Shadowing Practice: They put me in a video game... - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
This is Asperia, a beautiful place known for its breathtaking scenery, gorgeous mountains, bustling villages, and secrets around every corner.
2
In a forest somewhere, Jaiden can be found playing with Ari and Tofu, her loyal bird companions.
3
She lays back, happily enjoying the sunlight as Ari runs around disturbing the wildlife, and Tofu eats dirt.
4
Jaiden is the region's very own wildlife biologist.
5
She documents every new animal she encounters in her ecological guidebook, hoping to one day discover every mysterious creature Asperia has to offer.
6
Ari and Tofu help in their own ways, I suppose.
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As she's writing down this interaction in her book, for scientific purposes of course, a flock of fruit doves flies by overhead.
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Jaiden immediately recognizes them from their bright white feathers and loud screeches.
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obnoxious ear piercing screeches.
10
Oh, how nature sure is a blessing sometimes.
11
Just as they pass over, one of the bird calls spooks Ari, who is too distracted with bullying the rat.
12
In a burst of panic from the sudden shrieks, Ari takes off and starts flying away in a fit of confusion.
13
Ari?
14
Ari, stop, hey!
15
Come on dude, you're being dramatic!
16
Jayden calls out to her bird but he's already too far away.
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Even if he could hear her, he's way too stubborn to listen anyway.
18
Well this is just great.
19
After hours of searching for Ari in random bushes,
20
trees, caves, Jayden finally admits defeat and starts heading to the nearby town of Hollistone for extra help in finding her bird.
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Luckily, she immediately spots a noble Holliston soldier.
22
Perfect!
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I'll just go up to the guard and simply ask him if he can help me find Ahri.
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I NEED YOUR HELP!
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IT'S AN EMERGENCY!
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WE NEED YOU ALLER TO TOWN!
27
Ahri the bird is missing!
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HE'S GONNA DIE OUT THERE IF HE DOESN'T EAT HIS DAILY FIVE-COURSE MEAL!
29
YOU GOTTA HELP ME MAN!
30
PLEASE HELP ME FIND Ahri!
31
Oh my god, woman, calm down!
32
Just as Jayden was calmly talking to the guard about the dire situation, someone approaches.
33
It seems like they somehow overheard the conversation she and the soldier were having.
34
Typical eavesdroppers.
35
The person asks Jayden what happened, but she's too distracted by the fact that the traveler has two funny little hamsters with them.
36
Hamsters?
37
Who are you?
38
Are you looking for a duel?
39
This is unfortunate because I'm missing my strongest battler, Ari, so you outnumber me and creatures.
40
But luckily bird type attacks are super effective on hamsters, so it shouldn't be- Woah, chill out.
41
I'm Merlin, I heard you need help with finding your lost bird?
42
Phew, they're just here to help.
43
Jayden wasn't really in the mood to wipe the floor with this kid's hamsters right now anyway.
44
To help, Merlin asks Jayden which forest she was in when Ahri took off.
45
Wait, the forests have names?
46
This might be a bit trickier than everyone originally thought it would be.
47
As the new little team starts retracing Jayden's steps, they determine the area she was most likely in when Ari flew away was the south side of Rhyham.
48
Probably.
49
Luckily the Hollestone soldier knows a villager over there that commonly feeds the birds.
50
If anyone were to see Ari, it would definitely be him.
51
With a fresh lead, the HodgePodge crew head off together on their new quest to find Ari.
52
They can only hope he's not gotten himself into too much trouble, but knowing him, it's quite inevitable.
53
This was the start to the questline of Jaden and her birds in the game, and also this video's sponsor, AFK Journey.
54
Me and the AFK Journey team have collaborated to put together a fun little campaign that includes Jaden, me, Ari, and Tofu.
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It's also the first time I've ever been featured in a video game, which is really cool, and it'll be active from September to November.
56
So I hope you get to try it out.
57
The new season, Waves of Intrigue, is out today.
58
There's a link to the game in the description for you to download for free.
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Waves of Intrigue brings with it a wealth of new content, including a brand new map area, the bustling hub city of restport new game modes
60
and characters to recruit fishing and sailing mechanics and
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so much more there's even new intense pirate and mafia elements
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that you can explore
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and immerse yourself with on top of it all they've added even more stories
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and trials to beat
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if you're up to the challenge afkjourney has given me a
66
code for you all to punch in use code tofu
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and ari for some exclusive rewards the link is down below or you can use this handy dandy QR code.
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The game is beautiful, massive, and definitely has so much for you to uncover and discover throughout the entire world they've created.
69
I hope you'll give it a try.
70
Thank you again to AFK Journey for not only sponsoring this video, but also putting me into their game in such a cool way.
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Thanks for watching!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “They put me in a video game..”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: ari, bird, Jayden, tofu, Ahri. This video has 71 sentences and 849 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:48. The speaker talks at a natural 177 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tofu noun | /ˈtoʊfu/ | A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk. |
| hamster noun | /ˈhæm(p)stɚ/ | Any of various Old World rodent species belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. |
| luckily adverb | /ˈlʌk.ɪ.li/ | In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately. |
| bustle noun | /ˈbʌsəl/ | An excited activity; a stir. |
| screech verb | /skɹiːt͡ʃ/ | To make such a sound. |
| distract verb | /dɪˈstɹækt/ | To divert the attention of. |
| sponsor noun | /ˈspɒn.səː/ | A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or… |
| wildlife noun | /ˈwaɪldlaɪf/ | undomesticated animals, especially mammals, birds, and fish, which live in the wild. |
| battler noun | /ˈbæt.lə(ɹ)/ | One who wages battle against an enemy; a soldier; a general. |
| biologist noun | /baɪˈɒləd͡ʒɪst/ | A student or professor of biology; one versed in the science of biology. |
| eavesdropper noun | /ˈiːvzˌdɹɒpə(ɹ)/ | One who eavesdrops. |
| immerse verb | /ɪˈmɜɹs/ | To place within a fluid (generally a liquid, but also a gas). |
| obnoxious adjective | /əbˈnɑkʃəs/ | Extremely offensive or unpleasant; very annoying, contemptible, or odious. |
| outnumber verb | /aʊtˈnʌmbə(ɹ)/ | To be more in number than somebody or something. |
| overhear verb | /oʊ.vɚˈhɪɚ/ | To hear something that was not meant for one's ears. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| take off verb | To remove. |
| calm down verb | To become less excited, intense, or angry. |
| die out verb | To become extinct. |
| head off verb | To begin moving away. |
| lay back verb | To lie down on one's back; to lie back. |
| pass over verb | To bypass or disregard in favour of someone or something else. |
| put together verb | To assemble, construct, build, or formulate. |
| run around verb | To be very busy doing many different things. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Come on dude, you're being dramatic!
- Are you looking for a duel?
- I hope you'll give it a try.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have collaborated · I've ever been featured · they've added |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be found · been featured |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | starts flying · starts heading · starts retracing |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're being · is missing · I'm missing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, they've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathtaking /ˈbɹɛθˌteɪ.kɪŋ/, feather /ˈfɛðə/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: obnoxious /əbˈnɑkʃəs/, shriek /ʃɹiːk/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: biologist /baɪˈɒləd͡ʒɪst/, collaborate /kəˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/, ecological /ˌiːkəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkl̩/, inevitable /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbəl/, unfortunate /ʌnˈfɔː.t͡ʃə.nɪt/
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 tofu, hamster, luckily.
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.