Shadowing Practice: Talking about the news: 📰📱 Real Easy English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello.
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Hello.
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You're listening to Real Easy English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Beth.
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And I'm Neil.
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This is the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English for you to listen along and learn.
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As always, you can find a text version of this episode to read along on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
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So, Beth, how are you this week?
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I'm very good, thank you.
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How are you, Neil?
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I'm very well, thank you.
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What are we talking about today?
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We are talking about how much we follow the news.
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Ah, the news.
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OK, so what do we mean by follow the news?
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So when we say follow the news,
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it means that you are interested in the news.
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So you might read it on your phone,
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listen to it on the radio or watch it on TV quite regularly.
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Yes, and you can also follow sports, can't you?
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So if you like a particular,
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for example, football team, you might check your phone a lot to find out the score,
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to follow and see how they're doing.
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Yeah, exactly.
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So, Neil, do you follow the news?
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Yes, I think it's difficult not to follow the news.
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First thing in the morning,
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I look on my phone to see if anything big has happened overnight,
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and then I check a lot during the day just to see what's happening.
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So I do follow news.
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How about you?
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Yes, I'm the same.
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So I get notifications on my phone throughout the day.
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But sometimes I find that that's a little bit too much.
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Sometimes you need a break when you're working and you don't want to see the news all the time.
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And my phone does notify me a lot about the news.
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Yeah, I think you can have too much news
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and it can be not very good for you to read lots of usually quite bad news.
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Yes, definitely.
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So why do you like to follow the news even though it can be too sad?
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That's a very good question.
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I think it's a bit of a habit.
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It's a bit addictive.
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and I think we sometimes feel like we need to know what's happening,
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even if we have actually no control over what is happening.
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Yeah, I completely agree, because even though I get notifications and I read the news,
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I sometimes feel like I still don't know enough about what's going on
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because there's so much information out there and
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so many different ways to get the news
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that it's not enough to just read one article so much information that you want to understand.
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So Beth, we work at the BBC.
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We do.
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It's a news organisation.
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Have your news habits changed since you started working at the BBC?
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Yes, I think they definitely have.
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I think I probably pay more attention to the news now than I did in the past.
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And for example, I already knew some information about certain topics,
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but now I want to learn even more,
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so I try to pay more attention to things that maybe I wasn't as interested in,
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in the past.
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What about you?
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Does working at the BBC mean you pay more attention to the news?
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Well, I used to be a journalist at the BBC,
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so probably I used to pay more attention or follow the news more than I do now,
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because now I make these programmes about English.
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Maybe it's good that you don't follow the news as much as you did,
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because it's not always good.
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It's not.
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It's often bad news.
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OK, let's recap the vocabulary we learned during the conversation.
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We had follow the news,
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which means to be interested in the news.
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We used to and to means more than is needed of something.
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So, I watched too much news.
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We also had enough which means as much as is needed of something.
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So, if you think you watch enough news,
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you don't need more and you don't need less.
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And we've had already which means before now.
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Yes, I said that before I worked at the BBC,
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I already followed quite a bit of news.
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And I can't believe it is already the end of this episode and it's the end of the series.
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Yes, that's sad news.
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So, we will be back with more Easy English podcasts for you.
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But for now, you can find lots more activities and courses to help with your English on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
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Thank you for listening.
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See you soon.
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Bye.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This episode of Real Easy English offers a fantastic opportunity for English learners to practice their speaking skills while engaging with real-life conversations about current events. The dialogue between Beth and Neil highlights the common interest in following the news, which makes it relatable for many learners. By listening to their discussion, you can improve your conversational skills and gain confidence in discussing topics that are relevant in everyday life.

As you listen, try to shadow speech—repeating what the speakers say in real-time. This method not only helps you to practice your pronunciation, but also enables you to internalize sentence structures and vocabulary. Engaging with spoken English this way will further enhance your ability to speak fluently and respond spontaneously in conversations.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Throughout the video, several useful grammatical structures and expressions are emphasized:

  • To follow the news: This phrase indicates actively staying updated with current events. For example, “I follow the news on my phone.”
  • It can be too much: This expression reflects feelings of overwhelm when consuming information. For instance, “Sometimes I feel that there is too much news.”
  • A bit of a habit: This phrase describes something done regularly and often unconsciously, like checking the news daily.
  • There’s so much information out there: This idiom expresses the abundance of content available, highlighting the challenge of navigating through it effectively.

By learning these expressions, you can better articulate your thoughts about current events, which is crucial for engaging in meaningful conversations.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you practice with the podcast, pay attention to certain words or phrases that can be challenging in terms of pronunciation:

  • Notifications: Be mindful of the syllables: /ˌnoʊ.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃənz/. Breaking words down can help.
  • Addictive: Focus on the pronunciation /əˈdɪk.tɪv/; make sure to stress the second syllable.
  • Overwhelm: The way this word is pronounced can vary. It’s important to practice saying it smoothly: /ˌoʊ.vərˈwɛlm/.

By paying close attention to these pronunciation traps, you can improve English pronunciation and sound more fluent. Shadowing these phrases as you listen to Beth and Neil will help you become more comfortable and confident in your spoken English.

So, dive into this video, practice shadowing, and enjoy learning English with YouTube!

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.

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