Shadowing Practice: Mock Meeting for Minute Taking - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Okay, so for this morning's meeting we've got a couple things on the agenda to discuss.
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First off, I'm going to start with talking about our scheduling processes.
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Because I know some of our staff are using their Outlook calendars and some of our staff are using Web Tracker.
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Some people use both, but that's creating double bookings
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and those double bookings can create a lot of confusion in the front reception area when those double bookings do occur.
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so I would like to talk about some processes around how maybe we can kind of streamline it
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that process to make it a little more easier for the receptionist and make the appointments flow a little more fluidly.
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Eleanor are you using WebTracker or are you primarily using Outlook for yours?
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I primarily use WebTracker but I try to keep Outlook just for my own personal appointments
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but that doesn't mean there couldn't be some conflict there.
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Right, because if you have an appointment or something like that, that might not be reflected in Tracker.
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Exactly.
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Okay, and what about yourself?
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I use both, but I find that I'm in a really unique situation
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because I am the contact between the two different facilities.
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Right.
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So our only contact with the other facility is through Web Tracker.
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However, all of our facilitators use Outlook.
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So I'm having to do Outlook
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because it's easier for them to pull up email as opposed to Web Tracker because depending on where they are, they might not have access.
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So I know what happened this week with one of our classes who had a whole bunch of appointments,
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it was in Outlook but it was not in Web Tracker
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and then they were double booked into Web Tracker as well as doing a training session, so we had a major confusion.
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Yeah, okay.
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So what's the solution?
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I my thoughts are I I've already talked to IT
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and we cannot we cannot merge both
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so there's there won't be any communication between a web tracker calendar
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and an outlook calendar so that's not going to be an option for us
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so my thoughts are either we suggest that people use one
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or the other and then the company is all on the same page
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so that there's no confusion yeah
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because our downtown location also has access to WebTracker as well
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and with Outlook you'd have to grant access to everybody to be able to view different calendars
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which I think could be very confusing.
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Well and WebTracker being web -based as well if we are away we can still remote it that way.
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Okay so are you guys okay with that?
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Okay so I'll head that one up and we'll have to send out some sort of communication to staff regarding that.
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Yeah, if you want to put maybe like a little tutorial together on how to use the full -on calendars in WebTracker,
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the next thing I'm going to need to do is obviously change our policies so that it reflects that.
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We're no longer using Outlook for calendars purposes.
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And make sure that the training package is associated with the policy.
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So if we can do that.
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And then we're going to have to get
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that out to all employees as soon as possible so
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that we don't have a major issue like we had earlier this week.
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Right, okay, perfect.
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So that will go with your policy states.
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I will include that.
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So in regards to the communication, then are we looking at doing a mass training?
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Because I know that this week we do have a staff training, an all -staff training, or do we want to do it via email?
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Let's do both.
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I think we could, yeah, I would agree with always those massive staff trainings.
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Yeah.
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And then we'll also have something written down we can refer to to make sure we're doing it correctly, et cetera.
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So we'll do both.
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We can send an email, and we can also touch base with our all -staff meetings on Thursday with everybody.
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OK.
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Sound good?
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Perfect.
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OK.
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Well, we're on the topic of emails.
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Yeah.
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I don't know about the rest of you, but I get a lot of emails.
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And of course, I respond to them all eventually.
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But I think it would be really helpful if, A, our subject lines were more specific.
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OK.
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Sometimes people don't even put a topic in a subject line and that drives me crazy, but even more, it would be great if we could label it maybe urgent,
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or FYI, or response required, or response not required, just something to help me prioritize those emails.
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I think in regards to that though, sorry.
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No, no, go ahead.
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People, I've been getting a bunch of emails that are like high importance that are not high importance, like a little joke.
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So I think we need to have some sort of a
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policy in regards to what actually constitutes a high priority and needs to be dealt with quickly.
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Do you want to get together tomorrow?
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Sure.
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Yeah, and then we can bring it up and we'll get them
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and determine what the actual words are that we're going to use.
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Wonderful.
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And then we can communicate that out.
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So if you guys put that together, and then I can also include that in the staff -wide email that I'll send out regarding scheduling.
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And we can talk about it on our training.
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Okay.
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Perfect.
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Perfect.
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Okay.
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Lastly on our agenda is the office party that is coming up.
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We don't have very many people on our social committee, and it's quite a bit of work for just one person to be doing on their own.
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So I don't know if the two of you would be interested in helping participate in that.
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If not, I know there's a lot of stuff going on in everybody's lives outside of work.
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So that's also something that I'll probably send out in an email as well, but I'd like to offer it up to you guys if that's something you were interested in.
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But we'll need to have, I would say, a handful of people, maybe at least three to four, working on it collaboratively to uh okay so you're interested in us
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and in us recruiting others yes yeah i am perfect um
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but by no means don't feel pressured to participate in it
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but if you have the time um i would greatly appreciate it um
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so we've taken care of that any other things any other outstanding objects and topics
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that we need to talk about no i think we're good
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i think we're ready for our staff meeting tomorrow perfect
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so i'll start working on the scheduling process communication you guys can touch base with the policy updates
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and the email subject line that we can all put
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that together for everybody for Thursday and that seems like we've covered everything all right perfect okay
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Mock Meeting for Minute Taking”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: email, outlook, staff, tracker, web. This video has 101 sentences and 1176 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:36. The speaker talks at a natural 178 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| outlook noun | /ˈaʊtˌlʊk/ | A place from which something can be viewed. |
| tracker noun | /ˈtɹækə(ɹ)/ | A person employed to follow and monitor a political rival. |
| calendar noun | /ˈkæl.ən.də/ | Any system by which time is divided into days, weeks, months, and years. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| regards noun | /ɹɪˈɡɑɹdz/ | A greeting to pass on to another person. |
| confusion noun | /kənˈfjuːʒən/ | A lack of clarity or order. |
| booking noun | /ˈbʊkɪŋ/ | The act or process of writing something down in a book or books, e.g. in accounting. |
| primarily adverb | /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.ɹə.li/ | Of a primary or central nature, first and foremost. |
| participate verb | /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/ | To join in, to take part, to involve oneself (in something). |
| reflect verb | /ɹɪˈflɛkt/ | To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface. |
| agenda noun | /əˈd͡ʒɛn.də/ | A temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to. |
| occur verb | /əˈkɜː/ | To happen or take place. |
| package noun | /ˈpæk.ɪd͡ʒ/ | Something which is packed, a parcel, a box, an envelope. |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| send out verb | To issue, dispatch or transmit. | |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| get together verb | To meet, to gather together, to congregate. | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| pull up verb | /ˌpʊl ˈʌp/ | To lift upwards or vertically. |
| write down verb | To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if the two of you would be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've already talked · we've taken · we've covered |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | might not be reflected · is associated · be dealt |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might not be · might not have |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 37 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, don't, we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, reception /ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/, receptionist /ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃə.nɪst/
- Long words — get the stress right: primarily /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.ɹə.li/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/
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 outlook, tracker, calendar.
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.