Shadowing Practice: Talking about πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦β€οΈ family: Real Easy English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Welcome to Real Easy English from BBC Learning English.
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In this programme, we have real conversations in Easy English to help you practice listening and learn new words and phrases.
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I'm Beth.
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And I'm Neil.
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In each episode, we talk in English about a different topic that you need for everyday speaking.
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If you want to read along, you can visit our website, website, bbclearningenglish.com.
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Hello Beth.
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Hi Neil, how are you?
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I'm very well, thank you.
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What are we talking about today?
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Well, today's episode is all about family.
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We'll be talking about who is in our families and comparing them.
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OK, great.
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So, what do we mean when we say comparing our families, Beth?
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Well, when we compare two things, we look at them and see if they are the same or different.
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And we can compare things in different ways but we often do it with adjectives.
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OK, let's start the conversation.
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So, Neil, how big is your family?
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It's probably average, really.
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I have one sister but she has three kids and I have two kids so when we get together with my parents there are a few of us.
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It's not tiny, it's not huge.
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OK, yeah.
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I think my family is definitely smaller than yours because I don't have any brothers or sisters.
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I am an only child, so when I get together with my family, it's very small because I also only have one cousin and she is an only child as well, so my family's tiny.
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OK.
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And what is your family like?
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It's small, but what's it like?
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It is small, but we're very close, so we see each other quite often.
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We are a bit silly.
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We like to go out and have food and play games and we can be quite loud even though there aren't many of us.
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OK.
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It sounds like you get on well with your family.
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Is that right?
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Yeah, definitely.
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Yeah.
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I love spending time with my cousin and she has two children.
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What about you?
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Do you get on well with your sister?
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Yes, I get on well with my sister.
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We don't see each other very often because we don't live in the same place.
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But when we see each other we have a nice time, we catch up and chat.
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So Beth, we have used the expression get on well with someone.
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What does that mean?
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Well, that means that you have a good relationship with them.
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So if you get on well with your sister, it means when you're together, you're happy, you're not fighting, it's easy to have good conversation.
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don't really have any arguments.
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Maybe when you were a child you didn't get on well with your sister.
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I don't know.
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Yes, I think now that we are grown-ups it's easier to get on well with your sibling.
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When I was a kid, maybe I was a bit mean to her.
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Oh dear.
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So Neil, your sister has three children.
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What are the ages of them?
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Well, for a start, they're all boys.
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OK.
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Oh my gosh, that sounds very difficult.
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And the oldest one is 17.
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And he has just done his driving test.
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It's difficult to believe because he's the oldest.
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He's always been the oldest, but now he's almost an adult.
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And is he the oldest, including your children?
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So out of all the kids, he's the oldest.
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He is, yeah.
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So in my family, my cousin has two children and they are five and two.
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Little ones.
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Yeah, they are the youngest in the family but i was the youngest in my family until they came along and i am 32 so i was used to being the youngest but i'm not the youngest anymore now we've got little ones oh well are you sad no i'm okay OK, let's quickly recap the vocabulary we learned in this conversation.
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We learnt compare, which means to look at two things to see if they are the same or different.
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Bigger and smaller, which are ways to compare the size of something.
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Youngest and oldest, which are ways to talk about the age of someone or something.
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And we looked at get on well with someone, which means to have a good relationship with them.
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Thanks for listening to Real Easy English.
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Visit our website for more activities and courses to help you with your English – bbclearningenglish.com.
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Next time we'll talk about food and some of our favourite meals to eat.
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Delicious.
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See you then.
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Bye.
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Goodbye.
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Thank you.
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About This Lesson

This lesson from the Real Easy English series focuses on the topic of family, providing you with an excellent opportunity to improve your English speaking practice. During the video, hosts Beth and Neil engage in a natural conversation that exemplifies everyday English usage. You will practice listening to vocabulary related to family dynamics, including discussions about siblings, cousins, and relationship qualities.

Additionally, the video offers insight into grammatical patterns used for comparisonβ€”such as using adjectives to describe family sizes and relationships. You'll learn how to articulate your family structure, express your feelings about family ties, and compare them with those of others, all of which are useful in everyday contexts and for IELTS speaking practice.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Get on well with – This means to have a good relationship with someone, indicating ease of conversation and absence of arguments.
  • Only child – A person who has no siblings, which can lead to a smaller family dynamic.
  • Average size family – Refers to a family that is neither too small nor too large, typically consisting of parents and a few children.
  • Close-knit family – A family that shares strong emotional bonds and often spends time together, regardless of its size.
  • Catch up – To talk with someone you don’t see often, sharing news and updates about each other's lives.
  • Comparison – The act of evaluating the similarities and differences between two or more things, often using adjectives.

Practice Tips for This Video

To effectively use the shadowing technique with this video, start by watching it once without actively speaking. Focus on understanding the conversation and the structure of the dialogue. Pay attention to their accents and intonation as they discuss their family experiences.

When you begin to shadow, use a slower playback speed to catch every detail, especially if you find the topic difficult. Gradually increase to the normal speed as your confidence grows. Try to mimic not only their words but also their pronunciation vibes. Specifically, focus on the expression "get on well with," as it is pivotal in expressing relationships.

Incorporate the vocabulary as you practice speaking about your own family. Discuss how many siblings you have or if you're an only child. This will enhance your English fluency and prepare you for similar conversational topics in real-life scenarios, as well as IELTS speaking tests.

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.

How to Practice Effectively on ShadowingEnglish

  1. Choose your video: Pick a YouTube video with clear, natural English speech. TED Talks, BBC News, movie scenes, podcasts, or IELTS sample answers all work great. Paste the URL into the search bar. Start with shorter videos (under 5 minutes) and content you find genuinely interesting β€” motivation matters.
  2. Listen first, understand the context: On your first pass, keep the speed at 1x and just listen. Don't try to repeat yet. Focus on understanding the meaning, picking up new vocabulary, and noticing how the speaker stresses words, links sounds, and uses pauses.
  3. Set up Shadowing mode:
    • Wait Mode: Choose +3s or +5s β€” after each sentence plays, the video pauses automatically so you have time to repeat it out loud. Choose Manual if you want full control and press Next yourself after each repetition.
    • Sub Sync: YouTube subtitles sometimes appear slightly ahead or behind the audio. Use Β±100ms to align them perfectly so you can follow along accurately.
  4. Shadow out loud (the core practice): This is where the real work happens. As soon as a sentence plays β€” or during the pause β€” repeat it out loud, clearly and confidently. Don't just mouth the words: mirror the speaker's exact rhythm, stress, pitch, and connected speech. Aim to sound like a shadow of the speaker, not just a word-by-word recitation. Use the Repeat feature to drill the same sentence multiple times until it feels natural.
  5. Scale up the challenge: Once a passage feels comfortable, push your limits. Increase speed to <code>1.25x</code> or even <code>1.5x</code> to train high-speed language reflexes. Or set Wait Mode to <code>Off</code> for continuous shadowing β€” the most advanced and rewarding mode. Consistent daily practice of 15–30 minutes will produce noticeable results within weeks.

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