Shadowing Practice: Robin Trailer — "Sway to My Beat" | Honkai: Star Rail - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 11 sentences and 141 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:45. The speaker talks slowly, about 81 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 86% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• whoa /woʊ/ — Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
• pace /peɪs/ (noun) — A step taken with the foot.
• embrace /ɛmˈbɹes/ (verb) — To clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug.
• declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — An emphatic or formal act of saying, telling or asserting something, by speech or writing; a decisive assertion or proclamation.
• horizon /həˈɹaɪ.zən/ (noun) — The visible horizontal line (in all directions) where the sky appears to meet the earth in the distance.
• leap /ˈliːp/ (verb) — To jump.
• bind /ˈbaɪ̯nd/ (verb) — To tie; to confine by any ligature.
• mundanity /mʌnˈdænɪti/ (noun) — mundaneness; the characteristic of being mundane
• definition /ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/ (noun) — A statement of the meaning of a word, word group, sign, or symbol; especially, a dictionary definition.
• height /haɪt/ (noun) — The distance from the base to the top of something.
• dream /ˈdɹim/ (verb) — To see imaginary events in one's mind while sleeping.
• beyond /biˈ(j)ɑnd/ — Further away than.
• reach /ɹiːt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand).
• touch /tʌt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.
• foot /fʊt/ (noun) — A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• hands up /hæn(d)ˈzʌp/ — Put your hands up (if you wish to participate).

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, don't, wanna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, definition /ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/
• Long words — get the stress right: declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, mundanity /mʌnˈdænɪti/, definition /ˌdɛf.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like whoa, pace, embrace.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video: