Shadowing Practice: RE2 Unit 2A - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Track 3.
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Reading 2A.
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Song of the Humpback.
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Herman Melville, the writer of the famous whale story Moby Dick, once wrote that humpback whales were the most lighthearted of all the whales.
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A favorite of whale watchers everywhere, they often swim in ocean areas close to land and are active at the surface.
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They can often be seen breaching or rising out of the water and then coming down with a great splash.
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Humpbacks are intelligent animals and can be seen working together to hunt schools of small fish.
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And, if you listen closely, you might even hear one singing.
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Recording Gentle Giants Marine biologist Jim Darling has studied the songs of humpback whales for more than 25 years.
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While recording whale songs on a boat near Hawaii, he invited author Douglas Chadwick to experience diving with a humpback.
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In the water, Chadwick heard the whale's songs in a way he had never heard them before.
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Suddenly, I no longer heard the whale's voice in my ears.
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He said, I felt it inside my head and bones.
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When swimming with the whale, Chadwick could see that it was aware of him, but not worried by his presence.
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The 13-meter-long giant looked him over curiously, but never harmed him.
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The whale then swam under the boat.
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It pointed its head down to the ocean floor and, with flippers extended out to its sides, began to sing.
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Up in the boat, Darling recorded the whale's song.
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Humpback whale songs can be long and complex, sometimes lasting for 30 minutes or more.
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They are perhaps the longest songs sung by any animal.
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Why do they sing?
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Darling says that only male humpbacks sing, but for unknown reasons.
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One idea is that they sing to attract females.
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However, when a group of scientists played recordings of whale songs in the ocean, female whales did not respond.
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Another idea is that male humpbacks use their songs to let other males know they are in the area.
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Researchers have also found that humpback whale songs are different in different parts of the world, perhaps like whale national anthems.
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They may also be like hit tunes on the radio, changing over time, from one year to the next, or even over a single breeding season.
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There is still so much the scientists don't know, and years of study lie ahead for whale researchers like Jim Darling.
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Why do I do it?
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He wonders aloud.
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Human beings like puzzles.
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I want to know.
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Another member of the research team, photographer Flip Nicklin, recalls a special moment he had while interacting with a humpback.
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While he was snorkeling some distance from the huge animal, it approached him until it was just a few meters away.
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It then gently carried Nicklin toward its eye with the flipper, as if examining him.
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Apparently, the desire to understand a different species goes both ways.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 36 sentences and 480 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:42. The speaker talks at a steady 129 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| whale noun | /ˈweɪl/ | Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| scientist noun | /ˈsaɪəntəst/ | One whose activities make use of the scientific method to answer questions regarding the measurable universe. A scientist may be involved in original research… |
| researcher noun | /ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/ | One who researches. |
| bone noun | /boʊn/ | A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. |
| harm noun | /hɑːm/ | Physical injury; hurt; damage. |
| ear noun | /ˈɪə̯/ | The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea. |
| recall verb | /ɹɪˈkɔl/ | To withdraw, retract (one's words etc.); to revoke (an order). |
| extend verb | /ɛkˈstɛnd/ | To increase in extent. |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
| intelligent adjective | /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/ | Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity, bright. |
| photographer noun | /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/ | One who takes photographs, typically as an occupation. |
| tune noun | /tjuːn/ | A melody. |
| attract verb | /əˈtɹækt/ | To pull toward without touching. |
| examine verb | /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/ | To observe carefully or critically to learn about someone or something. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come down with verb | To develop symptoms or signs of (an illness). |
Pronunciation to watch
- Long words — get the stress right: intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/, photographer /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/, anthem /ˈæn.θəm/ [ˈæn̪.θəm], biologist /baɪˈɒləd͡ʒɪst/, curiously /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs.li/
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 whale, swim, scientist.
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 | has studied · have also found |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be seen · can be seen |
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.