Shadowing Practice: Speak like a NATIVE! 🗣️ COMMON English IDIOMS! -- Slow English Podcast for A2-B1 Beginners! - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello, and welcome back to my Slow English Podcast.
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Hello, and welcome back to my Slow English Podcast.
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A podcast for you to learn English in a slow, comprehensible way.
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Today, I want to talk about essential idioms and phrases in English.
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The first idiom is to get a big head.
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Sometimes I don't give compliments to my sister because if I told her every day,
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she would get a big head.
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Her ego would be too big.
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Some people I see here,
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surfing or skating, are really good at it.
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But I see their attitude and the way they speak to other people,
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and they definitely have a big head, a big ego.
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They act like they're better than everyone else.
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I sometimes get a big head.
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Only when I read my comments on YouTube,
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all of the beautiful comments boost my ego.
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And sometimes I get a big head.
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But I try not to get a big head.
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And I'm just happy that my followers enjoy my vidiums.
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You have to be careful with idioms.
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Because you can't just translate from your language to English.
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It won't make any sense.
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For example, to get a big head.
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You can't say that in Spanish.
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It doesn't make any sense.
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What's the version of getting a big head in your language?
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How would you translate it?
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Another common idiom is cold feet.
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Just like that.
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Cold feet.
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If you get cold feet,
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you get nervous about something before it happens.
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For example, if you have an important job interview or maybe a presentation,
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you might get cold feet and not go because you're too nervous.
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The other day, I was at the beach and the waves were massive.
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You could hear them crashing onto the shore.
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I was with my friend and we decided to go in anyways.
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Even though we were nervous, we still went in.
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But then, as soon as I got in the ocean,
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I remembered a scary experience in the ocean.
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And I got cold feet.
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I decided not to go in.
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I was too nervous.
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My friend said, oh no, you got cold feet?
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And I said, yeah, it's too scary.
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Have you ever gotten cold feet before doing something scary or important?
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Do you know that feeling when you want to practice speaking everything you've learned,
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but your brain just says,
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nope, it happens to me.
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I get cold feet when it comes to speaking a new language.
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That's why I love using italki.
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This video is sponsored by italki,
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and you can imagine how happy I was when they contacted me for a collaboration.
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Italki is a website that I have used in the past,
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and I love recommending it to my friends
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and family who are looking for ways to improve their listening and speaking with real conversations.
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Italki is an online language learning platform offering personalized one-on-one lessons with native-speaking teachers,
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where you can find teachers just like me.
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Friendly, native-speaking teachers from around the world,
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where you receive real-time feedback and guidance from language experts.
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You can book one-on-one lessons with a teacher who helps you feel safe and confident.
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And slowly, speaking gets easier.
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Hey, hi.
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Hey, nice to meet you.
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How are you?
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Fine, how are you?
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This one, we pronounce it.
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Here's a G-G-G-G.
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G-M.
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G-M.
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Try.
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Okay.
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Try again.
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You don't need to be perfect.
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You just need to practice out loud.
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And italki gives you the perfect space to do that with someone who is kind and patient.
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Getting AI generated feedback and tracking your progress from beginning to end.
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So, if speaking is the scariest part of learning a new language for you,
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Now, another common idiom is to throw someone under the bus.
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It's a crazy idiom.
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But when you throw someone under the bus,
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you basically blame them or betray them.
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You do it to save yourself only.
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I have thrown people under the bus before,
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but I've also been thrown under the bus myself.
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I was thrown under the bus by my sister once.
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One time, we were watching TV together in the basement when I said,
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I could really go for a big bag of Cheetos and a big tub of ice cream.
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Not just any ice cream,
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but cookies and cream ice cream.
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And we have one in the freezer downstairs.
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My sister smiled mischievously and said, me too.
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So we both went downstairs to the kitchen and we ate the whole bag of Cheetos and ice cream.
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When my mom got back home,
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she asked, who ate the Cheetos and the big tub of cookies and cream ice cream?
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My sister threw me under the bus and said, Tiana did it.
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Then I said, no, she did it.
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And we just went back and forth,
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throwing each other under the bus, mutually.
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After that, I assume my mom knew it was both of us.
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And she punished both of us.
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Our punishment was that we couldn't watch TV in the basement for two weeks,
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which I think is a fair punishment.
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Have you ever been thrown under the bus by a friend or a sibling or a cousin?
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Tell me what happened.
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What did you do?
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Or what did you not do?
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Another common idiom is to blow off steam.
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To blow off steam is to do something that releases stress or tension,
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that gets rid of stress and relaxes you.
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This one really resonates with me because I find myself constantly blowing off steam.
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I can go two days maximum without running.
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I need to run to blow off steam.
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I need to meditate or do yoga or even just journal to blow off steam.
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It's so important because I get so frustrated easily.
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And I take it out on everyone around me.
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And that's not fair.
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So, in order to not take it out on my friends or family,
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I prevent it by blowing off steam every day.
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How often do you blow off steam?
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And how do you run, box, draw, meditate, clean?
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Another idiom that I love is to pull it off.
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To pull something off means to succeed at something.
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to succeed at something that was difficult or maybe surprising to you.
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Like this one time, I had an online lesson and I had a super bad Wi-Fi connection.
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My camera kept on freezing.
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My slides weren't working.
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My microphone was crackling.
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But somehow, I pulled it off.
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At the end of my lesson,
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my student told me she loved the lesson.
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But sometimes, even if it's difficult or messy,
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you can still pull it off.
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Another thing that I thought I wouldn't be able to pull off was a shaved head.
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But three years ago, I shaved all of my hair off.
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And I actually pulled it off.
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It looked really nice on me.
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What's a look that you think you can pull off?
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Have you ever pulled something off when you didn't think you could do it?
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And our last one for today, on the same page.
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If you're on the same page with someone,
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it means you both understand each other.
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You both agree on something.
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This happens a lot in different relationships.
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If you're not on the same page with someone,
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it can cause conflict or problems.
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My sister and I, for example,
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are always on the same page.
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We both love going to Walmart,
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watching movies, and eating grapes.
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We also love traveling, exercising, and eating healthy.
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So when we travel together, it's so easy.
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We are always on the same page.
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Who are you always on the same page with?
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That's it for today.
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I hope you enjoyed this video.
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Don't forget to like and subscribe and share your favorite idiom in the comments.
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Try and tell me what some idioms in your language are.
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They might sound crazy in English.
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Maybe these idioms sound crazy in your language.
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I'll see you next time in my slow English podcast.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with idioms and phrases through this Slow English Podcast video offers a rich context for English learners. By focusing on common idioms like "get a big head" and "cold feet", learners can gain insights into everyday conversations. Practicing these expressions not only helps you understand their meanings but also improves your speaking ability, allowing you to sound more natural and fluent. Employing idioms can greatly enhance your conversation skills and boost your confidence when speaking English.
Additionally, when you use a shadowing technique—repeating after the speaker—you can refine your pronunciation and intonation. This approach, often referred to as shadow speech, empowers learners to mimic the speaker's rhythm and tone, which is crucial for sounding more like a native.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Let’s analyze some key structures from the transcript to further enhance your learning:
- "to get a big head": This idiomatic expression suggests that someone has an inflated ego. Note how it is used in family and social contexts, which could make it relevant in your discussions.
- "to get cold feet": This phrase indicates feelings of nervousness that lead someone to hesitate before an event. It’s a relatable expression, especially in situations that provoke anxiety like job interviews or presentations.
- “I sometimes get cold feet”: This present simple structure indicates a general truth about the speaker. Pay attention to how using the present simple can convey ongoing feelings or states.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you learn these idioms, be aware of some tricky pronunciation aspects:
- The phrase "big head" may cause you to stress the wrong syllable if you’re not careful. Ensure that you emphasize the word "big" correctly to maintain clarity.
- The word "nervous" can also be challenging. Practice it slowly, breaking it down into syllables to avoid slurring the sounds together.
- Listen to the pronunciation of "head," paying close attention to the vowel sounds to ensure proper enunciation.
Incorporating these idioms into your vocabulary will not only improve your fluency but also enhance your overall English pronunciation. Consider using a shadowing app to practice this content. These tools assist with immersive learning techniques and can help you internalize the flow of speech, making it easier to communicate effectively.
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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