Shadowing Practice: Saying 'Ugly' Nicely - Turn Negatives Into Positives! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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12 sentences
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but instead of using the word ugly, you could change the negative adjective to a more positive adjective with negative grammar.
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So instead of saying your bottle of water is ugly, you could say your bottle of water is not very attractive.
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Now that is essentially saying the same thing, but it's slightly nicer.
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It's a slightly more, what's the word for it, diplomatic way of putting it
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and this is a i hope quite a good lesson for anyone
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that changing it hedging your language slightly is important
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because you want the other the person receiving your message to receive
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it in the best possible way
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you don't want to give them a sort of slap in the face in any way
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so luke your bottle of water isn't very attractive
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or luke i love it when you stop for water
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but i I think you could get a bottle which is a bit more attractive than that.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Saying 'Ugly' Nicely - Turn Negatives Into Positives!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: bottle, attractive, slightly. This video has 12 sentences and 159 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:56. The speaker talks at a natural 169 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:

WordPronunciationMeaning
luke adjective/l(j)uːk/lukewarm
ugly adjective/ˈʌɡli/Displeasing to the eye; aesthetically unpleasing.
lesson noun/ˈlɛs.ən/A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
essentially adverb/ɪˈsɛnʃəli/In essence: by nature.
grammar noun/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
diplomatic adjective/ˌdɪpləˈmætɪk/Concerning the relationships between the governments of countries.
slap noun/slæp/A blow, especially one given with the open hand, or with something broad and flat.
hedge noun/ˈhɛd͡ʒ/A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden.
adjective noun/ˈæd͡ʒ.ɪk.tɪv/A word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes a noun’s referent.
bottle noun/ˈbɒt.l̩/A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids.
attractive adjective/əˈtɹæktɪv/Causing attraction; having the quality of attracting by inherent force.
slightly adverb/ˈslaɪtli/Slenderly; delicately.
receive verb/ɹɪˈsiːv/To be given, sent, or paid something.
negative adjective/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
message noun/ˈmɛs.ɪdʒ/A communication, or what is communicated; any concept or information conveyed.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingbottle which is

Pronunciation to watch

  • Long words — get the stress right: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, diplomatic /ˌdɪpləˈmætɪk/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like luke, ugly, lesson.

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 →