have included · you've learned |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were surrounded · will be armed |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | practice speaking · practice repeating · practice listening |
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.