Shadowing Practice: PART 1 TEST 5 EST 2024 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “PART 1 TEST 5 EST 2024”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: marked, picture, test, worker. This video has 38 sentences and 276 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:54. The speaker talks slowly, about 95 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 72% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| worker noun | /ˈwɝ.kɚ/ | One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor. |
| cart noun | /kɑɹt/ | A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, often with two wheels on one axle, more often used for transporting goods than… |
| bench noun | /ˈbɛnt͡ʃ/ | A long seat with or without a back, found for example in parks and schools. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| tunnel noun | /ˈtʌn(ə)l/ | An underground or underwater passage. |
| outdoor adjective | /aʊtˈdɔː/ | Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air. |
| boot noun | /but/ | A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. |
| ceiling noun | /ˈsilɪŋ/ | The overhead closure of a room. |
| pile noun | /paɪl/ | A mass of things heaped together; a heap. |
| plug noun | /plʌɡ/ | A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket, especially an electrical one. |
| fold verb | /ˈfəʊld/ | To bend (any thin material, such as paper) over so that it comes in contact with itself. |
| stack noun | /stæk/ | A large pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, larger at the bottom than the top, sometimes covered with thatch. |
| arrange verb | /əˈɹeɪnd͡ʒ/ | To set up; to organize; to put into an orderly sequence or arrangement. |
| outlet noun | /ˈaʊtlɛt/ | A vent or similar passage to allow the escape of something. |
| cord noun | /ˈkoɹd/ | A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pile up verb | To form a pile, stack, or heap. |
| take down verb | To remove something from a wall or similar vertical surface to which it is fixed. |
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 | have been arranged · being taken · being trimmed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been arranged · have been laid · have been piled |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | is carrying · is reading · is pushing |
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 worker, cart, bench.
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.














