Shadowing Practice: Slow English Coffee Chat ☕ My Weekend Getaway! (A2+) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello everyone and welcome back to English Cozy Chat, a slow English podcast which helps you to learn English in a fun and natural way.
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I am Maria and you guys, I feel so happy right now.
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I feel so fulfilled because I just came back from a girl's weekend.
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So I haven't actually gone away on a girl's weekend with my friends here in Spain for about five years.
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I usually am always at home with my kids and my family.
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So this was a really big deal that I went away for the weekend.
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I have many other friends that are in the same situation as me.
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We are moms and we rarely go away from our kids because all of our kids are still small.
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So one of my friends proposed to propose something means to give an idea of something.
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And she said, hey, why don't we all have a weekend getaway just for ourselves?
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And at first I was like, oh, that's kind of hard for me to do.
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Not just because I would have to organize the weekend here with my family, with me not being here, but also emotionally being away from my kids.
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But we started planning it and I started getting really excited.
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So one of my friends has an apartment at a beach town, which is about one hour from where we live.
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And she invited us to come to her apartment.
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It was myself and three of my friends.
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So since we had a nice place to go that was so close and also free for us,
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we decided it was a perfect place to go for a getaway.
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and a getaway is when you go away for maybe just a
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short trip and it kind of means to escape or to just go away from your normal life just for a little bit.
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So this girls weekend was definitely a getaway.
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We left on Saturday morning and we drove there.
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First we left all of our things in my friend's apartment and then we walked to lunch.
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We went to a nice restaurant which is known for its seafood.
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There is lots of seafood
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restaurants in that area considering it is by the sea and we just had a really nice lunch together.
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Usually all of us are surrounded by our kids and that makes it hard to have real conversations.
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So it was really nice just being together and having lots of time to talk.
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At this lunch we got paella,
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which is a typical dish in Spain which is
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rice with lots of spices and seafood and shellfish in it.
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It is really delicious and this one was very good that we had.
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Now close to that restaurant was a really good place to do a little hike.
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So there are hiking trails which are along a mountain nearby which
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is right next to the sea and there was such beautiful views from this hike and we saw many
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coves.
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Coves are small beaches which are kind of in a U shape and these were very small and absolutely beautiful that we saw.
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There were some which were next to the mountains and really beautiful rocks.
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The water was crystal clear.
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Crystal clear means completely clear and it looked really beautiful and blue and green and some of the views were just breathtaking.
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Breathtaking means it takes your breath away.
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You know that feeling when you see something and you're like, get it?
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The views were breathtaking because it took our breath away.
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The only thing that I regret about this little hike little hike is that
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I didn't have my bathing suit with me because I would have really liked to have gotten in the water because the water looked so inviting.
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It looked so nice and refreshing, but none of us had our bathing suits with us.
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So we just hiked along the trail and enjoyed the views.
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We also sat on a beach for a little while and just relaxed and looked at
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the sea and just really enjoyed this moment of being together.
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So after our hike we went back to my friend's apartment and we planned dinner.
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We decided to cook dinner at her apartment.
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So first we planned all of the food that we wanted to make and
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we made a list of what we needed to buy and two of my friends went to the grocery store to buy everything.
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While they were gone my other friend and I stayed at the apartment and cleaned up and also decorated.
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Decorated means we put decorations up up because it was one of my friend's birthdays, one of them that had gone to the grocery store.
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So when they came back, we had a surprise of the decorations that we had put up for her birthday.
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She was really surprised when they came in and it just made the whole situation really fun.
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For dinner,
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we made roasted chicken and potatoes along with some carrots
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that had a yogurt feta sauce that my friend made, which was delicious, and a salad.
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It was all so good and really fun to make together.
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I love to cook and I even more like cooking with other people and friends.
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So this experience of cooking with my friends was really nice and we don't usually do that when we are at home.
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So it was very special.
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Before we ate dinner, we also had a nice little appetizer of some olives and nuts and things like that.
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And we really just took our time with dinner and just being together.
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Many times I like eating meals at home or in a house more than at a restaurant because I just feel like they're more cozy.
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For dessert,
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one of my friends made a chocolate cake for my friend's birthday and it was so delicious and a surprise for my friend.
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This friend makes really good cakes and she makes them a lot so every time that she makes a cake I know it is going to be
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delicious.
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Now after dinner, we sat there and just talked for probably two more hours.
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And it was really interesting because some of us told stories that the others had never heard before.
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We told stories of our past, how we grew up.
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Keep in mind that these friends, we've only been friends for about five years at the most.
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And so we have had a lot of life before meeting each other, which was really interesting to share with each other.
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So we talked about all kinds of things.
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Our past, the way we grew up, old boyfriends that we had, how we met our husbands,
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and also some other really personal experiences.
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And this was really nice and really moving and emotional in some ways.
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Sometimes sharing personal stories with friends can be very moving and really emotional.
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and it's really nice sometimes to just do that because it's
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not something maybe that you're thinking about every day but some big important stories you hold inside of you and sometimes
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it's just good to let those out.
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So this night was really nice and powerful for all of us.
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We went to bed really late that night at about 12 30 a.m.
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and the next morning we woke up,
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made a nice breakfast of eggs and fruit and yogurt and
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coffee of course and then we went on another short hike and ate at another restaurant by the beach.
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For us, we didn't really need to do much other than just be together and share time together.
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So soon after that, we packed up our stuff and came home.
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So we were really only gone just one night, but it was still long enough to really enjoy our time and disconnect.
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and just have a good time together.
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I am super thankful for this amazing weekend that I had with my friends, and I hope I'm able to do it again soon.
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I would really love to know if you have had any fun weekends like that, or maybe it's not even a weekend.
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maybe it is just a night out where you have been able to disconnect from your
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normal life so let me know in the comments if you have any fun stories to tell
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if you guys would like more support on your english learning journey just check out my membership where i provide additional
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English learning resources.
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Thank you all so much for watching or listening.
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I hope you have a wonderful day and I cannot wait to see you in the next episode.
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Bye!
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by listening to a friendly conversation about a weekend getaway. This engaging chat features a personal experience where the speaker shares moments from her trip with friends. By focusing on natural dialogue, you'll improve your vocabulary, comprehension, and pronunciation. This lesson is perfect for those who want to learn English with YouTube while enjoying relatable content. As you listen, you will pick up useful phrases and expressions that can enhance your own conversational skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Getaway - A short trip for relaxation or pleasure.
- Propose - To suggest an idea for consideration.
- Breathtaking - Something so beautiful that it takes your breath away.
- Cozy - A warm and comfortable atmosphere.
- Decorate - To add decorations for an event or occasion.
- Appetizer - A small dish served before the main meal.
- Disconnect - To detach oneself from everyday life for a while.
Practice Tips
To maximize your English speaking practice, follow these tips while shadowing the video:
- Slow Down: Since this video is intended for learners at an A2+ level, take your time to listen and repeat sentences. Don't rush—focus on clarity.
- Repeat in Context: After hearing specific sentences, pause the video to repeat them in context. This helps internalize both the structure and meaning.
- Emphasize Key Phrases: Pay special attention to keywords and phrases such as "getaway" and "breathtaking." Use them in your own sentences to practice.
- Use the Shadow Speak Technique: Try to mimic the speaker's intonation and rhythm. This technique, known as shadowspeak, will enhance your pronunciation and fluency.
- Engage Emotionally: Connect with the content. Think about your own experiences and share them out loud in English to build confidence.
By integrating these approaches, you'll improve your speaking abilities and confidence when engaging in conversation. So, get ready to enjoy this cozy chat and take your English skills to the next level!
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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