Shadowing Practice: Slow English: Comprehensible Input - Intermediate/Advanced English Listening Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everybody, this is Teacher Levy.
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Today we'll be doing another slow English video.
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This is for intermediate or advanced level speakers who are looking to precisely understand the words that I am saying.
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I have filmed some other videos on my channel.
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You can go check those out if you would like.
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Today, we'll talk about comprehensible input.
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Notice I say input, not input.
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If you speak quickly, you can practice saying input.
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Comprehensible input.
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I decided to go for a walk this morning because it was an early morning.
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and people say that it is good to get a breath of fresh air in the morning.
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So today I am walking in nature and hopefully I'll be able to walk
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and talk and share a little knowledge about comprehensible input.
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What is comprehensible input?
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One of my great students explained it to
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me explained it again i am not saying it but explained it
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if you speak quickly you can practice saying explain it explain it Sorry,
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I am a little out of breath because of walking uphill and also speaking at the same time.
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One of my great students explained to me what is comprehensible input because I did not know.
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He told me that comprehensible input means learning a language from your level plus one.
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This means that you are learning about 20% new vocabulary.
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Notice, again, I said percent and not percent.
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If you are just practicing English, you can start by saying percent,
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and then you can practice saying percent.
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Also, the word notice, I am saying notice and not notice.
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Notice.
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Also, the word not.
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I am not saying not, but I am saying not.
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not.
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Comprehensible input is finding material
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or finding videos or podcasts which are on your level
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plus one level difficulty.
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You should maybe strive, to strive is to go for maybe 20% new vocabulary
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or 20% of words which you don't know,
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but perhaps you can guess their meaning,
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or you can understand the context.
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The context is the situation.
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When I first heard about comprehensible input,
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notice again I said about and not about.
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try saying it at first about and later you can say about, about.
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The word later is similar because sometimes people say later,
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but while you're practicing, you can practice saying later.
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I will do something later.
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I liked the idea of comprehensible input
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because a lot of times students practice basic English because it is slow.
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But because it is slow, or as I say it, it is.
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It is.
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I like to say it is.
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Because it is slow, they're also using very simple vocabulary.
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And because they're using very simple vocabulary, you are no longer challenging yourself.
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You are remaining on the same level or perhaps you're even going to get worse because the saying is,
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if you're not improving, then you're dying or regressing.
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Regressing means you're going backwards instead of forwards.
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It is very windy on top of this hill,
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so perhaps I'll have to find another path where you can hear me better.
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I'll go look for it, and perhaps I'll have better audio.
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Also, if you are listening to podcasts
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or even TV shows where the speakers are speaking very fast and they're using advanced vocabulary,
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then you can also get overwhelmed or you will have too much information to process.
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In this case, you will also not perfect or to make perfect your English.
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that's why it is good to find videos like these
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or podcasts like these where you can have a bit slower notice i said bit and not bit
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a bit like a little,
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a bit slower English, but still using regular vocabulary
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that native speakers would use so that you are used to this kind of communication.
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Speaking of podcasts, I was thinking about perhaps doing my own podcast
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so that I can have another outlet.
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A outlet is like a platform.
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And notice, again, I'm saying outlet and not outlet.
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This is similar to what we previously discussed about having a more silent T.
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I want to have an outlet.
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I want to have an outlet.
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To do audio, but also to perhaps do a little faster English.
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Little, again, not little.
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Although, if you are beginning, you can practice saying little.
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and then when you feel comfortable, you can say little.
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Again, I said comfortable instead of comfortable,
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but I believe I shared that in a previous video as well.
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it is better to be articulate and clear when you're speaking than to have absolutely perfect pronunciation.
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Absolutely also has a T, but I didn't say absolutely.
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I said absolutely.
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So, I believe it is better to have an accent.
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Notice I said accent and not accent.
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But again, it is a bit of a silent T or perhaps they call it a flap T.
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I believe it is better to have a slight
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or a little accent rather than trying to speak like a perfect native speaker.
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And then you start mushing together the words
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or putting together the words in a way that people don't understand because you're not speaking clearly.
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So keep that in mind.
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And about the podcast, I was thinking about maybe having a higher speed where
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if you graduate these slow English videos, you can go there.
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Again, graduate, I said with a silent T, and I didn't say graduate.
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Although you can say graduate, you can also practice saying graduate when you graduate.
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So when somebody graduates from these slow English videos or they feel very confident,
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again confident and not confident
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but you can practice the same way as i mentioned earlier sometimes there are animals here
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so i am keeping an eye out or i'm looking around just to make sure that there are no big animals
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But, again, but, and not but.
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But, you can say but if you are beginning and start practicing saying but.
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But if there are students who are even looking to simultaneously,
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simultaneously means at the same time,
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at, not at, at the same time,
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want to hop over to the podcast, hop over to jump over or to check it out,
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then they can once a week challenge themselves and perhaps get a feel or get an understanding
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of what full speed conversation sounds like.
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Get is similar to but, so I am not saying get.
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I am saying get.
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Get used to.
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We're coming up on a big tree that I've seen before.
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I'll try to show it to the camera.
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It looks bigger in person.
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It is quite a big tree and who knows how long it's been here.
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Comprehensible input works for all levels.
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A lot of times, a lot is similar to but.
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So instead of a lot, we can say a lot.
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A lot of times.
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A lot of times, people share that they learned English through a kid's book or a children's book.
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This technique or this method works perhaps if you are at the beginning stages of your language learning journey or process.
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And the children's book boosts you,
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so it raises you to the next level because it is slightly above your current level.
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Notice again, current and not current.
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But you can say current and then practice saying current, your current level.
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It's important to still have a slight T sound.
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You shouldn't only say current, my current level.
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You should have a little t current,
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your current level, just to make sure that people understand what you are saying.
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There was a comment.
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Notice I said comment, not comment.
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There was a comment on my previous YouTube video.
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I think it was Sander, but I will put it here.
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Put it, not put it.
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I will put it here so we can read it.
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But basically, he asked, how can he improve his listening comprehension?
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Comprehension is understanding.
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And I thought about, perhaps he is not listening to the correct level,
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which will help him get to the next level in his listening comprehension.
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If he is at the A2 or B1 level,
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then perhaps looking at TV shows or movies might be too difficult
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and it won't raise his level because it is too big of a difference. for him.
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Perhaps you need to practice finding videos which you feel comfortable learning a little bit of new vocabulary.
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And once you feel very, very satisfied or the content is very easy,
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then you can gradually move on to the next level.
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I had to switch arms because my arm was getting a little bit sore
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but I believe it is good to be ambitious in your language learning process Sander,
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but it is also good to take things one step at a time,
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which means to take something by the process.
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So you level up and then you find new material, which helps you level up even further.
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Again, this video is designed for intermediate.
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Notice I said intermediate and not intermediate.
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So you can also practice saying intermediate.
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Intermediate.
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This video is for intermediate or advanced level learners who are looking to level up and precisely...
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There was a deer behind me.
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and precisely understand all the vocabulary and phrases that I am saying.
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Some people fall into the category between B1 to C2,
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but perhaps their speaking level is higher than their listening level, or vice versa.
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which means the other way around.
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Perhaps their listening level is higher than their speaking level,
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in which case you should definitely start speaking out loud to yourself.
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if you are not able to find a tutor,
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not tutor, a tutor, or a speaking buddy who you can speak with.
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Also, I said the word out loud, and I didn't fully say out loud,
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but I said out loud.
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hopefully this video was helpful for people and feel free to comment questions
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or things you would like me to discuss i will try my best to answer them perhaps in the comments
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or even in a video like this where I can have a longer answer.
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Thank you for watching.
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If you support these videos, then feel free to like and subscribe and I will see you next time.
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Bye-bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 169 sentences and 1715 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:27. The speaker talks slowly, about 73 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| input noun | /ˈɪnpʊt/ | The act or process of putting in; infusion. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| intermediate adjective | /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/ | Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range. |
| outlet noun | /ˈaʊtlɛt/ | A vent or similar passage to allow the escape of something. |
| accent noun | /ækˈsɛnt/ | A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to… |
| silent adjective | /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ | Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. |
| precisely adverb | /pɹɪˈsaɪs.li/ | In a precise manner; exactly. |
| tutor noun | /ˈtjuːtəː/ | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
| comprehension noun | /ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/ | A thorough understanding. |
| audio adjective | /ˈɔ.di.oʊ/ | Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| slight adjective | /slaɪt/ | Minor; small in amount |
| simultaneously adverb | /ˌsaɪmlˈteɪnɪəsli/ | Occurring at the same time. |
| strive verb | /ˈstɹaɪv/ | To try to achieve a result; to make strenuous effort; to try earnestly and persistently. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| look around verb | To inspect a building or area. |
| put together verb | To assemble, construct, build, or formulate. |
| speak out verb | To assert or promote one's opinion; to make one's thoughts known. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'll, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: comprehension /ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/, ambitious /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, mush /mʌʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/, simultaneously /ˌsaɪmlˈteɪnɪəsli/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, articulate /ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/
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 input, vocabulary, podcast.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have filmed · I've seen · it's been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | podcasts which are · students who are |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | practice saying · start mushing · start practicing |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should maybe · shouldn't only say · should have |
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.