Shadowing Practice: THINK & SPEAK IN ENGLISH | About Relationships [Episode 2] - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Some students think that speaking English fluently means that a person is able to speak for a long time in English, but that's not true.

Instead, English fluency is all about your ability to organize your thoughts like a native English speaker.

That's right.

No matter what the topic is, you should be able to organize your thoughts in an easy

and clear way so that the person listening to you can understand and also follow along.

So what about relationships?

When you want to speak about relationships, this topic in English, and you want to speak fluently, you need to talk about three specific things.

So we're going to talk about these three things in today's lesson.

I'm teacher Tiffany.

Let's jump right in.

All right, so let's get started.

Step number one, you need to describe the people or person.

Again, remember the topic is relationships.

In order to speak fluently about relationships, you must first start by describing the people or the person.

So let's say you want to talk about your best friend.

You need to give some background information, some background information that will give the listener a better understanding of who your best friend is.

So for example, my best friend, I can tell you a little bit about her.

My best friend and I have been friends since we were in elementary school.

But if I were to describe her to you, I would say she's a shy person, but she loves people.

She also loves sports.

She loves spending time with her family.

And she also loves God.

So what happened?

Now you're getting a better picture in your mind of my friend.

That's what you need to do start off the conversation.

Start talking about the relationship by giving the listener the ability to create a mental picture.

That's what happens when you do step one.

Describe the person.

Tell a little bit more about the person, some details about them, right?

Now, you can do the same thing about a group of people.

Let's say, for example, you want to talk about your classmates or your co -workers, right?

So give some details about your classmates or your co -workers.

Now, I'll pick co -workers right at your job maybe there are a lot of people

but you work with a specific group maybe they're all hard workers maybe they love to laugh

and maybe they also are very dedicated to their job

so again you're giving background information to describe those people

that's step one now step two is also very important you need to give three characteristics of your current relationship.

Now we're connecting you to those people or that person.

So you start talking about your relationship with those individuals.

So for example, I mentioned my best friend, right?

So now I need to tell you about our connection, right?

About our friendship currently.

So I can say we are really focused on trust.

We're focused on dedication

and we're also focused on having fun like we're very honest with each other

and we enjoy having fun so I'm giving you some more details about our relationship

and I can go into more details by telling you some stories about how we laugh

so hard we start crying

or how we spend time together playing basketball even as adults

again what you want to do in step two is give some more information about your connection with this individual

or with those people

and let's say for example you want to talk about your co -workers

now give three characteristics of your relationship with your co -workers

so i can say ah my co -workers

and i we really get along well we enjoy going out to lunch together

and the third thing we enjoy is spending time together on the weekends

so you can see oh even though they're your co -workers

you're very close to them they have become your close friends and And you can see that as a listener,

because I've given you three characteristics of our current relationship, right?

Now, step three is also very important.

In step three, in order to speak fluently about relationships, you need to talk about the future of your relationship,

how you think this relationship will develop as time goes on.

As time goes by, will you get closer? or will you kind of stray away or drift apart?

So for example, I can talk about my best friend.

Now we've been friends since we were in elementary school, but we're still friends now.

And for the future, I can say, oh, when I get married, she's going to be in my wedding.

She is so close to me, I know that I want her to be a part of that special day.

So what's happening?

By me telling you about the future, about the wedding that I'm gonna have and how my best friend is gonna be in the wedding,

you're able to understand the level of my relationship with my best friend.

Makes sense, right?

So again, the third step is so important.

Now with your colleagues, again, I told you in the middle that we hang out after work,

we have lunch together, we're very diligent and dedicated to our assignments.

I can say in the future, even if we work at different companies

and we leave our current company we will still stay in contact

and what am i showing you i'm showing you

that i want to keep this relationship strong with my co -workers it makes sense right

so again speaking english fluently about a relationship it's not about the length of time

that you're speaking for instead it's about including these three parts.

First, describe the people or the person.

Second, describe your current relationship by giving three characteristics.

And third, talk about the future of your relationship.

Now again, when you do these three things, the person listening to you will feel that you are fluent in English

because you were able to explain and describe the relationship in such a very clear and concise way.

The person, the people, describing them.

Second, your current relationship and finally the future of your relationship.

This is what you need to do to speak English fluently and confidently about your relationships.

Now everything I taught you today came from my ebook, How to Pass the IELTS Speaking Exam.

So if you want to learn more you can also check out the ebook

How to Pass the IELTS Speaking Exam.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I am so honored to be your teacher I will talk to you next time

but as always remember to speak English

you still there you know what time it is it's story time hey

I said it's story time all right guys so today I want to tell you about one of my most treasured relationships

That's right, one of my closest friends.

I met her when I was living in South Korea.

Now, she and I have been friends for a long time, but let me kind of tell you about her personality.

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Let me describe her.

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You caught that, right?

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So her name is Catherine.

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Her English name is Catherine, and Catherine is an extremely hard worker.

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She's very intelligent, and she also loves her students.

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So when we were at the same institute, I always heard about how much her students loved her.

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They would follow her.

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No matter what class she taught, they would register because they wanted to study with her.

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She was such an amazing teacher and she's still a really good teacher.

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Now, for us, we became friends during a teacher's retreat and she and I,

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we had been working together prior to the retreat, but I say we became friends at the retreat because something happened during that time.

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So prior to that, again, we were co -workers, you know, we'd have a good time together, go out to eat with other co -workers,

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but we didn't necessarily have a close like one on one relationship.

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During the retreat, though, it was myself, Catherine and another one of my friends named Rebecca.

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She's also Korean.

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And we were all staying in the same room.

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So it was a Saturday night and we were just talking about live

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and different things and it was a great conversation

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but I just remember us talking about something

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and then we both started laughing at the same thing

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now I'm a very fun person I love to laugh I love to spend time with my friends

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and my family but

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when we started laughing it's like I saw the the what is the word not the real side

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but I saw a different side of her that's what happened

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it went from being co -worker to hey

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you're a cool person like I could see myself hanging out with you

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and honestly we laughed so much that night now me

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and Rebecca were already close

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and we're still close to this day like I was I

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helped her in her wedding like I was the translator in Rebecca's wedding

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so me and Rebecca were already close

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but then at this point in time me

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and Catherine suddenly started to get closer

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and fast forward literally Catherine is one of my closest friends

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and when I get married I'd like her to be in my wedding too

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and of course Rebecca you know so here's the thing

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that one situation we went on

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that retreat where I actually saw hey she's not just a

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co -worker she's a good friend like we can have a good time together

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that was kind of the start of our friendship

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because we were able to relate to each other and since

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that time literally I spent time with her husband her daughter I went to their house

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when I was in Korea and you

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Even when I failed my exam, you guys remember I told you about failing my Korean exam for my master's degree two times in a row,

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how difficult that was.

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And the second time I failed, I, it was very, I was distraught.

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I didn't know what to do.

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I felt bad, but I didn't show my emotions.

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When I went to work, I just kind of kept teaching and she approached me and she said, hey, Tiff, how are you?

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I said, I'm fine.

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Everything's okay.

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And I remember, I literally remember this like it was yesterday,

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sitting at the desk and I was typing in some grades for my students and she said, Tiff, what happened with the test?

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And it was like a floodgate opened.

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Tears just streamed down my face and I was telling her how bad I felt and she just listened.

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She put her hand on my shoulder and she said, it's okay, it's okay.

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And I really needed that at that moment because I was in Korea, away from my family.

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I had a lot of close friends but I didn't necessarily want to cry

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and say hey I can't believe I didn't pass

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and I felt bad but I was able to open up to her

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when she asked me what happened and I realized how special she was to me

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that I was able to release that showed me

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that oh this person is super super important to me

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so yes Catherine and I developed our friendship over time

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and right now our current relationship we both live in different countries of course

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and we talk to each other every once in a while

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because she's busy and I'm busy but our relationship is still very close.

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So when she messages me, she'll send me maybe a nice piece of art to look at because she likes art as well.

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Or I'll call her on the phone and we'll talk about her family and what's going on.

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And we talk also about, you know, God too, because we both love God.

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So our relationship is really good.

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And in the future, again, I told you, I do want her to be in my wedding.

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I really love her and her family and I'm really blessed to have her as a friends.

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So again, I hope you guys enjoyed this story about how our relationship developed.

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I'm sure you guys have stories about your own friends and how you guys became friends.

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Please feel free to share your stories with us in the comment section.

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Guys, thank you so much for watching.

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Again, if you want to join my family, our family, and become a part of the Speak English with Tiffany Academy,

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all you have to do is go to letsjumprightin .com.

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I'll see you all next time.

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Have an amazing day.

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All right.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “THINK & SPEAK IN ENGLISH”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: relationship, worker, english. This video has 181 sentences and 2154 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:16. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
worker noun	/ˈwɝ.kɚ/	One who works: a person who performs labor for a living; traditionally, especially, manual labor.
retreat noun	/ɹɪˈtɹiːt/	The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from something dangerous, or unpleasant.
examination noun	/ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/	The act of examining.
characteristic noun	/ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/	A distinguishing feature of a person or thing, a part of mental or physical behavior.
topic noun	/ˈtɑpɪk/	A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
friendship noun	/ˈfɹɛn(d)ʃɪp/	The condition of being friends.
listener noun	/ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/	Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast.
necessarily adverb	/ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/	Inevitably; of necessity.
elementary adjective	/ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/	Relating to the basic, essential or fundamental part of something.
organize verb	/ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/	To arrange in working order.
dedicate verb	/ˈdɛdɪˌkeɪt/	To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate.
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
desk noun	/dɛsk/	A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a…
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
tear verb	/tɛɹ/	To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
drift apart verb	To lose contact, to lose one's friendship or closeness.
follow along verb	To continue behind or beside an animal, person, vehicle or other object, especially as a companion.
get along verb	To interact or coexist well, without argument or trouble.
start off verb	To begin.
work together verb	To be coworkers with someone; to share a workspace with someone.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

All right, so let's get started.
That's what happens when you do step one.
As time goes by, will you get closer?
That's right, one of my closest friends.
I didn't know what to do.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 42 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, friendship /ˈfɹɛn(d)ʃɪp/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, treasure /ˈtɹɛʒəɹ/, dedication /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, characteristic /ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, elementary /ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/, intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/

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 worker, retreat, examination.

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: THINK & SPEAK IN ENGLISH | About Relationships [Episode 2] - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?