Shadowing Practice: Renewable Energy 101 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Renewable Energy 101”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: energy, renewable, source, create. This video has 15 sentences and 204 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:25. The speaker talks at a steady 144 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| renewable adjective | /ɹɪˈnu.ə.bl̩/ | Able to be renewed; capable of renewal. |
| tidal adjective | /ˈtaɪ.d(ə)l/ | Relating to tides. |
| biomass noun | /ˈbaɪoʊˌmæs/ | The total mass of a living thing or a part thereof (such as a cell). |
| deplete verb | /dɪˈplit/ | To reduce the amount of; to remove (a substance from something) |
| geothermal adjective | Pertaining to heat energy extracted from reservoirs in the earth's interior. | |
| hydropower noun | hydroelectric power | |
| intermittency noun | The state of being intermittent; periodicity. | |
| pollutant noun | /pəˈl(j)uːtənt/ | A foreign substance that makes something dirty, or impure, especially waste from human activities. |
| replenish verb | /ɹɪˈplɛn.ɪʃ/ | To refill; to renew; to supply again or to add a fresh quantity to. |
| derive verb | /dɪˈɹaɪv/ | To obtain or receive (something) from something else. |
| organism noun | /ˈɔɹ.ɡəˌnɪz.əm/ | A discrete and complete living thing, such as animal, plant, fungus or microorganism. |
| harness verb | /ˈhɑɹ.nəs/ | To place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain. |
| emission noun | /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/ | Something which is emitted or sent out; issue. |
| utilize verb | /ˈjuː.tɪ.laɪz/ | US, Canada, and Oxford British English standard spelling of utilise. |
| greenhouse noun | /ˈɡɹːnˌ(h)aʊs/ | A building used to grow plants, particularly one with large glass windows or plastic sheeting to trap heat from sunlight even in intemperate seasons or… |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to describe |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be replenished · is not considered · is considered |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | The most common · the fastest |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: replenish /ɹɪˈplɛn.ɪʃ/, emission /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/
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 renewable, tidal, biomass.
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.