This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Sadness touched the core memory”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: memory, rain, Joy, favorite. This video has 88 sentences and 498 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:20. The speaker talks at a steady 149 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 17 of its 88 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
whoa	/woʊ/	Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
breakdown noun	/ˈbɹeɪkˌdaʊn/	A failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature.
awful adjective	/ˈɔːfʊl/	Very bad.
sand noun	/sænd/	Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in…
rail noun	/ɹeɪ(ə)l/	A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
manual noun	/ˈmæn.j(u)əl/	Synonym of handbook.
shoe noun	/ˈʃu/	A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of…
lightning noun	/ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/	A flash of light produced by short-duration, high-voltage discharge of electricity within a cloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the earth.
turner noun	/ˈtɝ.nɚ/	One who or that which turns.
unfair adjective	/ʌnˈfɛɚ/	Not just.
sunshine noun	/ˈsʌnʃaɪn/	The direct rays, light or warmth of the sun.
distress noun	/dɪˈstɹɛs/	Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.
bury verb	/ˈbɛɹi/	To outlive.
umbrella noun	/ʌmˈbɹɛl.ə/	A cloth-covered frame used for protection against rain or sun.
bravo	/ˈbɹɑvoʊ/	Used to express acclaim, especially to a performer.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
come up verb	To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
fall out verb	To come out of something by falling.
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
run down verb	To hit someone with a car or other vehicle and injure or kill them.
slow down verb	To decelerate.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

What did you do?
You can't change it back?
No, I guess I can't.
We've got a stairway coming up.
Senus, what are you doing?

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	keep making · starts feeling
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now	are riding · I'm having · You're not having

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 22 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/, shivery /ˈʃɪvəɹi/

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 whoa, breakdown, awful.

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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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson