Shadowing Practice: Reading Explorer Foundation, Unit-7 Parasomnia - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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For most people, sleeping is easy.
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For others, it can be a real nightmare.
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Some people dream of being attacked and might even fight with their partners while they sleep.
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Other people get up and walk around in their sleep without knowing what they're doing.
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These sleep conditions, called parasomnia, can be dangerous.
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Scientists are hoping to find out why they happen.
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REM sleep is the stage of sleep when we dream.
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Parasomnia happens during a time in the sleep cycle called NREM, or non-REM.
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Waves, and you are in a light sleep.
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In stage 2, your body relaxes and your heartbeat and breathing get slower.
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The brainwaves are larger and become further apart.
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The deepest sleep is during stages 3 and 4.
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For most of us, our brains shut off sounds and movement from the outside world.
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But for sleepwalkers, the lower part of the brain wakes up, while the upper part, the thinking brain,
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or the mind, is asleep.
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This is why sleepwalkers are able to move around at night, and yet they don't remember it the next day.
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With further research, scientists hope one day to fully explain this mysterious condition.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Reading Explorer Foundation, Unit-7 Parasomnia”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sleep, brain, stage. This video has 17 sentences and 192 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:08. The speaker talks slowly, about 90 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 12 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 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… |
| asleep adjective | /əˈsliːp/ | In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| nightmare noun | /ˈnaɪt.mɛɚ/ | A very unpleasant or frightening dream. |
| mysterious adjective | /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/ | Of unknown origin. |
| heartbeat noun | /ˈhɑɹtˌbit/ | One pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one, hence the emotion which causes it. |
| parasomnia noun | Any of several sleep disorders. | |
| sleepwalker noun | A somnambulist; one who walks, or is active, while asleep. | |
| brainwave noun | Any of many rhythmic fluctuations of electric potential between parts of the brain, especially those seen on an electroencephalogram. | |
| wave verb | /weɪv/ | To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely. |
| cycle noun | /ˈsaɪ.kəl/ | An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| shut off verb | To stop or turn off by closing something, such as a valve. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
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 | being attacked |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might even fight |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | The deepest |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | they're doing · are hoping |
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 scientist, asleep, relax.
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.