Shadowing Practice: Stand by Me - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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When the
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night has come And the land is dark and the moon is the only light we'll see
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No, I won't be afraid,
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no I won't be afraid Just as long as you stand,
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stand by me So darling,
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darling, stand by me, oh stand by me,
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oh stand, stand by me, stand by me.
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If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
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I won't cry, I won't cry,
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no I won't shed a tear Just as long as you stand,
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stand by me And darling, darling, stand by me Oh,
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stand by me Oh, stand now Stand by me Stand by me
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We are now at the end of the road Stand by me,
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oh stand now Stand by me, stand by me Whenever you're in trouble,
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won't you stand by me?
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Stand by me, oh stand now Stand by me,
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oh Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 17 sentences and 164 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:09. 91% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 8 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
darling noun/ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
tear verb/tɛɹ/To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
crumble verb/ˈkɹʌmbəl/To fall apart; to disintegrate.
tumble verb/ˈtʌmbl̩/To fall end over end; to roll over and over.
afraid adjective/əˈfɹeɪd/Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.
trouble noun/ˈt͡ʃɹʌbəl/A distressing or dangerous situation.
mountain noun/ˈmaʊn.tɪn/An elevation of land of considerable dimensions rising more or less abruptly, forming a conspicuous figure in the landscape, usually having a small extent of…
moon noun/mun/Any natural satellite of a planet.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhas come
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good ideashould tumble
Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or predictionwe'll see · won't be · won't cry

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as won't, we'll, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like darling, tear, crumble.

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 →