Shadowing Practice: The US-Canada border splits this road down the middle - Learn English Speaking with Video

I'm not allowed to cross this road because this is the town of Stansted, Canada.

On the other side of the street is Derby Line, USA.

And the border between the two countries runs right down this, Rue Canussa.

For the local residents, that can be inconvenient.

I lived here all my life, so 63 years.

Today you cannot cross over the line and visit your neighbors like years ago.

If you want to cross, you have to report that custom.

You know, I used to cross every day.

And now I probably cross once a week because I come down to the post office over here.

To go through the border, basically they ask you a passport, they go inside, I guess they look at if you have a record or not, they look at your registration of your car,

about a couple of minutes and you're going through.

I'm a dual citizen, so I'm American and Canadian, so it's easier.

This is a place where the idea of a border as a solid, easy to understand line gets a little bit fuzzy.

The road doesn't run at exactly the same angle as the border, not precisely.

The official line is that this is Canada and that's the USA, but both countries' maps show the road as being entirely in the US just here and entirely in Canada up there.

The houses are definitely in separate countries, but the road?

It's not quite as clear.

And in practice, if I was driving, I'd be okay.

Even on that side of the road, I am considered to be still in Canada, as long as I don't stop and walk up to an American house.

It's fair to say that there's a little bit of leniency here

if you're just nudging the border by a few centimeters or if you're on that side a couple of inches. But

while I was setting up my camera here the police turned

up lights flashing to move along those bikers you saw earlier

who were admiring the view from the other side of the road.

It all seemed in good spirits but they had crossed the border.

Well the library is part on the Canadian side part on the American side but But you stay on the Canadian side, you stay on the sidewalk, and you go through the front door and it's permitted.

On Canooset Street, there's a sidewalk on the Canadian side.

So back years ago, it was tolerated that people on the American side could cross over and walk on the sidewalk.

So basically, it's a little dangerous to walk on the side of the road.

And now today, well, it's not tolerated no more.

I think the rules hasn't changed much, but they're more enforced.

When you cross, they ask you more questions than they used to, you know, years ago.

Before, you went through the border and you knew most of the custom officers

and they used to wave to you, you know?

In 1783, this section of the Canada-US border was set at the 45th parallel, a line of latitude.

Slightly inaccurate measurements were accepted by both countries.

So it was locked in.

But as for this specific road, there are local stories about drunk surveyors and pranks, but no one really knows.

Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “The US-Canada border splits this road down the middle”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: border, road, cross, Canada, Canadian. This video has 39 sentences and 556 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:48. The speaker talks fast, about 199 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
sidewalk noun	/ˈsaɪdwɔk/	A paved footpath located at the side of a road, for the use of pedestrians.
tolerate verb	/ˈtɑ.lə.ɹeɪt/	To allow or permit without explicit approval, usually if it is perceived as negative.
centimeter noun		(Canadian spelling, alternative) Alternative form of centimetre.
inconvenient adjective	/ˌɪn.kənˈviːni.ənt/	not convenient
leniency noun	/ˈliːni.ən(t)si/	The quality of mercy or forgiveness, especially in the assignment of punishment as in a court case.
surveyor noun	/sɚˈveɪ̯.ɚ/	A person occupied with surveying: the process of determining positions on the earth's surface.
latitude noun	/ˈlætɪtud/	The angular distance north or south from a planet's equator, measured along the meridian of that particular point.
inaccurate adjective	/ɪnˈæk.jə.ɹɪt/	Mistaken or incorrect; not accurate.
fuzzy adjective	/ˈfʌzi/	Covered with fuzz or a large number of tiny loose fibres like a carpet or many stuffed animals.
prank noun	/pɹæŋk/	A practical joke or mischievous trick.
enforce verb	/ɪnˈfoɹs/	To keep up, impose or bring into effect something, not necessarily by force.
admire verb	/ədˈmaɪɹ/	To regard with wonder and delight.
passport noun	/ˈpæspɔɹt/	An official document normally used for international journeys, which proves the identity and nationality of the person for whom it was issued.
measurement noun	/ˈmɛʒ.ə.mənt/	The act of measuring.
precisely adverb	/pɹɪˈsaɪs.li/	In a precise manner; exactly.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
come down to verb		To reach by moving down or reducing.
move along verb		To continue without being distracted; to keep going.
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
“Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true	used to cross · used to wave
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was tolerated · was set · were accepted

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 11 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

Long words — get the stress right: inconvenient /ˌɪn.kənˈviːni.ənt/, leniency /ˈliːni.ən(t)si/, inaccurate /ɪnˈæk.jə.ɹɪt/

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 sidewalk, tolerate, centimeter.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: The US-Canada border splits this road down the middle - Learn English Speaking with Video

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