Shadowing Practice: Real British English conversation practice , Going out to town (B1–C1) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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160 sentences
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Listen to this everyday English conversation that took place in my home.
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Don't worry if you don't understand everything.
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For now, just listen.
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Hi, I'm Steve.
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Let's do this.
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Right, I'm nipping out.
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Do you need anything?
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Where are you off to?
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Post office first I've got a parcel to send.
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What sort of parcel?
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It's that bag I flogged on eBay.
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How much did you get?
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Only 30 quid but better than chucking it.
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Too right.
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What are we doing for lunch?
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Probably just get a slice from Gregg's.
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I could just go at Gregg's.
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Never mind, I'll make cheese on toast or something.
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Make yourself something proper.
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Honestly, you're going to end up looking like cheese on toast.
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What time will you be back?
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Well, I need to drop some stuff off at the charity shop.
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It's been sitting in the hall for a fortnight.
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Is it all that bric -a -brac?
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Yes, with the move I thought I'd have a clear out.
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While you're there, ask if they want DVDs.
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There's a load in the spare room.
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I can ask, but I'm not sure they take them anymore.
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Give it a whirl.
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Are you going near the iPad repair place? Can do.
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Hang on.
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Here you go.
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It keeps freezing.
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What if they say it can't be fixed?
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In that case, don't try anywhere else.
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Just bring it back.
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Your birthday's soon, so if they can't sort it, maybe you could ask for a new one.
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That's a good call.
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Are you going to pop into the estate agents?
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Defo, it's on my list.
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We're moving in in a fortnight and we still haven't got the keys.
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Shocking.
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Give them down the banks.
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I'll pick up some lamb chops for tea as well.
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Nice one.
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I'll go to that nice butcher's by the station.
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Smashing.
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Take care and I'll see you later.
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See you in a bit.
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Now we're going to go through that conversation in detail, looking at what was said and why.
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If you haven't already got it, then you can download the free guide to this video by clicking the link in the description.
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Stay to the end and you'll get a chance to improve your fast, natural speaking by taking part yourself.
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First, you heard...
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Right, I'm nipping out.
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Do you need anything?
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To nip somewhere means to go there quickly.
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It suggests a short trip.
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I'm nipping to the shops.
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I'll just nip upstairs.
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Can you nip out and get some milk?
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It's very common and very British.
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You hear it all the time in everyday conversations across the UK.
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I asked what was in the parcel she was posting and she replied, it's that bag I flogged on eBay.
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This is a British slang word, vlog.
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It means to sell something.
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Use it like this.
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I got a new bike so I'm flogging my old one.
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When I asked what she got for the bag, Sarah said, only 30 quid but better than chucking it.
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Two things here.
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Quid is British slang for pounds.
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One quid is one pound.
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30 quid is 30 pounds.
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Never changes.
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You never say quids.
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It's just quid.
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And to chuck means to throw something away.
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To get rid of it.
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Put the two together and Sarah is saying that 30 pounds isn't much, but it's better than throwing it in the bin.
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I replied, too right.
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This is a very English way of saying absolutely or you're completely correct.
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Strong agreement without hesitation.
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That film was brilliant.
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Too right.
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The weather was awful.
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Too right.
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You try.
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Have you subscribed to my channel?
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Too right.
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Sarah said she was going to the most famous chain of bakeries in the UK.
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Greggs.
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Probably just get a slice from Greggs.
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This is a slice, although Greggs are most famous for their sausage rolls.
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We'll see it in Greggs in another video.
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And I replied, I could just go a Greggs.
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Never mind.
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If you could just go something, it means that you would be really happy if you got it.
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For example, I could just go a holiday or I could go a cup of tea.
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Next, you heard me shorten, what time will you be back to?
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What time will you be back?
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What time will you be back?
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This is an example of why English people sound fast when they talk.
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It's this squashing together of words.
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You try.
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This will will become thistle.
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Life will becomes life -le.
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And it will becomes it -tle.
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Next, you heard she was going to a charity shop, which is a shop where people give things for free
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and then the shop sells them and gives the money to a charity or a good cause.
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What she was giving was...
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Is it all that bric -a -brac?
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This is another way of saying bits and bobs or odds and sods.
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Small objects for your home.
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You often find them in charity shops.
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Next, you heard something that is true for me at the moment.
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Yes, with the move, I thought I'd have a clear out.
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When you hear someone talking about the move, it almost always means either moving from home or moving their place of work.
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And before moving, you often have a clear out, which means getting rid of things that you don't use anymore, like bric -a -brac.
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Next, you heard me say, Give it a whirl.
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To give something a whirl means to give it a try, to have a go at something, even if you're not sure it'll work.
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I've never tried karaoke, but I'll give it a whirl.
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When I asked about the estate agents, which are people who sell houses, she said, Defo, it's on my list.
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Defo is short for definitely.
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You'll hear this a lot in casual conversations, especially among British speakers.
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Do you fancy some tea?
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Defo.
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It's informal, so you defo wouldn't use it in a job interview.
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But in everyday chat, it's completely natural.
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Are you sure?
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Defo.
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Because we were moving in a fortnight, which is how people say two weeks, and the estate agent hadn't given us the keys,
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you heard me say, shocking, give them down the banks.
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Give them down the banks is telling someone to shout and put pressure on them.
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If someone isn't doing what they're supposed to, you give them down the banks.
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I was late and my boss gave me down the banks.
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Now it's your turn to really improve your English conversation skills by taking part yourself.
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Your words will appear on screen as you need them and for the best results, speak out loud.
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Where are you off to?
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What sort of parcel?
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How much did you get?
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Too right.
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What are we doing for lunch?
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I could just go at Greggs.
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Never mind.
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I'll make cheese on toast or something.
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What time will you be back?
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Is it all that bric -a -brac?
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While you're there, ask if they want DVDs.
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There's a load in the spare room.
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Give it a whirl.
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Are you going near the iPad repair place?
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Hang on, here you go, it keeps freezing.
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In that case, don't try anywhere else, just bring it back.
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That's a good call.
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Are you going to pop into the estate agents?
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Shocking.
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Give them down the banks.
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Smashing.
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Take care and I'll see you later.
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For more conversations to improve your English, give this a click and I'll see you there.
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Take care.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Real British English conversation practice , Going out to town”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: quid, defo, Greggs, banks, conversation. This video has 160 sentences and 1254 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:18. The speaker talks at a steady 111 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 27 of its 160 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| charity noun | /ˈtʃæɹɪti/ | An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose. |
| pound noun | /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ | A unit of weight in various measurement systems. |
| parcel noun | /ˈpɑɹsəl/ | A package wrapped, as for shipment or transport. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| shock noun | /ʃɔk/ | A sudden, heavy impact. |
| chuck verb | /t͡ʃʌk/ | To playfully give a light touch, stroke, tap, etc., to someone, especially under the chin. |
| slice noun | /slaɪs/ | That which is thin and broad. |
| toast noun | /toʊst/ | Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning). |
| repair verb | /ˈɹiːpɛɚ/ | To restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy. |
| spare adjective | /spɛɚ/ | Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous. |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| smash verb | /smæʃ/ | To break (something brittle) violently. |
| awful adjective | /ˈɔːfʊl/ | Very bad. |
| odd adjective | /ɑd/ | Differing from what is usual, ordinary or expected. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| clear out verb | To completely empty. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| speak out verb | To assert or promote one's opinion; to make one's thoughts known. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Where are you off to?
- How much did you get?
- What are we doing for lunch?
- What time will you be back?
- Are you going near the iPad repair place?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | shop, which is · out, which means · agents, which are |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | Have you subscribed · I've never tried |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can't be fixed · was said |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 44 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, smash /smæʃ/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, shout /ʃaʊt/, squash /skwɔʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, karaoke /ˈkæ.ɹiˌəʊ.ki/
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 charity, pound, parcel.
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.