Shadowing Practice: m_01 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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103 sentences

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I wish someone had told me

that all I had to do was sell all of my Hermes bags

and you guys would watch my gardening and homemaking videos

because this is the content that I want to be making on the internet.

So in today's video whilst I haven't been shopping at Harrods it is my grandma's 90th birthday

so I thought that I could put together a basket of things that I have homegrown and homemade to give to her.

Come on!

Firstly I'm going to collect the eggs from the hens because there is nothing better than six fresh hens eggs.

I do think we have a bit of a broody hen at the moment.

This is Clementine and whilst she is beautiful she is also very grumpy.

You have to take her off of the eggs.

She's not happy about it.

Off you go.

We have seven or eight chickens at the moment and we are getting a nice amount of eggs.

Do have to show you this, Ali built this like last weekend so far not a single chicken has used it so he's very sad about that.

and you might think this is a little bit extra

but I love this for gifting I buy recycled cardboard egg boxes on Amazon

and I had a little custom stamp made best to get it central

and then you've really just got to go for it oh

not too bad not too bad it's not the best

but it will do I like an assortment of colors at

the moment we're getting a lot of eggs from the Buff Orpingtons

and we've also got some from the hybrids as well so whites, blues and this sort of pale pink.

This is what they look like.

Such a lovely gift.

If you didn't know my husband is also a beekeeper

so we store a lot of honey that we got from last year

and save it for special occasions we don't sell it we just give it as gifts

and use it ourselves and

if you thought the stamp was extra I actually had these

little stickers made with my greenhouse on them they're sort of like produce labels

so we use these on the honey now Ali is much better at this than I am but you just

stick it on the front and hope for the best it ends up looking like this

pop my hair back because it's really annoying me.

Now rather than buying my grandma flowers I thought

that I could pick her some of my favourites

and just take her a really lovely bunch

so I'm going to take some of my Rosa Desdemona because I think she'll really like these.

This one is so gorgeous.

That is literally two stalks off of one of my plants.

I was about to start flower arranging here but it started raining so I think we're gonna head inside

oh my god

just popped the oven on to bake a fresh sourdough loaf for my grandma

and whilst that heats up I'm going to arrange the flowers I like doing this outside usually

because I can make a mess But because it's raining, I'm doing it inside.

This vase is from a bunch of flowers that I was sent

and I try and reuse them wherever possible

and I've only filled it about halfway up so that I can transport the roses with ease.

I start by taking off the lower stems and in all honesty I don't take it too seriously.

I like my bunches of roses to be quite wild and

so often I will just take the leaves off and bung them in a jar.

They look so beautiful just left to do their own thing.

A little bit of a cut down and just place them in.

Let's keep looking at the arrangement as well.

I don't like it to look like a shop bought arrangement.

So if I look at it and I think, oh, it needs a little bit more greenery.

Personally, I love adding mint to a rose arrangement.

I love anything fragrant.

It just adds another dimension quite a lot because it's going to add a lot of volume into the arrangement.

Oh my gosh it smells so good.

I don't think it needs much more than this.

I could probably add a little bit of mint in there

so I'm going to go and grab some whilst there's a break in the weather

and then I'm going to put the sourdough in the oven and tidy up my mess.

I do like making a mess.

So I grabbed some cat mint and some chocolate mint from the herb garden.

The chocolate mint I'm just going to pop in to add a little bit of density.

My favourite game of Tetris.

Doing this.

Lay a little bit there.

Chop them down.

You okay?

It's taken a turn and it's got quite wild and wonderful.

I don't want to do any more to it because, again, I don't want it to look too perfect.

I like the rustic look and this is definitely rustic.

Sourdough usually takes about two days to make.

And so I started making my dough yesterday like this.

Turn it out and place it on some baking paper.

I grab my little blade and I put whatever design I fancy in the top.

Generally, I just go for a crosshatch or a cross.

This blade is so bad.

I need to get a new one.

I think this is going to be the design I hoped for, but oh well, rustic is rustic.

And then I pop it into my Dutch oven, grab some ice cubes.

Lid on and into the oven.

Oh, that's a good one.

The loaf has come out perfectly.

I thought it was going to be a little bit more rustic, but the design has come out exactly how I wanted it.

So I'm going to let that cool for a little bit.

Pop Grandma's card in there.

I basically put a little bit of straw in the bottom of this so that it pads it out a little bit.

Put the eggs in.

I'm going to pop the loaf in a little baking liner.

Also pop little bread bags in because I get these from Amazon

and they're so handy people often bring them back so that I can refill them.

I realise is the flowers are not going to fit in the hamper.

It's like Animal Farm here.

What my love?

What?

100

What?

101

Gosh it looks so nice.

102

And that is my little homemade haul for my grandma's 90th birthday.

103

I hope you enjoyed it.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will practice their English speaking and comprehension skills through the shadowing technique by listening to a transcript from a gardening and homemaking video. This engaging content will help you improve your fluency and pronunciation, making it especially beneficial for IELTS speaking practice. By replicating the speaker’s tone and rhythm, you will enhance your ability to express yourself naturally in English, whether you are discussing hobbies, gifts, or personal experiences.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Homemade: Food or items made at home rather than bought from a store.
Broody hen: A hen that wants to sit on eggs to hatch them.
Gift basket: A collection of items presented as a gift.
Assortment: A variety or mix of different items.
Flower arranging: The art of arranging flowers in a vase or bouquet.
Sourdough: A type of bread made with natural fermentation.
Eco-friendly: Environmentally safe; products that are not harmful to the environment.

Practice Tips

To effectively utilize the shadowing technique with this video, follow these tips:

Listen carefully: Pay attention to the speaker's intonation, pace, and expressions. This will help you replicate their speech more accurately.
Start slowly: Begin by listening to short segments of the transcript. Repeat phrases aloud, focusing on pronunciation and rhythm.
Emphasize emotion: Notice how the speaker conveys their feelings about gardening and homemaking. Try to mirror their enthusiasm when you practice shadow speech.
Record yourself: After practicing, record your shadow speak. Listen to your recording and assess areas for improvement.
Repeat regularly: Consistent practice is key. Use this shadowing site regularly to enhance your speaking skills and build confidence.

By incorporating these techniques into your English learning routine, you will find significant improvement in your conversational abilities, especially in contexts similar to those presented in the video.

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	has used · I've only filled · has come
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	started raining · keep looking · love adding
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the best
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming	I'm going to collect · I'm going to take · gonna head

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 →

Shadowing Practice: m_01 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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