Shadowing Practice: Neighbor Offered to Pay Some -- Not All! | Part 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Judge Judy: MR. PFEIFER, ON WHAT DATE DID THIS INCIDENT HAPPEN?
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IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER.
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Judge Judy: DATE.
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NOVEMBER 3rd, MONDAY.
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I APOLOGIZE.
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Judge Judy: YOU TWO NEIGHBORS?
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MM-HMM. Judge Judy: YOU HAVE A COUPLE LITTLE DOGS.
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I HAVE TWO 4-POUND DOGS.
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Judge Judy: AND YOU HAVE...?
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ONE DOG, 80 POUNDS.
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Judge Judy: SO, WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?
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WELL, YOUR HONOR, WHAT HAPPENED THAT EVENING WAS IS I WAS BARBECUING DINNER DOWNSTAIRS, AND SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A BARBECUE AREA, 'CAUSE WE LIVE UPSTAIRS, I BARBECUE DOWN BY THE GARAGE.
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SO I HAD BEEN DOWNSTAIRS BARBECUING -- Judge Judy: SO, WHEN YOU SAY "WE DON'T HAVE," YOU WERE LIVING WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND.
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WELL, NO, I'M NOT -- I WAS VISITING HER.
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Judge Judy: YOU SAID, "WE DON'T HAVE AN AREA UPSTAIRS," SO, "WE" -- THAT SOUNDS LIKE MORE THAN JUST A VISIT.
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WELL, WE'RE BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND, SO...
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Judge Judy: SO IT SOUNDS MORE THAN JUST A VISIT.
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CORRECT, YOUR HONOR.
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Judge Judy: OKAY.
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SO THAT YOUR DOG IS REGULARLY THERE.
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FOR THE MOST PART, YES.
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Judge Judy: DON'T PLAY WITH ME.
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I'M SORRY.
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Judge Judy: SO -- DON'T PLAY WITH ME.
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DON'T THINK OF WHO'S WATCHING.
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IS YOUR WIFE WATCHING?
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IS YOUR MOTHER WATCHING?
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ARE THE AUTHORITIES WATCHING?
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DON'T PLAY WITH ME.
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I'M SORRY.
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Judge Judy: GREAT.
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SO, YOU LIVE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND, AND YOU HAVE A DOG.
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YES. Judge Judy: AND YOUR DOG IS A PIT BULL?
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YES, MA'AM.
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Judge Judy: COME ON. SO NOW YOU'RE BARBECUING DOWNSTAIRS.
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YES. DINNER IS FINISHED.
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I GO UPSTAIRS TO GO GET A PLATE TO BRING DINNER BACK UP, AND I MUST NOT HAVE GOT THE DOOR SHUT ALL THE WAY.
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Judge Judy: SO, ACCIDENTALLY, YOU LEFT THE DOOR OPEN.
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YES, MA'AM.
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Judge Judy: AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU LEFT THE DOOR OPEN?
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WELL, I HAD MADE IT DOWN TO THE BARBECUE, AND WHEN I WAS GETTING THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL, HERE COMES MY DOG.
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SO, NATURALLY, I WENT TO GO GET MY DOG, AS SHE WAS COMING DOWN THE STREET WITH HER TWO LITTLE DOGS -- Judge Judy: OKAY.
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NOW YOUR DOG IS OUT, BECAUSE IT'S NOT FENCED.
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YES, MA'AM.
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Judge Judy: AND YOU'RE GOING OUT 'CAUSE YOUR DOG TAKES OFF.
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YES, MA'AM.
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Judge Judy: NOW, WERE YOU RUNNING AFTER HER OR WALKING AFTER HER?
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NO, I WAS RUNNING AFTER HER.
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Judge Judy: AND WHEN YOU WERE RUNNING AFTER HER, I WANT YOU TO -- I WANT YOU TO TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW.
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WHAT I SAW WAS A LITTLE DOG BARKING.
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MY DOG IS USED TO PLAYING WITH LITTLE -- Judge Judy: I DON'T CARE!
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LISTEN. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR DOG'S USED TO.
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I SAW MY DOG GOING OVER TO THE OTHER TWO DOGS, AND I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE OTHER DOG, SO I WAS TRYING TO GET CONTROL OF MY DOG.
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I ACTUALLY DOVE ONTO THE GROUND AND TORE MY PANTS GOING AFTER MY DOG TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY.
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Judge Judy: BUT EVERYTHING WASN'T OKAY.
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IT WASN'T. NO, MA'AM.
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Judge Judy: BECAUSE BEFORE YOU COULD DIVE AND GET, AS YOU SAID, CONTROL OF YOUR DOG, YOUR DOG PICKED UP ONE OF HER DOGS IN ITS MOUTH AND RIPPED ITS SKIN OFF.
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YES, MA'AM.
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Judge Judy: NOW, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO TELL ME, MR. PFEIFER, WHY ARE WE HERE?
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WELL -- Judge Judy: LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU.
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WHEN YOU HAVE A DOG, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO KEEP THAT DOG UNDER YOUR CONTROL AT ALL TIMES.
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SOMETIMES, IF I BELIEVE YOUR STORY ABOUT THE DOG GOT OUT, WHICH SHE SAYS -- IN HER COMPLAINT, SHE SAYS, ISN'T TRUE.
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BUT IF I BELIEVE YOUR STORY, YOU SAID TO ME, "I LOST CONTROL.
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I TRIED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF MY DOG." IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP YOUR DOG UNDER CONTROL.
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YES, MA'AM.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Neighbor Offered to Pay Some -- Not All!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Judy, Judge, dog, watching, barbecuing. This video has 65 sentences and 634 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:56. The speaker talks fast, about 216 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 11 of its 65 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| upstairs adverb | /ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/ | Up the stairs; on or to a higher floor or level. |
| downstairs adverb | /daʊnˈstɛɹz/ | Down the stairs. |
| pound noun | /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ | A unit of weight in various measurement systems. |
| pants noun | /pænts/ | An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers. |
| tear verb | /tɛɹ/ | To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. |
| complaint noun | /kəmˈpleɪnt/ | The act of complaining. |
| garage noun | /ɡəˈɹɑʒ/ | A building (or section of a building) used to store a car or cars, tools and other miscellaneous items. |
| fence noun | /fɛns/ | A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc. |
| apologize verb | /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ | To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends |
| bark noun | /bɑɹk/ | The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree or of various other woody plants. |
| grill noun | /ɡɹɪl/ | A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and… |
| regain verb | /ɹiːˈɡeɪn/ | To get back; to recover possession of. |
| dove noun | /doʊv/ | A pigeon, especially one smaller in size and white-colored; a bird (often arbitrarily called either a pigeon or a dove or both) of more than three hundred… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. |
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| take off verb | To remove. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was barbecuing · WERE LIVING · was visiting |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | YOU'RE BARBECUING · YOU'RE GOING |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 19 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, wasn't. 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 upstairs, downstairs, pound.
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.