Shadowing Practice: 'Room on the Broom' read by Kate Winslet - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome to Storyline Online, brought to you by the SAG -AFTRA Foundation.
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I'm Kate Winslet and today I'm going to read Room on the Broom, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Sheffler.
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The witch had a cat and a hat that was black and long ginger hair in a braid down her back.
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How the cat purred and how the witch grinned As they sat on their broomstick
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and flew through the wind But how the witch wailed
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and how the cat spat When the wind blew so wildly It blew off the hat Down,
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cried the witch And they flew to the ground They searched for the hat, but no hat could be found Then out of the bushes
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on thundering paws there bounded a dog with a hat in
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his jaws he dropped it politely then eagerly said as the
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witch pulls the hat firmly down on her head I am
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a dog as keen as can be is there room on
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the broom for a dog like me yes cried the witch
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and the dog clambered on the witch tapped the broomstick and whoosh they were gone.
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Over the fields and the forests they flew.
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The dog wagged his tail and the stormy wind blew.
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The witch laughed out loud and held on to her hat but away blew the bow from her braid just like that.
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Down cried the witch and they flew to the ground.
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They searched for the bow but no bow could be found.
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Then out from a tree with an ear -splitting shriek There
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flapped a green bird with the bow in her beak She dropped it politely and bent her head low Then said,
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as the witch tied her braid in the bow I am a bird, as green as can be Is there room on the broom for a bird like me?
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Yes, cried the witch So the bird fluttered on The witch tapped the broomstick And whoosh,
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they were gone Over the reeds and the rivers they flew The bird shrieked with glee and the stormy wind blew.
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They shot through the sky to the back of beyond.
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The witch clutched her bow, but let go of her wand.
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Down, cried the witch, and they flew to the ground.
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They searched for the wand, but no wand could be found.
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Then all of a sudden, from out of a pond, leaped a dripping wet frog with a dripping wet wand.
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He dropped it politely, then said with a croak, as the witch dried the wand on a fold of her cloak.
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I am a frog as clean as can be.
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Is there room on the broom for a frog like me?
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Yes, said the witch, so the frog bounded on.
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The witch tapped the broomstick and whoosh, they were gone.
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Over the moors and the mountains they flew.
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The frog jumped for joy and the broom snapped in two.
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Down fell the cat and the dog and the frog.
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Down they went tumbling, into a bog.
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The witch's half -broomstick flew into a cloud, and the witch heard a roar that was scary and loud.
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I am a dragon, as mean as can be, and witch with French fries tastes delicious to me.
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No!
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cried the witch, flying higher and higher.
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The dragon flew after her, breathing out fire.
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Help! cried the witch, flying down to the ground.
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She looked all around, but no help could be found.
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The dragon drew near with a glint in his eyes and said, Just this once, I'll have witch without fries.
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But just as he planned to begin on his feast, from out of a ditch rose a horrible beast.
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It was tall, dark and sticky, and feathered and furred.
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It had four frightful heads.
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It had wings like a bird, and its terrible voice, when it started to speak, was a yowl and a growl and a croak and a shriek.
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It dripped and it squelched as it strode from the ditch, and it said to the dragon, Buzz off!
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That's my witch!
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The dragon drew back, and he started to shake.
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oh i'm sorry he spluttered i made a mistake it's nice to have met you
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but now i must fly and he spread out his wings
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and was off through the sky then down flew the bird
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and down jumped the frog down climbed the cat
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and phew said the dog and thank you oh thank you the grateful witch cried Without you, I'd be.
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In that dragon's inside
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Then she filled up her cauldron
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And said with a grin Find something everyone Throw something in
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So the frog found a lily The cat found a cone The bird found a twig
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And the dog found a bone They threw them all in
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And the witch stirred them well And while she was stirring She muttered a spell Iggety,
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ziggety, zaggety, zoom Then out rose a truly magnificent broom,
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with seats for the witch and the cat and the dog, a nest for the bird and a pool for the frog.
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Yes, cried the witch, and they all clambered on.
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The witch tapped the broomstick, and whoosh, they were gone.
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So what I like the most about this book, I have read this book to all of my children
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and it's from the same author as the Gruffalo
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and the same illustrator as the Gruffalo and the same author
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and illustrator too as the smartest giant in town
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and I really love being able to go into the worlds of these authors because they are imaginative,
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they are fun, there are always lots of characters And as a person who loves reading stories to children, there are always lots of fun and silly voices to do.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “'Room on the Broom' read by Kate Winslet”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: witch, flew, frog, cried, bird. This video has 58 sentences and 956 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:42. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 71% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dragon noun | /ˈdɹæɡən/ | In European mythologies, a gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a lizard-like body, often a… |
| drip verb | /ˈdɹɪp/ | To fall one drop at a time. |
| bound adjective | /ˈbaʊ̯nd/ | Obliged (to). |
| stir verb | /stɝ/ | To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it. |
| ditch noun | /dɪt͡ʃ/ | A trench; a long, shallow indentation, as for irrigation or drainage. |
| fry verb | /fɹaɪ/ | To cook (something) in hot fat. |
| grin noun | /ɡɹɪn/ | A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth. |
| bone noun | /boʊn/ | A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. |
| cloud noun | /ˈklaʊ̯d/ | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. |
| horrible adjective | /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/ | Causing horror; terrible; shocking. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| silly adjective | /ˈsɪl.i/ | Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance. |
| scary adjective | /ˈskɛə.ɹi/ | Causing fear or anxiety |
| spell noun | /spɛl/ | Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. |
| grateful adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ | Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| blow off verb | To vent, usually, to reduce pressure in a container. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| draw back verb | /dɹɔː ˈbæk/ | to retreat from a position |
| fill up verb | To make (something) completely full. | |
| shoot through verb | To leave, to disappear. | |
| spread out verb | Become further apart. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | could be found |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | love being · loves reading |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I'd, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, thunder /ˈθʌndɚ/, feather /ˈfɛðə/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, whoosh /ʍʊʃ/, shriek /ʃɹiːk/
- Long words — get the stress right: illustrator /ˈɪləˌstɹeɪtəɹ/, imaginative /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnətɪv/
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 dragon, drip, bound.
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.