Shadowing Practice: New headway series 4 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
The End
2
This is how it started.
3
Another exciting evening at 53 Blackwood Road.
4
Hi, Julia.
5
How are you?
6
Yeah, sure.
7
When's your birthday?
8
The 4th of August.
9
That's Leo.
10
You're a lion.
11
What's wrong?
12
Nothing.
13
What about you?
14
My birthday's the 16th of March.
15
I'm a Pisces.
16
A fish?
17
Ow.
18
So what's the horoscope sign for this month? May.
19
The first part is Taurus.
20
The bull.
21
So Jane's a bull.
22
Is Jane's birthday this month? When?
23
The 13th.
24
The 13th of May.
25
It's the 11th of May today.
26
That's in two days.
27
Are you sure?
28
That's what she said. Did you hear?
29
No. It's Jane's birthday on Saturday.
30
Why don't we have a party? In two days?
31
Yeah.
32
A surprise party.
33
Good idea.
34
Right.
35
How many people?
36
Just the four of us.
37
A meal, the cake, something to drink, Presents?
38
OK.
39
Let's make a shopping list.
40
I've got it.
41
Let's see it. That looks great.
42
Where did you get it?
43
I bought it at Pascal's, you know, next to the bank.
44
How much was it?
45
It was £15.
46
Did you get the candles?
47
You didn't get the candles.
48
I did.
49
Thank you.
50
When does Jane get home?
51
Usually at half past six, after her game of tennis. In about twenty minutes.
52
Oh, no!
53
She's early.
54
David, help me with the cake.
55
Matt, don't let her come into the kitchen.
56
How?
57
Talk to her.
58
Two minutes.
59
What do you want me to talk about?
60
Anything.
61
Hi, Jane.
62
Hi, Matt.
63
It let me.
64
Thanks.
65
Did you have a nice day?
66
Er, yes.
67
What did you do?
68
I went shopping.
69
What did you buy?
70
I bought a t-shirt and some shoes and I bought some food.
71
Matt, are you okay?
72
What else did you do?
73
I played tennis. Where?
74
At the sports centre.
75
I had a good day. Did you?
76
I got up at about, er, oh, about 11 o'clock.
77
Er, and then I had breakfast, I had cornflakes, and I had toast and coffee. And orange juice.
78
And then I watched television. And then...
79
Matt, please move.
80
Now.
81
Happy Birthday!
82
It's not your birthday.
83
Matthew!
84
But you said it was the 13th of May.
85
The 30th of May, Matt.
86
Not the 13th.
87
Then what do we do with all this food and drink?
88
We can still have a party.
89
Then what about the 30th?
90
We can have a party then too.
91
Sure.
92
Great.
93
Two parties.
94
But only one present, yeah?
95
Oh, David.
96
What?
97
Really.
98
So that was the surprise party.
99
A real surprise for everyone.
📺 Same Channel
B13
New headway series 15
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B1New headway series 5
Travel EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
A2New headway series 2
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A21
New headway series 1
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2New headway series 3
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B1New headway series 17
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B1New headway series 16
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
✨ Recommend Video
A264
84 sentences
This is Britain - School
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A25
125 sentences
Birthday Gift Shopping | Slow English Listening Practice | AnyTalk A2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2126 sentences
Learn English at the Cafe ☕| Daily English Conversation for Beginners #youtube #english #cafe #esl
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A23
120 sentences
English With Fun | Funny Grandparents | Who Ate the Cake?
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2295 sentences
The best English 2 . Learn to speak English.
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2214 sentences
Unit 4 Routines - Tactics For Listening Basic
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
33 sentences
Family & Friends 5 Unit 8 Story
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
97 sentences
Leo Was Sad on His Birthday... But His Family Had Other Plans! | Slow English Listening Story (A2)
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
61 sentences
Fun for flyers 17.E
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
48 sentences
Luyện phát âm IPA /θ/ /ð/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/ qua truyện tiếng Anh | Moiravibes
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A23
57 sentences
English Course Lesson 21 – Story: Can You Come to the Party?
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 99 sentences and 422 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:15. The speaker talks slowly, about 68 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tennis noun | /ˈtɛnɪs/ | A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets. |
| bull noun | /bʊl/ | Specifically, one that is uncastrated. |
| candle noun | /ˈkæn.dəl/ | A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin. |
| meal noun | /ˈmiːl/ | Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity. |
| juice noun | /d͡ʒuːs/ | A liquid made from plant, especially fruit. |
| lion noun | /ˈlaɪən/ | A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| toast noun | /toʊst/ | Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning). |
| cornflakes noun | /ˈkɔɹnfleɪks/ | A breakfast cereal made from toasted flakes of maize. |
| excite verb | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement. |
| horoscope noun | /ˈhɔ.ɹəˌskoʊp/ | The position of the planets and stars at the moment of someone's birth; a diagram of such positions. |
| cake noun | /keɪk/ | A rich, sweet dessert food, typically made of flour, sugar, and eggs and baked in an oven, and often covered in icing. |
| kitchen noun | /ˈkɪt͡ʃ(ə)n/ | A room or area for preparing food. |
| twenty noun | /ˈtwɛnti/ [-ɛɾ̃i] | The numbers twenty (20) to twenty-nine (29). |
| shirt noun | /ʃɜɹt/ | An article of clothing that is worn on the upper part of the body, often with sleeves that cover some or all of the arms. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, didn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, shirt /ʃɜɹt/
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 tennis, bull, candle.
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.