Shadowing Practice: TEST 8 PART 2 - LUYỆN TẬP VÀ THỰC HÀNH LISTENING - TỰ HỌC VSTEP - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B1
You will hear part of an interview with a boy called Simon,
111 sentences
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You will hear part of an interview with a boy called Simon,
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who is helping to protect the environment.
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Simon, tell us about yourself.
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Well, like lots of other kids my age,
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I've grown up taking my boat onto the rivers in this area.
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One of my favorite rivers is the River Stanton,
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which is fast with excellent white water,
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so things can get pretty dangerous.
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But it's exciting, and I'm experienced.
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Now, it was while you were on the River Stanton that you noticed something was wrong.
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Yeah.
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I always wondered why the water made my eyes burn if it got on my face,
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and why it was a strange orange color,
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especially when the water was running low.
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So you decided to find out more?
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Yeah.
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I asked other people using the river,
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and I visited a few websites and found out
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that the river was orange because of pollution from the old mines in the area.
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There was a lot of mining for coal done in this part of the country.
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I knew that from my history class at school,
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but what I didn't know was that pollution was coming from those old mine works and escaping into the rivers.
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Then you did a qualification, didn't you?
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Yes.
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I found out about an organization called the Friends of the River Stanton.
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They told me they did a special course where I could learn how to test the river water to see
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if it was healthy or not.
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So that's what I did.
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And I got really interested in the subject.
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In fact, you got so interested that you actually started to look for an answer to the pollution problem.
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Hmm.
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I learned as much as I could about the chemistry behind the pollution.
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I can't really explain all the detail,
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but basically, if you add something called limestone to the river,
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it can improve the chemistry.
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Hmm.
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That means that the plants and fish which had died,
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because of all the mining companies that used to be in the area,
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could live in the river again.
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So that made me really happy.
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Questions 5 to 8.
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You will hear part of a radio programme in which a woman called Sylvia Short is interviewed about her job.
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Good morning, and today we're continuing with our series on careers for young people.
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In the studio today we have Sylvia Short,
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who works for a company that produces guidebooks for serious travellers.
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Now, Sylvia, I believe you left Essex University with a degree in German and Spanish.
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Tell us something about how you got your job.
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Erm, my main interest has always been travel.
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I spent every holiday when I was a student travelling abroad.
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After I left university I spent a year as an English teacher in Spain,
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followed by six months as a tour guide in Italy.
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When I returned to England I applied for loads of jobs advertised in the newspaper,
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but didn't have any success.
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So I decided to make a list of every company I wanted to work for and write to them directly,
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rather than wait for them to advertise.
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Good advice to anyone, I think.
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Yes, and I was very lucky as the company World Travel needed an assistant in their office in London.
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I dealt mainly with the post at first just to get used to their way of doing things.
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Obviously I was qualified to do more but I wasn't in a hurry.
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Then the manager's assistant announced she was leaving after only being with the company for 12 months
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and I applied for her job.
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The company encourages their staff to apply for higher level jobs and I was promoted four months after joining.
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Good for you.
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What does the job involve?
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Well, I've expanded the role since I took it on.
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I'm in charge of all the advertising in the press whenever we publish a new guidebook,
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and I sometimes give talks to people in the travel industry.
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Do you find the work interesting?
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Oh yes, it's never boring.
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We often get odd requests from journalists.
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They assume we know everything there is to know about travel,
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so they often ring us to see if we can help them.
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rang to say he was writing an article and wanted to know whether there were any female football teams in China.
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Questions 9 through 12.
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You will hear the Director of Studies in an English Language Centre and a student representative talking about their self-access centre.
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Thank you.
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Now, what about the computers?
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I think it might be a good idea to install some new models.
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They would take up a lot less room and so that would increase the workspace for textbooks and so on.
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That would be great.
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It is a bit cramped in there at times.
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What about other resources?
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Do you have a list of things that the students would like to see improved?
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Yes.
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One of the comments that students frequently make is
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that they find it difficult to find materials that are appropriate for their level,
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especially reading resources, so I think we need to label them more clearly.
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Well, that's easy enough.
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We can get that organised very quickly. In fact,
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I think we should review all of the study resources as some of them are looking a bit out of date.
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Definitely.
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The CD section especially needs to be more current.
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I think we should get some of the ones that go with our latest course books and also make multiple copies.
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Good.
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Now, I was also thinking about some different materials that we haven't got in there at all.
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What do you think of the idea of introducing some workbooks?
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If we break them up into separate pages and laminate them,
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they'd be a great resource.
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The students could study the main course book in class and then do follow-up practice in self-access centre.
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That sounds good.
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Okay, now finally we need to think about how the room is used.
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I'll have to talk to the teachers
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and make sure we can all reach some agreement on a timetable to supervise the centre after class.
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But we also need to think about security too,
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especially if we're going to invest in some new equipment.
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Um, what about putting in an alarm?
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Good idea.
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The other thing I'd like to do is talk to our technicians
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and see whether we could somehow limit the access to email I really don't want to see that resource misused
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This is the end of part two.
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Thank you.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will focus on enhancing their listening and speaking skills through an engaging interview format. The video features a conversation with Simon, a young environmentalist, and Sylvia, a professional guidebook writer. Through these dialogues, you will practice understanding key environmental issues and career insights while improving your English speaking practice. The use of the shadowing technique, where you imitate the speakers' pronunciation and intonation, will help solidify your skills in real-life contexts.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Pollution - the introduction of harmful substances into the environment.
- Qualification - an official document proving a person's ability in a certain area.
- Limestone - a sedimentary rock used in water treatment to reduce acidity.
- Exciting - something that arouses enthusiasm or eagerness.
- Guidebook - a book that provides information on places for travelers.
- Interview - a conversation to gain information, often between an interviewer and a subject.
- Chemistry - the branch of science that deals with the substances and their interactions.
- Environment - the natural world, often affected by human influences.
Practice Tips
When engaging with the video, consider utilizing the shadowing technique to maximize your learning. Here are some specific strategies:
- Listen Closely: Pay attention to the pace and rhythm of the speakers. Both Simon and Sylvia talk at a moderate speed. This is ideal for beginners and intermediate learners to grasp full sentences.
- Repeat Immediately: After hearing a sentence or phrase, pause the video and try to repeat it aloud. This will help you practice your intonation while engaging in active listening.
- Focus on Key Vocabulary: Use the vocabulary list as a reference. Throughout the video, make an effort to use these words in your own sentences during your speaking practice. This will solidify your understanding and help you integrate new terms into your vocabulary.
- Imitate Emotion: Pay attention to how Simon expresses excitement about environmental protection and how Sylvia conveys her passion for travel writing. Infusing your shadow speech with the same emotions will enhance your speaking authenticity.
- Record Yourself: Use your phone or computer to record your shadow speak. Listening back to your attempts will allow you to notice areas of improvement in pronunciation and fluency.
By employing these techniques, you’ll enhance your English speaking practice and build confidence in your communication skills while enjoying valuable insights from the conversations presented in the video.
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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