Shadowing Practice: My Card Was Declined: Calling the Bank - Learn English Speaking with Video
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32 sentences
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1
Seriously? My card was just declined at the checkout!
2
And I've left a full trolley of shopping inside!
3
Okay, I'm going to call my bank right now.
4
Good evening, you're through to the card support team.
5
How can I help you this evening?
6
Hi, my card has just been declined at the supermarket.
7
But there's definitely enough money in my account!
8
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Let's sort it out.
9
First, I need to ask you some security questions.
10
Could you tell me your date of birth, please?
11
Yes, it's the 14th of March, 2001.
12
Thank you. And the last four digits of your card?
13
It's 4827.
14
Perfect, that's all correct. Let me look into it.
15
Right, I can see what's happened here.
16
We've frozen your card because of an unusual payment.
17
An unusual payment? What do you mean?
18
Last night, someone spent £349 on a website abroad.
19
Did you make that payment yourself?
20
No way! I've never even heard of that website!
21
Oh no. Has somebody stolen my card details?
22
It looks like it, I'm afraid.
23
Don't worry, though. If it's fraud, you'll get your money back.
24
We'll look into it and refund the full amount.
25
Oh, thank goodness. That's such a relief!
26
I'm going to cancel this card for you now,
27
and a new one will arrive in three to five working days.
28
But how can I pay for my shopping until then?
29
You can take out cash at any branch with your ID.
30
Perfect, there's a branch right next to the supermarket!
31
Thank you so much for sorting this out.
32
You're welcome. Good luck with your shopping, and have a lovely evening!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “My Card Was Declined: Calling the Bank”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: card, payment, shopping, evening. This video has 32 sentences and 273 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:02. The speaker talks at a steady 134 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 9 of its 32 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 14 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| unusual adjective | /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/ | Not usual, out of the ordinary. |
| decline verb | /dɪˈklaɪn/ | To move downwards, to fall, to drop. |
| supermarket noun | /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/ | A large self-service store that sells groceries and, usually, medications, household goods, and/or clothing. |
| steal verb | /stiːl/ | To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. |
| abroad adverb | /əˈbɹɔːd/ | Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| fraud noun | /ˈfɹɔːd/ | The crime of stealing or otherwise illegally obtaining money by use of deception tactics. |
| cancel verb | /ˈkæn.sl̩/ | To cross out something with lines etc. |
| goodness noun | /ˈɡʊdnəs/ | The state or characteristic of being good. |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| refund noun | /ɹɪˈfʌnd/ | An amount of money returned. |
| digit noun | /ˈdɪd͡ʒɪt/ | A position in a sequence of numerals representing a place value in a positional number system. |
| checkout noun | /ˈt͡ʃɛkˌaʊt/ | The process of checking out of a hotel, or the latest time to vacate a room in one. |
| trolley noun | A trolley pole; a single-pole device for collecting electrical current from an overhead electrical line, normally for a tram/streetcar or a trolleybus. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| take out verb | To remove. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Good evening, you're through to the card support team.
- How can I help you this evening?
- Could you tell me your date of birth, please?
- Did you make that payment yourself?
- Has somebody stolen my card details?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've left · has just been declined · We've frozen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was just declined · been declined |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | you'll get · We'll look · will arrive |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | I'm going to call · I'm going to cancel |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/
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 unusual, decline, supermarket.
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.