Shadowing Practice: Real Talk#1 In a cab - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hi, I'm Andrew.

Hi, it's Suzanne.

And you are listening to Q -Lips.

Yay!

If you want to learn English for everyday use, you've come to the right place.

At Q -Lips, we help make English understandable.

natural expressions, and conversational structure.

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That's C -U -L -I -P -S dot com.

Thanks for listening.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Today we are very excited to introduce a brand new type of episode.

A Real Talk episode.

And Suzanne, could you explain what a Real Talk episode is?

Sure.

It's really fun.

In Real Talk episodes, we're going to focus on expressions, practical expressions that you use every day.

And in today's episode, we're going to look at how to take a cab,

things you'll say when you would take a cab and speak to the driver.

Exactly.

So this is something...

a lot of people do very often is take a cab or take a taxi.

So first you will hear a dialogue where A character named Lisa is taking a taxi home from work.

and she needs to give directions to the cab driver to bring her to her apartment.

So take a listen to this dialogue and afterwards we will discuss it

and dissect it and talk about the key expressions that Lisa uses to make sure she gets home okay.

Hey there.

Hey, where are you going today?

Uh, Fifth and Franklin, please.

No problem.

Okay.

So here we are, Fifth and Franklin.

Oh great, my apartment is just down there.

Can you keep going a little bit?

Sure.

Okay, make a right on this side street coming up.

Okay, no problem.

and it's just up here on the left.

I'm in this brick building.

Uh, okay.

You can pull over right here.

Sure thing.

Okay, so $16 please.

Here's a 20.

Keep the change.

Great.

Thanks.

Have a nice day.

You too.

Bye.

Okay, so...

We just heard...

a conversation, between Lisa and the taxi driver

And now we are going to talk about some of the key expressions that were used in this conversation.

So, The first key expression is Fifth and Franklin, please.

Lisa gets into the cab and she tells the driver, "Fifth and Franklin, please." Suzanne, what does this mean?

So Lisa is telling the cab driver,

the two streets that come to an intersection where her house or her apartment building is located.

So we don't know for sure if her apartment is on Franklin.

or on 5th.

But it's in the general area.

it's right near one of those streets so she's giving him the best cross section,

to then get to her more specific apartment number and street.

Exactly.

So you can give a cab driver an exact address.

you could say, take me to one, two, three, four.

Franklin Street, please.

but it's more common to give an intersection.

The place where two streets cross.

And In the dialogue we heard, it was Fifth Avenue and Franklin Street.

And this is a very common way to direct your cab driver.

Yes, this is a very common

and good way to give directions to a cab driver or anyone that's giving you a ride home.

Okay, let's look at the second key expression today.

It's just down there.

Can you keep going a bit?

When the cab arrives at the intersection,

Fifth and Franklin, Lisa gives the additional instructions It's just down there.

Can you keep going a bit?

And what does this mean, Suzanne?

This means, that we haven't quite approached where her apartment is.

They're not far away, but they're far away enough that they have more directions coming.

So just down there, is a polite way to let the cab driver know that we haven't quite reached it.

There's still a bit more to go.

Can you keep going a little bit?

is also another polite way to make sure that the cab driver keeps going in that direction.

because there's more directions to come.

So the cab is in the vicinity of where Lisa wants to go, but there's still a little bit more to go.

And this is a way to communicate that she wants the driver to keep going.

so that she's not let off on the corner of Fifth and Franklin.

Exactly.

She wants to get her money's worth.

Yes.

Okay, very good.

What is the next key expression, Suzanne?

So the next key expression is when Lisa tells the cab driver to make a right.

How would you explain what this one means, Andrew?

Well, this one is fairly straightforward.

If you make a right on a street you are making a right hand turn you are turning right onto that street.

100

So when we're taking a taxi, this is a super useful expression.

101

We can tell the taxi driver, to make a right or make a left.

102

Alternatively, we can say "take a right" or "take a left." They're two expressions that have the same meaning and they rhyme.

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So that's cool.

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That's true.

105

And it's in place of really saying turn right up here or turn left up.

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down there.

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And that's another expression you can say too.

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They're all polite.

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They all mean the same thing.

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Yeah.

111

So our next one is...

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It's just up here on the left.

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Interestingly, in our second key expression, we heard Lisa say it's just down there.

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And now she's saying it's just up here.

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So, What is the difference between these two, down there and up here?

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It can be confusing.

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It can be confusing, but what she means is when she's referring to up here,

118

It means that she's closer to the actual destination and just up here.

119

is narrowing the vicinity even more and they're kind of closing in on or getting closer to the location and

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Up here is a direction where you're going.

121

So it's meaning to keep going up in this direction that we're traveling.

122

And here means that it's close to her.

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So she's pointing to here on the left as opposed to there where it would be further from her.

124

Exactly.

125

So that's a very nice explanation.

126

I think we would use the expression, it's down there.

127

when something is farther away from us and we would say it's up here when something is closer to us.

128

Yes.

129

I think that's a nice...

130

distinction between the two.

131

And in both of those examples we heard Lisa say just.

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It's just down there and it's just up here.

133

And there's Many reasons why we use this word "just" One of them is to sound more polite.

134

It's not being as direct.

135

You're not ordering the taxi driver.

136

so to speak, when you say just, it makes you sound very polite.

137

And can you think of any other reasons why we'd say just, Suzanne?

138

Yeah, I think we would say just as well.

139

to get more specific, Saying it's down there could kind of mean...

140

a bunch of different places.

141

It could mean on the corner.

142

It could mean go down there and turn around to the left.

143

It's a little bit more general saying it's just down there.

144

kind of points you in a tighter vicinity.

145

It brings you to a point.

146

You're telling the driver that it's not too far away.

147

Yeah, it's close.

148

Don't worry.

149

You don't have to go too far.

150

It's just a little bit more just down there.

151

Right?

152

So you're telling the driver that we're almost there.

153

Don't drive too fast.

154

We might pass it.

155

Yeah.

156

Okay, very good.

157

And what is our last key expression for?

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this episode.

159

The last key expression is when Lisa says, "You can pull over here." pull over and I also think about pull up

160

Sometimes you can pull up over here as well.

161

Yeah, pull over, pull up.

162

They have the same meaning.

163

Mm -hmm.

164

And this is a nice, polite way to tell your taxi driver to stop and let you out of the taxicab.

165

So to pull over really means for the car to move to the side of the street and to stop.

166

When you ask a taxi to pull over, he's not going to let you out in the middle of the street.

167

He's going to move over to the side of the street and let you off near the sidewalk.

168

That's the safer place.

169

And this is, again, a very useful expression when you are taking a cab.

170

You can pull over here.

171

And it's also useful in case you get a ride from a friend or

172

an acquaintance from a party or something like that you can tell them to pull over here Totally.

173

Good.

174

So I think we should play this dialogue one more time for all of our listeners.

175

But before I we do that, we're going to ask you some comprehension questions,

176

some listening questions that you can answer on your own after you've listened to this dialogue for a second time.

177

Here they are.

178

The comprehension questions.

179

Number one.

180

When Lisa points out that she lives in a In this brick building, Is she close to the building?

181

or far away from it.

182

The second comprehension question: is why does Lisa say just in the dialogue.

183

Why does she use the word just?

184

As in just down there or it's just up here on the left. And question number three.

185

is why does Lisa say...

186

Keep the change.

187

as she gets out of the taxi.

188

okay so here's the dialogue one more time listen and try to answer these questions as you are listening to the dialogue.

189

Hey there.

190

Hey, where are you going today?

191

Uh, Fifth and Franklin, please.

192

No problem.

193

Thank you.

194

- Thank you.

195

Thank you.

196

So here we are, Fifth and Franklin.

197

Oh great, my apartment is just down there.

198

Can you keep going a little bit?

199

Sure.

200

Okay, make a right on this side street coming up.

201

Okay, no problem.

202

And it's just up here on the left.

203

I'm in this brick building.

204

Uh, okay.

205

You can pull over right here.

206

Sure thing.

207

Okay, so $16, please.

208

Here's a 20.

209

Keep the change.

210

Great.

211

Thanks.

212

Have a nice day.

213

You too.

214

Bye.

215

if you want to find out the answers for the comprehension questions.

216

Visit QLips .com.

217

And check out our blog post with the answers to the questions.

218

Exactly.

219

And we would be happy if you answered these questions for us.

220

You can send us your answers.

221

We will take a look.

222

for you and tell you if you are Correct or...

223

if there's something you should change to make your answers better.

224

Well, thank you for listening, everyone.

225

We really hope that you enjoyed this first Real Talk episode.

226

If you find this kind of episode useful, please let us know.

227

You can reach us through our Facebook page or our website, hulips .com.

228

where you can learn more about becoming a Q -Lips member.

229

All right, Suzanne, we'll talk to you next time.

230

All right, Andrew.

231

Thanks, everyone.

232

Bye.

233

Bye.

234

you make it break it up.

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Master Real-Life English: Taking a Cab Like a Native

The Scenario: Navigating a Taxi Ride with Confidence

Imagine finishing a long day at work and needing to get home. Taking a cab is a common task, but using the right phrases ensures you reach your destination smoothly. The video’s dialogue follows Lisa as she directs a taxi driver, from stating her initial destination to giving final instructions. This real-world scenario is perfect for practicing everyday English—no complicated grammar, just practical communication.

Useful Chunks & Collocations to Memorize

Native speakers rely on fixed phrases to communicate quickly. Here are 5 key chunks from the conversation to add to your toolkit:

"Where are you going today?" – The driver’s standard question to start the ride.
"Fifth and Franklin, please." – A concise way to state an intersection (common in cities).
"Can you keep going a little bit?" – Polite phrasing to ask the driver to continue past a point.
"Make a right on this side street coming up." – Clear direction for turns, using "coming up" to indicate proximity.
"Keep the change." – A generous way to tip without calculating exact amounts.

These phrases work in almost any taxi situation, making them essential for english speaking practice.

Your Shadowing Challenge: Speak Like Lisa, Instantly

The shadowing technique is one of the best ways to improve fluency. Here’s your task: Play the dialogue, pause after each line, and repeat it immediately—matching Lisa’s tone, speed, and intonation. Focus on "shadowspeaks" moments, like how she says "Sure thing" with a natural rhythm. For extra practice, use a shadowing site to record yourself and compare. Do this 3 times, and you’ll notice your confidence in taxi conversations soar. Remember: shadow speak isn’t just about copying—it’s about training your mouth and brain to use English like a native.

Ready to try? Hit play, and start shadowing—your next cab ride will be a breeze!

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	you've come · you've listened
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should play · should change
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	are listening · is taking · is telling
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming	we're going to focus · we're going to look · are going to talk

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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