Shadowing Practice: SEtalk: The Surprising Power of Being Bored - Learn English Speaking with Video
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34 sentences
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1
When was the last time you were truly bored?
2
Not a little impatient. Properly, painfully bored.
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Take your time. I'll wait.
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Most of you can't remember, can you?
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Neither could I, and that worried me.
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These days, we never have to be bored.
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Waiting for a bus? Check your phone.
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Queuing at the supermarket? Check your phone.
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Two seconds of silence in a lift? Phone.
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We've filled every empty moment of our lives.
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But here's the interesting part.
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In 2014, two British psychologists ran a strange experiment.
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First, they made people do something incredibly dull:
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copying numbers out of a phone book for fifteen minutes.
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Then they asked them to think of uses for a plastic cup.
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And guess what?
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The bored group came up with far more creative ideas!
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Boredom, it turns out, isn't a waste of time.
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It's the moment your mind starts to wander,
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connecting ideas you never knew were connected.
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Think about where your best ideas come from.
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In the shower. On a long walk. Lying awake at night.
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Hardly ever while you're scrolling through social media.
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We've been trading our daydreams for notifications.
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So last year, I tried something radical.
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Every day, I took a twenty-minute walk without my phone.
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Ugh, the first week was honestly unbearable.
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But by the third week, ideas started pouring in.
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In fact, this very talk began on one of those walks!
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So I'm not asking you to throw your phone away.
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I'm asking you to leave a few gaps.
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Let yourself be bored once in a while.
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You might be surprised by what turns up.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “SEtalk: The Surprising Power of Being Bored”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: bored, ideas, walk. This video has 34 sentences and 268 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:48. The speaker talks at a steady 149 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 6 of its 34 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| boredom noun | /ˈbɔɹ.dəm/ | The state of being bored. |
| daydream verb | /ˈdeɪdɹiːm/ | To have such a series of thoughts; to woolgather. |
| painfully adverb | /ˈpeɪnfəli/ | In a painful manner; as if in pain. |
| unbearable adjective | So unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable. | |
| impatient adjective | /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/ | Restless, short of temper, and intolerant of delays. |
| wander verb | /ˈwɑndɚ/ | To move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood. |
| supermarket noun | /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/ | A large self-service store that sells groceries and, usually, medications, household goods, and/or clothing. |
| queue noun | /kju/ | A line of people, vehicles or other objects, usually one to be dealt with in sequence (i.e., the one at the front end is dealt with first, the one behind is… |
| psychologist noun | /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/ | An expert in the field of psychology. |
| scroll noun | /skɹoʊl/ | A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll. |
| notification noun | /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/ | The act of notifying. |
| dull adjective | /dʌl/ | Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp. |
| pour verb | /poɹ/ | To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it. |
| fifteen noun | /ˈfɪf.tiːn/ | An Irish traybake made with crushed digestive biscuits, marshmallows and glacé cherries combined with condensed milk and desiccated coconut. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
| turn up verb | To show up; to appear suddenly or unexpectedly. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- When was the last time you were truly bored?
- Most of you can't remember, can you?
- We've filled every empty moment of our lives.
- Hardly ever while you're scrolling through social media.
- We've been trading our daydreams for notifications.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we've, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: impatient /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
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 bore, boredom, daydream.
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.