Shadowing Practice: Talking to a Neighbour About the Noise - Learn English Speaking with Video

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29 sentences
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1
Hello, um, sorry to bother you. I'm Helen, from downstairs.
2
Oh, hi! I'm Jake. I moved in last month.
3
Lovely to meet you. I hope you're settling in well.
4
Actually, there's something a bit awkward I need to bring up.
5
Oh. That doesn't sound good. What is it?
6
It's about the music, late at night.
7
I could hear it until two in the morning on Tuesday.
8
Two in the morning? Was it really that loud?
9
I'm afraid so. The bass comes straight through my ceiling.
10
I'm so sorry. I honestly had no idea the floors were that thin.
11
I guessed you didn't. That's why I came up instead of complaining.
12
I appreciate that. Most people would have just called the landlord.
13
The thing is, I start work at six, so I've been exhausted all week.
14
That's awful. I feel terrible about it.
15
I work from home as a sound designer,
16
so I tend to lose track of time.
17
A sound designer? So it wasn't a party, then?
18
No! Just me and a very boring deadline.
19
Well, your deadline has a lot of drums in it.
20
What if I switched to headphones after ten?
21
That would make a huge difference. Thank you.
22
And I could put a thick rug down to absorb the bass.
23
Oh! Would you really do that?
24
Of course. It's the least I can do.
25
You know, I was dreading this conversation.
26
Honestly, I'm glad you knocked.
27
If it ever gets too loud again, I'll just send you a message.
28
Deal. And if you ever want free concert tickets, let me know!
29
Free tickets? Now you're my favourite neighbour!

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 29 sentences and 271 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:57. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
designer noun/dɪˈzaɪnɚ/A person who designs something, or who designs things as a profession.
bass noun/beɪs/A low spectrum of sound tones.
deadline noun/ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/A time limit in the form of a date on or before which something must be completed.
thin adjective/ˈθɪn/Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
awful adjective/ˈɔːfʊl/Very bad.
thick adjective/θɪk/Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
bother verb/ˈbɑðɚ/To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
settle verb/ˈsɛtəl/To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc).
knock verb/nɑk/To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood.
awkward adjective/ˈɔk.wɚd/Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.
complain verb/kəmˈpleɪn/To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
ceiling noun/ˈsilɪŋ/The overhead closure of a room.
drum noun/ˈdɹʌm/A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber; a membranophone.
bore verb/boɹ/To inspire boredom in somebody.
landlord noun/ˈlæn(d).lɔɹd/A person that leases real property; a lessor.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordMeaning
bring up verbTo mention.
come up verbTo emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “th” sounds: thin /ˈθɪn/, thick /θɪk/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like designer, bass, deadline.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →