Shadowing Practice: The Strange Notes Under My Door - Learn English Speaking with Video
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27 sentences
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1
Three weeks after I moved into my new flat, the first note appeared.
2
It was folded neatly and slipped under my door.
3
It just said, your plants need more light.
4
Wait, my plants? Nobody had even been inside!
5
Ha, honestly, I laughed it off at first.
6
But the next Monday, there was another one.
7
This time it said, you're working too late again.
8
Okay, now that was genuinely creepy.
9
So, I decided to play detective!
10
I stayed up on Sunday night, listening by the door.
11
Then, around midnight, I heard slow footsteps on the stairs,
12
and a soft scratching sound at the bottom of the door.
13
I threw the door open, ready to catch a stranger.
14
And there she was, the tiny old lady from downstairs!
15
She was about eighty, holding a pencil and looking terrified.
16
Oh dear, I'm so sorry, she whispered. I didn't mean to frighten you.
17
Well... it turned out she'd lived in my flat for forty years.
18
Her husband used to grow tomatoes on that very windowsill.
19
Since he passed away, she'd barely spoken to anyone.
20
Writing to me, she said, made the building feel less empty.
21
I didn't know what to say, so I invited her in for tea.
22
She looked at my poor plants and shook her head.
23
Ha, you're drowning them, dear, she told me.
24
That was six months ago, and now we have tea every Sunday.
25
My tomatoes are finally growing, thanks to her.
26
And yes, she still leaves me notes under the door.
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But these days, I write back!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “The Strange Notes Under My Door”. This video has 27 sentences and 258 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:47. The speaker talks at a steady 145 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tomato noun | /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
| footstep noun | /ˈfʊtstɛp/ | The mark or impression left by a foot; a track. |
| frighten verb | /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/ | To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright. |
| neatly adverb | /ˈniːtli/ | In a neat manner. |
| terrify verb | /ˈtɛɹɪfaɪ/ | To frighten greatly; to fill with terror. |
| windowsill noun | /ˈwɪndoʊˌsɪl/ | The horizontal member protruding from the base of a window frame. |
| drown verb | /dɹaʊn/ | To die from suffocation while immersed in water or other fluid. |
| downstairs adverb | /daʊnˈstɛɹz/ | Down the stairs. |
| whisper verb | /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/ | To speak softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration of the… |
| pencil noun | /ˈpɛnsəl/ | A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper. |
| creepy adjective | /ˈkɹipi/ | Moving by creeping along. |
| fold verb | /ˈfəʊld/ | To bend (any thin material, such as paper) over so that it comes in contact with itself. |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| stairs noun | /ˈstɛɹz/ | A contiguous set of steps connecting two floors. |
| scratch verb | /skɹæt͡ʃ/ | To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pass away verb | To die. |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- This time it said, you're working too late again.
- I didn't mean to frighten you.
- Ha, you're drowning them, dear, she told me.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, she'd, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 tomato, footstep, frighten.
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.