Shadowing Practice: One And Only - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “One And Only”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: giving, mile, prove, walk, hold. This video has 44 sentences and 367 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:29. The speaker talks slowly, about 67 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| dare verb | /dɛ(ə)ɹ/ | To have enough courage (to do something). |
| worthy adjective | /ˈwɝ.ði/ | Having worth, merit, or value. |
| hungry adjective | /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ | Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food. |
| forgive verb | /fɚˈɡɪv/ | To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| thunder noun | /ˈθʌndɚ/ | The loud rumbling, cracking, or crashing sound caused by expansion of rapidly heated air around a lightning bolt. |
| whichever | /wɪt͡ʃˈɛvɚ/ | Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'. |
| mile noun | /maɪ̯l/ | The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet… |
| proof noun | /pɹuf/ | An effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial. |
| arm noun | /ɑɹm/ | The portion of the upper human appendage, from the shoulder to the wrist and sometimes including the hand. |
| promise noun | /ˈpɹɑmɪs/ | An oath or affirmation; a vow. |
| imagine verb | /ɪˈmæd͡ʒ.ɪn/ | To form a mental image of something; to envision or create something in one's mind. |
| choose verb | /t͡ʃuːz/ | To pick; to make the choice of; to select. |
| doubt noun | /daʊt/ | Disbelief or uncertainty (about something); (countable) a particular instance of such disbelief or uncertainty. |
| grow verb | /ˈɡɹəʊ/ | To become larger, to increase in magnitude. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | You've been · I've been · I've imagined |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | one who can |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 31 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, ain't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: worthy /ˈwɝ.ði/, thunder /ˈθʌndɚ/
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 dare, worthy, hungry.
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.