Shadowing Practice: Story 29 Big Green Ball - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Story 29 Big Green Ball”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: ball, Sean, fence, Sam. This video has 23 sentences and 144 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:24. The speaker talks slowly, about 103 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound.
Key vocabulary in this video
12 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| fence noun | /fɛns/ | A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc. |
| bounce verb | /baʊns/ | To change the direction of motion after hitting an obstacle. |
| crawl verb | /kɹɔːl/ | To move by dragging one's body along or close to a surface, like a worm or insect, or on one's hands and knees, like a human baby. |
| exclaim verb | /ɛkˈskleɪm/ | To cry out suddenly, from some strong emotion. |
| hole noun | /hoʊl/ | A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure. |
| tall adjective | /tɔl/ | Having great vertical extent (usually reckoned from the bottom of the feet to the very top of the head) when standing. (For instance, somebody with a height of… |
| smile verb | /ˈsmaɪl/ | To have (a smile) on one's face. |
| kick verb | /kɪk/ | To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. |
| reach verb | /ɹiːt͡ʃ/ | To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand). |
| garden noun | /ˈɡɑː.d(ə)n/ | An outdoor area containing one or more types of plants, usually plants grown for food or ornamental purposes. |
| fly noun | /ˈflaɪ̯/ | Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies. |
| roll verb | /ɹəʊl/ | To revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on a horizontal axis; to impel forward with a revolving motion on a supporting surface. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
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 fence, bounce, crawl.
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.