Shadowing Practice: Simplified Speech #43 - Sleep tips - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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You're listening to the Q -Lips English Podcast.
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To download the study guide for this episode, which includes the transcript, detailed vocabulary explanations,
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real -world examples, and a quiz, visit our website, Q -Lips .com.
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C -U -L -I -P -S dot com.
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hello everybody my name is andrew and i'm jeremy and you're listening to kulips
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jeremy how's it going it is going well today really every day is going well for me because if it wasn't,
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I wouldn't say so.
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So everything is going well.
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How about you, Andrew?
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I'm doing well as well.
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But I have to say that I like that attitude.
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Usually when people ask me, how's it going?
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Even if I'm having a terrible, terrible day, I lie and say, oh, it's great.
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I'm doing well.
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But you're more honest than I am.
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Yeah.
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Is that a Canadian thing?
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Canadian people seem to always be very positive pma positive mental attitude i think yeah there is something to
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that idea that a positive attitude can affect your mood even
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if you're not feeling
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so good smile at everything right that's good good life advice
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jeremy today we are going to talk about sleep sleep sleep
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so we'll do a simplified speech episode today
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and for all the listeners out there
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that don't know simplified speech is our series that's really targeted at high beginners
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and intermediate level learners and we have totally natural unscripted conversations
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but we speak at a slightly slower pace than we would do in our everyday lives.
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True.
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Yes.
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And we do have a study guide for this episode that's available for download on our website qlips .com.
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So for anyone who would like to go a little bit deeper in their English studies,
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we recommend that you visit QLips .com and download the study guide.
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They're awesome.
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And you can see some free samples and examples of what's in the study guide by visiting QLips .com.
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So definitely check those out.
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Okay, Jeremy, time to talk about sleep.
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You were joking before we started recording here that you are qualified to talk about this topic.
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Yes, at least more qualified than talking about the World Cup.
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Right, which we did several episodes ago.
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Yes.
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And that's because you sleep every night.
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Are you a deep sleeper?
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Do you get a high quality sleep?
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Well, I definitely think I am a light sleeper.
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Okay.
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More than most.
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But more recently, I have been getting better sleep than I did in my younger years.
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What about you?
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You know, the reason that I wanted to talk about sleep today is because maybe over the last year or so,
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I've noticed my sleep patterns change a lot.
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I went from being a deep sleeper
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and someone who could sleep all the way through the night and easily sleep for eight hours a day,
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no problems, to being someone who's quite a light sleeper
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and I struggle to get more than six hours of sleep
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a day even though I want to sleep more it's a
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real real struggle to be able to get more sleep I wonder why
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that is I don't know some of my friends have said
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that I'm doing too many things and I have too many things on my mind
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that might be part of it it might be yeah psychological
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it might also be physiological physiological body related yeah related to my body
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because i'm getting older and i think this is a natural
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process of aging is
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that as you get older your body requires less sleep maybe it doesn't require less sleep
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but i know when i think about my grandparents
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when i was younger yeah they sleep for like four hours a day
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which yeah they would wake up at like 4 a .m
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and take a walk and yeah Read the newspaper
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and eat breakfast all by the time that I would wake up at 7 to go to school.
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Same here.
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It could be psychological, could be physiological.
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I'm not exactly sure.
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Have you heard about the blue light thing?
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Yeah, I have heard about this, but I'm sure there's some listeners out there that don't know.
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Do you want to explain that?
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Sure.
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These days, people use smartphones or computers or TVs to watch different things,
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and often at night, people watch something,
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and there is what they call blue light it's not actually blue it doesn't look blue
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but it is essentially bright light
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and this bright light sends a signal to the brain through
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your eyes saying hey it's daytime wake up there's bright light here it's not time to sleep
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so So when you watch something late at night and then try to go to sleep right after that,
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usually it is very hard to sleep.
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Your brain is still awake.
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Your thoughts are still happening very quickly.
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Your brain is very active so sleep does not come
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and sometimes you know
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when i was a kid i did this a lot i would watch tv
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or go on the computer until right before i went to bed
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and sometimes i would lay in my bed for hours without sleeping right i couldn't sleep right
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so awake so now i respect this natural rhythm
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and before i go to sleep i do not look at any bright lights only dim lights like maybe candles
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or i have a red light in my room red light has the opposite effect it tells your brain
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that it's sunset it's time to sleep it's time to calm down
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and since i started doing
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that my sleep has improved a lot a lot actually yeah
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i'm with you 100 on the blue light reduction thing i have programs on my phone
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and my computer to eliminate the blue light at night yeah
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i turn off all the lights in my apartment once the
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sun sets nice i've hung up an extra curtain over top
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of my curtains to block out all the street light nice
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and i wear a sleep mask at night wow because i think
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that the light has really been affecting me once i learned about this idea
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that blue light can affect our sleep i thought maybe that's why i'm only sleeping six hours a night it's
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because the light is messing with my brain
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but hasn't really helped at all really hasn't helped
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but what can you do what can you do well i
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guess we will have to leave this one to our listeners and see
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if they find this tip helpful maybe they could even let
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us know in a comment on the Q -Lips Facebook page or on Twitter.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Jeremy, I know you got to run, so we'll wrap it up here.
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But once again, guys, the study guide is available on our website qlips .com
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so check out the website and give it a download
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we'll talk to you next time everybody bye sleep well everyone bye for now
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Simplified Speech - Sleep tips”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sleep, com, blue, Lips, jeremy. This video has 119 sentences and 1227 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:30. The speaker talks at a steady 117 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.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| physiological adjective | /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/ | Of, or relating to physiology. |
| listener noun | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast. |
| psychological adjective | /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/ | Of or pertaining to psychology. |
| qualify verb | /ˈkwɑ.lɪ.faɪ/ | To describe or characterize something by listing its qualities. |
| awake verb | /əˈweɪk/ | To become conscious after having slept. |
| curtain noun | /ˈkɜɹt(ə)n/ | A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| explanation noun | /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ | The act or process of explaining. |
| mood noun | /muːd/ | A mental or emotional state, composure. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| essentially adverb | /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ | In essence: by nature. |
| reduction noun | /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/ | The act, process, or result of reducing. |
| pace noun | /peɪs/ | A step taken with the foot. |
| mask noun | /mæsk/ | A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| calm down verb | To become less excited, intense, or angry. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| turn off verb | To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.). | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Usually when people ask me, how's it going?
- Are you a deep sleeper?
- Do you get a high quality sleep?
- Have you heard about the blue light thing?
- Do you want to explain that?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | have been getting · has really been affecting |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've noticed · have said · have heard |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | anyone who would · someone who could |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might be · might also be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 30 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, reduction /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: physiological /ˌfɪz.i.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, psychological /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɑː.d͡ʒɪ.kl̩/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/
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 physiological, listener, psychological.
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.