Shadowing Practice: Twitter: One million leave: BBC News Review - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Nearly a million Twitter users leave as Elon Musk takes over.
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Nearly a million Twitter users leave as Elon Musk takes over.
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This is News Review from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil.
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And I'm Beth.
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Make sure you watch to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about this story.
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Don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
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like this video and try the quiz on our website.
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Now, the story.
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Almost one million.
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That's how many Twitter accounts have been deactivated since Elon Musk bought the social media platform last month.
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Musk's takeover has been controversial.
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Some people are worried about his approach to free speech,
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thousands of staff have lost their jobs,
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and there are plans to make some users pay a subscription.
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Many users are moving to an alternative called Mastodon,
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a free social network platform where posts are called toots.
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Eugen Rocko, the founder of the platform,
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tooted on Monday that he thinks the massive increase in users is pretty cool.
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You've been looking at the headlines, Beth.
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What is the vocabulary?
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We have flock, on fire and mammoth.
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This is News Review from BBC Learning English.
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Let's take a look at our first headline.
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This one comes from The National, a Scottish media outlet.
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Top Scottish Twitter users flock to Mastodon amid Elon Musk's Twitter takeover.
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OK, so Twitter users in Scotland,
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as well as many other places in the world, are leaving.
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And the word that we are looking at in this headline is flock,
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which is connected to birds, isn't it?
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Yeah, so flock as a noun is a group of birds.
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And remember the Twitter logo is a bird and you post tweets.
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Now, tweets is a word that is the sound a bird makes.
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Yeah, so the headline writer uses flock because of Twitter's connection to birds.
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It's used as a verb in the headline,
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but we can also see it as a noun to refer to a group,
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so a group of birds, or sheep.
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So what's the connection to sheep?
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Well, if you picture a field with one sheep and it moves over here,
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all of the other sheep follow it.
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Sheep are famous for following each other.
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So the headline writer has used this as well to describe all of these people moving from Twitter to Mastodon.
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They're following each other like sheep.
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And so there's a nice double meaning in this headline related to birds and sheep.
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But the word flock, is that one that we use in everyday English?
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Yeah, we do.
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So imagine a shop has a sale,
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then all of the shoppers might flock there because they want to buy something for a good price.
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Yes, and if your favourite singer or group is going on tour,
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people will flock to ticket websites to try and get a place at the concert.
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And also, if we make a good video,
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people flock to our website to watch it.
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I hope that happens.
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Yeah, same.
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Let's take a look at that again.
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Time for our next headline.
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This one is from CNN.
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With Twitter in chaos, Mastodon is on fire.
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So the headline says that Twitter is in chaos,
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lots of people are leaving,
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they're joining Mastodon, a rival.
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The expression we're looking at is on fire.
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Now this sounds a little bit dangerous,
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Beth, if something is on fire,
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that's not a good thing.
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Should I call the fire brigade?
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No, no, don't call the fire brigade.
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So this expression, on fire,
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is used to talk about a good thing,
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to say that something is amazing or it's doing well.
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So the headline writer is actually praising Mastodon,
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because it's so popular at the moment.
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Yeah, so often in this program we talk about metaphorical language.
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On fire literally means that something is in flames.
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That's not the sense here.
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No. In this headline, and also in informal conversation,
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we use on fire to say that we're impressed with something.
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Yeah.
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And not just social media platforms,
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we use it more widely.
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Yes, we do.
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So we often use it to talk about skills.
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For example, I watched my friend play football yesterday and she scored three goals.
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She was on fire.
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Yeah.
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And I saw you preparing this script this morning, Beth.
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You were on fire.
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Thank you, Neil.
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I think we're both on fire today.
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Let's take a look at that again.
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Time for our next headline, please.
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This one is from Slate.
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The headline is asking if Mastodon could become a social media mammoth.
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And mammoth is the word we're looking at.
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What is a mammoth?
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Well, they are extinct animals.
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They looked a little bit like hairy elephants.
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They have a big trunk.
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And they were absolutely enormous.
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Yes, and so size is the key in this headline.
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It's asking whether mastodon could become a really big social media platform.
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Exactly.
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And mammoth is also related to another very big and extinct animal that also looks like a hairy elephant,
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a mastodon, and that is the name of this new social media platform.
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Yeah, so there's a really nice double meaning in the headline, it's quite clever.
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It links the mammoth to the mastodon,
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another really big extinct animal,
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and also the name of this social media platform.
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We're looking at mammoth though,
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and as an adjective it can be used to describe really big things.
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Yes, it can.
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So, for example, this morning it took me over two hours to get to work.
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It was a mammoth journey.
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Yes, and I had a mammoth task at the weekend.
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I tried to get my kids to clean their bedroom and...
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took a long, long time.
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Let's have a look at that again.
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We've had flock move together in a large group.
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On fire – impressive, because something is done very well.
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And mammoth – something very big.
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Don't forget there's a quiz on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
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Thank you for joining us and goodbye.
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Bye.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will explore the significant impact of Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter and the subsequent movement of users to alternative platforms like Mastodon. While learning about this current event, you will also enhance your vocabulary and comprehension skills. This content provides a unique opportunity for IELTS speaking practice, allowing you to discuss trending topics while practicing your shadowing technique to improve your English pronunciation.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Flock: A verb meaning to gather in a group, often used to describe how people move together. For example, "Shoppers flock to sales."
  • Mammoth: An adjective used to describe something very large or massive, often seen in headlines or discussions about significant news.
  • Toot: A noun used in Mastodon to describe a post, analogous to a tweet on Twitter.
  • Subscription: A payment that allows users to access certain features or content, relevant in discussions about monetization strategies on social media platforms.
  • Controversial: An adjective that describes something that causes public disagreement or debate.
  • Alternative: A noun or adjective referring to a different option, in this case, a different social media platform.
  • Deactivated: A verb meaning to disable an account, a common action taken by users exiting Twitter.
  • Approach to free speech: A phrase discussing how someone treats the concept of expressing opinions publicly, especially on social media.

Practice Tips

To effectively enhance your English speaking skills using the shadowing technique, listen carefully to the video and repeat the sentences as closely as possible to the original. The speed is conversational but not overly rapid, allowing you to catch the nuances of pronunciation and intonation. Focus on the following:

  • Mimic the intonation: Pay attention to how the speakers emphasize certain words like "flock" and "mammoth." Emphasizing the right words will make your speaking sound more natural.
  • Practice in manageable segments: Break down the video into short clips of 20-30 seconds. Repeat each segment multiple times before moving on to the next. This repetition will solidify your understanding and improve your English pronunciation.
  • Record yourself: Listening to your own pronunciation can highlight areas for improvement. Compare your recordings to the original audio to identify differences in tone and pacing.

Engaging with current events through this lesson not only prepares you for topics that may arise in conversations or examinations but also helps you connect with the language in a dynamic context. This interactive approach to vocabulary learning and shadowing will certainly enhance your overall speaking skills.

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.

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