Shadowing Practice: NME Interviews Lana Del Rey - Learn English Speaking with Video
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45 sentences
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1
I think One thing that really affected me was when I was 11.
2
I saw Kurt Cobain singing Heart Shaped Box on MTV.
3
I saw like the video for it.
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That was something that really struck me.
5
I think when I was younger I knew I wanted to be a singer, but we didn't really know anyone who...
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was a real singer so I sort of planned on having a more normal life, just doing something else.
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And then when I was 18, I moved to New York and just started singing at the open mic nights and playing shows down in Williamsburg.
8
My musical influences have stayed the same for a long time.
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I really like Nirvana.
10
I love Frank Sinatra.
11
Elvis, Bob Dylan.
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And you know, like Eminem.
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I like all the greats from every genre, just the masters of every genre.
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I was working with a composer named Justin Parker and he said
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that he had a couple of chords that reminded him of me.
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And so when I heard them, I just, um, felt inspired to write about I don't know,
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just the same theme that I had been writing about for a while, which was Thank you.
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just about this guy I had been seeing and the way our relationship was at the time you know,
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It was just a time in my life when I let go of my own personal career ambitions.
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And just enjoyed being with him at home when he'd come home from work and play video games.
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I would write while I watched him.
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I think when I wrote that song I was just reflecting on
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Like the sweetness of it but also the fact that there was Something else I was longing for at the same time.
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It's a 5 minute and 20 second love ballad.
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There are no drums in it.
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I mean, it's.. and like, thematically, it's...
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feels personal to me so I wouldn't have thought that that would be the song that people responded to.
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Although it's a gift for someone like me because like melodically and semantically,
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it is a perfect representation of me, so it's nice.
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I've just been making like moving collages online since I was 17.
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It's just a passion of mine other than singing.
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Video games were just one of many and but for some reason I think because the vocal was so clear.
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People just really responded to it.
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Image is important but I mean I'm a writer first.
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I've been a writer since I was very young.
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and I'm a singer second.
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Then.. you know the editing and the visuals and the photographs and the movies those time
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After I feel like video games and blue jeans
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and born to die are all the like sort of part of a trilogy.
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I had met this guy and I was really struck by him visually and
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When it became clear that we couldn't be together anymore, Um...
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I just knew in my heart that I would still like honor that relationship for a long time, you know, it was just more about like living in the memories of the best of the past.
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and just honouring that time.
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And that's sort of what video games and...
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Born to Die is about as well.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “NME Interviews Lana Del Rey”. This video has 45 sentences and 548 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:24. The speaker talks at a natural 161 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| genre noun | /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/ | A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks. |
| ballad noun | /ˈbæləd/ | A kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; especially, a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas. |
| collage noun | /kəˈlɑʒ/ | A picture made by sticking other pictures onto a surface or juxtaposing them digitally in analogous manner. |
| melodically adverb | In a melodic manner. | |
| semantically adverb | In the manner of or referring to semantics. | |
| sweetness noun | /ˈswitnəs/ | The condition of being sweet (all senses). |
| thematically adverb | In a thematic manner. | |
| chord noun | /kɔɹd/ | A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. |
| visually adverb | /ˈvɪzju.əli/ | By means of sight. |
| composer noun | /kəmˈpoʊzəɹ/ | One who composes; an author. |
| trilogy noun | /ˈtɹɪləd͡ʒi/ | A set of three connected works—usually dramas, literary pieces, films, or musical compositions—all related by theme, characters, or setting. |
| ambition noun | /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/ | Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or fame; desire to distinguish one's… |
| inspire verb | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by… |
| jeans noun | /d͡ʒiːnz/ | A pair of trousers made from denim cotton. |
| drum noun | /ˈdɹʌm/ | A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber; a membranophone. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/, collage /kəˈlɑʒ/, ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/
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 genre, ballad, collage.
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.