Shadowing Practice: Schools ready for new academic year | Vietnam Today - Learn English Speaking with Video
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21 sentences
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1
The new academic year is just around the corner and the back-to-school atmosphere is building fast across Ho Chi Minh City.
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In just a day, more than 2.6 million students in Ho Chi Minh City will begin the new academic year.
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Preparations are taking place amid the recent restructuring and mergers of managed public schools.
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From stabilizing staff and upgrading facilities to adding classrooms, schools are completing the final preparation for the safe and well-organized opening day.
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This academic year, Nam Saigon Interlevel School has three new classes following the merger of its primary and secondary schools.
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Students have now returned with classrooms, equipment and school grounds upgraded and ready for the new term.
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I was excited to come back and meet new friends.
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The school feels more modern than my old one.
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The teachers are friendly and I got to know my classmates after just a day or two.
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Alongside facility upgrades, schools have also finalized academic plans, staffing arrangements and work assignments.
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Staffing has been organized.
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After the restructuring, Chinshore teaching continues smoothly.
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Now that the school has become an interlevel institution, we hope it will continue to develop and better meet the expectations of parents and students.
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I believe this new chapter for the city
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and its schools will bring a more effective and successful academic year with even greater achievements.
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Preparations are also underway across many wards alongside the broader reorganization of schools.
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Preparations are largely complete.
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Students have returned in full and school facilities are ready for the opening day.
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This year, Ho Chi Minh City will welcome more than 2.6 million students, 96,000 more than last year.
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It has invested nearly $146 million in educational infrastructure, putting more than 1,000 new classrooms into use.
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The new school year begins on September 5.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 21 sentences and 295 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:06. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| preparation noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ | The act of preparing or getting ready. |
| upgrade verb | /əpˈɡɹeɪd/ | To improve, usually applied to technology, generally by complete replacement of one or more components. |
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| alongside | /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/ | Side by side with. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| merger noun | /ˈmɜː.d͡ʒə/ | The act or process of merging two or more parts into a single unit. |
| atmosphere noun | /ˈætməsˌfɪɹ/ | The gases surrounding the Earth or any astronomical body. |
| infrastructure noun | /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/ | An underlying base or foundation for a building, organization, or system. |
| institution noun | /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/ | A long-established organization or type of organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work. |
| ward noun | /wɔɹd/ | The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.) |
| achievement noun | /əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/ | The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment. |
| invest verb | /ɪnˈvɛst/ | To spend money, time, or energy on something, especially for some benefit or purpose; used with in. |
| arrangement noun | /əˈɹeɪnd͡ʒmənt/ | The act of arranging. |
| assignment noun | /əˈsaɪn.mənt/ | The act of assigning; the allocation of a job or a set of tasks. |
| expectation noun | /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/ | The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an event as about to happen. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, institution /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, infrastructure /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/, institution /ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
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 preparation, upgrade, classroom.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have now returned · have also finalized · has been organized |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will begin · will continue · will welcome |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are taking · are completing |
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.