Shadowing Practice: MANCA | animated short film - Learn English Speaking with Video

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192 sentences

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I'm not sure what you're doing.

I don't know what I've ever done to make you think like this.

You're the only thing you care about yourself.

You're being so dramatic.

Oh my god.

Sam, you are so ungrateful.

I'm ungrateful?

Yeah, yeah you are.

How?

How can you say that?

Honestly, I don't understand why you decided to start acting so utter disrespect.

I just got home.

Maybe you are mere and you yell at me for not making what you want.

What you do is complain all the time.

Are you even listening?

I can't believe you're getting so worked up about this.

If it's that much of an issue for you, just leave.

Am I that meaningless to you?

I'm going to eat the egg.

I'm going to put the water on the top.

Hiya!

Hi.

Nice mess you got here.

What are you?

The name to respect your concept, what have you.

Anything that aligns with your preferred system of beliefs.

I...

Okay.

Why are you here?

You are Henry James McAllister, yes?

Yes.

Well, I have a bee in my bonnet, Henry.

I'm here to oversee your execution.

What?

For your misdeeds.

Misdeeds?

Your sins.

I'm here to punish you for your sin.

What?

What do you mean?

What sins have I committed?

Only a sin of the highest burden.

What?

You, Henry James McAllister, have taken part in the utmost reprehensible of deeds.

You've played God in the cruelest of manners.

You've performed a sin so vile that without repentance is deserving of the torturous end of your pitiful, shameless being.

No!

There has to be another way, please!

What have I done to deserve this?

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

No!

No, this has to be some sort of sick joke.

I can assure you, it is not.

No, I'm done.

I think you may find you have no choice in the matter, Harry.

Huh?

Okay.

Imagine you're a pill bug.

But I'm not.

Oh!

Yeah.

Ah -ha!

Ah -ha! Are we awake now?

You're.. an actual bug now?

I know!

You should see the other guy.

And by the other guy I mean yourself.

This can't be happening, this can't be happening, please tell me this is a dream!

The job of a Slater is integral to our fragile ecosystem.

A simple nudge in this natural order may result in utter catastrophe.

Okay, I am not going to be guilty if I - This is your life now, Henry.

And you will enjoy the roly -poly world and fulfill this role of which nature depends.

If you resist, I will not hesitate to send you straight to your untimely demise faster than you can say armadillo dieting.

Am I understood?

Excellent!

Ah, just look at them.

Perfect muddle workers.

Well, they aren't ants, but they're rather competent.

See?

They find fallen leaves and feast on them until they're ready to be finished off by fungus.

100

That's it?

101

They just eat?

102

That's their purpose?

103

The leaves aren't going to decompose themselves, Henry.

104

This is stupid.

105

Ooh, look like it's time to get to work.

106

Wait, ha!

107

I'm going to put a little bit of water on my side.

108

I'm going to put a little bit of water on my side.

109

I'm going to put a little bit of water on my side.

110

I'm going to put a little bit of water on my side.

111

Okay, fine then.

112

What? Where are they?

113

You gonna finish that?

114

Jesus, you...

115

Yeah, have it.

116

It tastes like trash.

117

I don't care.

118

I'd rather be the first green -headed ant to begin a death spiral.

119

Surely I've done enough, right?

120

Meh.

121

It took a damn long time.

122

I suppose...

123

However...

124

Okay, well, that's not fair.

125

I'm a human.

126

Not anymore, you're not.

127

They're real bugs.

128

Of course, they're more productive.

129

It comes easy to them.

130

Don't undermine their labor, Henry.

131

Now, be a good picture bed and get back to work.

132

Hey, wait, don't just disappear again.

133

Wait!

134

How did I do this all day?

135

Same way you're doing it, I presume.

136

Though with less utter acrimony and cockiness, might I add.

137

Say, you haven't done a half bad job for such an immoral creature.

138

I beg your pardon?

139

Henry, your pheromones still reek of sin.

140

Seriously?

141

I'm already being punished, aren't I? Are you?

142

I should get back to work.

143

Really?

144

I believe your comrades went that way.

145

I'm sorry.

146

Sigh.

147

Hello?

148

Weird Ant Thing, where the hell are you?

149

I don't want to do this anymore!

150

How do they do that?

151

Figured out that ball thing yet?

152

Are you certain it's safe?

153

I don't see it out here.

154

I'm just saying it may be beneficial to return to the leaves.

155

Oh!

156

Never mind.

157

I'm going to put it in the middle of the bag.

158

I'm going to put it in the bag.

159

I'm going to put it in the bag.

160

I'm going to put it in the bag.

161

No!

162

Yes, finally!

163

Suck it, you piece of shit.

164

This...

165

This is so hard.

166

I can't do this anymore.

167

You don't say.

168

You.

169

You're back.

170

Please, I can't do this anymore.

171

Aww, in that case, why don't you give up?

172

Is that even an option?

173

What are you suggesting?

174

I could kill you.

175

Squash your little pill bug body.

176

Just like that.

177

Isn't that what you'd do?

178

After all I went through, all of that just for nothing?

179

What?

180

Just eating all day?

181

What purpose does that serve me?

182

What the hell do you mean?

183

I did so much and this is how you want to repay me?

184

Am I that meaningless to you?

185

Apparently.

186

This wasn't about the pill bugs, was it?

187

I'm going to put a little bit of water on the side.

188

I'm going to put a little bit of water on the side.

189

I'm going to put a little bit of water on the side.

190

I'm going to put a little bit of water on the side.

191

I'm sorry.

192

I'm sorry.

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180 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

The speaker keeps coming back to these words: eat, egg, Henry, sin, bug. This video has 192 sentences and 1149 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:43. The speaker talks slowly, about 78 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 50 of its 192 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
utter verb	/ˈʌtəɹ/	Sometimes preceded by forth, out, etc.: to produce (a cry, speech, or other sounds) with the voice.
leaf noun	/lif/	The usually green and flat organ that represents the most prominent feature of most vegetative plants.
pill noun	/pɪl/	A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually containing some sort of medication.
sin noun	/ˈsɪn/	A violation of divine will or religious law.
bug noun	/bʌɡ/	An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”).
punish verb	/ˈpʌnɪʃ/	To cause (a child, student, or someone else being looked after, or a suspect or criminal) to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action…
meaningless adjective	/ˈmiː.nɪŋ.ləs/	Lacking meaning.
belief noun	/bɪˈliːf/	Mental acceptance of a claim as true.
worker noun	/ˈwɝ.kɚ/	One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor.
suck verb	/sʌk/	To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast).
trash noun	/tɹæʃ/	Useless physical things to be discarded; rubbish; refuse.
dramatic adjective	/dɹəˈmætɪk/	Of or relating to the drama.
commit verb	/kəˈmɪt/	To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto.
execution noun	/ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/	The act, manner or style of executing (actions, maneuvers, performances).
burden noun	/ˈbɝdn̩/	A heavy load.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
get back to verb	Return to (an activity)
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
finish off verb	To finish completely.
give up verb	To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

How can you say that?
I'm already being punished, aren't I?
Are you certain it's safe?
Aww, in that case, why don't you give up?
Isn't that what you'd do?

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	I've ever done · have taken · You've played
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be finished · being punished

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 86 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: punish /ˈpʌnɪʃ/, trash /tɹæʃ/, execution /ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, assure /əˈʃʊɹ/
Long words — get the stress right: execution /ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, ecosystem /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/, catastrophe /kəˈtæstɹəfi/, acrimony /ˈækɹɪˌmoʊni/

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 utter, leaf, pill.

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: MANCA | animated short film - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?