Shadowing Practice: Remembering Dolly Parton: Legendary singer's 2023 interview | 7NEWS - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Here I was thinking that you were going to turn up in black clad leather now that you're a rock star.
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I have some of that.
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I do have some of that and I did bring some with me so I'll be wearing some of that.
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But I also like the white, you know, in the daytime.
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It's like why not be a little brighter in the morning and then get darker as the day goes on.
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So is it only at night that the rock star dolly comes in?
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No, no, no. I took a ride I'm gonna pay to make a dance Her music is timeless,
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ageless Violence in the street That is what we are No one in between For more than six decades,
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Dolly Parton has gifted us so many classics Jolene,
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Jolene, Jolene, Jolene Now comes Rockstar,
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a 30-song collection featuring nine original tracks and 21 iconic rock anthems.
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I figure if I'm going to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'm going to have to earn it.
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I'm a rock star now!
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My husband is a huge Rock and Roll fan, so all of the years we've been together, which is 59,
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he's always blasting Rock and Roll whenever I come home and we get in the car or whatever we're riding around in, he just loves it.
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Dolly was reluctant to tackle the genre at first, but thankfully changed her mind.
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I thought, well, you can't be a rock star at 77 years old.
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Why not?
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That's what I thought.
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I thought, well, why not?
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I've done a lot of things in my life, and most of them have turned out pretty good.
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I thought, well, why not?
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Just go for it.
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And she really does go for it, teaming up with some of the greats.
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Sting, Sir Elton John, Lizzo, even Paul and Ringo.
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Yeah!
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How does it work?
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Are they on your phone?
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Did you just ring them up?
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Yeah, well, I did.
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I did, like with Paul.
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I'd met Paul.
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I knew him.
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At different times, we'd meet up.
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And so when I called to ask, I said, I know this is a big ask, and I know you've got a lot going on of your own,
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but would there be any chance that you might sing on this record?
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And it'd be great if you played, too.
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And he said, well, I'd love to.
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So he did.
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And then I thought, well, I got Paul.
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That's his song, you know.
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And I thought, well, Ringgold.
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The only one left of the Beatles.
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And I thought, well, I'm going to call.
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And he said he'd love to join me.
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So everybody was very generous, very nice.
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Not a single soul said no. I came in like a wrecking ball Never get so hard in love Your goddaughter,
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Miley's there as well.
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You must love working with her.
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Well, I love Miley.
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She's like a piece of my soul.
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You know, she's my little goddaughter.
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I knew her even before she was born and I worked with Billy Ray, her dad.
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We toured together during the time that she was actually conceived.
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So we were working together and he said, you've got to be her godmother.
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I said, I'd be honored.
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The lead single off Dolly's new album is World on Fire.
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She recently performed it at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Texas.
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How do we heal this great divide?
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Do we carry death to try?
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Liar, liar, the world.
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What are you talking about?
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I'm talking about this world as it is today,
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not just America, but all over the world with people with the hate and the violence people not listening,
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the great divide, famine, sickness, hate, all of that.
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How people, while we just seem to insist on just destroying everything that's good and beautiful,
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instead of trying to make this world a better place, because it's the only world we're going to have.
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And I just, you know, it's like I thought, well, I mean, we may go to heaven if we're lucky, if we don't blow that up too.
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It was about all these people that are in a position to help in places of power, and they use it for the wrong reason.
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I just felt really led to write that song.
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The global superstar is passionate about changing the world.
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Her widespread philanthropy includes Dolly Parton's Imagination Library,
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a free book gifting program devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children everywhere.
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It's taking off in Australia.
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Daddy didn't get to go to school because he didn't learn to read and write.
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But he was so smart with that, what they call good horse sense, street sense.
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But that's what inspired me to start that program, to really get children to learn to read in their very impressionable years.
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It's transforming lives in really small towns in Australia, Gilgander in the central west of New South Wales, on isolated rural properties.
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You know, they might not see other kids for weeks at a time when they're out on these places by themselves.
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You must be so proud.
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I am very proud.
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I'm very proud and I feel very blessed to be part of something that special.
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Her fans are proud of her and Dolly says she appreciates the ongoing love and affection.
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I'm an older artist.
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I've been out there six decades.
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So I think the fans, their moms, their grandmas, I go all the way back to the grandmas and the moms and their children.
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So it's kind of like I get it in that respect that I'm someone very familiar.
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I've been around so long in people's houses, on TV and the radio.
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It's kind of like a family member.
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That's how I like to look at it.
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That they love me because I feel like a part of their family because I've been around so long but it's humbling, but it's a great, great compliment.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 91 sentences and 1007 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:41. The speaker talks at a natural 177 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dolly noun | /ˈdɑli/ | A doll. |
| divide verb | /dɪˈvaɪd/ | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
| grandma noun | /ˈɡɹænmɑː/ | Grandmother. |
| liar noun | /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/ | Someone who tells a lie; especially, a person who frequently lies. |
| inspire verb | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by… |
| earn verb | /ɝn/ | To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. |
| daddy noun | /ˈdædi/ | Also used as a term of address: a father; one's father. |
| leather noun | /ˈlɛðɚ/ | A tough material produced from the skin of animals, by tanning or similar process, used e.g. for clothing; often denotes leather from cattle when no qualifier… |
| blast noun | /blæst/ | A violent gust of wind (in windy weather) or apparent wind (around a moving vehicle). |
| ongoing adjective | /ɒnˈɡəʊ.ɪŋ/ | Continuing, permanent, lasting. |
| generous adjective | /ˈd͡ʒɛn(ə)ɹəs/ | Noble in behaviour or actions; principled, not petty; kind, magnanimous. |
| widespread adjective | /ˌwaɪdˈspɹɛd/ | Affecting, or found throughout, a large area (e.g. the entire land or body); broad in extent; widely diffused. |
| bless verb | /blɛs/ | To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify. |
| genre noun | /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/ | A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks. |
| tackle verb | /ˈtækəl/ | To force a person to the ground with the weight of one's own body, usually by jumping on top or slamming one's weight into them. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| team up with verb | To associate with another in a joint enterprise. |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
| work together verb | To be coworkers with someone; to share a workspace with someone. |
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 gifted · we've been · I've done |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was born · was actually conceived · be honored |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 33 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: leather /ˈlɛðɚ/, anthem /ˈæn.θəm/ [ˈæn̪.θəm], clothe /ˈkloʊð/, godmother /ˈɡɒdmʌðə/, philanthropy /fɪˈlæn.θɹə.pi/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/, passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/, affection /əˈfɛk.ʃən/, impressionable /ɪmˈpɹɛ.ʃən.ə.bəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: anthem /ˈæn.θəm/ [ˈæn̪.θəm], impressionable /ɪmˈpɹɛ.ʃən.ə.bəl/, philanthropy /fɪˈlæn.θɹə.pi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like dolly, divide, grandma.
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.