Shadowing Practice: Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 18 Vacations - Learn English Speaking with Video

listening one

one

what do you think I should do for vacation this summer well you like the beach

and you love hanging out in the Sun why don't you go to the Caribbean

or how about the Philippines some friends of mine stayed at

a beach resort there last summer well I've been to the Caribbean a couple of times

and I always enjoy it but I've never been to the Philippines I think that would be fun 2.

I'm not sure where to go for vacation this year.

Why don't you go skiing?

I had a great time at a ski resort in the mountains last winter.

Or how about a jungle trip to the Malaysian National Forest?

I did that a couple of years ago, and it was amazing.

Well, I just bought some new ski equipment, and I'm dying to try it.

I have to say that I'm not too excited about the idea of a jungle trip.

I don't like bugs, and I bet there would be a lot of them.

Three.

I'd like to do something really different for my vacation this year.

How about a trip down the Nile River?

You've never been to Egypt, right?

Or maybe you could spend a week in the Australian outback.

Hmm, they both sound interesting.

But I guess I'd prefer the Australian trip.

The Nile River might be just a little too exciting for me.

4. I'd like to do something exciting this vacation.

I don't want to just lie around on a beach.

How about whitewater rafting down the Colorado River?

It takes you right through the Grand Canyon.

That's really exciting.

Or you could go on a 10-day African safari.

I've heard that's a great trip.

The safari trip would be fun sometime, but I only have one week.

I think I'll do the Grand Canyon trip.

Thanks for the teep.

Five.

Any ideas about where we should go for vacation?

I'm thinking about a couple of trips.

We could go to Southeast Asia.

We'd go to Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.

The other place I was thinking about going to is China.

China?

I've never been there.

I hear it's fascinating.

I've already been to Thailand and Indonesia, so let's go to China.

6. I need help figuring out what to do for my vacation.

Well, last year my friends and I went on a two-week bus tour of Europe.

We traveled in nice, comfortable motorcoaches and stopped in different cities.

We stayed in each city for a day or two, and all our hotel reservations were taken care of.

Hmm, that could be fun.

But sometimes I get sick when I ride in cars and buses.

You could take a train trip across Russia.

My sister did that a couple of years ago.

Oh, I love trains, and I've never been to Russia.

Listening to One I'm so excited about my trip to Asia.

I've never been there before.

First, I'm flying to Taipei from the US.

I'll be spending three days there because I hear that there's a lot to see and do.

I'll also be spending three days in Seoul.

I hear the nightlife there is great.

Then we go from there to Hong Kong.

I'm planning to do lots of shopping there, so I hope two days is enough time to buy everything I need.

I would really love to go to Beijing for a few days, but unfortunately this tour doesn't go there.

After Hong Kong, we'll end up in Thailand for five days, so I guess I won't be able to get to Tokyo or Malaysia on this trip.

Oh well, I have to save a few places to visit on my next vacation.

2. Well, our trip starts off in London.

We've got a week there.

Then we'll take the bus up to Oxford for two days to see friends.

We also wanted to see Cambridge.

I hear it's beautiful, but we won't have time this trip.

Anyway, then we head to France.

We have five days in Paris, which will give us time to see all of those museums.

I wish we were going to spend a few days in Germany, too, but this trip doesn't include it.

But we do go to Switzerland for three days.

I'm really looking forward to that.

Then we end up in Italy for the last five days of the tour.

Three.

We start off in Los Angeles.

We're going to stay there for three days because we want to hit the beach and see the sights.

We're not going to go to San Francisco this time because we've been there before.

Then we're off to Denver to visit my sister.

We're going to stay there for a week.

I hope that's enough time because I haven't seen her since last Christmas and we have so much to talk about.

We were thinking of going to Chicago after that

but we just don't have time so it's straight on to Washington DC and New York.

We've got two days in Washington and three in New York.

We'd really love to get up to Boston for a couple of days, but it probably won't happen.

Maybe next time.

Listening 3 1 After graduation, I'm going to fly to Europe and spend a couple of weeks traveling on my own.

I'll be in Germany and France mostly.

There are so many things I want to see and do.

Museums, restaurants, clubs, cafes, all that stuff.

I know my parents worry about me traveling alone, but I just prefer it that way.

I guess it's because I want to be free.

On those group tours, everything is planned for you.

Two.

I'm taking a trip to New Zealand.

I hear it's really quiet down there

and the people are really friendly I want to go to small towns that don't get a lot of tourists.

Then I can just check into a cheap hotel and do my own thing.

I'm really looking forward to this trip.

100

I guess it's because I need to go somewhere quiet.

101

The city where I live is so noisy and the people are rude.

102

3. When I'm in London I want to see as many plays and concerts as I can.

103

I also I also want to go to all the big museums and art galleries there.

104

I'm going to go dancing as often as I can, too.

105

Basically, I want to see and do everything.

106

I really want to make the most of the week I'll be there.

107

I guess it's because I need some excitement.

108

My life has been so boring this year.

109

4. I'm going to go to Thailand this winter.

110

I don't want to spend any time in Bangkok because I've been there before.

111

This time, I just want to relax on a nice, quiet beach.

112

I can swim and snorkel every day if I want to, but I don't have to do anything.

113

I just want to relax.

114

I guess it's because I've been so busy at work recently.

115

I'm spending a month in Mexico.

116

It's going to be great.

117

I don't want to spend any time in Mexico City, though.

118

There are too many tourists there.

119

Instead, I want to go to one of those small old colonial towns.

120

I guess it's because I want to practice my Spanish.

121

I studied the language for three years in college, and I think I'll get to use it a lot more in a small town.

122

6. My friend and I are going to Australia.

123

It's perfect for us because Australia has a lot of cheap hotels for backpackers.

124

They're great places to meet other young people and travelers from all over the world.

125

I'm really excited about this trip.

126

I guess it's because the beaches are great there.

127

I heard the East Coast of Australia has some of the best surfing in the world.

128

1. After graduation, I'm going to fly to Europe and spend a couple of weeks traveling on my own.

129

I'll be in Germany and France mostly.

130

There are so many things I want to see and do.

131

Museums, restaurants, clubs, cafes, all that stuff.

132

I know my parents worry about me traveling alone, but I just prefer it that way.

133

I guess it's because I want to be free.

134

On those group tours, everything is planned for you.

135

Two.

136

I'm taking a trip to New Zealand.

137

I hear it's really quiet down there, and the people are really friendly.

138

I want to go to small towns that don't get a lot of tourists.

139

Then I can just check into a cheap hotel and do my own thing.

140

I'm really looking forward to this trip.

141

I guess it's because I need to go somewhere quiet.

142

The city where I live is so noisy and the people are rude.

143

Three.

144

When I'm in London, I want to see as many plays and concerts as I can.

145

I also want to go to all the big museums and art galleries there.

146

I'm going to go dancing as often as I can, too.

147

Basically, I want to see and do everything.

148

I really want to make the most of the week I'll be there.

149

I guess it's because I need some excitement.

150

My life has been so boring this year.

151

Four.

152

I'm going to go to Thailand this winter.

153

I don't want to spend any time in Bangkok because I've been there before.

154

This time, I just want to relax on a nice, quiet beach.

155

I can swim and snorkel every day if I want to, but I don't have to do anything.

156

I just want to relax.

157

I guess it's because I've been so busy at work recently.

158

Five.

159

I'm spending a month in Mexico.

160

It's going to be great.

161

I don't want to spend any time in Mexico City, though.

162

There are too many tourists there.

163

Instead, I want to go to one of those small old colonial towns.

164

I guess it's because I want to practice my Spanish.

165

I studied the language for three years in college, and I think I'll get to use it a lot more in a small town.

166

6. My friend and I are going to Australia.

167

It's perfect for us because Australia has a lot of cheap hotels for backpackers.

168

They're great places to meet other young people and travelers from all over the world.

169

I'm really excited about this trip.

170

I guess it's because the beaches are great there.

171

I heard the East Coast of Australia has some of the best surfing in the world.

172

Pronunciation 1.

173

I'm so excited about my trip.

174

2. Did you do a lot of fun stuff?

175

3. You and I should take a trip somewhere.

176

4. Let's do it.

177

Five.

178

I want to go on vacation soon.

179

Six.

180

Who are you going with?

181

Dictation.

182

Didn't you go on vacation last month?

183

Yeah, I did.

184

Joe and I went to a great beach resort in the Caribbean.

185

Wow.

186

Did you do a lot of sightseeing?

187

No, we mostly just relaxed on the beach.

188

That sounds like fun.

189

Did you do anything else?

190

Not really, but we did go out to dinner every night.

191

Were the restaurants good?

192

They were great, and we went to a different one each night.

193

Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 18 Vacations”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: trip, guess, vacation, beach, spend. This video has 193 sentences and 1887 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:56. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 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

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
relax verb	/ɹɪˈlæks/	To make something loose.
excite verb	/ɪkˈsaɪt/	To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement.
backpacker noun		A traveler whose luggage consists of a backpack; especially, such a traveler who uses hostels, public transport, and other inexpensive services.
snorkel noun		A hollow tube, held in the mouth, or mounted on and opening into a diving mask, used by swimmers for breathing underwater.
safari noun	/səˈfɑːɹ.i/	A trip into any undeveloped area to see, photograph or to hunt wild animals in their own environment.
noisy adjective	/ˈnɔɪzi/	Making a noise, especially a loud unpleasant sound
surf verb	/sɝf/	To ride a wave on a surfboard; to pursue or take part in the sport of surfing.
bore verb	/boɹ/	To inspire boredom in somebody.
graduation noun	/ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/	The action or process of graduating and receiving a diploma for completing a course of study (such as from an educational institution).
cafe noun	/ˌkæˈfeɪ/	A convenience store, originally one that sold coffee and similar basic items.
jungle noun	/ˈd͡ʒʌŋ.ɡ(ə)l/	A large, lush, undeveloped, humid forest, especially in a tropical region, thick with vegetation and wildlife; a tropical rainforest.
colonial adjective	/kəˈloʊ.njəl/	Of or pertaining to a colony.
excitement noun	/ɪkˈsaɪtmənt/	The state of being excited (emotionally aroused).
swim verb	/swɪm/	To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
rude adjective	/ɹuːd/	Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
look forward to verb	To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
get up to verb	To do something, especially something that is forbidden or improper.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Why don't you go skiing?
Any ideas about where we should go for vacation?
Did you do a lot of fun stuff?
Who are you going with?
Didn't you go on vacation last month?

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	I've been · I've never been · You've never been
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	were taken · is planned
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the most of · the best
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should do · should go · should take

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 82 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: graduation /ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/, dictation /dɪkˈteɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, reservation /ˌɹɛz.ɚˈveɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: graduation /ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, reservation /ˌɹɛz.ɚˈveɪ.ʃən/

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 relax, excite, backpacker.

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: Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 18 Vacations - 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

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?