Shadowing Practice: Toni Braxton - Spanish Guitar (Official Video) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
Recommend Video
A2Mi Dulce Amor - Los Inquietos Del Vallenato - Audio
A2Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman! (Official Music Video)
A2tamia - officially missing you (slowed + reverb)
A2King and Queen of Hearts - David Pomeranz (Rock Cover Version)
A2Enrique Iglesias - Bailando ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona
A2JMSN - Love Me (Official Video)
A2The Second Voice - LET ME BE
![Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight [Official Live]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UprwkbzUX6g/mqdefault.jpg)
A2Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight [Official Live]
A2Lonely
B1Jesus, I Will Wait For You | Powerful Worship Song (Yeshua)
A2HYBS - Tip Toe (Official Video)
A2Hotel Ugly - Shut up My Moms Calling (Español) (Lyrics)
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Toni Braxton - Spanish Guitar”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: song, guitar, lord, wish, hold. This video has 37 sentences and 435 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:27. The speaker talks slowly, about 98 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| guitar noun | /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ | A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). |
| dawn noun | /dɔːn/ | The morning twilight period immediately before sunrise. |
| pray verb | /pɹeɪ/ | To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc. |
| someday adverb | Sometime; at some unspecified time in the future. | |
| café noun | /ˌkæˈfeɪ/ | A coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the… |
| caress verb | /kəˈɹɛs/ | To touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle. |
| smoky adjective | /ˈsmoʊki/ | Filled with smoke. |
| tenderness noun | /ˈtɛn.dɚ.nɪs/ | Quality, state or condition of being tender. |
| tuya noun | Table mountain formed during subglacial volcanic eruptions, consisting primarily of a mound of pyroclastic palagonitic tuff, lava delta hyaloclastites, and… | |
| fill verb | /fɪl/ | To add contents to (a container, cavity, or the like) so that it is full. |
| arm noun | /ɑɹm/ | The portion of the upper human appendage, from the shoulder to the wrist and sometimes including the hand. |
| till | /tɪl/ | Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time). |
| crowd noun | /ˈkɹaʊ̯d/ | A group of people congregated or collected into a close body without order. |
| dance noun | /dæns/ | A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction. |
| drink verb | /ˈdɹɪŋk/ | To consume (a liquid) through the mouth. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'll, don't, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 guitar, dawn, pray.
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.