Shadowing Practice: Tame Impala - Afterthought (Official Audio) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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I might be crazy, senses betray me Are you parading
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or your love is debating You only call me to drive you to safety But you never stay,
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must be so easy to play me I can be emotional If you need me to,
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tell me what do I say to turn this around 99 days,
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you think I know how I can be emotional If you need me to,
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tell me what do I say to turn this around I
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beg you don't make me say it out
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loud No matter what
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I do I'm not a good baby,
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I'm not a slave When we're alone, it's like I'm keeping you waiting My hopes are fading,
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there's nothing to change it I'm still so far away from calling you baby
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A word of your feet She's in the tongue with cheeks A tongue with the trees
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A tongue with the trees A tongue with the tongue Oh
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Tell me what do I say If you're telling us around 99 days You think I know how I can get emotional
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Like your love is doomed Tell me what do I say To turn this around
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I beg you don't make me say it
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all out I'm an afterthought
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to you I'm a laughter, don't you?
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I'm a laughter, don't you?
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I'm a laughter, don't you?
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Tell me what do I say to turn this around
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99 days you think it by now
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I can be
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emotional I'm
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an out-of-the-thought to you now.
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I said no matter what I do
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I'm an afterthought to you Just
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an afterthought to you I'm an afterthought to you

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 28 sentences and 274 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:41. The speaker talks slowly, about 74 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

14 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

  • laughter /ˈlæftɚ/ (noun) — The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.
  • slave /sleɪv/ (noun) — A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition…
  • parade /pəˈrɑd/ (noun) — Synonym of military parade: A show of troops, an assembly of troops as a show of force, to receive orders, or especially for inspection at set times.
  • cheek /t͡ʃiːk/ (noun) — The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
  • fade /feɪd/ (verb) — To hit the ball with the shot called a fade.
  • doom /duːm/ (noun) — Destiny, especially terrible.
  • afterthought /ˈæft.ɚ.θɔt/ (noun) — A reflection after an act; a later or subsequent thought, action, or expedient.
  • betray /bɪˈtɹeɪ/ (verb) — To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.
  • emotional /ɪˈmoʊʃənəl/ (adjective) — Of or relating to the emotions.
  • debate /dɪˈbeɪt/ (noun) — An argument, or discussion, usually in an ordered or formal setting, often with more than two people, generally ending with a vote or other decision.
  • loud /ˈlaʊ̯d/ (adjective) — Of great intensity.
  • tree /tɹiː/ (noun) — A perennial woody plant taller and larger than a shrub with a wooden trunk and, at some distance from the ground, having leaves and branches.
  • safety /ˈseɪfti/ (noun) — The condition or feeling of being safe; security; certainty.
  • foot /fʊt/ (noun) — A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

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 laughter, slave, parade.

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 →