Shadowing Practice: Miley Cyrus shares reason behind her ‘unique’ voice - Learn English Speaking with Video
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23 sentences
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I can buy myself flowers.
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This morning, Miley Cyrus revealing her distinctive raspy voice is due to a rare medical condition.
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I had the Reiki's edema, which is something that is called it's abuse of the vocal cords.
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In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music to promote her upcoming album,
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Something Beautiful, Cyrus saying the vocal cord issue likely came from long days on set during Hannah Montana
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and a busy touring schedule in her younger years.
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Moving my hips like yeah.
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I have this very large, you know, polyp on my vocal cord, which is giving me a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am.
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But it's extremely difficult to perform with because it's like running a marathon with ankle weights on.
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Rehnke's edema is a condition caused by swelling in a part of the vocal cords.
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Symptoms include hoarseness or a deepened voice.
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It can result in non -cancerous growths or polyps, which can further impact the voice.
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Rankies and polyp and other vocal injuries will almost always happen in vocal athletes, singers.
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These performers have to sing night after night after night.
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And so what happens is they have to work through inflammation and work through discomfort and through early injury,
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which therefore makes more significant injury all the more likely.
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not to have surgery.
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I'm not willing to sever it because the chance of waking up from a surgery
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and not sounding like myself is a probability.
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And Miley says that her new album, "Something Beautiful," is a celebration of her journey, struggles, and her voice, just as it is.
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That new album is out this Friday, guys.
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All right, looking forward to that.
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Thank you for that, Eva.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 23 sentences and 292 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:57. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vocal adjective | /ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/ | Of, pertaining to, or resembling the human voice or speech. |
| cord noun | /ˈkoɹd/ | A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example). |
| tone noun | /ˈtəʊn/ | A specific pitch. |
| hip noun | /hɪp/ | The outward-projecting parts of the pelvis and top of the femur and the overlying tissue. |
| reveal verb | /ɹɪˈviːl/ | To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden. |
| flower noun | /ˈfloʊɚ/ | A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens… |
| upcoming adjective | Happening or appearing in the relatively near future. | |
| celebration noun | /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal performance of a solemn rite, such as Christian sacrament. |
| marathon noun | /ˈmæɹəθən/ | A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race. |
| athlete noun | /ˈæθ.liːt/ | A participant in any of a group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country running and racewalking. |
| probability noun | /ˌpɹɑ.bəˈbɪl.ə.ti/ | The state of being probable. |
| distinctive adjective | /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ | Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing. |
| ankle noun | /ˈæŋ.kəl/ | The skeletal joint which connects the foot with the leg; the uppermost portion of the foot and lowermost portion of the leg, which contain this skeletal joint. |
| texture noun | /ˈtɛkst͡ʃə(ɹ)/ | The feel or shape of a surface or substance; the smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. of something. |
| performer noun | /pɚˈfɔɹmɚ/ | One who performs for, or entertains, an audience. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| work through verb | To get past a difficult or stressful situation by thinking or talking about it. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: marathon /ˈmæɹəθən/, athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, inflammation /ɪnfləˈmeɪ̯ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, probability /ˌpɹɑ.bəˈbɪl.ə.ti/, inflammation /ɪnfləˈmeɪ̯ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like vocal, cord, tone.
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.