Shadowing Practice: "The Schuyler Sisters" from HAMILTON - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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There's nothing rich folks love more than going downtown and slumming it with the poor.
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They pull up in their carriages and gawk at the students in the commons just to watch them talk.
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Take Philip Schuyler, the man is loaded.
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Uh oh, but little does he know that his daughter is Peggy,
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Angelica, Eliza, snuck into the city just to watch all the guys at Wut Wut Angelica Wut Wut Eliza
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and Peggy Wut Wut the Schuyler sisters Angelica, Eliza, work!
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Daddy said to be home by sundown.
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Daddy doesn't need to know.
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Daddy said not to go downtown.
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Like I said, you're free to go.
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But look around, look around, the revolution's happening in New York.
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Angelica, work!
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It's bad enough Daddy wants to go to war.
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People shouting in the square.
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It's bad enough there'll be violence on our shore.
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Look around, look around Angelica, remind me what we're looking for She's looking for me Eliza,
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I'm looking for a minded work I'm looking for a minded
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work I'm looking for a minded work I'm looking for a minded work Woah,
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woah, woah, woah, woah There's nothing like summer in the city Someone in a rush next to summer looking pretty Excuse me, miss, I know it's not funny
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But your perfume smells like your daddy's got money Smells like your daddy's got money
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While you slummin' in the city in your fancy heels You searchin' for an urchin who can give you ideals Burr, you disgust me Ah, so you disgust me I'm a trust fund, baby, you can trust me
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I've been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine So many say that I'm intense or I'm insane You want a revolution?
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I want a revelation So listen to my declaration
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We hold these truths to be self-evident That all men are created equal
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And when I meet Thomas Jefferson I'ma compel him to include women in this equal work Look around,
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look around And how lucky we are to be alive right now Look around,
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look around And how lucky we are to be alive right now History is happening in Manhattan
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And we just happen to be in the greatest city in
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the world In the greatest city in the world Cause I'm around, I'm in pain I'm in pain,
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I'm in pain You're watching a lot of passion around I'm in pain,
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I'm in pain We hope you're so proud And we're all gonna be here for Eliza Look around,
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look around Look how lucky we are to be alive right now History is happening in Manhattan
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And we just happen to be The greatest city in the world The greatest city in the world
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Angelica Eliza And Peggy The Skylark sisters We're looking for a wine at Hey,
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hey, hey In the greatest city,
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in the greatest city of the world In the greatest city of the world
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 36 sentences and 487 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:01. The speaker talks at a natural 162 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- whoa /woʊ/ — Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
- downtown /ˈdaʊ̯nˌtaʊ̯n/ (noun) — The main business part of a city or town, usually located at or near its center.
- disgust /dɪsˈɡʌst/ (noun) — An intense dislike or loathing someone feels for something bad or nasty.
- rush /ɹʌʃ/ (verb) — To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
- ideal /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ (adjective) — Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea.
- passion /ˈpæʃən/ (noun) — A true desire sustained or prolonged.
- insane /ɪnˈseɪn/ (adjective) — Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad.
- intense /ɪnˈtɛns/ (adjective) — Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering.
- remind /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ (verb) — To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
- fancy /ˈfæn.si/ (noun) — The imagination.
- shore /ʃɔɹ/ (noun) — Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond.
- folk /foʊk/ (noun) — People, persons.
- declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — An emphatic or formal act of saying, telling or asserting something, by speech or writing; a decisive assertion or proclamation.
- shout /ʃaʊt/ (verb) — To utter a sudden and loud cry, as in joy, triumph, exultation or anger, or to attract attention, to animate others, etc.
- evident /ˈɛv.ə.dənt/ (adjective) — Obviously true by simple observation.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- look around (verb) — To inspect a building or area.
- look for (verb) — To seek.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, shore /ʃɔɹ/, declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, shout /ʃaʊt/
- Long words — get the stress right: declaration /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, revelation /ˌɹɛv.əˈleɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like whoa, downtown, disgust.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is loaded · are created |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the greatest |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | we're looking · I'm looking · is happening |
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.