Shadowing Practice: St. Julien - I Know You (Official Video) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “St. Julien - I Know You”. This video has 20 sentences and 255 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:09. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| awkward adjective | /ˈɔk.wɚd/ | Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments. |
| backward adjective | /ˈbækwɚd/ | Situated toward or at the rear of something. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| marijuana noun | /ˌmɛɹɪˈwɑ.nə/ | The inflorescence of the Cannabis sativa plant, smoked or ingested for euphoric effect. |
| emotion noun | /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/ | A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data. |
| shine verb | /ʃaɪn/ | To emit or reflect light so as to glow. |
| heck | /hɛk/ | Hell. |
| cutter noun | /ˈkʌtɚ/ | A person or device that cuts (in various senses). |
| downside noun | /ˈdaʊnˌsaɪd/ | A disadvantageous aspect of something that is normally advantageous. |
| attitude noun | /ˈætɪˌtud/ | The position of the body or way of carrying oneself. |
| paint verb | /peɪnt/ | To apply paint to. |
| nobody noun | /ˈnoʊ.bə.di/ | A person dismissed as unimportant. |
| holy adjective | /ˈhoʊli/ | Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god. |
| shut verb | /ʃʌt/ | To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through. |
| horse noun | /hoɹs/ | A hoofed mammal, Equus ferus caballus, often used throughout history for riding and draft work. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| take down verb | To remove something from a wall or similar vertical surface to which it is fixed. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 5 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, wanna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/, shut /ʃʌt/
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 awkward, backward, shoe.
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.