Shadowing Practice: The Quiet Bus #learnenglish #englishstory - Learn English Speaking with Video

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17 sentences
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1
After work, I take the bus home.
2
The afternoon is sunny.
3
I sit by the window and hold my bag.
4
I feel nervous when I think about speaking English.
5
Then I look outside.
6
I see a small food shop.
7
It has red apples in the window.
8
Next, I see a flower shop with yellow flowers.
9
I say the words softly.
10
Food shop.
11
Red apples.
12
Flower shop.
13
The bus is quiet and nobody looks at me.
14
At the next stop, I see a bookshop.
15
I describe it in a clear voice.
16
I smile.
17
I feel calm now.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Quiet Bus”. This video has 17 sentences and 96 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:38. The speaker talks at a natural 152 words per minute, close to everyday conversation.

Key vocabulary in this video

14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
flower noun/ˈfloʊɚ/A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens…
sunny adjective/ˈsʌni/Featuring a lot of sunshine.
softly adverb/ˈsɔftli/In a soft manner; gently.
bookshop nounA shop that sells books.
yellow adjective/ˈjɛloʊ/Of a yellow hue.
quiet adjective/ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise.
smile verb/ˈsmaɪl/To have (a smile) on one's face.
describe verb/dɪˈskɹaɪb/To represent in words.
calm adjective/kɑm/Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and anxiety.
shop noun/ʃɑp/An establishment that sells goods or services to the public; originally only a physical location, but now a virtual establishment as well.
window noun/ˈwɪndoʊ/An opening, usually covered by one or more panes of clear glass, to allow light and air from outside to enter a building or vehicle.
apple noun/ˈæpəl/The fruit of the tree Malus domestica, chiefly with a green, red, or yellow skin, cultivated in temperate climates for cidermaking, cooking, and eating.
nobody noun/ˈnoʊ.bə.di/A person dismissed as unimportant.
afternoon noun/ˌæf.tɚˈnun/The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm.

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like flower, sunny, softly.

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 →