Shadowing Practice: Stop Wasting Time & Take Control | English Listening Practice B1–B2 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Stop Wasting Time & Take Control”. This video has 494 sentences and 4144 words to shadow. The speech runs for 28:21. The speaker talks at a steady 146 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| anchor noun | /ˈæŋ.kəː/ | A tool used to moor a vessel to the bottom of a sea or river to resist movement. |
| waster noun | /ˈweɪstə/ | Someone or something that wastes; someone who squanders or spends extravagantly. |
| notification noun | /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/ | The act of notifying. |
| drift noun | /dɹɪft/ | Anything driven at random. |
| fatigue noun | /fəˈtiːɡ/ | A weariness caused by exertion; exhaustion. |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| slump verb | /slʌmp/ | To collapse heavily or helplessly. |
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| disappear verb | /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ | To vanish. |
| uncomfortable adjective | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | Not comfortable; causing discomfort. |
| doable adjective | /ˈduː.ə.bəl/ | Possible to do; feasible. |
| embarrassingly adverb | /əmˈbɛɹəsɪŋli/ | In an embarrassing manner. |
| laziness noun | /ˈleɪ.zi.nəs/ | The quality of being lazy |
| multitasking noun | The simultaneous execution of multiple tasks (programs) under the control of an interrupt-driven operating system. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| turn off verb | To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.). | |
| add up verb | To take the sum of; to total. | |
| clear off verb | To leave abruptly; scram. | |
| come down to verb | To reach by moving down or reducing. | |
| fill out verb | /fɪl ˈaʊt/ | To complete a form or questionnaire with requested information. |
| get back verb | Return to where one came from. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What time did you plan to go to bed last night?
- What should I do now?
- What if someone needs to reach you urgently?
- What do you mean by motion?
- What's your biggest time waster?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been thinking · you've been avoiding |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't decided · You've just reacted · you've written |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be checked · wasn't wasted · was already done |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | man who almost · People who try · people who seem |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 101 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, isn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thief /ˈθiːf/, thumb /ˈθʌm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, procrastination /pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, embarrassingly /əmˈbɛɹəsɪŋli/, procrastination /pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, momentum /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/
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 anchor, waster, notification.
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.












