Shadowing Practice: Streak Of Bad Luck: English Listening Practice - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hello ladies and gentlemen.
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This is Elliot from ETJEnglish.com.
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Yes, it's been a while.
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I've not recorded a video in a while.
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And the reason why is because I've been having a streak of bad luck.
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Now, this is an idiom.
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And what it means is when we're having a succession,
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you know, a continuous trend of bad things, happening.
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We're not having much luck.
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Therefore we're having a streak of bad luck.
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Now I'll explain this to you now in the video after I've apologized
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because I'm sorry for not recording any videos recently but you'll see why now and you'll understand.
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We're moving out of our house at the moment
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so as you can tell the bookcase is gone
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and we are basically selling all of our stuff because we're moving out we're moving to Thailand in two weeks time.
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So yes we're getting rid of all of our stuff and
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while I was clearing out
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and getting rid of the stuff in the kitchen I was
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stacking the plates you know piling the plates up on top of each other stacking them
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and during this I somehow managed to drop a plate big plate big big plate.
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I somehow managed to drop it on my bare foot.
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Now I won't go into detail but I ended up with a big hole in my foot,
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a lot of blood all over the kitchen floor and it wouldn't stop bleeding so I wasn't really very happy about this.
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So that's number one in the streak of bad luck.
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After this, I was upstairs in my bedroom cleaning up the wound, bandaging my foot up, you know,
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getting rid of the blood.
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And unfortunately, my girlfriend ran up the stairs.
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She wanted to check if I was okay she'd recently come home
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and she noticed that there was blood on the carpet
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so she obviously realized something bad had happened
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so my girlfriend ran up the stairs to check
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if I was okay unfortunately I left my glasses on the floor and my girlfriend stood on them.
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So not only now did I have a bleeding hole in my foot, I also had a broken pair of glasses and I couldn't see.
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Since then my luck really hasn't improved.
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I've knocked over a mug of coffee all over our white carpet so there's a nice stain there for
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anyone who wants to move into our house and I'm also sick now.
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So I've been having a streak of bad luck and because of what happened to my foot, I can't, I couldn't really walk.
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So for the past two weeks I've been sat down a lot
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and I can't really move I can't really record videos
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so this is why I've been away for a
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while I've just been doing lessons with my students haven't really
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had the the capability to record YouTube videos regardless of all that I'm back I'm able to walk now,
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I can walk, and I am absolutely fine.
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You've learned from this video, number one, that I'm a very unlucky person and I've been having a streak of bad luck.
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And that is an idiom.
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But I also want you to learn that the opposite of this idiom, which is having a lucky streak.
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Now a lucky streak is when a lot of good things happen to you in a succession.
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So this is the opposite of having an unlucky streak.
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Please give me a thumbs up if you enjoyed the video.
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Don't forget to subscribe.
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Thank you very much for watching and happy learning!

Boost Your Fluency with Real-Life English Speaking Practice

This video is a goldmine for learners aiming to master conversational fluency. It targets the milestone of understanding and using idiomatic expressions in context—critical for sounding natural in everyday English. By following the story of Elliot's "streak of bad luck," you’ll practice processing real-time speech, a key skill for confident communication. This is perfect for english speaking practice, as it mirrors how native speakers share personal anecdotes, complete with pauses, casual tone, and relatable storytelling.

Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions to Add to Your Vocabulary

  • Streak of bad luck: A continuous series of unfortunate events (e.g., "I’ve had a streak of bad luck with my car this month").
  • Lucky streak: The opposite—multiple good things happening in a row (e.g., "She’s on a lucky streak at the casino!").
  • Knocked over: Accidentally tipped something over (e.g., "I knocked over a glass of wine at the party").
  • In succession: One after another (e.g., "He won three games in succession").

These phrases are practical for daily conversations, making them essential for anyone looking to move beyond basic English.

Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation and Rhythm Tips

The video’s casual pace and natural pauses make it ideal for improving english pronunciation and rhythm. Pay attention to how Elliot stresses words like "streak" (emphasize the first syllable) and "unfortunate" (smoothly blend the "un-" prefix). To practice, try shadowing—repeat the dialogue aloud immediately after hearing it, mimicking his tone and pace. Use a shadowing app or shadowing site to record yourself and compare. This "shadow speech" technique trains your mouth to move like a native, fixing common issues like flat intonation or rushed delivery. Focus on the phrase "streak of bad luck"—notice how the words flow together ("streak uh bad luck") instead of being spoken separately. Mastering this connected speech will make your English sound more natural and effortless.

By combining idiom learning with targeted pronunciation practice, this video helps you build both vocabulary and confidence. Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be using "lucky streak" to describe your own progress!

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 →