Shadowing Practice: Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa .com.

Are you ready to speak with me?

Let's do it.

Hey, what are you feeling for dinner tonight?

You want to grab something to go or you want to eat out?

Huh?

If I asked you this, would you know how to respond or would your heart start beating quickly and you think, what do I say?

Well, never fear.

In today's lesson, we're going to talk about some common questions that are often asked in conversations about restaurants or eating out,

deciding what you want to eat, and also some common responses to this so that you can feel confident in your next interactions.

At the end of this lesson, you'll have a chance to speak with me and practice what you've learned.

So make sure to listen carefully.

Let's start with some common questions for talking about eating out in restaurants.

Since the pandemic began, a lot of restaurants have changed their service model.

So these questions will cover eating in a restaurant, but also ordering food to go.

So I hope that these will help you in any situation that you're in.

Let's start with our first question, do you want to eat out?

This phrasal verb to eat out means at a restaurant.

We don't often say, do you want to go to a restaurant?

Do you want to eat at a restaurant?

We just say, eat out.

Do you want to eat out?

But we often reduce this question to sound a little more comfortable and casual.

You want to eat out?

Ya is you.

You want to eat out?

You want to eat out? dropped, we've dropped the question word completely, do.

Just ya, ya.

And then we have reduced want to, to become wanna.

This is a common reduction in English.

Can you say this question with me?

You want to eat out?

You'll want to eat out?

Or we could cut off that first word ya completely and just say, want to eat out?

Ask it with me.

Want to eat out?

Great.

Then you might ask, where do you want to go?

Where do you want to go?

But do you think we say it clearly like this?

Unfortunately not.

Instead, you could say, where you want to go?

Where ya wanna go?

So this is a similar reduction to our first question.

You becomes ya and want to becomes wanna.

Where ya wanna go?

So, where do you want to go?

Where do you want to go?

Should we order pick up?

I want to let you know that in the US,

there are a lot of terms that are used for this idea that you're not eating in the restaurant,

you're ordering food, but then you get the food and you take it somewhere else.

Maybe you take it back home or you take it to a park.

We could use a couple of different phrases and it's just your personal preference.

For me, I say pick up.

Do you want to order pickup?

Do you want to get pickup?

But you could also say, should we order takeout?

Should we order carryout?

Should we order takeaway?

It's a lot of different phrases and you are going to hear these all around the US.

So it's just your choice what you'd like to use.

Another fun question to ask what someone would like to eat is, what are you in the mood for?

What are you in the mood for?

Don't deny it sometimes in your heart, you're just in the mood for comfort food,

something that's heavy and rich and reminds you of a cozy warm time in your childhood.

Maybe it's not very healthy, but you're in the mood for comfort food.

Or maybe you're in the mood for something light.

So you want a salad or sushi, something light.

So this idea of what are you feeling like you want to eat?

But we often reduce this question and instead of saying, what are you in the mood for?

We might say, whatcha in the mood for?

Whatcha, whatcha is what are you, whatcha in the mood for?

Here the word you has been reduced to cha, cha.

This is extremely common in spoken English that the word you gets changed up in a lot of ways.

We already talked about one of those, ya, and this is another, cha, whatcha in the mood for?

Whatcha in the mood for?

Or we could reduce this even further, whatcha in the mood for?

Whatcha in the mood for?

This is extremely reduced, but notice what's happening.

What are you in the mood for?

The word are is gone and the word you has been reduced to ya.

So, when we link together, what and you can...

It's super fast.

What are you in the mood for?

You don't want to say this reduction slowly.

What are you in the mood for?

Now we can say it like that to practice for this lesson, but when this is in daily conversation, it's really fast.

That's the purpose of a reduction.

So do you think you could say this with me really fast?

What are you in the mood for?

Great.

All right, let's talk

Talk about some common answers to these questions so that you can be prepared and ready.

When someone asks you what you're in the mood for, you might say, let's order in.

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How about some option?

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How about pizza?

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Let's order in.

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This is another phrase for talking about bringing the food back to your house.

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You don't want to get all ready and then go to the restaurant, or maybe you don't feel comfortable doing that.

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So you might just say, let's order in, how about pizza?

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This expression, how about, is a great way to give a suggestion.

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This is excellent in professional situations, hey, how about if we try this marketing plan?

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Or it's great for informal situations to give a suggestion about something you want to eat.

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How about pizza?

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What do you think about that?

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Sometimes this question is reduced and it sounds like this, how about pizza?

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How about pizza?

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The first A in the word about is gone.

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It's just missing.

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So we say, how about pizza?

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Can you say that reduction quickly with me?

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How about pizza?

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How about pizza?

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Great.

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Or you could say, I'm feeling tacos.

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Does that sound good?

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So you're giving your opinion, you'd like to eat tacos, but you also want to know what the other person wants.

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So you use a great question.

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Does that sound good?

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But we often reduce this a lot.

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So let's take a look at the first reduction.

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You might say, I'm feeling, cutting off that G, I'm feeling tacos.

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How's that sound?

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How's that sound?

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Instead of how does that sound?

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You can say, how's that?

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How's that sound?

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How's that sound?

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Can you you say that quickly with me?

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I'm feeling tacos.

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How's that sound?

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I'm feeling tacos.

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How's that sound?

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Great.

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We can also reduce it and switch it up a little bit.

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I'm feeling tacos.

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Does that sound okay?

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I'm feeling tacos.

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That's what I want, but I want to know your opinion.

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Does that sound okay?

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Reduces to, does that sound okay?

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Does that becomes zat. Does that sound okay?

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Does that sound okay?

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Can you say it with me?

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I'm feeling tacos.

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Does that sound okay?

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Great question.

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Because a lot of restaurants have changed over the last year, and you never know when a restaurant might be closed,

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it's a good question to ask, is Ted's Cafe open?

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I would love to go there.

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Is some restaurant open?

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I would love to go there.

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There is a little way that we can reduce this question.

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Take a look at this.

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Is Ted's Cafe open?

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I'd love to go there.

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The word would becomes eyed.

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I would eyed.

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So you can say, is Ted's Cafe open?

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I'd love to go there.

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Can you say it with me?

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Is Ted's Cafe open?

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I'd love to go there.

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Great.

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In the US, a lot of restaurants are having outdoor seating.

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So you could say, let's go to Louie's, a restaurant named Louie's.

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Let's go to Louie's and eat lunch on their patio, eat lunch on their patio.

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This is like an outdoor dining area.

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It's really nice when restaurants have this because sometimes you don't feel like eating at home,

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but especially with kids, if you don't feel like confining them inside a restaurant, or maybe you don't feel comfortable doing that,

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if a restaurant has a patio, it's much more informal feeling and it's kind of a nice spur of the moment thing to do.

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A great expression that you can use is, let's grab a bite at Louie's.

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Let's grab a bite at Ted's Cafe.

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To grab a bite is usually a quick meal.

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It might be lunch.

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Usually it's not dinner because it's pretty quick, but it might just be a short experience.

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It's not a long dinner.

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It's not a big to -do.

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Let's grab a bite at Ted's Cafe because I have to go somewhere later.

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Let's grab a bite at somewhere else.

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Can you say that with me?

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Let's grab a bite at Ted's Cafe.

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Let's grab a bite.

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Our final answer to the question, what you want to eat is, I know a place or I know a spot that has great pasta.

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I know a place that has great pizza.

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I know a place.

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You could leave this simple and just say, I know a place, come with me.

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But if you want to be a little less mysterious, you could just say, oh,

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I know a place that has great pasta come with me and you've gotta try it.

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Okay.

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This is kind of maybe an unknown restaurant location that not many people know about.

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And it's a great phrase to use.

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Oh, I know a place that you're going to love.

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Excellent.

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Are you ready to practice these?

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First, I would like you to watch the sample conversation between my husband and I, as we talk about where we want to eat,

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what we want to eat.

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Think about those phrases, notice the phrases that we use.

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And then after that, you're going to have a chance to speak out loud and practice it yourself.

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Let's watch the sample conversation.

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Hey, you want to grab lunch?

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Sure, but I only have time for a quick bite before my soccer game.

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What sounds good?

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How about pasta?

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That sounds great.

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How about I call it in, you pick it up, and we'll picnic in the park before my game starts?

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That sounds great.

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I know a place that's close by and has great tomato sauce.

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All right.

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Now it's your turn.

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I want you to use these phrases that you've learned.

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I'm going to ask you a question.

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We're going to have a little conversation together.

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It's your chance to speak out loud.

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So I'm going to ask a question and pause, wait for your answer.

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No matter where you are around the world, I will be listening to you.

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So please take this opportunity to speak and use what you've learned.

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If you need to repeat this section again and again, do that.

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It's a great way to gain confidence as you speak.

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Are you ready?

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Hey, I'm hungry.

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Let's grab lunch.

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What's you in the mood for?

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Oh, that sounds good.

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Do you know a good place?

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Oh, that sounds good.

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Do you want to eat there or get takeout?

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Great.

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Let's go.

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Well, how did you do?

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Do you feel a little more confident discussing dining options and talking about eating out?

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I hope so.

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I want you to let me know in the comments, right now in your country, can you order takeout?

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Is this a possibility?

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Let me know in the comments and I can't wait to see your answers.

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Thank you so much for learning English with me, and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.

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Bye.

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The next step is to download my free ebook, Five Steps to Becoming a Confident English Speaker.

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You'll learn what you need to do to speak confidently and fluently.

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Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more free lessons.

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Thanks so much.

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Bye.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Vanessa, eat, sound, mood, restaurant. This video has 215 sentences and 2099 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:35. The speaker talks at a natural 167 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 79 of its 215 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
mood noun	/muːd/	A mental or emotional state, composure.
pizza noun	/ˈpi.tsə/	A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables.
bite verb	/baɪt/	To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
taco noun	/ˈtɑkoʊ/	A Mexican snack food made of a small tortilla (soft- or hard-shelled) filled with ingredients such as meat, rice, beans, cheese, diced vegetables, and salsa.
phrase noun	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	A short written or spoken expression.
reduction noun	/ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/	The act, process, or result of reducing.
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
bout noun	/ˈbaʊt/	A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant, like an illness.
pasta noun	/ˈpɑ.stə/	Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating.
comfort noun	/ˈkʌm.fət/	Contentment, ease.
outdoor adjective	/aʊtˈdɔː/	Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air.
suggestion noun	/səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/	Something suggested (with subsequent adposition being for)
informal adjective	/ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/	Not formal or ceremonious.
meal noun	/ˈmiːl/	Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
soccer noun	/ˈsɑk.ɚ/	Association football.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.
take out verb		To remove.
cut off verb	/ˌkʌt ˈɔf/ [ˌkɐɾ ˈɔf]	To remove by cutting.
speak out verb		To assert or promote one's opinion; to make one's thoughts known.
carry out verb	/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/	To hold while moving it out.
take away verb	/ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/	To remove something and put it in a different place.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Are you ready to speak with me?
Do you want to eat?
You want to eat out?
Can you say this question with me?
Where do you want to go?

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	you've learned · have changed · we've dropped
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are often asked · are used · has been reduced
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	might ask · might say · might just say
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	Should we order

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 59 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, wanna, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: reduction /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, sushi /ˈsuːʃi/
Long words — get the stress right: interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/, mysterious /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/

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 mood, pizza, bite.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?

2 Tips For Improving Your Listening Skills