Shadowing Practice: Stop Going Blank! 5 TOEFL Listen and Repeat Strategies That Work - Learn English Speaking with Video

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If you've started preparing for the new TOEFL speaking, specifically the listen and repeat test, let me guess.

This is probably how it goes, right?

Fire drills are conducted once each semester, and all residents must evacuate immediately when the alarm sounds.

All residents must evacuate when the alarm sounds.

That's all I remember.

as the sentences get longer and more complex you understand every single word but

when it's your turn to speak you simply go blank you

are literally at a loss for words you don't know what to say maybe you forget half of the sentence

or all of it i've been there friend this is very familiar to me.

I can speak English fluently.

I can talk to anybody.

Like, what in the world?

Like, I want to get native speakers to perform this task and I want to see how well they do.

Seriously.

But hang on, friends.

I've got good news.

With enough practice and the right strategies, you can significantly improve your performance on the listen and repeat task.

By the end of the session, teams will choose one realistic sustainability goal.

By the end of this session, teams will choose one sustainable realistic goal.

Okay, you see, so I finally got a six here.

It wasn't perfect.

I mean, the first six questions were really good.

But then this one, I knew I forgot something.

but you see using the note-taking strategy was a game changer

and this is what I'm going to share with you today five strategies to master the listen

and repeat test well

if this is your first time here my name is Natalie

I earned an overall score of six out of six on the new TOEFL ibt test

but above all i'm a very passionate english teacher my mission

is to help english learners navigate their way to fluency without fear

or overwhelm and this is the same thing that i do

when i teach tofell prep i've been helping learners for the

past decade to achieve their target score on the toefl as well

so if you have any questions about my classes my programs

check out the link in the description below first off we need to understand what the listen

and repeat test is actually testing many students think

that this task is only about pronunciation

but pronunciation is just a part of it honestly the listen

and repeat test measures how efficiently your brain processes spoken language because listen you have to understand what you hear

hold the information in your short-term memory, repeat it immediately using the same words,

and then match the speaker's rhythm, pace, and intonation.

In other words, you are temporarily storing and reproducing spoken language in real time.

And that's why this task feels challenging, even for students with strong English skills.

Fortunately, there are several strategies that that can make it much easier.

I said easier, not easy, right?

Strategy number one, know what to expect.

One of the simplest things you can do is familiarize yourself with the length of each question.

So for example, the first sentences are relatively short, but then they gradually become longer and more complex

and knowing this ahead of time helps you prepare mentally

so you're not surprised when you reach the final questions

so rather than treating every sentence the same expect the difficulty

to increase as the task progresses a very good way to

measure the length of the sentences is to know the number of syllables in them.

So, by syllable, I mean the number of beats.

So, for example, sentences 1 and 2 usually have 9 to 11 syllables.

So, for example, welcome to the technology lab.

This one has 9 syllables.

So, that is an easy one, right?

So, 1 and 2.

sentences three through five you have about 14 to 16 syllables

and then sentences six and seven the last ones right have about 19 to 23 syllables

that could be up to 15 words 15 16 words

per sentence that's a lot you understand why i'm emphasizing the number of syllables later on in video

because it's actually part of another strategy

but what better way to familiarize yourself with this task than

to practice a lot this is why students in my toefl

coaching program have access to hundreds hundreds of practice questions with instant ai feedback

and personalized feedback from me a lot of guidance from me i've partnered with this amazing platform called pre-packs

and they have so much i've tested different platforms

and this is my favorite i just love how detailed their feedback is

so if you're my student

if you're my coaching program you have access unlimited access to pre-packs during your coaching program strategy number two 2.

Maximize your score on the first 5 questions.

One important thing many students don't realize is that each sentence is scored independently, as far as I know.

So based on scoring information available so far, every sentence appears to contribute equally to your overall score.

So that means that performing well on the first five questions can help offset mistakes on the final two

so the bottom line is really try to do well on the first five sentences

if you do

that that's really going to help your score that's probably why

i was able to score 5.5 out of 6 even though i had trouble with the last two sentences

when I took the TOEFL test a few months ago.

I wasn't very familiar with this question back then.

That's why I took the test as well, to be able to better help my students

because I want to be in their shoes and know exactly what they have to go through, right?

And so back then, I didn't know all the strategies that I know now,

but I did do well on the first five questions

and then the last two I had a little bit of trouble remembering the words

but I still scored 5.5 out of six because yeah I focused on getting the first five questions right.

Strategy number three, use different memory techniques,

memory techniques, throughout the task so what i'm about to share are the techniques

that have worked well for me and many students okay

but i really want to encourage you to experiment

and discover what works best for you we're all different right

i always say there's no one size fits all approach here

when it comes to toefl prep or anything in life

so the first strategy okay under this umbrella of memory strategies is repetition.

So for the first few questions, I'd say one through four,

I often repeat the sentence in my head or whisper it quietly while I'm listening.

Something like this.

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I want you to look at this clip.

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By the end of the session, teams will choose one realistic sustainability goal.

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So when I do this, this helps keep the sentence active in your mind

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and it can make it easier to recall the sentence a few seconds later.

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The second thing I do is I count the number of syllables.

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Yes.

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So, this strategy helps me reconstruct the sentence.

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Because, you know, English has predictable stress and rhythm patterns.

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So, if I listen to a sentence and I hear 11 syllables.

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So, for example, the sentence, The petting zoo and animals are to the right.

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So the petting zoo and animals are to the right.

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11 syllables.

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So when it's my turn to speak, I repeat the sentence while mentally, actually using my fingers to count as well.

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So I'm like whispering the sentence.

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The petting zoo and animals are to the right.

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Okay.

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Yeah, this really, really helped me when I last took the TOEFL test.

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Then the other technique that I have, the third one under the umbrella of memory techniques, is chunking.

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I've talked about chunking before here on the channel, but basically instead of trying to remember word by word,

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you can break the sentence into smaller groups of words.

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For example, instead of remembering the student should meet outside the library before the campus tour begins,

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instead of remembering every single word, you would try to group these words into smaller groups.

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So the student should meet, that's a chunk, outside the library, that's another chunk, before the campus tour begins.

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And why is this technique so important?

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Because this is what our brain does this is how our brain processes speech we group words into smaller chunks

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but here's the thing i'm going to be honest i think the theory here is beautiful

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and this is what i do when i'm working with students

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when i'm focusing on their fluency we talk a lot about chunks about collocations

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but for this task i'm referring to this task this technique doesn't seem to work really well for me

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because when I try to focus on the chunks on grouping words I focus on the idea of the sentence

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and then I end up paraphrasing or using synonyms instead of repeating the sentence

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and this can hurt your score really badly

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because the idea of this task is to listen

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and repeat what you hear so I've tried this technique before

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but i end up paraphrasing it uh the sentence every time i do it

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because i tend to focus on the ideas rather than on the words

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so you can give it a try try grouping the words into smaller chunks and see

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if this works for you maybe it works for you it doesn't work as well for me okay personally

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but i want to encourage you to try different techniques

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and this is why i insist on practicing practicing a lot strategy number four take strategic notes on longer sentences

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and i'm gonna have to give a shout out to joseph

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at noteful toeful mastery i first heard of this technique from him even before bigger channels started sharing it

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so of course i would like to give credit to whom credit is due

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so this technique has been a game changer

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so basically for questions five through seven if you only rely on your memory i don't think it's enough

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it's not for me so one strategy

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that i really like is to quickly very quickly write the first letter of each word

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while i listen just the first letter

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but sometimes um i'll write only the first half of the

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sentence the first letters of the first half of the sentence

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and then i try to rely on memory for the second

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half it really depends on the topic it really depends on how familiar i am with the topic

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because if it's something

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that i'm not familiar with i usually try to write down every single letter

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so but i have to be honest with you this technique takes a lot of practice as well

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because you have to get good at writing the first letter only instead of writing the whole word because

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when I first started using this technique I would sometimes write

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down the whole word another thing too is don't become

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so focused on your notes that you forget to sound natural

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and if you sound like you're reading that's gonna hurt your score as well

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because the goal isn't to read the sentence back it's to

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repeat it it's to copy the speaker's intonation their rhythm their

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pace how they link words together i mean it's a shadowing exercise

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but under a lot of pressure right basically that's it

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so believe me reading too slowly or sounding robotic can negatively affect your performance strategy number five

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visualize what you hear so another technique

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that works pretty well for me especially for questions one through

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four we'll get to the final questions in a little bit so stay there

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so this technique works because um i create this mental image in my head

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while i'm listening and then this helps me stay focused it's like i put myself in

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that situation like i really imagine that i'm right there

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and somebody's giving me instructions

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and this helps me stay focused it's really hard for me

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to focus especially on this type of task i personally find

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that the pictures provided by ets during the test the ones

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that show up on your screen i find those very distracting

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but everyone's different maybe you think they're helpful um

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when i first started practicing i thought they were helpful

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but i've realized that i tend to get really distracted so So putting myself in that situation,

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like imagine that I'm right there in the zoo or museum or university, whatever context, this helps me stay focused.

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So give it a try.

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You've stayed until the end.

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So let me share a bonus tip here.

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I would say the last strategy for this video, really focus on improving your short term memory because

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if your short-term memory is good everything else will be easier for you

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so what can you do to improve your short-term memory you can definitely keep on practicing the listen

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and repeat test practice shadowing repeating what you hear what people say to you

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but remember your brain doesn't work in isolation to your body everything's connected so you need to take care of yourself

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i know it's hard

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but you need to sleep well you need to eat well

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you need to exercise you need to go outside get some sunlight you need to prioritize your health

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because if you're stressed out

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if you're not sleeping well everything impacts your brain how it is functioning

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if you need to take any kind of supplements do

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so um or at least try as much as you can to eat well whatever

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that means to you because everyone's different right you're also in different parts of the world

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so try to focus on those foods or those things

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that make you feel better strong i'm not talking about like a sugar high

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or anything like that i'm talking about things that satisfy you

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that make you feel energized i can't tell you enough how

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many times i've worked with students whose english is beautiful

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but they are so busy so overwhelmed that they can't focus well and this is life life is not easy

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but try your best to take care of yourself

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that is also going to improve your short-term memory

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and will help you score well i find

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that this is one missing piece in most coaching programs this is why my coaching program focuses on test-taking strategies,

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language development, and emotional intelligence.

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That's it.

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That's the secret.

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Okay, go take your test now or if you're feeling like you're not ready yet, I'm here to help you every step of the way.

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As always, if you have any questions, any comments, suggestions, drop them in the comments below and I'll see you in the next video bye thanks for watching

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 210 sentences and 2504 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:46. The speaker talks at a steady 141 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% 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 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
technique noun	/tɛkˈniːk/	The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.
chunk noun	/t͡ʃʌŋk/	A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone.
litter noun	/ˈlɪt.ɚ/	Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals.
pet noun	/pɛt/	An animal kept as a companion or otherwise for pleasure, rather than for some practical benefit or use.
feedback noun	/ˈfiːdˌbæk/	Critical assessment of a process or activity or of their results.
realistic adjective	/ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/	Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic.
rhythm noun	/ˈɹɪð.əm/	The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.
topic noun	/ˈtɑpɪk/	A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
encourage verb	/ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/	To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
shadow noun	/ˈʃædəʊ̯/	A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.
helpful adjective	/ˈhɛlp.fl̩/	Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.
pace noun	/peɪs/	A step taken with the foot.
resident noun	/ˈɹɛzɪdənt/	A person, animal or plant living at a certain location or in a certain area.
rely verb	/ɹɪˈlaɪ/	To trust; to have confidence in; to depend.
alarm noun	/əˈlɑɹm/	A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.
stress out verb	To become stressed.
write down verb	To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 59 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, shoe /ˈʃu/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: sustainability /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/, evacuate /ɪˈvæk.ju.eɪt/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/

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 technique, chunk, litter.

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 started · i've been · i've partnered
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are conducted · is scored

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: Stop Going Blank! 5 TOEFL Listen and Repeat Strategies That Work - 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

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?