Shadowing Practice: Optimum Customer Service - Learn English Speaking with Video
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34 sentences
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1
thank you so much for calling up to mobile tv my name is here hello i'm calling because we made an appointment today to have a technician install the internet and they never showed up Okay. May I please have your name?
2
there's two people on the account. I'm , the primary account holder Okay. Thank you Can you give me the address please?
3
Thank you. I'm working with you. All right hold on a second please.
4
Hello are you still there?
5
Yes. I'm still here.
6
i'm looking for an information to see if there's any report why no one was there So is the first time that you're gonna have the the Optimum service in your house?
7
No. We've been Optimum customers for two and a half years now. Roughly.
8
Okay. And now you're in a new house We've changed apartments so we need internet in our new apartment Okay. So. Because. As we can see...
9
uh the wire... the internet wire that's supposed to be installed for the construction department are not in there so the technician that was there was the technician that just has the equipment to connect into the... to the...
10
..to the wire...
11
Well. Can he come tomorrow? Because...like. I work from home, sir. So this is really inconvenient okay keeping that in the line. Let me contact the main support to fix that that issues okay hold on so i'm going to contact the main support through the line keep your data live with me all right thank you.
12
Don't hang up, please. You're welcome sorry the call control please keep in there. I'm trying to contact the main support regarding that issues because that is because of the cable inside the house the wire are not installed and the wire for an optimum that's supposed to go from the pole to the house is not installed so so there is another department who has that responsibility and i try to contact him right please keep here on the line He'll be at the new location, okay?
13
Tomorrow. September 16th from two to five Yes.
14
Okay. Why didn't they come today from two to five today?
15
Today? Because the wire that's supposed to be inside the house and the wire are supposed to be outside to inside the house not work though.
16
So when they schedule the appointment they put you on normal appointment as in your house the wire are there so when the when the technician was there he now was he he's not a technician that's supposed to put the wire inside your house he just was the technician to have the equipment so because the house was not ready to get the service he could not install the service Okay so are you telling me that someone came to my apartment and and did not enter my apartment?
17
They just looked outside and noticed that a wire was missing and then left and didn't say anything to me?
18
So that was the report that is here. That the house is not ready.
19
Okay. When will the house be ready?
20
so tomorrow once when the next step gonna is gonna go there and install the wire that's supposed to be in the house and around the location Okay. When?
21
From two to five...
22
Okay. Tomorrow from two to five all right i appreciate your help i just i just need to explain something to you so i was told that a technician was going to come from two to five today. They did not. I called it six. At six o'clock they said: "oh they're going to come from four to seven" i waited till seven and now i'm calling you and they're still not here so tomorrow because of COVID i work from home and now i can't work from home because i don't have service so this delay is costing me business. i can't work. So how is optimum going to compensate me for this work that i no longer can do?
23
so i'm sorry for the convenience really we don't have contact directly with a technician we just are able to schedule the appointment we don't contact when a technician go there and the report that they can do so was his responsibility is supposed to be to tell you why you need because you called me and you didn't know nothing about it and as i can see here he didn't report nothing either just that the location that was not ready i cannot work tomorrow because optimum has failed to provide me a service. So what is going to happen to to compensate me for this loss?
24
so it's because of the installation it's not done ready it's not done already there's not too much that we can do okay so so nothing is going to be done to compensate me for this?
25
Exactly. Okay. Nothing. Okay. Thank you. I'm going to assume that the technician is not going to arrive tomorrow from two to five what what will happen then when i call again tomorrow and and say the technician did not arrive. What will happen then?
26
so i don't know about the future but they're suppose to call ahead if they don't get there, but in this case i put the the right technician to go there because they make a report regarding the location when it was not ready okay so now the technician's supposed to be there the correct technician to put the wire that's supposed to be in your house okay thank you when that technician arrives can you have them contact me instead of just leave without me knowing?
27
okay hold on let me put that in the notes thank you all right i put it okay i appreciate your help i'm looking forward to the technician hopefully they arrive tomorrow yes i hope so all right thank you you have a good night He won't be there exactly before five o'clock but he should give you a call when he's close. All right? okay thank you.
28
Alright. Thank you.
29
when i called they said that there was a wire on the outside of the apartment that was not working So i went to Best Buy i went and got a coaxial cable connected it and it seemed to work but now i have cause for concern as to what the person was talking about with a wire on the outside of the apartment.
30
So what do you want to do with that wire?
31
i don't know what wire they're talking about is everything working okay?
32
yeah the signal is good everything's good so. So I'm not sure...
33
okay great thank you i just decided to call you to make sure that everything is ok.
34
Alright. Ok. Everything works fine on our end. I appreciate the call thank you okay have a good night you too bye
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Optimum Customer Service”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: wire, technician, supposed, tomorrow, contact. This video has 34 sentences and 1158 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:57. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 20 of its 34 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 14 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wire noun | /ˈwaɪɚ/ | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die. |
| technician noun | /tɛkˈnɪʃən/ | A person who studies or practises technology; an expert in a particular technology. |
| optimum noun | /ˈɑptɪməm/ | The best or most favorable condition, or the greatest amount or degree possible under specific sets of comparable circumstances. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| installed verb | /ɪnˈstɔːld/ | readied for use |
| install verb | /ɪnˈstɔl/ | To connect, set up or prepare something for use |
| compensate verb | /ˈkɑm.pənˌseɪt/ | To do (something good) after (something bad) happens. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| delay noun | /dɪˈleɪ̯/ | A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity. |
| pole noun | /pəʊl/ | Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object. |
| holder noun | /ˈhoʊɫdɚ/ | A thing that holds. |
| installation noun | /ˌɪn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/ | An act of installing. |
| convenience noun | /kənˈvinjəns/ | The quality of being convenient. |
| inconvenient adjective | /ˌɪn.kənˈviːni.ənt/ | not convenient |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| call ahead verb | Synonym of phone ahead. |
| hang up verb | To put up to hang. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be installed · are not installed · was told |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | We've been · We've changed · has failed |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | i'm calling · I'm working · i'm looking |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | gonna have · i'm going to contact · gonna is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 39 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: technician /tɛkˈnɪʃən/, installation /ˌɪn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: installation /ˌɪn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/, inconvenient /ˌɪn.kənˈviːni.ənt/
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 wire, technician, optimum.
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.