Shadowing Practice: 🏃‍♀️My Evening Routine🚴Beginner/Intermediate listening practice - A2/B1 speaking exam questions - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hello and welcome to another episode of Elephant English Podcast.
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Today I'm going to be talking about what I do in the evenings.
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I'm going to be following some speaking questions
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that you might have in your speaking exam and I'm going to answer these questions.
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The first question is, what do you do in the evenings?
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In the evenings I usually relax because I come home from work in the late afternoon.
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Some things I do to relax are watch an episode of my favourite series,
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play with my cat or do some exercise.
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I enjoy going for a short walk around my neighbourhood
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when the weather is nice so that I can spend some time outdoors while doing a bit of exercise.
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I sometimes need to go grocery shopping in the evening
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but I don't usually go to many different places in the evenings after work.
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Question number two is, do you do the same thing every evening?
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I usually do similar things every evening from Monday to Thursday because of work.
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I have a routine that I normally follow every day.
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However, my evenings are different at the weekend.
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On Friday and Saturday evenings, I usually go out to do something different,
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like meeting my friends or going for a drink.
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Question number three is, do you spend your evenings with family or friends?
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I only spend my evenings with friends at the weekend,
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but my family often comes to visit me in the evenings from Monday to Friday.
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When my family comes to visit, it is an informal occasion, but when my friends visit,
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it is more of a special occasion.
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This is why I prefer to spend time with friends only at the weekend.
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Question number four is do you ever work in the evenings?
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Yes, I sometimes work in the evenings.
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When I have a lot of exams to correct, I have to do them after work.
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I try to avoid marking activities and exams at home but sometimes there is just not enough time.
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Question number five is what is a popular activity that young people in your country do in the evenings?
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I think that a lot of young people in England like spending time at the gym or going for a run.
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They enjoy these activities because it makes them feel refreshed after coming home from work.
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Also, it is quite motivating to see how you improve every time you go for a run or go to the gym.
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The last question is, what did you used to do in the evenings when you were a child?
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When I was a child I used to spend my evenings doing my homework,
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playing and looking after my pets.
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I used to take about an hour to do my homework which I used to start at 4 o'clock.
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After that I would play with my brother for a few hours.
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Sometimes we played in the garden and other times we stayed inside playing lego.
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Then we would feed all of our pets and take our dogs for a walk.
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This would take more than an hour because we had so many animals.
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In today's video I've talked about what I do in the evenings.
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If you have enjoyed this video,
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please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel because I make a lot of these videos on different topics.
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Thank you very much and I'll see you in the next video.

Evening Routines & Everyday English: A Friendly Listening & Speaking Guide

Context & Background

The video shares a relatable evening routine, answering common A2/B1 speaking exam questions. The speaker talks about relaxing after work, weekend plans, time with family and friends, occasional evening work, and childhood habits. It’s perfect for practicing real-life conversation flow, as the language is natural and focused on daily activities—ideal for building confidence in speaking exams or casual chats.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "I usually relax because I come home from work in the late afternoon" – Great for describing daily routines.
  • "I try to avoid marking activities and exams at home" – Useful for talking about avoiding tasks.
  • "It makes them feel refreshed after coming home from work" – Perfect for explaining why people do activities.
  • "I used to spend my evenings doing my homework, playing and looking after my pets" – Essential for past habits (key for "used to" practice).
  • "This would take more than an hour because we had so many animals" – Helps connect actions to reasons.

Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide to Improve Pronunciation

Ready to try the shadowing technique with this video? Here’s how: 1. Listen first: Watch the video once to understand the story. Focus on the rhythm of the speaker’s voice—how she pauses after questions. 2. Repeat immediately: Pause after each sentence and "shadow speak" it back. Copy her tone, speed, and stress (e.g., emphasize "relax" in "I usually relax"). 3. Focus on tricky sounds: Words like "neighbourhood" or "motivating" can be tough. Slow down, break them into syllables, and repeat until they flow. 4. Record yourself: Compare your version to the speaker’s. Notice if your pronunciation of "used to" or "refreshed" matches hers. 5. Practice daily: Even 5 minutes a day with this video will help you sound more natural. The shadow speech method trains your mouth to move like a native, making pronunciation feel easier over time. Remember, mistakes are part of learning! Keep going—you’ll notice your confidence and clarity improve soon.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
“Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer trueused to do · used to spend · used to take
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowI've talked · have enjoyed
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see comingI'm going to be · I'm going to answer
Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessaryneed to go · have to do

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 →