Shadowing Practice: Skin a Watermelon Party Trick - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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- Oh my gosh - Oh my gosh - What the heck - It looks like a pill - Oh my gosh! What the- - Do you wanna know how I did it?
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- How? - So I'm gonna make a video about this right?
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In a couple weeks I'm going to put it on YouTube, and then watch the video and then you'll see how I did it.
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- Oh my gosh - Oh my gosh (Slow motion) Oh my gosh (bell dings) (device beeps) - So a while back, I made a video about how you can use a coat hanger and a drill to make a watermelon smoothie.
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And a bunch of you actually did it and told me everyone at your party thought it was awesome, albeit slightly creepy.
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So, this is another watermelon party trick and the key is to start with two watermelons that are similar in shape and size.
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(Upbeat music) And then you want to just make a bunch of shallow, straight cuts until there's no green left.
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And then for round two you want to harness your inner fruit ninja and just make a bunch of little slices until there's only red left.
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(gong echoes) And this looks okay, but the problem is you can still see a lot of edges from the flat cuts.
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But some brand new dish scrubbing pads make for great watermelon sandpaper.
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And then it gets super smooth.
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So the second watermelon is pretty straightforward, you just cut it in two halves, gut it using your favorite method.
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This is watermelon you can actually eat later at the party as well.
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And then carve out both halves.
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(upbeat music) So the coolest part is, you can put it back together. And take it to the party like this.
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Just, don't forget to chill it beforehand.
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And this totally works for any size watermelon.
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And you can get creative too, this is sort of like an impossible ship in a bottle type of concept.
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So depending on the size of your watermelon, average prep size is about 10 minutes.
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Which is less time than making most other summer party dishes like gross and lame potato salad which, let's face it, nobody really likes.
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Plus it's way cooler because once people are done admiring your artwork, you can slice it up and it's super easy to eat because there's no rind to clean up.
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Who wants watermelon?
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Or you could just go barbarian.
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Ahhh (kids laughing) Okay get a big bite.
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- Watermelon fight - Look at my sweet watermelon shades. Mhm
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Skin a Watermelon Party Trick”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: watermelon, gosh, size, bunch, cut. This video has 25 sentences and 420 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:48. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 4 of its 25 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 |
|---|---|---|
| gosh | /ɡɑːʃ/ | A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm. |
| upbeat adjective | /ʌpˈbit/ | Having a fast pace, tempo, or beat. |
| slice noun | /slaɪs/ | That which is thin and broad. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| hanger noun | /ˈhæŋ.ə/ | One who hangs, or causes to be hanged; a hangman, paper hanger, etc. |
| preposition noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/ | Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense… |
| sandpaper noun | /ˈsændˌpeɪpɚ/ | Strong paper coated with (traditionally) sand or (today) manufactured aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or other abrasive material, used for smoothing and… |
| smoothie noun | /ˈsmuːði/ | A smooth-talking person. |
| beforehand adverb | /bɪˈfɔɹhænd/ | At an earlier or preceding time. |
| harness verb | /ˈhɑɹ.nəs/ | To place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain. |
| scrub verb | /skɹʌb/ | To rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening |
| straightforward adjective | /ˌstɹeɪtˈfɔː(ɹ)wə(ɹ)d/ | Proceeding in a straight course or manner; not deviating. |
| ninja noun | /ˈnɪnd͡ʒə/ | One who very skillful, considered similar to the historical ninja, especially in covert or stealthy operation. |
| albeit | /ɔlˈbi.ɪt/ | Although, despite (it) being. |
| admire verb | /ədˈmaɪɹ/ | To regard with wonder and delight. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, dish /dɪʃ/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, shallow /ˈʃæloʊ/, shade /ʃeɪd/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like gosh, upbeat, slice.
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.