Shadowing Practice: SNOW STORM in the Squirrel Forest! Vlogmas Day 2 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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119 sentences
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1
I love the snow!
2
And I'm feeling a bit more festive.
3
But I have a dilemma.
4
Oh, I literally just am struggling so much.
5
I wanted to get you involved with these videos.
6
It's really snowing today a big storm.
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Let's go to the forest.
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No squirrels yet.
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Hello.
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Here you go, here you go, look, here you go.
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Oh, big hands on that for you.
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Hi.
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Hey!
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That's a great spot for today.
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Morning Sylvie!
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Good morning from a snowy and windy squirrel forest and welcome to vlogmas day two.
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so this morning we've already had rusty buddy and sylvie
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and there's a couple of other squirrels around who i'm not sure who they are they haven't eaten yet oh
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this is a new squirrel
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oh sylvie's coming
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one or two great tits now have the confidence to come and feed from my hand
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and i think they're older great tits and they don't like to be too involved with the chaos of the other birds.
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My hand is getting cold if you want food.
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Can we do this quickly?
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There's like five squirrels around but they're quite busy chasing each other so no one's really sitting down to eat.
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Oh it's windy.
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Sylvia's here now.
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Oh yes that looks lovely.
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Lovely!
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Buddy!
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are you over there how did you get over there speedy squirrel that wind
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oh that's bitter let's do a thumbnail the hair is a mess oh my god awkward thumbnail awkward thumbnail
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i'm fine with like any temperature until there is wind then it is so cold and it's very windy
34
Thank you.
35
you so
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It is so beautiful but it is time to go home.
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I've been here two hours and I'm a bit hungry, I need a coffee and need to warm up.
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It's so nice.
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I love the snow.
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Okay let's go.
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Look how much snow is on my bag.
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so So for lunch, I have made a pasta salad with roasted walnuts.
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And then I made a vegan aleoli, which was silken tofu, sesame seeds, lemon, salt, and olive oil.
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We love aleoli, but we get a lot of stomach acid after we eat it.
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So this is like a healthy, high -protein version.
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And I think it's okay.
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It doesn't taste as greasy.
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Anyway, I'll dig in.
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Hello, good morning, how are you?
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You're very snowy.
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I love your footprints.
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So I've done a little bit of decorating and I'm feeling a bit more festive, but I have a dilemma.
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I want to bring the Christmas tree in.
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We have two outside and since it's below zero, they won't lose the needles, but I know as soon as I bring it into the house,
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it's going to start losing the needles
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and it's still quite a few days until Christmas and I don't want to have a dead tree on Christmas Day.
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I want the proper tree up.
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I usually switch off the heating in this room
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when the tree is in here
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and then it's more cozy to have a nice blanket
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and watch TV and then the tree doesn't lose the needles as quickly.
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I always put water into the the base of the tree holder.
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Do you have any advice?
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What can I do to stop the needles falling off?
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Really?
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Yeah.
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No, it's fine, don't worry.
68
Give them a wiggle.
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I can't be bothered to put up my tripod, but I'm going to make gingerbread cookies.
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I have some very adorable cookie cutters,
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Christmas tree, and someone actually posted me a squirrel cookie cutter.
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So I'm gonna make squirrel gingerbread cookies. So cute!
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oh i literally just have well i need to have 120 i have 116.
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i keep having to remind myself that when i'm doing vlogmas i don't need to say everything perfectly
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and the whole point of it is just to be more relaxed
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and just film whatever and not be so focused on it being cinematic constantly.
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Yet I'm still like fiddling with lights and trying to make it perfect
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and maybe by the end of vlogmas it'll be very relaxed and casual.
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I am currently melting
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sugar and then I'm going to make the dough for the gingerbread
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and then it has to cool for I think an hour in the fridge and then I roll it out, cut it and bake.
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I'm struggling so much.
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I don't know why it's not forming a proper dough.
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It's getting better, but it was too wet so I had to add like 50 grams more flour.
85
I think when it sets in the fridge it'll be better.
86
I'm just about to sign off, but I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the comments on Vlogmas Day One.
87
I uploaded a few hours ago and I've been reading the comments and it's definitely very motivating to do this.
88
Filming and uploading 24 videos in a month is almost what I upload in a year,
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and I almost didn't do this because I found it too daunting,
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but now that I've done two days and I've just finished the edit for today,
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I feel confident I can still make the videos I want to make in terms of it being cinematic,
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visually very nice, with nice music and some fun edits and not just be talking bits throughout the video.
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The main reason I'm doing Vlogmas is really for you.
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The past year and a half I've realised the power of community
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and I have found I want to focus on my core audience and I'm less interested in creating viral content.
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I want to create the content I want to make, but also I want to make what my core audience wants to see.
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And since there is a community spirit, I wanted to get you involved with these videos.
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And so I've asked my patrons for voice notes,
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and you can send me a voice note and I'll feature them at the end of the videos.
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These can be uplifting stories or maybe something that's happened this year
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or something you've learned or a story about squirrels or wildlife or maybe something Christmas related.
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This is just an opportunity to hear your voice, so please go to my Patreon.
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It's a free post, it's public.
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Leave me a voice note.
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I will feature different voice notes from you throughout vlogmas.
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Okay, I want to try and go to bed before 11.
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It's 10 30 so I'm going to edit this and I'm going to upload this video for my patrons.
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Good night and see you tomorrow.
109
It's winter here in Ontario, Canada and every morning at 5am I get out of bed, my cozy bed, come downstairs,
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get my outdoor gear on, head outside to prep the backyard Bistro for all my wildlife friends who come visit me in the morning.
111
I make sure all the snow is off the deck and off the bird feeders.
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I stock all the bird feeders with fresh food.
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Make sure there's fresh water in the heated bird baths.
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My squirrel boxes, which are feed boxes, are full of nuts and seeds and berries and it's a delight for them.
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So once all that is done I come back inside make myself a nice cup of coffee
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and watch the sun rise and wait for all my little friends to arrive.
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That's my morning routine in the winter.
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Everyone have yourself a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.
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Love, Carm McKenzie.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “SNOW STORM in the Squirrel Forest! Vlogmas Day 2”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: squirrel, tree, vlogmas, Christmas, voice. This video has 119 sentences and 1253 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:48. The speaker talks slowly, about 85 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| squirrel noun | /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/ | Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae. |
| cookie noun | /ˈkʊki/ | A small, flat, baked good which is either crisp or soft but firm. |
| upload verb | /ˈʌpˌloʊd/ | To transfer data to a computer on a network, especially to a server on the Internet. |
| needle noun | /ˈniː.dəl/ | A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a… |
| edit verb | /ˈɛdɪt/ | To change a text, or a document. |
| windy adjective | /ˈwɪn.di/ | Accompanied by wind. |
| buddy | /ˈbʌdi/ | A person far removed from the conversation. |
| seed noun | /siːd/ | Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs. |
| wildlife noun | /ˈwaɪldlaɪf/ | undomesticated animals, especially mammals, birds, and fish, which live in the wild. |
| awkward adjective | /ˈɔk.wɚd/ | Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| dough noun | /doʊ/ | A thick, malleable substance made by mixing flour with other ingredients such as water, eggs, or butter, that is made into a particular form and then baked. |
| dilemma noun | /daɪˈlɛmə/ | A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable. |
| patron noun | /ˈpeɪ.tɹən/ | One who protects or supports; a defender or advocate. |
| cutter noun | /ˈkʌtɚ/ | A person or device that cuts (in various senses). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| fall off verb | To become detached or to drop from. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| get over verb | To overcome. | |
| put up verb | To place in a high location. | |
| sign off verb | To log off; to stop using a computer, radio, etc.; especially, to stop talking. | |
| switch off verb | To stop or disable a device by turning a switch or a lever. | |
| warm up verb | /ˌwɔː(ɹ)m ˈʌp/ | To become warmer. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Let's go to the forest.
- Can we do this quickly?
- Do you have any advice?
- What can I do to stop the needles falling off?
- That's my morning routine in the winter.
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 | we've already had · haven't eaten · I've been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | aleoli, which was · friends who come · boxes, which are |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | start losing · keep having |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | I'll dig · won't lose · it'll be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 44 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, thumbnail /ˈθʌm.neɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: adorable /əˈdoɹ.əˌbəl/, visually /ˈvɪzju.əli/, kinematic /kɪn.əˈmæt.ɪk/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
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 squirrel, cookie, upload.
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.