Shadowing Practice: THE WORLD'S FRIENDLIEST CITY - Learn English Speaking with Video

The world's friendliest city.

A team of social psychologists from California has spent six years

studying the reactions of people in cities around the world to different situations.

The results show that cities where people have less money generally have friendlier populations.

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which is often known for its crime,

comes out top, and the capital of Malawi, Lint-Longui, comes third.

But what makes one city friendlier than another?

The psychologists from California State University say it has got more to do with environment than culture or nationality.

They carried out a study into the way locals treated strangers in 23 cities around the world.

The team conducted their research through a series of tests where they dropped pens

or pretended they were blind and needed help crossing the street.

The study concludes that people are more helpful in cities with a more relaxed way of life such as Rio.

While they were there, researchers received help in 93% of cases

and the percentage in Lit Long Way was only a little lower.

However, richer cities such as Amsterdam and New York are considered the least friendly.

Inhabitants of Amsterdam helped the researchers in 53% of cases and in New York just 44%.

The psychologists found that in these cities people tend to be short of time so they hurry and often ignore strangers.

✨ Recommend Video

689

25 sentences

My First Month Living Abroad

Travel EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

112 sentences

The unpopular idea that would save San Francisco

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

136 sentences

Why Being Kind Can Make You Healthy | World Humanitarian Day | practice English with Spotlight

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

115 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 17 sentences and 225 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:59. The speaker talks at a steady 113 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% 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

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
psychologist noun	/ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/	An expert in the field of psychology.
stranger noun	/ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒɚ/	A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance.
researcher noun	/ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/	One who researches.
ignore verb	/ɪɡˈnɔː/	To deliberately not listen or pay attention to.
percentage noun	/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/	The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
helpful adjective	/ˈhɛlp.fl̩/	Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.
pen noun	/pɪn/	A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.
pretend verb	/pɹəˈtɛnd/	To speak or behave so as to give a false or simulated appearance.
relax verb	/ɹɪˈlæks/	To make something loose.
hurry verb	/ˈhʌ.ɹi/	To do things quickly.
conclude verb	/kənˈkluːd/	To end; to come to an end.
nationality noun	/ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/	Legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.
inhabitant noun	/ɪnˈhæb.ɪ.tənt/	Someone or thing who lives in a place.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
carry out verb	/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/	To hold while moving it out.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.

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 often known · are considered
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has spent
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	Brazil, which is

Pronunciation to watch

Long words — get the stress right: psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, nationality /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/, inhabitant /ɪnˈhæb.ɪ.tənt/

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 psychologist, stranger, researcher.

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 WORLD'S FRIENDLIEST CITY - Learn English Speaking with Video

My First Month Living Abroad

The unpopular idea that would save San Francisco

Why Being Kind Can Make You Healthy | World Humanitarian Day | practice English with Spotlight

Contemporary Topics 2 Unit 10 URBAN PLANNING 21st century

Thousands of European THOUGHT America Was DYING... Then They Saw the Real U.S.

I Tried Living in the Happiest City in the World

NE2 U14

듣고 있으면 귀가 뚫리는, 톰&샘 영국영어 팟캐스트 Ep.2 | 영국 물가가 그렇게 비싼가요? | 목소리 대박 ASMR

From wonder to future | Vietnam Today

How Happy Are Singaporeans Really in 2025? | Street Interview

9 Things Australians SECRETLY Judge You For!! 🇦🇺 | Australian Culture

What is your region famous for? band 6.5-7