Shadowing Practice: Thomas au marché (Simple French Story) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Welcome to Frenchify Podcast.
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In this listening exercise, we'll hear a simple story in French, perfect for beginners.
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First, we'll listen to the story with French subtitles.
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Next, we'll go through it again with English subtitles.
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Finally, we'll listen to the story without any subtitles.
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Make sure to listen until the end.
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There will be three bonus questions for you to answer in the comments.
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Now, let's begin with the story and French subtitles.
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Hello everyone.
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Today I will tell you a story about Thomas, a young student, and his day at the market.
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A Saturday morning, Thomas decides to get up early.
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He has a mission, to buy fresh vegetables for a good meal.
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He takes his bag in the bag, he puts his shoes and goes to the market.
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The market is already full of life.
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The buyers call, fresh tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, not cher.
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There are colors everywhere, red, yellow, yellow.
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Thomas begins his turn.
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He buys carrots orange, red red, and a big melon, which is good.
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In continuing, he sees a old man with a little stand of milk.
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Curious, Thomas He's stopped.
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The old man offers a drink, and Thomas is convinced that it's delicious.
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He buys a pot.
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Before leaving, he goes to a grocery store.
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The smell of the croissant is resistant.
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He enters and takes one.
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On the way back, he sees his bag full of good things.
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Il se dit, cuisiner avec des produits frais, c 'est vraiment super.
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Et voilà, c 'est la fin de l 'histoire.
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Merci de m 'avoir écouté et à bientôt pour une nouvelle aventure.
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Now we'll listen to the story with English subtitles.
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Bonjour à tous.
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Aujourd 'hui, je vais vous raconter une histoire sur Thomas, un jeune étudiant, et sa journée au marché.
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A Saturday morning, Thomas decides to wake up early.
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He has a mission.
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He has a fresh vegetables for a good meal.
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He takes his bag in the bag, he wears his shoes and goes to the market.
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The market is already full of life.
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The buyers cry, «¡Dos fraîches!
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¡Dos pommes pas chers!
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There are colors everywhere, blue, yellow, yellow.
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Thomas begins his turn.
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He buys a orange, a red red, and a big melon, which is good.
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In continuing, he sees a young man with a little stone of milk.
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Curious, Thomas arrête.
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The old man asks him to go to a cup and Thomas is convinced that it is delicious.
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He buys a pot.
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Before leaving, he goes to a grocery store.
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The smell of the croissant is hot.
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He enters and takes one.
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On the road, he sees his sack full of good things.
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Il se dit, cuisiner avec des produits frais, c 'est vraiment super.
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Et voilà, c 'est la fin de l 'histoire.
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Merci de m 'avoir écouté et à bientôt pour une nouvelle aventure.
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Now finally we'll listen one more time, this time without any subtitles.
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Hello everyone.
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Today I will tell you a story about Thomas, a young student, and his day at the market.
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One Saturday morning, Thomas decides to wake up early.
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He has a mission, to buy fresh vegetables for a good meal.
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He takes his bag, he wears his shoes, and goes to the market.
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The market is already full of life.
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The buyers call them, they call them fresh tomatoes, they are not cheap.
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There are colors everywhere, red, yellow, red, yellow.
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Thomas begins his turn.
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He buys some orange carrots, red red, and a big melon, which is good.
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In continuing, he sees a old man with a little stand of milk.
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Curieux ?
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Thomas s 'arrête.
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Le vieil homme lui propose de goûter une cuillère et Thomas est convaincu, c 'est délicieux.
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Il achète un pot.
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Avant de partir, il passe devant une boulangerie.
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L 'odeur des croissants chauds est irrésistible.
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Il entre et en prend un.
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Sur le chemin du retour, il regarde son sac rempli de bonnes choses.
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Il se dit « cuisiner avec des produits frais ».
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C 'est vraiment super.
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Et voilà, c 'est la fin de l 'histoire.
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Merci de m 'avoir écouté et à bientôt pour une nouvelle aventure.
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Now try answering these three questions in the comments below.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Thomas au marché”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Thomas, est, subtitles, une, yellow. This video has 79 sentences and 717 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:04. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 65% 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| meal noun | /ˈmiːl/ | Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity. |
| adventure noun | /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ | A feeling of desire for new and exciting things. |
| shoe noun | /ˈʃu/ | A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of… |
| pour verb | /poɹ/ | To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it. |
| buyer noun | /ˈbaɪ.əɹ/ | A person who makes one or more purchases. |
| vegetable noun | /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/ | A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice… |
| tomato noun | /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ | A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit. |
| cuisine noun | /kwɪˈziːn/ | A characteristic manner or style of preparing food, often associated with a place of origin. |
| curious adjective | /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/ | Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying. |
| delicious adjective | /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/ | Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty. |
| convince verb | /kənˈvɪns/ | To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence. |
| grocery noun | /ˈɡɹəʊ.s(ə.)ɹi/ | Retail foodstuffs and other household supplies. |
| carrot noun | /ˈkæɹət/ | A vegetable with a nutritious, juicy, sweet root that is often orange in colour, Daucus carota, family Apiaceae, especially the subspecies sativus. |
| bonus noun | /ˈbəʊ.nəs/ | Something extra that is good; an added benefit. |
| regard noun | /ɹɪˈɡɑːd/ | A steady look, a gaze. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | melon, which is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is convinced |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | we'll hear · we'll listen · we'll go |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, bonjour /bɒnˈʒʊə/, boulangerie /buˈlɑ̃ʒɚˌɹi/
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 meal, adventure, shoe.
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.