Shadowing Practice: This 100-year-old ride must never change again. - Learn English Speaking with Video

The plan for today is: we’re going to talk about the history of the playground, I’m going to make a fool of myself on some play equipment designed for kids, and then it’s off to ride a century-old water chute.

Despite England’s reputation for rain, the weather had been mostly kind to me as I took my long road trip around every county, but as I arrived in Kettering in Northamptonshire...

A lot of wind, a little bit of rain, threatening very heavy rain showers.

We’ll see how we do.

I’ve got waterproof trousers with me just in case.

Wicksteed Park describes itself as an urban park with rides, not an amusement park or theme park, just a park that happens to also have some attractions, one of which is a century old.

Like many things in England, the park was founded by a wealthy industrialist.

This particular industrialist was called Charles Wicksteed.

He got his start with engineering and power tools but ended up producing playground equipment.

I met Connor, the park’s community and heritage co-ordinator, and we went for a walk.

First stop: the modern playground.

I could have picked a better day for this. -(laughter) I recognise it’s a road trip, I didn’t have much choice, but I could have picked a better day for this.

So, some of this is heritage, some of this is not?

Yes, so there isn’t much of the playground that is still original.

Obviously a lot of things have been updated.

And a lot of things have had kids on them for 80, 90 years now?

The park itself is over 100 years old.

So, the oldest thing that we have in the playground is that static swing over there.

That is the oldest swing that we found.

That was found in somebody’s back garden. -Oh!

So the swing itself is actually a prototype.

So when Charles Wicksteed started his engineering business, it wasn’t originally in playground equipment.

He started off his career in steam ploughing, but he had a real knack for engineering and was making things from gearboxes to equipment to stretch metal pipes, and bicycles and things like that.

Wicksteed got rich.

He decided to open a public park, and he started designing playground equipment.

The swing was one of the prototypes, found in someone’s back yard about a century after it was built.

He can’t have invented the swing, surely?

-No. -Okay.

Like a lot of inventions, the history of the playground swing is complicated.

From my research, I think it’s fair to say that Wicksteed helped codify it, like, the idea of two A-frames, joined, with two descending chains and a seat, that was probably him.

There were clearly other prototypes, though, because there are 1920s photos of this same playground, and you can see that some of the swings used to be a lot larger!

Also, perhaps you’d like to try a jazz swing, where the seat was suspended from two pairs of A-frames with rigid poles instead of chains.

Or how about a see-saw swing?

There is so much in that picture.

The kid swinging with all his might...

Is it a kid? Not sure.

Two people at the top clinging on.

The guy casually smoking in front of it ignoring the scenes...

For obvious reasons, in this century, we consider that the penalty for a kid slipping on playground equipment probably shouldn’t be potential death?

I have to at least try and sit in the world’s oldest surviving swing.

I feel like that’s a...

It’s not a swing, but I can now say, like, tick, have done that.

Connor said the poles on that first prototype swing have probably been replaced over the years, but the seat and chains are original.

He originally saw kids coming after Sunday school and building their own rudimentary slides and swings, much like the wooden ones that you can see in the back here.

-Wait, are those slides? -Yes, those are slides.

Okay, let’s go see the slides.

Now, are these originals or are these replicas?

-So these are replicas. -Okay.

But we did try to stay as true as we could to what the original ones looked like.

Because it is made out of wood, and I think everyone’s having the same thought of splinters...

Yeah. ...they would bring blocks of wax and candlesticks...

-Right! -...and rub it on the wood to make it look really smooth.

And then the theory was the more wax you’d rub on it, the faster you’d go down the slide.

The slide was not waxed, but, well...

I had to try it.

Is this going to go well? I feel like this isn’t going to go well.

Well, I’ve never tried it myself, so... -(laughter) You’re the historian here, you’re the... -Yeah!

(laughter) Okay. I’m going to try it.

If it works, you should absolutely follow me.

Okay, I’ll do my best. I am in a dress. That’s my excuse.

Oh, okay, that’s a good... that’s a really good excuse.

I mean, my excuse would be I like these jeans and it’s wet because it’s been raining all day, but I’m going to see...

Oh, that’s actually quite slippery... No.

-Do you want a push? (laughter) -You can try it.

I don’t...somehow I don’t think it’s going to work, but you can give it a try.

-Do you want a little...? -Yep.

(laughter) I think I can see why they made ’em out of metal.

-Yeah. -That’s, er...yeah.

But again, like you said, they would have waxed it.

Right, the witch’s hat. I was going to ask you about the witch’s hat.

So this is definitely a recreation because the original witch’s hat doesn’t meet modern safety standards. -Oh, good.

-But this one does. So rest assured! -Okay.

I don’t recognise this.

This feels like a thing that I should have seen in the playground and haven’t.

So this is definitely like a Charles Wicksteed special, I’d say.

There’s not a lot of other playground companies that had something like this.

Yes, of course I had to try it.

-This feels... -(laughter) Yuh-ha!

Okay, yeah. Yeah, no, that’s... -(laughter) Right.

So, I nearly threw myself off this thing because of centrifugal force.

What was more dangerous about that in the past?

Well, for instance, you can feel that it’s a bit squishy underneath us?

-Yeah. -So, the landing is definitely a bit more forgiving than it used to be. -Right.

Because back in the day it was all just concrete.

Oh, okay. So, if you fell off of this, you weren’t really going to have a good time.

Not only that, but the old version didn’t have a limiter on tilt angle or speed, so, if you were holding on in the wrong place, your fingers could get slammed and dragged along between the seat and the pole.

The Wicksteed logo is still on the new witch’s hat though, because it turns out they’re still a playground equipment company, still based there in Kettering, still making new stuff.

So, this one is called the beanstalk.

We put out a competition to local kids 11 and under to design their own playground equipment.

And we said that the winner would have it actually be built.

-Oh! -So, this was designed by an 11-year-old from Northampton named Mia, and she taught herself 3D modelling software to send in her entry. -What?

And then we worked with her the entire way.

We went with her to the Wicksteed engineering company.

-Is there an upper age limit on this? -Absolutely not. Go for it.

I mean, it’s also very rainy here and I’ve now got a wet arse from the slide so, there’s a very real chance that I will fall over at some point up here.

I mean, obviously I have to go down the slide.

I’m a 40-year-old man going down a playground slide.

But yeah, alright, fine.

-It does go really fast when it’s wet. -It does go really fast when it’s wet.

100

I’ll be down at the bottom but I’ll be back a bit.

101

-Okay! And I can see... -(laughter) I should have put the waterproof trousers on.

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(squeaking) Well, here we go. That’s...

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Wheeey! Oooh! Oh! -(laughter) Yes! Yes it does, and I have a very wet arse now. Alright, good.

104

(giggling) -Shall we go see the water chute? -Yes, let’s go!

105

Now, that was a lot of water. I’ve made bad choices.

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I didn’t expect there to be like a puddle at the bottom of it!

107

At the point where I realised there was a puddle at the bottom...

108

-You were already there! -...I had already got my legs in the slide and I was committed.

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It took a few minutes to walk to the water chute, so while we’re on the way, a brief diversion.

110

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After about the length of an advert, we were approaching the water chute.

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On the way, we passed by plenty of other rides in the park: a narrow-gauge railway, some flat rides, a couple of small roller coasters, a boating lake, but...

120

it was quiet, so those were all packed away when I was there.

121

Like I said, I could have picked a better day, although at least my editors don’t have to blur a lot of footage of the public.

122

-So, this is the water chute? -This is the water chute, yes.

123

It looks so simple.

124

The main tower for it is hidden behind that tree, we’ll see that in a moment.

125

We know that this is the oldest surviving water chute of its kind.

126

It’s by no means the first one that was ever installed or invented.

127

This also isn’t the original location either.

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It’s been shifted just a little bit.

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The very first rendition of it, the track that the chute goes down was actually made out of recycled bed rails.

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Oh right, okay! That would have been rattly.

131

There used to be one man that just winched the boat back up.

132

Oh, it was just manual... Of course it was ’cos this is 1926.

133

You’re not going to hook this up to electricity or bother to put a...

134

Yeah. I was thinking like diesel generator or something, but whatever the 1926 equivalent was, you’re not going to put a steam engine in there...

135

-Yeah. -...to winch this back up.

136

It’s a tub going down a chute, basically. -Pretty much.

137

I mean, some people have likened it to a skip as well.

138

Once you see the actual boat, it does look a bit like a skip, you know.

139

(laughs) I love that the person with the American accent has Anglicised that and not used ‘dumpster’.

140

Listen, I’ve picked up on some of the vocabulary, I’ve done my best.

141

(laughter) The team had opened up the water chute specially for me and also for a pair of journalists from a newspaper who were doing a piece on the park.

142

The journalists and I agreed to stay out of each other’s way.

143

Connor and I climbed up the stairs to the tower which are apparently the same design of stairs that Wicksteed used for children’s slides.

144

Oh, wow! ...and Connor left me with Sam, who was in charge of operations that day.

145

Is this the original... boat? Ride vehicle? What term do you use?

146

-It’s the original design. -Okay.

147

But it’s a fully refurbished boat.

148

-So, I would liken this to Trigger’s Broom. -I was going to...yes!

149

-Very much so. -I was going to say exactly that.

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A very well-loved, well-cared-for Trigger’s Broom.

151

People outside the UK and people younger than 30 may know Trigger’s Broom as the Ship of Theseus: all the parts have been replaced over the years, but it’s still the same boat.

152

-So, that’s the river down there? -Yes, it was, yeah.

153

So, originally you had a water chute that went down on bed rails straight down into the River Ise. -Wow!

154

So, we’ve upgraded, they’re not quite so much bed rails now.

155

Yeah, there’s modern safety railings down there.

156

You’ve got all machinery at the back here, so we now...

157

it’s run from a compressor and a motor system.

158

Right, so it’s not someone hoisting it back up, okay.

159

So, there’s no extra strength training, manual handling, hoisting.

160

-And this is padded now. -Yeah, so these are all padded and the seat backs are padded as well. -Oh, wow, it really just was a skip, a dumpster, that just took you... -Basically, yeah.

161

Because it’s the 1920s you can do a...

162

Actually, no, I say that. Someone could still build that.

163

I can still see someone in their backyard building a thing that’s just a dumpster going down to the river.

164

-Yeah. -If you’re getting the public on board, you need some safety padding.

165

So, they still get that same feeling, that same excitement.

166

That same, “This feels a little sketchy.” It’s not, but it feels a little sketchy.

167

-Yeah, definitely. -And it’s 100 years old now?

168

It is, it will be celebrating its centenary 2026.

169

Yep, 100 years for it.

170

So, it’s Grade II listed. -Oh, that must be tricky.

171

Grade II listing means that a building is on the government’s list of buildings that need special approval for any changes.

172

Basically all the features mentioned on that list are frozen in time.

173

They can be repaired and maintained using appropriate materials.

174

In fact they must be... but they can’t be altered.

175

It would be a crime to do that unless you got special government permission, which is not usually given.

176

And the water chute has changed over time.

177

Connor had said it was moved a little early on.

178

Sam told me there had been a few other alterations.

179

In the 30s it had an amendment, so it used to have a flat roof and now it has a sloping roof, but that’s...

180

-But this is the tower? -Yes, it’s the same tower, the same river, the same concept of a ride.

181

Roughly the same rails and roughly the same gradient down, and ride.

182

-Yeah. -How much does it splash?

183

Well, that is luck of the draw. It’s very much roulette for that.

184

And that’s part of the fun. You won’t know. No two journeys are the same.

185

Alright. Well, there’s going to be one of me at the front, so I don’t know...

186

If there’s one person, it’s going to ride higher.

187

-Yep. -If they’re at the front, it’s going to ride lower.

188

-Alright. Can I see behind the scenes? -Absolutely, yeah.

189

Presumably there’s a button here somewhere for it.

190

Yes, you can.

191

The control cabin is not glamorous.

192

It’s designed for one person with a big mechanical winch just next to it, and the control panel is just a few buttons.

193

-Can I attach some cameras to it then? -Certainly.

194

-Can I push the button, please? -You may.

195

Connor took my main camera down to the bottom of the chute, I took my 360 camera in my hand, and with Sam watching over just in case, I pushed the glowing green button.

196

(clicking, clanking) -That sounds promising. -Oh! Yeah...

197

(rattling) (clanking) (splashing) A lot of things happened there, so, while the boat’s coming back up, let me replay that and talk you through the system, because it’s both simple and really clever.

198

When the green button is pressed, the big drum of rope is unlocked from the winch so it can freewheel.

199

Then the wheels that control the safety brakes turn, moving that black bar, which pushes away the big yellow bumpers at the side that are holding the boat in place.

200

The boat’s not going to move on its own, though, so it gets a hydraulic shove from the...

201

shover in the back.

202

And from there, gravity does the rest.

203

(rattling) (splashing) A second button locks the rope drum back into the winch, and the boat comes back up.

204

Can you tell I’m getting excited about engineering here?

205

Yeah! But that chute is Grade II listed.

206

I looked up the actual listing and it mentioned several specific things: the electric wheel that winches the boat back up, the metal cage around the winch, and the fact that the passengers are, quote, “splashed liberally upon hitting the water.” Those are part of the listing.

207

Until 2016, this ride could be updated, had been updated, to move with the times, and now if someone invents a better winch or a magic levitation device that could bring the boat back up, or if someone wants it to not get the passengers wet...

208

nope. The ride is a hundred years old and it must never change again.

209

Well, I’ve been putting this off, but...may I?

210

Definitely, yeah.

211

So, do not get the 360 camera caught in the tree.

212

That would be bad. That would be very bad. -(laughter) Okay.

213

(sighs) Here we go.

214

-Let me know when you’re ready. -Alright.

215

-You ready down there? -Yep, ready!

216

Thank you to everyone at Wicksteed Park.

217

Ready when you are. -Enjoy!

218

Here we go! (lever clunks) (rumbling) (rattling) (laughing) Oh, ha! (splashing) (laughter) That is surprisingly forceful at the end.

219

Like when it splashes down, I got bounced a little there.

220

Next time, or right now on Nebula: how thousands of people lived and worked somewhere that officially didn’t exist.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “This 100-year-old ride must never change again”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: playground, chute, swing. This video has 220 sentences and 3096 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:25. The speaker talks fast, about 189 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 81% 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
playground noun	/ˈpleɪɡɹaʊnd/	A large open space for children to play in, usually having dedicated play equipment (such as swings and slides).
chute noun	/ʃut/	A framework, trough, or tube, upon or through which objects are made to slide from a higher to a lower level, or through which water passes to a wheel.
laughter noun	/ˈlæftɚ/	The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.
winch noun	/wɪnt͡ʃ/	A machine consisting of a drum on an axle, a friction brake or ratchet and pawl, and a crank handle or prime mover (often an electric or hydraulic motor), with…
prototype noun	/ˈpɹəʊtətaɪp/	An original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models.
splash verb	/splæʃ/	To hit or agitate liquid so that part of it separates from the principal liquid mass.
pad noun	/pæd/	A flattened mass of anything soft, to sit or lie on.
rattle noun	/ˈɹæ.təl/	Any of various plants of the genera Rhinanthus and Pedicularis, whose seeds produce a rattling noise in the wind.
dumpster noun	/ˈdʌmpstɚ/	A large, usually metal trash receptacle designed to be hoisted up by a garbage truck in order to be emptied.
invent verb	/ɪnˈvɛnt/	To design a new process or mechanism.
hoist verb	/hɔɪst/	To raise; to lift; to elevate (especially, to raise or lift to a desired elevation, by means of tackle or pulley, said of a sail, a flag, a heavy package or…
industrialist noun		A person involved in the ownership or management of an industrial enterprise.
puddle noun	/ˈpʌdəl/	A small, often temporary, pool of water, usually on a path or road.
sketchy adjective	/ˈskɛt͡ʃi/	Roughly or hastily laid out; intended for later refinement.
waterproof adjective	/ˈwɔt̬ɚˌpruf/	Resistant to the effects of water.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
back up verb		To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so.
go down verb		To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
make out of verb		To construct from; to create (something) using (a material or substance).
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
go down on verb		To perform oral sex on (someone).
hide behind verb		To use someone or something as a shield in order to avoid taking responsibility for something; to avoid attention by using someone or something as a shield.
look up verb	/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/	To have better prospects.
open up verb		To open.

Sentences worth repeating

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

We’ll see how we do.
I’ve got waterproof trousers with me just in case.
What term do you use?
Can I see behind the scenes?
Can you tell I’m getting excited about engineering here?

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 be · used to have
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	it's been raining · I've been testing · I've been putting
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have been updated · have had · have done
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was founded · was called · have been updated

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 60 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: chute /ʃut/, splash /splæʃ/, alteration /ɔl.tɚˈeɪ.ʃən/, levitation /ˌlɛvɪˈteɪʃən/, diversion /dɪˈvɝ.ʒən/
Long words — get the stress right: alteration /ɔl.tɚˈeɪ.ʃən/, centenary /sɛnˈtɛnəɹi/, levitation /ˌlɛvɪˈteɪʃən/, liberally /ˈlɪb(ə)ɹəli/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/

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 playground, chute, laughter.

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: This 100-year-old ride must never change again. - 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

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?