Shadowing Practice: 🇬🇧 Talking About Daily Routines in English 🇬🇧 Beginner English Listening Practice A1 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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What time do you usually wake up?
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I usually wake up at 8 o'clock.
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What time do you have breakfast?
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I normally have breakfast at quarter past 8.
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What time do you start work?
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I start work at half past 9.
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Do you prefer to walk or drive to work?
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I prefer to walk to work because I live very near my office.
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Do you have any breaks during the day?
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Yes, I have one break at half past twelve.
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What time do you get home from work?
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I get home from work at half past seven.
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Do you eat dinner alone or with your family?
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I usually eat my dinner alone while I watch TV.
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Do you watch a lot of TV at night?
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I watch TV for about 2 hours at night from 8 o'clock until 10 o'clock.
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How do you spend your evenings during the week?
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Well, I get home at about quarter to eight.
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After that, I make some dinner because I'm usually very hungry after work.
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Then I do some exercise,
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I go to the gym or I take my dog for a walk.
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Then from 8 o'clock until 10 o'clock I always watch TV.
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Then I tidy up my house before I go to bed.
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How do you spend your evenings on weekends?
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I like to spend my evenings on weekends at a restaurant or a shopping centre.
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I don't like being in my house at the weekend because I think it's a bit boring.
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I like to do fun things at the weekend.
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What is your daily routine for dinner?
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I make dinner when I get home from work.
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I usually have a pasta or rice dish with some meat and some vegetables.
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I love lasagna but I also like different dishes like sushi.
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But when I eat sushi, I always buy it from the supermarket.
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I don't know how to make sushi.
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Does your daily routine include any time for exercise?
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Yes, of course.
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I love doing exercise.
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I think that it's very relaxing, especially after work.
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When you are at work, you feel very stressed, but when you're doing exercise, you feel happy.
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I like going to the gym, going for a run or taking my dog for a walk.
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Last year I started boxing classes and I think that boxing is my favourite sport.
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Do you have any hobbies?
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Yes, I do have a lot of hobbies.
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Like I said, I love boxing and I go to boxing classes on Saturday mornings.
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I also love playing the piano and I started to learn to play the guitar last month.
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What is the hardest part of your daily routine?
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I think the hardest part of my daily routine is waking up in the morning.
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I hate mornings and when I wake up, I feel very sleepy and I don't like it.
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So when I wake up, I go to the kitchen and I make a cup of coffee.
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And this wakes me up just a little bit.
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What is the most fun part of your daily routine?
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I think that the most fun part of my daily routine is
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when I come home from work and I see my dog.
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My dog is very happy when he sees me and is fun because we play a few games and is very nice.
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I love having a dog.
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What is the most relaxing part of your daily routine?
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Well, I think that the most relaxing part of my daily routine is from 8 to 10 o'clock
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when I'm watching TV on my sofa.
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I also use my phone and check social media like Instagram at that time.
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I'm not only watching TV.
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I also have a cup of tea while I watch TV and eat some biscuits and it's very relaxing.
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Do you read before going to sleep?
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No I don't like reading before going to sleep.
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My favourite types of books are crime and scary books,
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so I don't think
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that it is a good idea to read these novels before I go to sleep because I might have bad dreams.
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What time do you typically go to bed?
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I normally go to bed at 11 o'clock or half past 11.
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Sometimes if I am watching a good film on TV and it finishes late like at 12 o'clock
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I might go to bed at 12 but I normally go to bed at 11 or 11.30.
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Like I said before, before I go to bed I tidy my house because when you wake up in the morning
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and the house is clean, it's great.
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You start the day feeling very happy and more relaxed.
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So I start to tidy my house at 10 or half past 10 and then I start to get ready for bed.
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I don't look at my phone before I go to sleep
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because I read online that it is bad because your brain is active
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so I don't read or I don't look at my phone,
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I don't use any technology before I go to bed.
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If you have enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe.
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Remember that you can write a comment in the comment section talking about your daily routine and I can correct you.
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Thank you and I'll see you in the next video.

Why practice speaking with this video?

This video titled "Talking About Daily Routines in English" is an excellent resource for beginners wanting to improve English pronunciation and develop their conversational skills. Practicing with native speakers through structured dialogue helps learners grasp common sentence structures, everyday vocabulary, and cultural references. By listening and repeating, viewers engage in shadow speak, a method that reinforces language retention and pronunciation accuracy. Regular practice using this video can significantly enhance your speaking confidence, making it easier to converse about daily activities and personal routines.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Throughout the video, several key structures highlight how we discuss daily routines:

  • “What time do you usually…?” - This question form helps learners in asking about time-related activities. For example, “What time do you usually wake up?” provides a model for sharing personal routines.
  • “I usually have… at…” - This structure is essential for talking about meal times and other daily habits. It encourages learners to talk about their own schedules, such as “I usually have breakfast at quarter past 8.”
  • “I prefer to…” - This expression is useful for discussing preferences, such as “I prefer to walk to work.” It allows learners to express likes and dislikes in various contexts.
  • “I love… but I also like…” - Using this structure helps to articulate opinions and tastes, enabling learners to expand their vocabulary and frame complex sentences based on personal preferences.

Common Pronunciation Traps

While practicing with this video, learners may come across some challenging words and phrases. Pay special attention to:

  • “quarter past” - Many learners struggle with the combination of sounds here. Ensure you practice this to distinguish between “quarter” and “past” clearly.
  • “gym” - The 'g' sound can often be muted in casual speech, so try to enunciate it clearly at the beginning of your phrases.
  • “exercise” - The pronunciation of this word can be tricky. Emphasize the middle syllable to sound more fluent.
  • “tidy up” - The blending of sounds in this phrase can create confusion. Break it down into “tidy” and “up” when practicing.

As you practice speaking along with this video, remember that learning English with YouTube can be a fun and interactive way to enhance your skills. Engaging in shadow speech not only improves your pronunciation but also reinforces your ability to communicate effectively in real-life situations.

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.