Shadowing Practice: The Queen's live broadcast re Diana's Death (BBC1, 1997) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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31 sentences
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1
Since last Sunday's dreadful news, we have seen throughout
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Britain and around the world an overwhelming expression of sadness at Diana's death.
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We have all been trying in our different ways to cope.
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It is not easy to express a sense of loss,
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since the initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of other feelings disbelief incomprehension anger
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and concern for those who remain we have all felt those emotions in these last few days
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so what I say to you now as your Queen
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and as a grandmother I say from my heart first
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I want to pay tribute to Diana myself she was an exceptional and gifted human being.
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In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness.
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I admired and respected her for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys.
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This week at Balmoral, we have all been trying to help William
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and Harry come to terms with the devastating loss that they and the rest of us have suffered.
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No one who knew Diana will ever forget her.
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Millions of others who never met her but felt they knew her will remember her.
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I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life
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and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death.
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I share in your determination to cherish her memory.
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This is also an opportunity for me on behalf of my family and especially
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Prince Charles and William and Harry to thank all of you who have brought flowers,
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sent messages and paid your respects in so many ways to a remarkable person.
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These acts of kindness have been a huge source of help and comfort.
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Our thoughts are also with Diana's family and the families of those who died with her.
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I know
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that they too have drawn strength from what has happened since last weekend as they seek to heal their sorrow
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and then to face the future without a loved one.
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I hope that tomorrow we can all,
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wherever we are, join in expressing our grief at Diana's loss and gratitude for her all -too -short life.
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It is a chance to show to the whole world the British nation united in grief and respect.
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May those who died rest in peace, and may we, each and every one of us,
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thank God for someone who made many, many people happy.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Queen's live broadcast re Diana's Death”. This video has 31 sentences and 416 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:05. The speaker talks at a steady 135 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 |
|---|---|---|
| grief noun | /ɡɹiːf/ | Suffering, hardship. |
| kindness noun | /ˈkaɪnd.nəs/ | The state of being kind. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| shock noun | /ʃɔk/ | A sudden, heavy impact. |
| suffer verb | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | To undergo hardship. |
| commitment noun | /kəˈmɪtmənt/ | The act of sending a legislative bill to committee for review. |
| anger noun | /ˈæŋɡə/ | A strong and unpleasant feeling of displeasure, hostility, or antagonism, usually combined with an urge to yell, curse, damage or destroy things, or harm… |
| behalf noun | /bɪˈhæf/ | The interest, benefit, or wellbeing of someone or something. |
| flower noun | /ˈfloʊɚ/ | A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens… |
| comfort noun | /ˈkʌm.fət/ | Contentment, ease. |
| extraordinary adjective | /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/ | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual. |
| remarkable adjective | /ɹɪˈmɑɹ.kə.bl̩/ | Worthy of remark; notable; interesting. |
| succeed verb | /səkˈsiːd/ | To follow something in sequence or time. |
| wherever | /(h)wɛɹˈɛvɚ/ | Regardless of the place in, at or to which. |
| tribute noun | /ˈtɹɪbjuːt/ | An acknowledgment of gratitude, respect or admiration; an accompanying gift. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have seen · have suffered · have brought |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | those who remain · one who knew · those who died |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is often succeeded · be drawn |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/, warmth /wɔɹmθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, determination /dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən/, exceptional /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/, devotion /dɪˈvoʊʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, determination /dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃən/, exceptional /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/
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 grief, kindness, lesson.
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.