Shadowing Practice: RE2 Unit 8B - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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I left Tangier, my birthplace, the 13th of June, 1325,
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with the intention of making the pilgrimage to Mecca, to leave all my friends,
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both female and male, to abandon my home as birds abandon their nests.
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So begins an old manuscript in a library in Paris, the travel journal of Ibn Battuta.
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Almost two centuries before Columbus, this young Moroccan set off for Mecca.
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Returning home three decades later, Ibn Battuta is now regarded as one of history's great travelers.
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Driven by curiosity, he journeyed to remote corners of the Islamic world,
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traveling three times as far as Marco Polo, through 44 modern countries.
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He is little celebrated in some parts of the world, yet his name is well known among Arabs.
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In his hometown town of Tangier, a square, a hotel, a cafe,
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a ferry boat, and even a hamburger are named after him.
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Prior to his adventures traveling the world, Ibn Battuta studied in Mecca for several years.
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However, the urge to travel soon took over.
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He traveled to India, seeking profitable employment with the Sultan of Delhi.
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On the way, he described his group being attacked in the open country by eighty foot soldiers and two horsemen.
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We fought, killing one of their horsemen and about twelve of the foot soldiers.
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I was hit by an arrow and my horse by another, but God in His grace preserved me.
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In Delhi, the Sultan gave him the position of judge based on his studies at Mecca, but the Sultan had an unpredictable character,
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and Ibn Battuta was soon looking for an opportunity to leave.
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When the sultan offered to finance a trip to China, Ibn Battuta agreed.
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He set off in three ships, but misfortune struck while he was still on shore.
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A sudden storm grounded and broke up two of the ships.
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Scattering treasure, the storm drowned many people and horses.
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As he watched, the third ship, with all his belongings and slaves was carried out to sea
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and never heard from again after a lifetime of adventures ibn
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batuta was finally ordered by the sultan of morocco to return
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home to share his wisdom with the world fortunately he consented and wrote a book that has been translated into numerous languages,
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allowing people everywhere to read about his incredible journeys.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
The speaker keeps coming back to these words: ibn, Battuta, sultan, Mecca, ship. This video has 28 sentences and 383 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:56. The speaker talks at a steady 130 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 75% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| sultan noun | /ˈsʌltən/ | A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent… |
| adventure noun | /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ | A feeling of desire for new and exciting things. |
| soldier noun | /ˈsoʊld͡ʒɚ/ | A member of a ground-based army, of any rank, but especially an enlisted member. |
| abandon verb | /əˈbæn.dən/ | To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions. |
| remote adjective | /ɹəˈməʊt̞/ | At a distance; disconnected. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| lifetime noun | /ˈlaɪf.taɪm/ | The duration of the life of someone or something. |
| consent verb | /kənˈsɛnt/ | To express willingness, to give permission. |
| regard noun | /ɹɪˈɡɑːd/ | A steady look, a gaze. |
| twelve noun | /twɛlv/ | A group of twelve items. |
| intention noun | /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/ | A course of action that a person intends to follow. |
| shore noun | /ʃɔɹ/ | Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond. |
| slave noun | /sleɪv/ | A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition… |
| wisdom noun | /ˈwɪzdəm/ | An element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise. |
| preserve verb | /pɹəˈzɝv/ | To protect; to keep from harm or injury. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. |
| take over verb | To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, shore /ʃɔɹ/, treasure /ˈtɹɛʒəɹ/
- Long words — get the stress right: curiosity /ˌkjʊɹ.iˈɑ.sə.ti/, fortunately /ˈfɔɹ.t͡ʃə.nɪt.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 sultan, adventure, soldier.
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.