Shadowing Practice: My friends – A2 English Listening Test - Learn English Speaking with Video
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30 sentences
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1
Well, my best friend was Kevin.
2
We've known each other since we were babies.
3
My mum and his made friends at those classes that women go to when they are pregnant.
4
They both went swimming together before Kevin and I were born.
5
Our mums always hung out when we were babies, and so we did too.
6
At primary school, we were always together.
7
We were both smart, so we could always sit together in class.
8
In our free time, we used to play computer games and watch war movies.
9
We both hated sports.
10
At secondary school, we grew apart, though.
11
He got interested in girls and chose to spend time with them, not me.
12
He started going to the gym, too, which never interested me.
13
I joined a board games club and met new friends there, but we were never as close as Kevin and I had been.
14
I've only seen him a couple of times since high school.
15
He moved to Dubai and got married.
16
At university, I made friends with a housemate called Charlie.
17
He's completely different from me.
18
I'm quite quiet, but he is really noisy, chatty, friendly, and crazy.
19
He opened up my world, introducing me to nightclubs, rock concerts, beach holidays.
20
I used to wonder why he liked me.
21
He was so sociable, and I was so serious
22
but I later found out that his family life had been very difficult as a kid.
23
I was honest and reliable, and his parents were not.
24
After university, Charlie and I got jobs in different cities and saw less of each other.
25
We both had serious relationships, but we both broke up at about the same time.
26
To get over it, the two of us went on holiday together.
27
We had a really good time, and after that, Charlie quit his job and moved to my city.
28
Now we hang out at least once a week.
29
We usually play computer games or go to a bar.
30
He wants me to play racquetball with him, but I'm not interested in that.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “My friends – A2 English Listening Test”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Charlie, Kevin, interested. This video has 30 sentences and 343 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:14. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mum noun | /mʌm/ | mother |
| introduce verb | /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ | To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else). |
| reliable adjective | /ɹɪˈlaɪəbl̩/ | Suitable or fit to be relied on; worthy of dependence, reliance or trust; dependable, trustworthy |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| noisy adjective | /ˈnɔɪzi/ | Making a noise, especially a loud unpleasant sound |
| nightclub noun | /ˈnʌɪtklʌb/ | A public or private establishment that is open late at night to provide entertainment, food, drink, music or dancing. |
| chatty adjective | /ˈt͡ʃæti/ | Of a person, chatting a lot or fond of chatting. |
| housemate noun | /ˈhaʊsˌmeɪt/ | Someone living in the same house. |
| racquetball noun | A certain sport, similar to squash, but played with a bigger ball. | |
| sociable adjective | /ˈsoʊʃəbəl/ | Tending to socialize or be social. |
| holiday noun | /ˈhɑləˌdeɪ/ | A day on which a religious event or secular celebration is traditionally observed. |
| quiet adjective | /ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/ | With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise. |
| friendly adjective | /ˈfɹɛnd.li/ | Generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character. |
| pregnant adjective | /ˈpɹɛɡnənt/ | Carrying developing offspring within the body. |
| concert noun | /kənˈsɝt/ | An agreement in a design or plan; a union formed by mutual communication of opinions and views; an accordance in a scheme; harmony; a simultaneous action. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| get over verb | To overcome. |
| grow apart verb | To gradually become estranged. |
| open up verb | To open. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to play · used to wonder |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | We've known · I've only seen |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, we've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 mum, introduce, reliable.
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.