Shadowing Practice: Take Classes at The School of Life - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
20 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
You can make the School of Life a helpful part of your life in so many ways.
2
The easiest and certainly the cheapest is to subscribe to our YouTube channel and our online book, The Book of Life.
3
You can also browse our online shop where you can order our books and a variety of other products.
4
But we also have physical hubs around the world.
5
London, Paris, Melbourne, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Seoul, Sao Paulo and others.
6
And here you can come in and do something properly, special and transformational.
7
Attend one of our classes.
8
Over the last five years, with the help of leading experts in a variety of fields, we've designed what we call our core curriculum.
9
A set of just over 30 classes around the key issues that we consider most central in emotional life,
10
especially in the area of relationships and work.
11
In our classrooms, you'll find a warm collegiate atmosphere.
12
Our tutors are handpicked for their friendliness, empathy and knowledge.
13
We have plenty of interaction, discussions and properly transformational experiences.
14
A day or evening on one of our core classes typically leads to astonishing insights, new friendships and some breakthroughs.
15
You'll find our full list of core curriculum classes on our website.
16
Go around the program, slowly, perhaps over a year or more, or do it all at once in a short burst.
17
You'll even get a certificate in EQ when you complete the circuit.
18
A visit to a School of Life classroom will give you the tools for a more self-aware, effective and intelligent life.
19
It should also be immensely entertaining and interesting as well.
20
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
📺 Same Channel
C116
Why Unloved People Hate Themselves #shorts #selfcare
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C112
The Secret to a Calm Life
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
C14
How To Simplify Your Life
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C150
Don't Despair
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B250
What is The School of Life?
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
C113
When Love Isn't Easy
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
C113
What Years of Heartbreak Actually Teach Us
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
C2487
The Purpose and Benefit of Emotional Education
British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C16
Why Heartbroken People Make the Best Lovers
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
Why Some Breakups Hurt So Much More Than Others
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
Who Dreams of the Greatest Love? (it's not who you expect)
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2How to Find Out What's Really on Your Mind
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C110
Those Who Are Terrified of Love
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C17
Should I Choose Passion or Duty?
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C11
How to Get Over Someone
British AccentUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
What to think of the Rice Theory of the Japanese Character
British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
PHILOSOPHY - Plato
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C15
What True Love Really Is
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C121
Why Hurt People Hurt People
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C1617
The Point of Travel
British AccentTravel EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
✨ Recommend Video
B24
33 sentences
IELTS Listening Part 2: A Talk About the New Community Arts Centre
British AccentIELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B211
178 sentences
How to Choose a Life Path You Won’t Regret
British AccentBusiness EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
49 sentences
How to Deepen Your Friendships
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
202 sentences
If I Was a Student Again, I'd Do This
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B211
101 sentences
INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 🧘 Slow Living 🌱 B2 | Level 4 | BRITISH ENGLISH ACCENT WITH SUBTITLES
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
194 sentences
Talk About Health and Lifestyle in English - Spoken English Lesson
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B211
282 sentences
100 Common Business English Questions | How to Ask and Answer Questions Professionally in English
British AccentBusiness EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B11
201 sentences
Study with Me | Slow British English
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B210
28 sentences
IELTS Practice with a Friend: Should University Be Free?
American AccentBritish AccentIELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
324 sentences
Make 2026 the Best Year of Your Life (Evidence-Based)
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
34 sentences
Jim Carrey - Secrets of Life
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Take Classes at The School of Life”. This video has 20 sentences and 273 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:55. The speaker talks at a steady 142 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 |
|---|---|---|
| transformational adjective | Of, pertaining to or leading to transformation. | |
| curriculum noun | /kəˈɹɪk.jə.ləm/ | The set of courses, coursework, and content offered at a school or university. |
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| astonish verb | /əˈstɑnɪʃ/ | To surprise greatly. |
| collegiate adjective | /kəˈliːd͡ʒi.ət/ | Of, or relating to a college, or college students; collegial. |
| friendliness noun | /ˈfɹɛndlinəs/ | The quality of being friendly. |
| handpicked adjective | Picked by hand rather than by machinery. | |
| immensely adverb | /ɪˈmɛnsli/ | Greatly; hugely; extremely; vastly; to a great extent. |
| browse verb | /bɹaʊz/ | To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand. |
| tutor noun | /ˈtjuːtəː/ | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
| empathy noun | /ˈɛmpəθi/ | Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person. |
| entertain verb | /ˌɛntəˈteɪn/ | To amuse (someone); to engage the attention of agreeably. |
| breakthrough noun | /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/ | An advance through and past enemy lines. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| hub noun | /hʌb/ | The central part, usually cylindrical, of a wheel; the nave. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go around verb | To move or spread from person to person. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as you'll, we've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/, breakthrough /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/
- Long words — get the stress right: curriculum /kəˈɹɪk.jə.ləm/, collegiate /kəˈliːd͡ʒi.ət/
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 transformational, curriculum, classroom.
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.