Shadowing Practice: The Last Letter Part 1 | Shadowing Technique | English Speaking Practice for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The Last Letter.
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Welcome to English Voice.
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Listen carefully, read along, and improve your English with easy stories and shadowing.
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Before you listen to the story, let's learn ten useful words to help you understand
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and enjoy the story better new words letter
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a written message unexpected not planned memory
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something you remember silence no sound shake to move
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because of emotion hesitate to wait before acting
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past time before now alone without
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other people fear strong worry beginning the start now listen to the story
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and try to hear these words while you enjoy the story.
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Part 1 The letter lies on the small table near the door.
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Daniel stands in the hallway and looks at it.
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He just came home from work.
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The apartment is quiet.
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No music, no voices.
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Daniel lives alone, and most days feel the same.
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He walks closer and picks up the letter.
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The paper feels old.
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There is no return address.
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His fingers shake slightly.
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He does not know why.
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Daniel sits down slowly.
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For a moment, he does nothing.
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Opening the letter feels dangerous, like opening the past.
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He hesitates, then he opens it.
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Inside, there is one short sentence.
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I never forgot you.
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We need to talk.
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Daniel reads it again His heart beats faster A memory
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comes back A woman's voice A quiet laugh Emma A knock sounds at the door Daniel opens it Mr. Harris,
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his elderly neighbor, smiles gently Letters can change lives lives, Mr. Harris says.
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Daniel forces a smile.
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That night, Daniel cannot sleep.
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The letter stays on the table, waiting.
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End Part 1 In the next video, Daniel decides if he will face his past.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Last Letter Part 1”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Daniel, letter, English, voice, listen. This video has 38 sentences and 303 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:34. The speaker talks slowly, about 85 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| shake verb | /ˈʃeɪk/ | To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly. |
| hesitate verb | /ˈhɛz.ə.teɪt/ | To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination. |
| finger noun | /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other… |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
| silence noun | /ˈsaɪ̯ləns/ | The absence of any sound. |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| knock verb | /nɑk/ | To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood. |
| unexpected adjective | /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/ | Not expected, anticipated or foreseen. |
| emotion noun | /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/ | A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data. |
| elderly adjective | /ˈɛldɚli/ | old; having lived for relatively many years. |
| gently adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛntli/ | Without strong force or quickness: softly, lightly. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| hallway noun | /ˈhɔlˌweɪ/ | A corridor in a building that connects rooms. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| read along verb | To read together with another person, or with another presentation (TV etc) |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shake /ˈʃeɪk/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/
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 litter, shake, hesitate.
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.