Shadowing Practice: McGraw Hill.Wonders 3.Gary The Dreamer - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
127 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Gary the Dreamer by Gary Soto Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez I was born in April,
2
a month when it rains and rains.
3
Maybe this is why when I was three years old, I liked to open my mouth and taste rain.
4
Also, April is when flowers bloom, bees arrive out of nowhere.
5
I lived in a small white house.
6
My dog's name was Blackie.
7
My cat's name was Boots.
8
I had a canary just bigger than a big person's thumb.
9
But my bird flew away when the little door of its cage was left open.
10
So sorry, little canary, but I think it was me who left it open.
11
I remember my high chair.
12
I remember watching my parents and older brother at the dinner table.
13
When I got a little bigger, I got to sit with them.
14
Most mornings I ate oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar.
15
The sugar was like rocket energy.
16
I blasted out of the house, ready to play.
17
I played tag with the neighbor kids.
18
I played hide-and-seek.
19
I played catch with oranges.
20
In our backyard we had an orange tree.
21
We also had plum, lemon, and apple trees.
22
Lucky me!
23
Anytime I was hungry for a snack, I just went outside and picked a fruit.
24
I didn't have many toys.
25
My army men were pinto beans and pebbles.
26
I played with them in the dirt.
27
I got dirty from playing hard.
28
It seemed like a giant pepper shaker had sprinkled me with dust.
29
My favorite fruit was watermelon.
30
After I ate a slice of watermelon, I ended up with seeds in my mouth.
31
These seeds were my ammo to spit at my older brother.
32
He would spit some back at me.
33
It was sort of like a fun war.
34
The seeds flew all over the place.
35
In kindergarten, I learned my colors.
36
I learned to tie my shoes and to be nice.
37
I liked to sing, too.
38
My brother said he could hear me from the next classroom.
39
I made my first friend, Daryl.
40
I made another friend, Jose.
41
At recess, we went on the slide.
42
It was like a big shiny spoon and slippery.
43
Then we went on the swings.
44
It was scary but fun going high and jumping out.
45
Then we went on the monkey bars.
46
If I fell, I never got hurt.
47
In first grade, I practiced writing the alphabet.
48
The letters were big and blocky.
49
I wrote my name, G-A-R-Y.
50
Some days my nice teacher would have to tell me, Gary, sit still.
51
I wiggled a lot in my chair.
52
I dreamed a lot.
53
I was busy looking at the floor or my hands or out the window.
54
Wow, could that be my canary in the tree?
55
I couldn't pronounce some words.
56
I couldn't say sandwich.
57
I would say Sammy.
58
I knew that 2 plus 2 was 4.
59
But what was 5 plus 7?
60
I counted out my answer on my fingers, sticky from the peanut butter and jam, inside my Sammy.
61
In second grade, we collected money to help children in Africa.
62
They didn't have anything to eat.
63
I collected pennies, lots of pennies.
64
I noticed that the pennies were the same as me.
65
You see, I was naturally brown, and even browner from running in the sun.
66
I felt like I was giving poor Africa a piece of me.
67
My classmates got taller, but I seemed to stay the same size.
68
I still liked playing at recess.
69
I liked dodgeball, kickball, and foursquare.
70
I would tumble when I played soccer.
71
I was quick.
72
I admire people who are quick and who play fair.
73
By third grade, I was a good reader.
74
I loved picture books.
75
The pages were bright and colorful as toucans, those tropical birds with long beaks.
76
Every week I went to the public library.
77
I checked out mountains of books.
78
I was still a dreamer.
79
Sometimes I watched ants going in and out of their holes, or I would watch water racing in the curb.
80
The river of water carried matchsticks, leaves, gum wrappers, and those poor little ants.
81
I rescued some of those ants.
82
I put them carefully on my finger and set them on the cement curb.
83
They lay for a while like weak little shadows.
84
Then they woke up and staggered away.
85
It was fun in third grade.
86
I still stayed small, like those ants, I guess.
87
I was scared of math, poor me.
88
But reading was what I really liked.
89
I read on the couch, I read in bed with carrot sticks, like pencils in my hands.
90
I liked to read in my favorite tree.
91
Once when Boots came by, I tossed a piece of bark at him.
92
He looked around and meowed.
93
I giggled.
94
I tossed another piece of bark at him.
95
This time Boots saw me and climbed up the tree.
96
We sat on a fat limb, the two of us.
97
I read him a story about a bird.
98
He licked his paws.
99
The engine inside him began to purr.
100
I guess Boots liked reading too.
101
On weekends, my family went to Chinatown.
102
We bought groceries there at the Mexican store.
103
I remember mariachis roving the street.
104
Their sombreros were huge.
105
You couldn't see their eyes, only their hanging mustaches.
106
Their trumpets blared, the guitars strummed, their violins seemed to weep.
107
The guitarrant thumped deeply.
108
One time, I saw a dog dance to the mariachi music.
109
The dog went back and forth, back and forth, like he was doing the cha-cha.
110
Every night I took a bubble bath in our deep tub.
111
The water roared from the faucet as I climbed in.
112
The bubbles rose like mountains.
113
No, like really pretty clouds.
114
I scooped up the bubbles and patted them onto my face.
115
I pretended that I had a beard.
116
I placed some of the bubbles on my head.
117
Oh, a sombrero.
118
I was a dreamer.
119
I was sometimes in another world.
120
In bed, I covered myself with two blankets.
121
I thought about the day before I fell asleep, so tired.
122
My legs kicked.
123
As I dreamed I was running for a touchdown, and the whole school was watching me.
124
Gary Soto grew up to be an author.
125
He dreamed up ideas for more than 40 books for children and grown-ups.
126
He shares his Mexican-American culture through his poems and stories.
127
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
B11
Literature Anthology Grade 3.Vote!
KidsDaily Conversation
A15
Level B.Boats
KidsDaily Conversation
A22
Level K.Where We Get Energy
KidsDaily Conversation
A13
Level B.Animals Can Move
KidsDaily Conversation
A25
Level H.I'd Like To Be
KidsDaily Conversation
B16
Literature Anthology Grade 3.Protecting Our Parks
KidsDaily Conversation
A21
Phonics Readers.Katie and Kenny's Junk Art
KidsDaily Conversation
A22
Level L.Blizzards
KidsDaily Conversation
A13
Level E.All About Coyotes
KidsDaily Conversation
A17
Level AA.Mom
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A23
Literature Anthology Grade 3.Sharing Cultures
KidsDaily Conversation
A23
Phonics Readers
KidsDaily Conversation
A24
Cheese Power.Phonics Readers
KidsDaily Conversation
A13
Level AA.Black
KidsDaily Conversation
A21
Literature Anthology Grade 3.Deltona Is Going Batty
KidsDaily Conversation
A26
Level G.Building a House
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A26
Level I.What Time Is It?
KidsDaily Conversation
A13
Level AA.The Ocean
KidsDaily Conversation
A15
Level E.Let's Make Lemonade!
KidsDaily Conversation
A11
Level AA.My Family
KidsDaily Conversation
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
A23
41 sentences
lv03 003 South Street School 3 Big Plans
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
B110
328 sentences
My Wonderful Story of Being Different
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2118 sentences
Luyện Nghe Tiếng Anh Chậm & Rõ #12 | English Listening for Beginners (A1–A2)
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A24
72 sentences
Storyfun 4 Unit 7 The grey cloud
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2606
19 sentences
MOVERS SPEAKING - TOPIC 1 - PART 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A223
38 sentences
Level 3 Book 1 B6 A Blind Man
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A217
37 sentences
Level 3 Book 1 B4 Picture on My Desk
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A23
86 sentences
topic_HOLIDAY / VACATION
KidsTravel EnglishTeens
A23
39 sentences
4. Fairy Tale Barn, The Three Billy Goats Gruff - EP4: A Big Surprise
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
119 sentences
Family & Friends 3 - Unit 10: In the park (Second Edition Full)
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2480
11 sentences
Single Stories 34 | My Favorite Things | Little Fox Level 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “McGraw Hill.Wonders 3.Gary The Dreamer”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: liked, tree, played, ants, bubble. This video has 127 sentences and 1065 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:08. The speaker talks at a steady 131 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 71% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bubble noun | /ˈbʌbəl/ | A spherically contained volume of air or other gas in a liquid, commonly a soapy liquid. |
| ant noun | /ænt/ | Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females. |
| seed noun | /siːd/ | Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs. |
| penny noun | /ˈpɛni/ | In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p. |
| finger noun | /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other… |
| collect verb | /ˈkɑlɪkt/ | To gather together; amass. |
| climb verb | /ˈklaɪ̯m/ | To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending). |
| toss verb | /tɔs/ | To throw with an initial upward direction. |
| bark noun | /bɑɹk/ | The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree or of various other woody plants. |
| spit verb | /spɪt/ | To evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc. |
| curb noun | /kɝb/ | A concrete margin along the edge of a road; a kerb (UK, Australia, New Zealand). |
| recess noun | /ˈɹiˌsɛs/ | A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening. |
| guitar noun | /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ | A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| rescue verb | /ˈɹɛs.kjuː/ | To save from any violence, danger or evil. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| count out verb | To exclude; to dismiss from participation or eligibility. | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| jump out verb | To emerge suddenly. | |
| look around verb | To inspect a building or area. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I didn't have many toys.
- Wow, could that be my canary in the tree?
- I couldn't pronounce some words.
- You couldn't see their eyes, only their hanging mustaches.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was born · was left |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was giving · was doing · was running |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as couldn't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, thumb /ˈθʌm/, thump /θʌmp/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, shoe /ˈʃu/, shaker /ˈʃeɪkɚ/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, kindergarten /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/, mariachi /ˌmɑɹ.iˈɑ.t͡ʃi/
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 bubble, ant, seed.
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.