Shadowing Practice: سلسلة البزنس The Business English Series - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everyone, my name is Ala Abdul Samad and I am an English instructor.
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I'm super, super excited to start a new series with you, the Business English series that you've been waiting for so long.
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We are going to talk about topics that are related to the workplace.
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I know there's a huge difference between business English and conversational English.
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And sometimes it can be a barrier for a lot of English learners,
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especially for those who have no structure to business English.
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And because I know that a lot of you would like to improve their career,
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and because I know that learning business English sometimes can be very boring and overwhelming,
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So I have designed this booklet for you, the Business English at the Workplace,
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where you are going to learn a lot of vocab that is relevant and appropriate to use in the work environment.
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This booklet contains nine topics, and they are the most important topics
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that you will need to be very professional and to sound like native and to speak like a CEO.
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Oh, I mean, who doesn't want to speak like a CEO, right?
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Confidently.
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So this booklet helps you with that.
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It contains topics about formal and informal emails,
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business collocations, business idioms, formal and informal verbs in context.
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And the most important topic that is topic nine is about job interviews.
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If you would like to purchase my book,
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you can find it on Amazon on as a hard copy or you can get it as an ebook.
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You can also get it from the iPhone and Android library as an ebook as well.
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And for those who've already bought my book, I would love to hear your feedback in the comments section.
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All right.
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Let's start with our lesson for today.
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Today, we're going to talk about business idioms.
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Business idioms are so important when it comes to business idioms you cannot escape them because you're going to find them everywhere.
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You're going to find them in the business articles, in the business news, in the workplace meetings, everywhere.
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And I know that you do not have to use idioms.
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That's not a must.
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That's not part of learning the English language.
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Understanding idioms will help you understand native speakers who use idioms naturally when they speak. And therefore,
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today we're going to talk about the most important 10 business idioms
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that I'm pretty sure you're going to come across in the workplace.
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So let's get the ball rolling.
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And to get the ball rolling is an idiom, which means to start doing something.
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You might probably heard your boss saying in the meeting, OK, now let's get the ball rolling, which means let's start our meeting
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or let's start working on this project let's get the ball
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rolling number two to touch base touch base is used commonly in the workplace especially in emails
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you would find people say touch base
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when they want to share updates about something
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so they say let's touch base next week
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which means let's talk about the updates for next week let's
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get some updates let's share our updates for next week three in the loop
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when you want to keep someone in the loop is you want to keep someone informed about what's going on
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so you would say i will send an email to everyone to keep them in the loop
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i don't want anybody to be out of the loop out of the loop
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which means you don't know what's going on for example i didn't go to work for three days
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and i feel now i'm out of the loop
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i don't know what's going on next on the same page on the same page
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i think we have the same saying in arabic we say on the same page
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which means on the same level of understanding of the situation where you agree
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and understand what's going on in the same way with your team for example
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i think we are all on the same page about our next plan.
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This is a very important one that you can use not only in the work environment, but also in the everyday language.
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Down the drain.
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And usually we use the verb go.
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Go down the drain or went down the drain.
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We all know what a drain is, where the water goes.
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So that's a drain.
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So when you say it went down the drain, it means It is wasted or you lost it.
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For example, if we don't work hard on the next project,
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we might lose the deal and thousands of dollars could go down the drain.
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Another example from the everyday language is when you say, I studied really hard for the exam, but the teacher decided to postpone it.
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All my hard work went down the drain.
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next an important one up in the air up in the air means undecided uncertain unplanned yet for example
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you say um our next deal is still up in the air so we can't announce it win -win
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win -win means a situation that benefits all people involved for example you say
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if they accept the offer is going to be a win -win for both companies,
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which means both companies are going to get the benefit.
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It's going to be a win -win for both of them.
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Next, ballpark.
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Ballpark means an estimate, a rough estimate, not an exact number.
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For example, you would say, could you please give me a ballpark figure for the coast of the event
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i can't give you an exact number i can give you a ballpark
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which means i can give you an estimate up to speed up to speed
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and usually we use the um preposition on with it up to speed means
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you want to get fully informed about a situation.
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So you would say I need to get up to speed on the latest plan for the project.
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And the last one for today is a game.
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A game which means our best effort or performance.
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So you would say let's get our A game to win the deal.
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And that was everything for today.
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Business idioms again are so important.
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You don't have to use them in your speech, but you need to understand as many as you can.
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So if you want to learn more about idioms, don't forget to buy my book that includes a whole chapter about idioms.
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There are more than 40 idioms in my book with examples and questions and quizzes at the end of the chat.
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If you have any questions, let me know and see you in the next video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “سلسلة البزنس The Business English Series”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: idiom, English, drain, example, loop. This video has 87 sentences and 1120 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:33. The speaker talks at a steady 148 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| drain noun | /dɹiːn/ | A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK) |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| loop noun | /luːp/ | A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening. |
| workplace noun | /ˈwɝkˌpleɪs/ | The place where someone works. |
| estimate noun | /ˈɛs.tɪ.mət/ | A rough calculation or assessment of the value, size, or cost of something. |
| booklet noun | /ˈbʊk.lət/ | A small or thin book. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| formal adjective | /ˈfɔɹməl/ | In accordance with established forms. |
| inform verb | /ɪnˈfɔɹm/ | To communicate knowledge to. |
| informal adjective | /ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/ | Not formal or ceremonious. |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| commonly adverb | /ˈkɑmənli/ | As a rule; frequently; usually. |
| feedback noun | /ˈfiːdˌbæk/ | Critical assessment of a process or activity or of their results. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. |
| get up to verb | To do something, especially something that is forbidden or improper. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | those who have · idiom, which means · rolling, which means |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have designed · who've already bought |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 20 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, conversational /ˌkɒnvə(ɹ)ˈseɪʃənəl/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/, conversational /ˌkɒnvə(ɹ)ˈseɪʃənəl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like drain, topic, loop.
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.