Shadowing Practice: Talk about Work - Vocabulary Lesson - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
Hello, what's your name?
2
My name is Fatiha.
3
Hello, Fatiha.
4
May I ask you a few questions?
5
Of course you can.
6
What kind of work do you do?
7
Well, I am a teacher at Kingside University, and I teach English to various levels. Is your job demanding?
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It can be demanding, yes.
9
There will be sometimes lots of deadlines, at the same time we have to do a lesson plan, we have to do a lot of administration, so yeah, it can be demanding.
10
Is your job fulfilling?
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I feel as though over the years that I have been here, I feel it is very fulfilling, I feel very happy.
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Are you a good team player?
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I consider myself a very good team player.
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I can lead a team very well, but I can also work equally just as well being led by someone.
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So yeah, I think I am.
16
What contributes to a stimulating work environment?
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I think there has to be variety in the workplace to make the environment very interesting.
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We all have to be very happy.
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We all have different things that make us love doing our job and I think, yeah, I think it has to be interesting,
20
exciting and making friends with other teachers is very important.
21
You mentioned that you set deadlines at work.
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What happens when you don't meet these deadlines?
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It really depends what kind of deadline this is and whether it's to do with a certain department, whether it's to do with delivering a lesson.
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There are always going to be consequences but there are many people here who are happy to help you, help you achieve those goals on time to ensure that you always meet your deadlines.
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Should such a thing happen, there will always be a manager to help you and encourage you to fulfil your best.
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Do you set goals for yourself?
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I set goals every day and every week and I set milestones
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so I know that I can achieve what is required of me in my position
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and I can feel very satisfied after I complete those goals.
30
What happens if you don't achieve your goals?
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I mean, I won't beat myself up about it, but, you know, I'll set more realistic goals in the future
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And I'll write a to -do list so I can tick them off
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and mentally I can feel happier
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and I can feel like I've achieved something every day and at the end of every week.
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And what about you?
36
What kind of work do you do? Is your job demanding?
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Is your job fulfilling for you?
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Are you a good team player?
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What contributes to a stimulating work environment?
40
What happens if you don't meet deadlines?
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Do you set yourself goals?
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What happens when you don't achieve your goals?
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Talk about Work - Vocabulary Lesson”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: goals, deadline, happen, demanding, achieve. This video has 42 sentences and 472 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:42. The speaker talks at a natural 174 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 19 of its 42 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| deadline noun | /ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/ | A time limit in the form of a date on or before which something must be completed. |
| fulfill verb | /fʊlˈfɪl/ | To satisfy, carry out, bring to completion (an obligation, a requirement, etc.). |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| contribute verb | /kənˈtɹɪb.jut/ | To give something that is or becomes part of a larger whole. |
| stimulate verb | /ˈstɪm.jəˌleɪt/ | To encourage into action. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| equally adverb | /ˈiːkwəli/ | In an equal manner; in equal shares or proportion; with equal and impartial justice; evenly |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| mentally adverb | /ˈmɛntəli/ | In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| consequence noun | /ˈkɑn.sɪ.kwəns/ | An effect; something that follows a cause as a result. |
| workplace noun | /ˈwɝkˌpleɪs/ | The place where someone works. |
| satisfy verb | /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/ | To be enough (for) |
| tick noun | /tɪk/ | A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida. |
| milestone noun | /ˈmaɪlˌstoʊn/ | A stone milepost (or by extension in other materials), one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of… |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- May I ask you a few questions?
- What kind of work do you do?
- Are you a good team player?
- What happens if you don't achieve your goals?
- What happens when you don't achieve your goals?
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 | have been · I've achieved |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being led · is required |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will be · will always be · won't beat |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to do · has to be · have to be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'll, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like deadline, fulfill, lesson.
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.