Shadowing Practice: Talking about days out 🏞️🌞🧺 Real Easy English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello and welcome to Real Easy English.
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In this podcast we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn.
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I'm Beth.
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And I'm Neil.
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And you can find a video version of this podcast on our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you can also find a free worksheet.
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How was your weekend, Neil?
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My weekend was very good.
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I did lots of fun things.
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Oh, good!
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What about you?
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Yeah, I went to a museum that was not that interesting.
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And I did some other interesting things too.
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Well, today, Beth, we are talking about days out and places that are good to visit for a day trip.
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Very nice.
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Let's get started then.
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So, tell us about your boring day, by the sound of it.
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So it was a prison museum about like medieval England.
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So I feel like could have been a bit more exciting.
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But instead I was reading a lot about religion and kings and stuff.
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Okay.
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So you spent your weekend learning about prisoners from the Middle Ages.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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I wouldn't recommend it too much, but museums can be a good...
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Yeah.
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thing.
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What about a day trip that you've enjoyed?
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I used to go on lots of day trips with my kids
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yeah so fun things to do we go to the seaside in the summer um but they don't really
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want to hang around with me anymore so you're not cool i'm on my own um yeah so i
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like watching sport so i might meet friends and go and watch sport on friday i spend most of the day watching a cricket match.
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Oh nice, that sounds like a good day out.
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Well actually I did go to a museum but I also went to the theatre this weekend and that was a really enjoyable day trip.
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Did you do any sightseeing?
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Well yeah we walked past quite a lot of famous sites so we went past Big Ben, we walked past the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, yeah we did a lot of walking.
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I'm quite tired actually.
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And are you a thrill seeker?
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So do you like really adventurous day trips?
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Like, do you like parachuting or bungee jumping or any of those things or roller coasters, theme parks?
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I would say no, not really.
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I think if I'm on holiday I'm a bit more adventurous.
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So I've done and things like, you know, been in speed boats and that kind of stuff,
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which I find quite enjoyable if I'm abroad, tends to be, but I don't really like roller coasters and that sort of thing, because they scare me and make me feel a bit sick.
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So I wouldn't go to a theme park for a day out.
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What about you?
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Are you a thrill seeker?
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Not anymore.
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I used to like theme parks when I was younger, but I don't really like them anymore.
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Okay, Beth, so is there anywhere that you have always wanted to visit for a day trip but you haven't?
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There is actually.
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So, Brighton.
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I went to Brighton when I was a child but I can't remember it at all, to be honest.
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So I'd really like to go there on a day trip because it's not too far and I like the beach and I want to have an ice cream, maybe some fish and chips.
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I used to live in Brighton.
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Did you?
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Yeah.
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You can take me a day trip and show me around.
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I definitely think you should visit.
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How about you Neil, is there anywhere that you've always wanted to go on a day trip?
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Yeah, I really like train travel
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and London is actually really close to the rest of Europe but we have the sea in the way but we have the tunnel so we can we can go to Paris just for the day and I,
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it seems like maybe a, like it's It's not long enough to just to go somewhere like Paris for a day.
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But you can do it.
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And I kind of like that idea of just going from London to Paris for the day and back on the train.
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Sounds a bit crazy.
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You'd need a really early train.
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Really early train, really late train back and lots of energy.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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You wouldn't need to pay for your accommodation.
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Exactly.
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Go up the Eiffel Tower, come back down, go home.
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Perfect.
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Let's recap the vocabulary we heard during the conversation.
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We had day trip, which means visiting a place for just the day.
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We heard thrill seeker, which describes someone who takes part in risky and exciting activities.
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Adventurous means unusual and exciting.
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A person can be adventurous, or an experience or a day trip can be adventurous, like Neil's trip to Paris.
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We used the word sightseeing, which describes the activity where you walk around looking at famous buildings and monuments.
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And that's it for this episode of Real Easy English.
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You can test what you've learnt with the worksheet on our website bbclearningenglish.com.
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And we'll be back with more Easy Conversations soon and we want to hear from you to tell us what you want to hear us talking about.
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Send an email to learningenglish at bbc.co.uk.
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We'd love to hear from you.
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Thanks for joining us and see you soon.
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Goodbye.
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About This Lesson

This lesson focuses on discussing days out and the different experiences associated with them, helping learners practice everyday conversation in English. Through this engaging dialogue, you will pick up conversational phrases and enhance your ability to express opinions about leisure activities, trips, and personal preferences. This is a great opportunity to improve your English speaking skills while learning how to describe past experiences and future aspirations regarding outings and adventures.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Day trip: A short journey taken for pleasure without staying overnight.
  • Museum: A building where objects of historical, scientific, or artistic interest are stored and displayed.
  • Sightseeing: The activity of visiting places of interest in a particular location.
  • Thrill seeker: A person who enjoys exciting or adventurous activities.
  • Roller coaster: An amusement park ride that consists of a train traveling along a winding track with steep climbs and drops.
  • Adventure: An unusual and exciting experience, often involving a degree of risk.
  • Seaside: The land along the edge of the sea, often a recreational area.
  • Theatre: A building or outdoor area where plays and performances are presented.

Practice Tips

To effectively use the shadowing technique, listen closely to the video and repeat each phrase as you hear it, mimicking the intonation and speed of the speakers. Since the conversation takes place at a natural rhythm, it's a perfect opportunity to practice shadow speech. Try to focus on the pauses and tone, as this will help you improve your English pronunciation and fluency.

Additionally, consider using a shadowing app for easy playback control, allowing you to slow down or speed up the dialogue according to your comfort level. Engaging with material like "Learn English with YouTube" videos not only enhances your vocabulary but also makes you more confident in speaking about everyday topics like day trips and leisure activities. Repeatedly practicing this way will ensure that your speech becomes more fluid and natural over time.

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 β€” 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 β€” making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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