Shadowing Practice: Stop Cleaning All Day 😩 Try These 3 House Rules Instead 👇👇👇 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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These are my messy house rules that keep everything clean and tidy all the time.
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We have a different colored bath towel for every single family member.
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This means when you're in the shower and you're reaching for a towel, you know which one is yours
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and you're not going to accidentally dry your face with a towel someone else used for their body.
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But more importantly, it stops people from just dropping
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and leaving their wet towels all over the floor
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because everyone will know who the culprit is and you're more likely to hang it up.
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Another house rule, all the flat surfaces are hot lava, which means if you put something down, it will burst into flames unless you have a raft.
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A raft can be a tray or a basket, any shallow or even big container to put your stuff.
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Heck, even hooks count.
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And also, the walls are hot lava.
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Please don't touch them.
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Nobody wants to wash walls.
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Another crazy rule, no shoes in the house.
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This might be a Canadian thing, but honestly, we take them off immediately when we walk in the door, I just kick them into a cubby.
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So it's not any work, but now I don't have to clean the floors from all the grime
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and dirt that's been brought in on the bottom of shoes.
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And of course, a rule, run that robot vacuum every single day.
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This one might be controversial, but we close our kitchen every night at 10 p .m.
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Why?
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I have teenagers and I would spend time cleaning the kitchen before bed just to wake up to a mess.
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Now they might still sneak a snack, but they clean up after themselves so I'll never know.
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All of these rules are meant to keep your house clean and tidy without you having to work harder.
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It transformed my life, even though I have three kids and I know it'll work for you too.
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If you're feeling inspired, check out my YouTube channel, Clutterbug, for all of my sometimes strange, but always effective messy house rules.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 25 sentences and 351 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:47. The speaker talks fast, about 197 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% 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
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- towel /ˈtaʊ̯əl/ (noun) — A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, such as a person after a bath.
- shoe /ˈʃu/ (noun) — 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…
- messy /ˈmɛsi/ (adjective) — In a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.
- lava /ˈlɑvə/ (noun) — The molten rock ejected by a volcano from a vent such as a crater or fissure; magma that has breached the surface of the earth.
- tidy /ˈtaɪ.di/ (adjective) — Arranged neatly and in order.
- bath /bɑːθ/ (noun) — A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub.
- hook /hʊk/ (noun) — A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
- dirt /dɝt/ (noun) — Soil or earth.
- robot /ˈɹoʊ.bɑt/ (noun) — An intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal.
- controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/ (adjective) — Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.
- accidentally /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/ (adverb) — In an accidental manner; by chance, unexpectedly.
- burst /bɜːst/ (verb) — To break from internal pressure.
- importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/ (adverb) — Used to mark a statement as having importance.
- teenager /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ (noun) — A person between thirteen and nineteen years old (inclusive).
- vacuum /ˈvæ.kjuːm/ (noun) — A region of space that contains no matter.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- burst into (verb) — To suddenly start doing or producing something.
- check out (verb) — To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
- clean up (verb) — To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy.
- reach for (verb) — To try to get (something) by extending one's arm or moving one's hand.
- walk in (verb) — To come without an appointment to a place that would normally require one.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 9 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, shallow /ˈʃæloʊ/
- Long words — get the stress right: controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, accidentally /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/
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 towel, shoe, messy.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been brought · are meant |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might be · might still sneak |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will know · will burst · I'll never know |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to clean · having to work |
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.