Shadowing Practice: Speak Out C1-C2 3rd ed. Unit 2D. BBC Programmes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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95 sentences
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L .A was part of Mexico until 1847, and ever since there's been an enduring legacy of immigration.
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A stone's throw from the glitz of downtown, there are neighborhoods where up to 94 percent of the residents come from latin america okay
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this is a whole other world
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mexicans are the largest ethnic group in the city
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but there are also millions from central america and they have brought with them their unique cuisine
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one of the most authentic places to try it is said to be a night market
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that sprung up in a latino neighborhood in west lake i've asked chef wes avila to show me around
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hi how you doing it's wonderful to meet you it's nice to meet
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you it's great this place isn't it fantastic it's one of my favorite places to come
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and eat this whole street right here is covered with food vendors it goes down about a block
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when it's really really busy what's cool about here is you have the central american stuff
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you got el salvador honduran you got guatemalan food
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so you'll find things that are a little more unique i want to taste la i want to know what it's about.
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This is a bit of an assault on my senses, just it's so bright and colorful and vibrant I can just hear that slapping.
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It's pretty overwhelming you'll hear that all the way up people either doing the pupusas or tortillas.
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This place is full of intriguing smells and there are loads of amazing looking dishes I've never seen before.
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So this is what I wanted to show you, we've got some chile relleno
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It's a stuffed poblano chile, with potato, green bean, and carrot.
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This is the Guatemalan take on the stuffed chili.
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It's fried in batter and loaded with spicy salsa, stacks of seasoned onion and chopped parsley.
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Where are you from?
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Guatemala.
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That looks really good.
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Is this a home -cooked recipe?
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Familia.
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Yeah, it's a family recipe.
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This is my first taste of Latin foods.
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Mmm, that's good.
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Yeah, that's really good.
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Can I have the recipe?
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Is it a secret?
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Yeah.
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Why is it important for you to make your dishes here?
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That's pretty special.
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Yeah.
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You know, it's a livelihood, but it's also a connection to home.
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Absolutely.
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I suppose that they don't have.
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Yeah, it's really important for her to, like, be connected to her country, and not to ever forget those roots.
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Dreams are big here, and you can feel that.
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You know, they're all out here happy, laughing, smiling, and cooking up foods that their grandparents cooked, that their mothers have cooked,
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and they are the start of the American dream.
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Inspired by the Central American flavours of the night market, I'm itching to get cooking.
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And Wes has invited me to use his restaurant kitchen in the trendy arts district of L .A.
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Wes is Mexican -American.
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He's part of a new breed of chefs using their heritage to fuse flavours from home with contemporary techniques, redefining Californian cuisine.
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Hi, Wes.
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How's it going?
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Look at this space!
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I'm feeling inspired, but I don't think it's going to be very traditional.
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That's okay, because what I do too is not really traditional.
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Is that allowed?
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Absolutely.
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Everything's allowed.
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It's California, it's LA, it's the Wild West.
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I've taken inspiration from the stuffed chilis I ate in the market, but instead of filling them,
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I'm using them as a base for a delicious warm chicken salad topped with a Latin -inspired salsa.
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I'm making a simple salsa to go with my grilled chicken salad.
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green tomatoes, radishes, and a Latin American classic barbecued corn.
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Corn is, uh, it's basically in the blood.
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It's great.
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Nice and bright.
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It looks very Angeleno.
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I've not heard that one before.
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What is Angeleno?
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Somebody who's born and raised here in Los Angeles, able to take flavours and ingredients from different places and reinterpret it.
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You kind of get the vibe and you feel it.
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It's a vibe.
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Yeah.
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Like me, Wes is first generation his dad immigrated to the u .s from mexico in the 70s oh hey
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and wes has invited him to join us for lunch.
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Wow.
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It's good.
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Very tasty.
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Fantastic.
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He's not cooking just traditional food.
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Look at his customers.
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There are not that many Mexicans here.
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It's like I cater to Angelenos, which is a big melting pot.
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Do you feel like he's living your American dream?
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Oh, yeah.
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Why did you come to America?
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To have a better life.
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I mean, we don't have any money, so I told my mom I got to go.
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I was 18.
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From first leaving Mexico, it took Wes's dad six years to get a green card, allowing him to live permanently in the U .S.
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Does America feel like home now?
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Oh, yeah.
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I feel like this is my country.
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There's something quite powerful about sitting there with Wes and his dad
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because it made me appreciate the struggles that my dad went through.
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I've always thought about it from my perspective.
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but never really thought about it from the immigrant's point of view.
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The person that had to move, the person that had to make those changes, the sacrifices that they had to make,
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hadn't really thought about how big that was.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Speak Out C1-C2 3rd ed. Unit 2D. BBC Programmes”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: latin, dad, america. This video has 95 sentences and 892 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:51. The speaker talks at a natural 152 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.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| recipe noun | /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/ | Any set of instructions for preparing a mixture of ingredients. |
| inspire verb | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by… |
| flavour noun | British standard spelling of flavor. | |
| salsa noun | /ˈsɑl.sə/ | A spicy tomato sauce of Mexican origin, often including onions and hot peppers. |
| invite verb | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. |
| chef noun | /ʃɛf/ | The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| corn noun | /ˈkɔːn/ | Any cereal plant (or its grain) that is the main crop or staple of a country or region. |
| salad noun | /ˈsæl.əd/ | A food consisting principally of raw vegetables (especially greens, e.g. lettuce), other savoury ingredients (typically cooked), fruit, or confectionary; often… |
| vibe noun | /vaɪb/ | An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing. |
| cuisine noun | /kwɪˈziːn/ | A characteristic manner or style of preparing food, often associated with a place of origin. |
| chili noun | /ˈt͡ʃɪli/ | The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking. |
| immigration noun | /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/ | The act of immigrating; the passing or coming into a country of which one is not native born for the purpose of permanent residence. |
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| assault noun | /əˈsɔlt/ | A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Where are you from?
- Can I have the recipe?
- Why is it important for you to make your dishes here?
- I suppose that they don't have.
- I've not heard that one before.
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 | there's been · have brought · i've asked |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is said · is covered · be connected |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as I've, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: ethnic /ˈɛθ.nɪk/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: chef /ʃɛf/, dish /dɪʃ/, immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/
- Long words — get the stress right: immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, inspiration /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/
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 recipe, inspire, flavour.
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.