Shadowing Practice: Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) With Answers | IELTS LISTENING SECTION-4 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Section 4 You will hear part of a lecture about a chemical substance called monosodium glutamate.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
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Thank you.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
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In today's lecture, I'm going to talk about monosodium glutamate, or MSG as it's more commonly known.
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Now, MSG, as you probably know, is a flavor enhancer which is used particularly in Chinese and Japanese cooking.
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Today, I am going to explore why it is so popular in these cuisines,
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and more importantly, How does it enhance the flavor of food?
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The main reason why MSG is more commonly used in Japanese meals is tradition.
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For many thousands of years, the Japanese have incorporated a type of seaweed known as kombu in their cooking,
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as they discovered it had the ability to make food taste better.
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But it wasn't until 1908 that the ingredient in kombu, which was responsible for the improvement in flavor,
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was actually discovered to be glutamate by scientists working there.
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From 1908 until 1956, glutamate was produced commercially in Japan by a very slow and expensive means of extraction.
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It was in 1956 that the speed of the process was improved
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and industrial production increased dramatically and still continues to increase to this day.
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In fact, hundreds of thousands of tons of MSG are produced all over the world today.
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So what exactly is MSG?
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Well, monosodium glutamate contains 78.2% glutamate,
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12.2% sodium, and 9.6% water.
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Glutamate is an amino acid that can be found naturally in all protein-containing foods,
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including food such as meat and cheese.
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It is widely known that Chinese and Japanese food contains MSG,
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but many people don't seem to be aware that it is also used in foods in other parts of the world.
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For example, it is found in commercially made Italian pizzas, in American fast food, and in Britain,
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MSG is used in things like potato crisps.
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So how exactly does MSG work?
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Well, in the Western world, we commonly talk of four tastes, and I'm sure you're all familiar with the concepts of sweet,
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sour, bitter, and salt.
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Well, in 1908, Kikunae Ikeda identified a fifth taste,
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and it is thought that MSG intensifies this naturally occurring taste in some food.
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It does make perfect evolutionary sense that we should have the ability to detect
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or taste glutamate because it is the amino acid which is most common in natural foods.
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John Prescott, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, suggests that this fifth taste serves a purpose just as the other tastes do.
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He suggests that it signals to us the presence of protein in food,
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in the same way that sweetness indicates that a food contains energy-giving carbohydrates.
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Bitterness, he says, alerts us to toxins in the food, while sourness warns us of spoilage,
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and saltiness signals the presence of minerals.
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So, what else do we know about this fifth tape?
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Thank you.

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What You'll Learn from This IELTS Listening Clip

This video isn't just about MSG—it's a goldmine for IELTS speaking practice! You'll build skills like explaining scientific concepts clearly (key for IELTS Task 2) and using academic vocabulary naturally. Plus, you'll master how to transition between ideas smoothly, a must for fluency. These are quick wins that’ll make you sound more confident in conversations or exams!

Listen For These Sounds: Connected Speech Secrets

The speaker uses linking and reductions that native speakers love. Notice how "monosodium glutamate" becomes "monosodiumglutamate" (linking consonants) and "it is" shortens to "it’s" (reduction). Listen for "how exactly does it work?"—the "does it" links to "doesit," making the phrase flow. These sounds are tricky, but catching them is the first step to speaking like a pro. Use a shadowing app to replay these parts and train your ear!

Say It Like a Native: Rhythm & Stress Tips

To mirror the speaker, focus on stress and rhythm. Words like "flavor enhancer," "industrial production," and "evolutionary sense" have stress on the first syllable—emphasize those to sound natural. The speaker also pauses before key points (e.g., "Well, in 1908...")—copy that rhythm to add clarity. Try shadow speech: repeat the audio line-by-line, matching the speed and tone. A shadowing site can help you practice this daily. With 5 minutes a day, you’ll improve English pronunciation and nail IELTS speaking tasks faster than you think!

Ready to level up? Grab your phone, open a shadowing app, and start shadowing this clip. You’ll be surprised how quickly your speech sounds more native—one link, one stress, one shadow at a time. Let’s go!

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itwas actually discovered · was produced · was improved
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingenhancer which is · kombu, which was · acid which is

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 →