Shadowing Practice: πŸ’—πŸ’—πŸ’— The science of falling in love ⏲️ 6 Minute English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil.
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And I'm Beth.
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Head over heels, butterflies in the tummy,
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the apple of my eye.
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In English there are many idioms to describe what it feels like to fall in love.
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Aww, I didn't know you were such a romantic, Neil.
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But do you know what's actually happening in our brains when we fall in love?
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Because I'm sorry to say this,
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Neil, but it's more about brain chemistry than romance,
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specifically hormones – chemical messengers which the body releases into the blood to control our growth,
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mood and, yes, falling in love.
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Thanks for ruining my romantic ideas, Beth.
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And since my dreams are now shattered,
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why don't we spend the rest of this programme
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finding out exactly what is going on inside our bodies and brains when we fall in love.
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And of course, learn some useful new vocabulary too.
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There's no doubt that being in love has the health benefit of reducing stress,
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even lengthening your life.
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But the hormones which the brain releases have an immediate effect as well.
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So, chemically speaking, what happens when lovers look into each other's eyes? Is it...
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A their body temperature increases,
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B their heartbeats harmonise, or C the hairs stand up on the back of their neck?
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Hmm, is it all three?
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No, OK then, I'll guess it's b, their heartbeats harmonise.
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OK, we'll find out if that's correct at the end of the programme.
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According to Helen E Fisher,
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self-help author and anthropologist at Rutgers University,
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there are three aspects of romantic love.
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Here's BBC Ideas to explain more.
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Often lust comes first, but not always.
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For some people who are asexual,
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it may not happen at all.
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But for those who do experience lust,
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it's driven by the hormones oestrogen and testosterone.
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It may feel purely carnal,
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but in fact, it's about the urge to mate and pass on your DNA via offspring.
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Without lust, it's fair to say,
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our species would not survive.
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Helen Fisher thinks the first aspect of love is purely physical – lust.
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The strong feeling of sexual desire for someone.
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Lust is driven by the hormones oestrogen in women and testosterone in men.
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A few people are asexual,
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meaning they don't feel sexual attraction for anyone of any gender.
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Lust is hard-wired into us through our DNA and it drives us to have children.
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Helen thinks it's fair to say that without lust,
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our species would not survive.
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Here, she uses the phrase,
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it's fair to say, to introduce an idea she believes to be true and reasonable.
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Of course, love is not just physical.
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Here's BBC Ideas again to introduce Helen Fisher's second aspect of love – attraction.
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The second aspect of romantic love is attraction,
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influenced by a neurotransmitter called dopamine.
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This is a feel-good substance released in our brain that is involved in driving us towards reward.
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Do something, get a dopamine hit, feel good.
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Eventually dopamine will push us towards repeating that behaviour.
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This is why intense attraction feels like an addiction to another human being.
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Some people get stuck in that loop,
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always chasing the dopamine-soaked excitement of a new relationship.
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This time, the hormone responsible is dopamine,
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a neurotransmitter that rewards our attraction to someone with pleasurable feelings.
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That's why dopamine is called a feel-good substance.
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The adjective feel-good can be used to describe anything causing happy and optimistic feelings about life,
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things like feel-good films or feel-good music.
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Here though, there's a downside.
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The dopamine hit of sexual attraction feels so good,
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we crave it more and more.
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Some people are always chasing the next relationship to get a new hit of pleasure,
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and soon become stuck in a loop – an idiom meaning
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they're unable to break the habit of repeating the same patterns of behaviour over and over again.
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It's fascinating to see the power which hormones have over us.
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But if you're an old-fashioned romantic like Neil, don't despair.
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And speaking as a romantic,
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how about the answer to my question?
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Right, you asked me about the effect on the body when two lovers look deep into each other's eyes.
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I guessed it was that their heartbeats harmonise.
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Which was the correct answer.
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In experiments, looking into the eyes produced hormones causing couples' hearts a couple's hearts to beat in time.
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OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this programme,
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starting with the idiom head over heels – to be completely in love with someone.
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Lust is a very strong feeling of sexual desire.
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Someone who is asexual does not feel sexual attraction towards anyone of any gender.
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The phrase it's fair to say is used to introduce a statement you believe to be true and reasonable reasonable.
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The adjective feel-good describes something which makes people feel happy and optimistic. And finally,
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the idiom stuck in a loop describes someone unable to break
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the habit of repeating the same negative patterns of behaviour over and over again.
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Once again, our six minutes are up,
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but remember to join us again next time for more topical discussion and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.
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Goodbye for now.
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Bye.
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6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com

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Context & Background

In the 6 Minute English video titled "The Science of Falling in Love," Neil and Beth engage in a playful yet informative discussion about the intricate connections between love and brain chemistry. This episode delves into the physiological aspects of love, using idioms and expressions that convey the emotional experience of falling in love. By exploring the role of hormones in this complex emotion, the speakers provide a deeper understanding of how love affects our bodies and minds. As an English learner, this dialogue not only offers linguistic insights but also stimulates your curiosity about human behavior and emotions, enriching both your vocabulary and comprehension.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • Head over heels: Used to describe someone who is very much in love.
  • Butterflies in the tummy: A feeling of nervous excitement often associated with romantic feelings.
  • The apple of my eye: A term of endearment for someone cherished and adored.
  • It's fair to say: A phrase used to introduce an opinion that is reasonable or true.
  • Brain chemistry: Refers to the hormones and chemicals that influence our emotions, particularly in the context of love.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively practice your English speaking skills with this video, follow this structured shadowing guide:

  1. Watch and Listen: Start by watching the video without subtitles. Focus on the overall message and tone of the speakers.
  2. Take Notes: Write down key phrases and expressions that stand out to you. This will help reinforce your memory and highlight vocabulary that you find interesting or useful.
  3. Pause and Repeat: After listening to a section, pause the video and repeat the sentence out loud. Use a shadowing app or simply record yourself to check your pronunciation and intonation.
  4. Imitate Emotion: When you repeat phrases like "head over heels" or "butterflies in the tummy," try to convey the emotion behind them. This will improve your expressive speaking and make your practice more engaging.
  5. Engage with the Content: Discuss the video with a study partner or through an English speaking practice group. Share your thoughts on the science of love and how it relates to the phrases you've learned.

By following these steps, you will not only enhance your language skills but also gain a richer understanding of cultural idioms. Don’t forget to utilize resources like a shadowing app and techniques from learn English with YouTube to support your practice and immerse yourself in authentic English content.

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 β€” 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 β€” making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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