Shadowing Practice: Thor Heyerdahl very | IELTS LISTENING TEST | SECTION-3 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Thank you.
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21 to 24.
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Right, well, for our presentation, shall I start with the early life of Thor Heyerdahl?
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Sure.
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Why don't you begin with describing the type of boy he was, especially his passion for collecting things?
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That's right.
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He had his own little museum.
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And I think it's unusual for children to develop their own values and not join in their parents' hobbies.
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I'm thinking of how Hayerdal wouldn't go hunting with his dad, for example.
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Yeah, he preferred to learn about nature by listening to his mother read to him.
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And quite early on, he knew he wanted to become an explorer when he grew up.
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That came from his camping trips he went on in Norway, I think.
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No, it was climbing that he spent his time on as a young man.
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Oh, right.
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After university, he married a classmate, and together they decided to experience living on a small island,
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to find out how harsh weather conditions shaped people's lifestyles.
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As part of their preparation, before they left home, they learnt basic survival skills, like building a shelter.
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I guess they needed that knowledge in order to live wild in a remote location with few inhabitants, cut off by the sea, which is what they were aiming to do.
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An important part of your talk should be the radical theory Hayard Al formed from examining mysterious ancient carvings
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that he happened to find on the island.
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I think you should finish with that.
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Okay.
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Before you hear the rest of the discussion,
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you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.
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Thank you. to 30.
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Alright, Victor, so after your part, I'll talk about Tor Hayardal's adult life, continuing from the theory he had about Polynesian migration.
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Up until that time, of course, academics had believed that humans first migrated to the islands in Polynesia from Asia in the west.
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Yes, they thought that travel from the east was impossible
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because of the huge empty stretch of ocean that lies between the islands and the nearest inhabited land.
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Yes, but Hyadal spent ages studying the cloud movements, ocean currents, and wind patterns to find if it was actually possible.
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And another argument was that there was no tradition of large shipbuilding in the communities lying to the east of Polynesia.
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But Hyadal knew they made lots of coastal voyages in locally built canoes.
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Yes, or sailing on rafts, as was shown by the long voyage that Hyadal did next.
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It was an incredibly risky journey to undertake.
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Sometimes I wonder if he did that trip for private reasons, you know, to show others that he could have spectacular adventures.
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What do you think, Olivia.
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Well, I think it was more a matter of simply trying out his idea, to see if migration from the east was possible.
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Yes, that's probably it.
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And the poor guy suffered a bit at that time because the war forced him to stop his work for some years.
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Yes, when he got started again and planned his epic voyage, do you think it was important to him that he achieve it before anyone else did?
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Um, I haven't read anywhere that that was his motivation.
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The most important factor seems to have been that he used only ancient techniques and local materials to build his raft.
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Yes.
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I wonder how fast it went.
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Well, it took them 97 days from South America to the Pacific Islands.
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And after that, Heidel went to Easter Island, didn't he?
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We should mention the purpose of that trip.
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I think he sailed there in a boat made out of reeds.
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No, that was later on in Egypt, Olivia.
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Oh yes, that's right.
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But what he wanted to do was talk to the local people about their old stone carvings, and then make one himself, to learn more about the process.
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I see.
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Well, what a great life.
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Even though many of his theories have been disproven, he certainly left a lasting impression on many disciplines, didn't he?
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To my mind, he was the first person to establish what modern academics call practical archaeology.
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I mean that they try to recreate something from the past today, like he did with his raft trip.
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It's unfortunate that his ideas about where Polynesians originated from have been completely discredited.
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Yes.
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Right, well, I'll prepare a PowerPoint slide at the end that acknowledges our sources.
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I mainly used The Life and Work of Tor Heyerdahl by William Oliver.
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I thought the research methods he used were very sound, although I must say I found the overall tone somewhat old-fashioned.
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I think they need to do a new revised edition.
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Yeah, I agree.
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What about the subject matter?
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I found it really challenging.
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Well, it's a complex issue.
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I thought The book had lots of good points.
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What did you think of the illustration?
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That is the end of section three.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 70 sentences and 830 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:40. The speaker talks at a steady 124 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
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- voyage /ˈvɔɪ.ɪd͡ʒ/ (noun) — A long journey, especially by ship.
- migration /maɪˈɡɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ (noun) — An instance of moving to live in another place for a while.
- sail /seɪl/ (noun) — A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination…
- carving /ˈkɑɹvɪŋ/ (noun) — A carved object.
- tone /ˈtəʊn/ (noun) — A specific pitch.
- practical /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/ (adjective) — Relating to, or based on, practice or action rather than theory or hypothesis.
- technique /tɛkˈniːk/ (noun) — The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.
- adventure /ədˈvɛn.t͡ʃə/ (noun) — A feeling of desire for new and exciting things.
- cloud /ˈklaʊ̯d/ (noun) — A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
- establish /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/ (verb) — To make stable or firm; to confirm.
- suffer /ˈsʌfɚ/ (verb) — To undergo hardship.
- unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/ (adjective) — Not usual, out of the ordinary.
- passion /ˈpæʃən/ (noun) — A true desire sustained or prolonged.
- skill /skɪl/ (noun) — A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
- remote /ɹəˈməʊt̞/ (adjective) — At a distance; disconnected.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- cut off /ˌkʌt ˈɔf/ [ˌkɐɾ ˈɔf] (verb) — To remove by cutting.
- find out (verb) — To discover, as by asking or investigating.
- finish with (verb) — To put aside, break all relations with, or reject finally.
- grow up (verb) — To mature and become an adult.
- live on (verb) — To endure.
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
- make out of (verb) — To construct from; to create (something) using (a material or substance).
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'll, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: migration /maɪˈɡɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, establish /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, impression /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, mysterious /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/
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 voyage, migration, sail.
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.