Shadowing Practice: Mighty Paul Bunyan - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 48 sentences and 397 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:45. The speaker talks slowly, about 106 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• mighty /ˈmaɪti/ (adjective) — Very strong; possessing might.
• adventure /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ (noun) — A feeling of desire for new and exciting things.
• chop /t͡ʃɑp/ (verb) — To cut into pieces with short, vigorous cutting motions.
• shake /ˈʃeɪk/ (verb) — To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.
• wilderness /ˈwɪldɚnəs/ (noun) — Uncultivated and unsettled land in its natural state inhabited by wild animals and with vegetation growing wild; (countable) a tract of such land; a waste or…
• imaginary /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪˌn(ɛ)ɹi/ (adjective) — Existing only in the imagination.
• orchard /ˈɔɹ.t͡ʃɚd/ (noun) — A garden or an area of land for the cultivation of fruit or nut trees.
• tale /ˈteɪl/ (noun) — A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story.
• tail /ˈteɪ̯l/ (noun) — The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to their posterior and near the anus or cloaca.
• gather /ˈɡæðɚ/ (verb) — To collect normally separate things.
• dive /daɪv/ (verb) — To swim under water.
• rope /ɹoʊp/ (noun) — Thick strings, yarn, monofilaments, metal wires, or strands of other cordage that are twisted together to form a stronger line.
• grape /ɡɹeɪp/ (noun) — A small, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, that grows in bunches on female vines of most species of genus Vitis and the…
• lumberjack /ˈlʌm.bɚ.d͡ʒæk/ (noun) — A person whose work is to fell trees.
• campfire /ˈkæmpˌfaɪ̯ɚ/ (noun) — A fire at a campground or on a camping trip, often used for cooking, to provide light and heat, to drive away bugs, and as a focal point for sitting around in…

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• cut down (verb) — To cut downward.
• go down (verb) — To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
• hand in (verb) — To give something to a responsible person.
• live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
• sit around (verb) — To spend time sitting idly, not doing anything important.

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like mighty, adventure, chop.