Shadowing Practice: listening important people by British Council - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
46 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
A. She lives next door and she's always been really important in my life.
2
When we were little and my mum was working, she used to look after us.
3
She'd tell us stories about her childhood.
4
It was like listening to fairy stories.
5
Life was so different when she was a child.
6
In her kitchen, she used to keep a special dish with sweets for us.
7
and she was always baking cakes and pies now she doesn't bake
8
so much she started eating more healthily in her old age salads and vegetables and things it's funny how she's changed
9
she also goes to this special gym class for old people it's amazing
10
i don't see her so often now but she's always the same person however much her lifestyle changes
11
He's four years older than me and that seemed like a huge amount when we were children.
12
When we were at the same school we never talked to each other during school hours, but now we're older it's a lot better,
13
although I'll always be the little one, and that's annoying sometimes.
14
He's taken me to rock concerts that I wouldn't have gone to otherwise, and when he was at uni I went to stay with him sometimes
15
that was really cool it was great to see what the real student life was like
16
when I was still at school now that he's working he's really busy
17
but we still hang out sometimes we go to football matches together
18
because we both support our home team it's always good to see him.
19
C. We've known each other since we were five, and we've always got on really well.
20
Well, apart from that time when we fell out because we both liked the same boy, but he went off with Heather Jenkins,
21
so we made friends again quite quickly.
22
We both liked the same kind of music and going dancing at the weekend, and when we were younger,
23
we went out on our bikes together at school we're good at different things i'm good at languages
24
and laura's good at maths that's good though it means that we can help each other with our homework
25
next year i'm probably going to study in london and she's going to manchester but i'm sure our
26
His family moved in just a few houses down from us when I was about ten,
27
and I still remember how excited I felt when I found out there was another boy on the street.
28
I'd been the only boy, you see.
29
The others were all girls.
30
We were good friends from the beginning because we were into the same things, computers and football mostly.
31
But we had quite a few of the same hobbies for a while.
32
I remember making lots of models of aeroplanes one year.
33
Another year we took up fishing.
34
We had all the equipment and everything, and we'd spend ages down by the river.
35
I never go fishing now.
36
His family moved away a couple of years ago.
37
We're still friends on Facebook, but we don't really have much contact.
38
E. I can remember all the details of when we met.
39
I was wearing a red dress and I just had my hair cut.
40
I can even remember what music was playing the first time I saw him.
41
I knew he was special from the beginning and I was right.
42
We've been together ever since.
43
Well, it's only been 18 months and some people say that isn't very long, but it seems like ages to me.
44
We've got such similar personalities and so much in common.
45
I'm sure we'll stay together forever.
46
This recording was brought to you by the British Council.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B11
41 sentences
Lesson 5+6(1)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
317 sentences
LISTENING APTIS General 1 - Bristol Academy
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
32 sentences
Luyện Nghe Tiếng Anh Level A2/B1 - Why Is Friendship Important? - Easy English Conversation
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
53 sentences
English File 3rdE - Intermediate - Practical English E3 -Old friends: Jenny has coffee with a friend
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
625 sentences
Learn English With Story 🔥 The Secret About Dad | Level 3 Listening Practice
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A2220
16 sentences
🎧📝 English Listening Practice | Describing People (Audio 2) | ESL Listening Test (A1–A2 Level)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
![[Audio] Collins English for Life - Listening A2 - Part 1](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aNsNEl8LS0w/mqdefault.jpg)
A2480 sentences
[Audio] Collins English for Life - Listening A2 - Part 1
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
423 sentences
Practice Shadowing in English for 30 Days | Day 5 Podcast Conversation Challenge
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B111
69 sentences
Everyday English Conversation | How to Talk About Music
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
765 sentences
English Conversation 1 | Easy English for Beginners
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
178 sentences
Learn English with Stories ⭐ A Stranger at the Cafe | Level 3 English Listening & Speaking Practice
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B16
94 sentences
القراءة وتحسين مهارة النطق باللغة الإنجليزية 👍(السلسلة 1059) English Reading Practice
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “listening important people by British Council”. This video has 46 sentences and 618 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:25. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bake verb | /beɪk/ | To cook (something) in an oven (for someone). |
| lifestyle noun | /ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/ | A style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| pie noun | /paɪ/ | A type of pastry that consists of an outer crust and a filling. (Savory pies are more popular in the UK and sweet pies are more popular in the US, so "pie"… |
| mathematics noun | /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/ | An abstract representational system studying numbers, shapes, structures, quantitative change and relationships between them. |
| salad noun | /ˈsæl.əd/ | A food consisting principally of raw vegetables (especially greens, e.g. lettuce), other savoury ingredients (typically cooked), fruit, or confectionary; often… |
| homework noun | /ˈhoʊmˌwɝk/ | Exercises assigned by a teacher to a student which review concepts studied in class. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| vegetable noun | /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/ | A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice… |
| aeroplane noun | /ˈɛə̯.ɹə.pleɪ̯n/ | Synonym of airplane. A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings. |
| annoy verb | /əˈnoɪ̯/ | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| healthily adverb | In a healthy manner. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| fall out verb | To come out of something by falling. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| move away verb | To go away from a place, especially when permanently changing one's residence. |
| stay together verb | To remain loyal in times of stress or difficulty; to avoid separation despite pressure to do so. |
| take up verb | To pick up. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- She'd tell us stories about her childhood.
- I'd been the only boy, you see.
- We've been together ever since.
- I'm sure we'll stay together forever.
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 look · used to keep |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | she's always been · We've known · We've been |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was working · was always baking · was wearing |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll always be · we'll stay |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we've, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 bake, lifestyle, dish.
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.