Shadowing Practice: Short Stories for Learning English | Past Continuous Story Listen & Speak - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello, welcome to the practicing English story number eight.
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Hello, welcome to the practicing English story number eight.
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Let's get started.
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There was a girl.
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Her name was Emma.
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She was at home.
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She was sleeping in the bedroom.
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It was a cold and dark night.
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It was raining.
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A thief came into Emma's house at midnight.
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He wanted to steal Emma's toothbrush.
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The thief went into the kitchen first.
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He felt hungry.
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He decided to eat something.
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Then he started to prepare a breakfast for himself.
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He made some noise, so Emma woke up.
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She heard the noise.
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She was scared.
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She took her phone and called the police.
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Then she walked towards the kitchen slowly.
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When she saw the thief, he was having breakfast.
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They looked at each other and they cried, Ah!
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Hello!
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Are you enjoying the story?
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Please give us a like, thank you.
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Emma said, What are you doing in my house?
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The thief said, I just need a toothbrush, and I am hungry.
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Emma said, Okay, take my toothbrush,
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and please wash the dishes.
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When the police came, he was washing the dishes.
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And they were all happy.
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Okay, that is the end of the story.
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Let's go back to the beginning, this time with questions.
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There was a girl.
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Her name was Emma.
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What was there?
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A girl.
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There was a girl.
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Was there a boy?
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No, there wasn't.
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There wasn't a boy.
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There was a girl.
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What was her name?
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Her name was Emma.
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Was she Nicole?
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No, she wasn't.
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She was Emma.
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Her name was Emma.
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She was at home.
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She was sleeping in the bedroom.
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Was she at school?
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No, she wasn't.
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She wasn't at school.
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Where was she?
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She was at home.
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What was she doing at home?
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She was sleeping.
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She was sleeping in the bedroom.
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Was she watching TV?
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No, she wasn't.
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She wasn't watching TV.
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Was she studying English?
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No, she wasn't.
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She wasn't studying English.
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She was sleeping in her bedroom.
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Was she sleeping in the bathroom?
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No, she wasn't.
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She wasn't sleeping in the bathroom.
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Where was she sleeping?
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In the bedroom.
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She was sleeping in the bedroom.
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It was a cold and dark night.
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It was raining.
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Was it hot or was it cold?
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It was cold.
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Was it sunny?
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No, it wasn't.
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It was not a sunny day.
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How was the weather?
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Well, it was a cold and dark night.
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It was raining.
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Was it snowing?
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No, it wasn't.
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It was not snowing.
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It was raining.
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A thief came into Emma's house at midnight.
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If you want to complete your practice of this story,
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you can go to EnglishEasyPractice.com and download the audio lessons of the story.
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So you can practice English with it whenever and wherever you want.
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Just listen to our short stories and answer the easy question out loud.
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You will improve your listening and speaking skills fast.
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And that's all for now.
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See you at EnglishEasyPractice.com.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This video presents an engaging short story that captures your attention while providing a practical context for english speaking practice. As you listen to the story of Emma and the unexpected thief, you have the opportunity to mimic the speaker's pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm through the shadow speak technique. This method is effective as it allows you to practice speaking in a dynamic context, simulating real-life conversations. Engaging with stories not only enhances your vocabulary but also helps with understanding sentence structures and emotional expressions.

Benefits of Listening and Speaking

  • Improves comprehension of spoken English through relatable narratives.
  • Encourages active participation by answering questions posed throughout the story.
  • Boosts confidence in speaking by imitating the natural flow of conversation.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Throughout the story, several key grammatical structures are highlighted that can enhance your speaking capabilities:

  • Past Continuous Tense: The story frequently uses the past continuous tense, such as "She was sleeping." This structure is essential for describing ongoing actions in the past, allowing you to vividly paint scenarios.
  • Direct Questions: The dialogue engages with questions like "What are you doing in my house?" Practicing these can help you learn to formulate questions naturally in conversations.
  • Conditional Phrasing: Expressions like “Okay, take my toothbrush, and please wash the dishes” demonstrate conditional requests. This can improve your ability to make polite requests in social interactions.

Incorporating these structures into your everyday speaking can promote clearer and more effective communication.

Common Pronunciation Traps

When practicing with this video, be mindful of certain tricky words and accents that may pose challenges:

  • Toothbrush: Make sure to pronounce it as tooth-brush, with emphasis on the first syllable.
  • Kitchen: Note the pronunciation key for this word. It should sound like ki-chen, with a soft 'ch' sound.
  • Breakfast: This word can be tricky. Say it like break-fast, ensuring to articulate both syllables clearly.

Utilizing the shadowing technique effectively will help you minimize these pronunciation traps, allowing you to speak more fluently and naturally.

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.

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