Shadowing Practice: Lucy Cooke on: Bats - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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I've got the bat.
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The bat has a bad rap.
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Why are people still down on bats?
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The thing about bats is that they're, because they are a little bit human-like in form,
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they've got forward-facing eyes and faces that, I mean, you wouldn't want to look like a bat, but they're not a million miles from a human face,
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and the way that the body is structured, And of course they've got these extraordinarily oversized hands that are webbed and that's actually their wings are.
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They actually swim through the air using these giant webbed hands.
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It's an amazing thing.
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But I think the thing is because they look a little bit like us
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and also unlike us all at the same time, it creeps us out.
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And I think there's a sort of creepiness to that, you know.
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So with bats they get an extraordinary bad rap people think that they carry disease,
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actually only 0.05% of bats carry rabies, you know it's a tiny amount, you're more likely to get bitten by a raccoon than get rabies quite frankly.
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People think they're going to fly in their hair.
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I mean bats echolocation system is incredibly effective.
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They're not gonna go anywhere near your hair.
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They don't want to get caught in your hair.
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They don't want to get caught in your hair.
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They're not interested.
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So they're not gonna bite you, they're not gonna bother you.
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They are in fact doing an incredible job for us because bats eat insects.
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So they eat mosquitoes, what's not to love about that?
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And then the other thing is that they are key pollinators.
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A lot of people don't know, a lot of the fruit-back species are pollinators.
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And the one plant, so some of these, you know, plants are very pollinator-specific, and so they can only be pollinated by one creature.
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So now the agave plant can only be pollinated by that.
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Now, do you know what's made out of agave?
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I believe it is a drink that many people enjoy.
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Yes, exactly.
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Without bats there'd be no tequila.
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Because the agave plant wouldn't be able to fertilise.
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So, you know, whether or not that's a good thing for humanity is up for debate.
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Well, next time you have a margarita toast to bats.
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Yeah, that's a great idea.
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About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "Lucy Cooke on: Bats" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →