Shadowing Practice: Personal Best B1 Learning Curve Unit 5 pt. 1 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
51 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Hello and welcome to LearningCurve.
2
This is my desk.
3
Can you hear that?
4
These devices are so noisy.
5
My mobile gets texts all the time.
6
Kate and I have hundreds of comments, videos and email messages to answer every day.
7
And sometimes our printer doesn't work.
8
All this can make us feel a bit stressed.
9
So, how do we beat this stress?
10
Sometimes it's important to take a deep breath and make a decision about what we can do.
11
Me, I do one thing at a time.
12
I make a list of everything I have to do.
13
I'm a planner.
14
Um, okay, I'm not always a planner, but I usually make a list.
15
I don't always do everything on the list.
16
Kate likes to take a break once an hour and walk around.
17
Right, Kate?
18
Yes, that's true, Simon.
19
Well, um, no, not really.
20
I walk around the office every hour, but I don't take a break every hour.
21
but walking helps me beat stress.
22
What other things do you do, Simon?
23
Well, sometimes I have a chat with my friend
24
Penny at Learning Curve in New York.
25
It's good to talk to friends when you feel stressed.
26
Do you think your life is stressful?
27
We all do our best to manage our lives and daily tasks, but at some point, most people agree, stress can be bad for us.
28
Even small things like a crying baby, giving a presentation at work, or a broken pipe, a traffic jam,
29
or studying for an exam can cause stress.
30
Well, but maybe they're not all the same kind of stress.
31
The American Institute of Stress says that 77 % of US citizens suffer from stress every day.
32
Last year in the UK, according to the Health and Safety Executive,
33
400 ,000 people felt stress from their work was making them ill.
34
But let's look at the other side of stress.
35
Is stress always bad for us?
36
Sometimes it has positive effects.
37
Researchers in California found that small amounts of stress can be good for us.
38
They also say that people without any stress in their lives can become bored.
39
But sometimes the right level of stress helps our brains.
40
A little bit of stress can actually cause people to work better or faster.
41
For example, runners and their coaches often experience stress before a race.
42
They feel a sudden increase of energy called adrenaline.
43
Adrenaline helps them run faster.
44
People in high stress jobs like emergency room doctors,
45
police officers or firefighters also use that stress to succeed at their jobs.
46
When you work hard to finish your work by 6pm
47
or do well on a two hour test or even do well in a sport, that is your adrenaline.
48
That's good stress.
49
So now, what are ways we can beat stress?
50
I often make a cup of tea.
51
Now, let's find out from you, our viewers, how you deal with stress.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
A21
Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 12 pt. 2
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A23
Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 11 pt. 1
Travel EnglishWorking Adults
A2Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 2 pt. 1
Business EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
A213
Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 4 pt. 2
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A16
Personal Best A1 Learning Curve Unit 9 pt 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A23
Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 1 pt. 1
TeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
A24
Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 6 pt. 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A18
Personal Best A1 Learning Curve Unit 9 pt 1
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A19
Personal Best A1 Learning Curve Unit 7 pt 1
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A15
Personal Best A1 Learning Curve Unit 5 pt 1
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A14
Personal Best A1 Learning Curve Unit 1 pt 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 6 pt. 1
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2Personal Best A2 Learning Curve Unit 3 pt. 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B11
35 sentences
Staying Calm in Difficult Moments #readingeanglish #english #education
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
2 sentences
BILLIONAIRE'S DEFINITION OF STRESS - Motivational Speech by Jeff Bezos
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
417 sentences
Daily English - You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Proud - Intermediate English Podcast
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
101 sentences
English Podcast | How to Learn English with Podcast | 6 Minutes English⏲️| Quick Learn Podcast
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
213 sentences
Massage consultation
Business EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
110 sentences
The Art Of Pressure
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1127 sentences
15 Little Habits to Have a Better Day
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
66 sentences
Bài 7 - Thay Đổi Lối Sống
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
288 sentences
How To Handle Work Stress | Costi Hinn + Brett McIntosh
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
12 sentences
English in a Minute: In Full Swing
American AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B21
30 sentences
Video
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
329 sentences
Why You Feel So Busy All The Time | Real English Conversation
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Personal Best B1 Learning Curve Unit 5 pt. 1”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: stress, hour, adrenaline, Kate, helps. This video has 51 sentences and 486 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:41. The speaker talks at a steady 132 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| distress noun | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. |
| adrenaline noun | /əˈdɹɛnəlɪn/ | Epinephrine, the hormone and neurotransmitter. |
| planner noun | /ˈplænɚ/ | One who plans. |
| suffer verb | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | To undergo hardship. |
| desk noun | /dɛsk/ | A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a… |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| citizen noun | /ˈsɪtɪzən/ | A resident of a city or town, especially one with legally recognized rights or duties. |
| presentation noun | /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/ | The act of presenting, or something presented. |
| succeed verb | /səkˈsiːd/ | To follow something in sequence or time. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| examination noun | /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ | The act of examining. |
| pipe noun | /ˈpaɪp/ | A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the tube. |
| runner noun | /ˈɹʌnɚ/ | A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete. |
| penny noun | /ˈpɛni/ | In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p. |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| walk around verb | To walk with no planned destination; to meander. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Can you hear that?
- I don't always do everything on the list.
- Do you think your life is stressful?
- Is stress always bad for us?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: adrenaline /əˈdɹɛnəlɪn/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, firefighter /ˈfaɪ.ɚˌfaɪ.tɚ/
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 distress, adrenaline, planner.
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.