Shadowing Practice: Unit 9 The Family - Tactics for Listening Basic - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Unit 9.
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The Family.
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Page 34.
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2. Let's listen.
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People are talking about their families.
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Listen and number the pictures.
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1. That's me in the middle.
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That's my oldest niece Betsy on the left.
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She's in her second year of college.
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And that's my nephew on the right.
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He's just finished high school.
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Oh, he's handsome.
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Two.
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That's me on the left.
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Who are the other two?
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Those are my sister and brother, Maria and Jose.
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They're twins.
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How old are they?
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They're ten.
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Three.
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That's me and my parents.
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Boy, you look just like your dad.
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No, I don't.
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Four.
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This is a picture of my son and daughter.
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Is your daughter older than your son?
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Yes, much older.
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She's 26.
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How old is your son?
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He's 17.
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That's a big difference.
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Five.
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These are my parents, and that's my grandmother on the left.
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How old is she?
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She's 60.
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She looks young for 60.
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Six.
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This is my father with my uncle and aunt and two cousins.
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Which one is your father?
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The one on the left.
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Oh, yes.
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Page 35.
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3. Let's listen.
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Task 1.
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People are talking about their families.
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How many brothers and sisters do they have?
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Listen and write the numbers.
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1. Do you have any brothers and sisters, Stephanie?
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No brothers.
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I wish I did, but I've got three sisters.
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Really?
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Yeah, and I'm the youngest.
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Poor you.
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Two.
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Tell me about your family, Donna.
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Well, I've got one brother.
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He's older than me.
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What does he do?
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He's a student, and I've got two younger sisters.
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Wow, you have a big family.
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Three.
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Do you have any brothers or sisters, Bob?
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Just one.
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My sister, Anna.
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Is she older than you?
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Yes, she is.
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She always bosses me around.
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Four.
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Tell me about your family, Rosie.
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Well, I come from quite a big family.
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I've got two brothers, both of them younger than me.
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Really?
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Do you have any sisters?
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Yeah, I have one older and one younger sister.
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You're lucky.
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I wish I came from a big family.
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Five.
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Do you come from a big family, Tina?
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No, I'm an only child.
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It's just me and my parents.
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Page 35.
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3. Let's listen.
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Task 2.
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Listen again.
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Circle the correct answer.
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1. Do you have any brothers and sisters, Stephanie?
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No brothers.
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I wish I did.
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But I've got three sisters.
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Really?
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Yeah, and I'm the youngest.
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Poor you.
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Two.
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Tell me about your family, Donna.
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Well, I've got one brother.
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He's older than me.
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What does he do?
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He's a student, and I've got two younger sisters.
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Wow, you have a big family.
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Three.
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Do you have any brothers or sisters, Bob?
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Just one.
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My sister, Anna.
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Is she older than you?
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Yes, she is.
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She always bosses me around.
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Four.
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Tell me about your family, Rosie.
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Well, I come from quite a big family.
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I've got two brothers, both of them younger than me.
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Really?
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Do you have any sisters?
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Yeah, I have one older and one younger sister.
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You're lucky.
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I wish I came from a big family.
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Five.
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Do you come from a big family, Tina?
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No, I'm an only child.
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It's just me and my parents.
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Page 36.
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4. Let's listen.
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Task 1.
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People are talking about themselves and other family members.
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Which family member is the speaker most similar to?
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Listen and check the correct answer.
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1. Wen Ping.
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Both of my parents are taller than me.
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My dad is pretty tall, but my brother is even taller than my dad.
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Together they look like a basketball team.
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My sister and I are the short ones in the family.
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2. Michael My brother isn't interested in music at all.
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He's into cars, like my dad.
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But I'm not interested in cars.
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I play the guitar and the piano.
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I guess I love music because of my mom.
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She sings beautifully.
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She plays the piano really well, too.
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3. Justin I love animals.
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I have a dog and I keep a couple of parrots in a big cage in my room.
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I love taking photographs of wild birds when I'm in the countryside.
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My dad and I often go away for the weekend and we have a great time bird watching.
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My sister thinks I'm crazy.
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When my sister has free time, she loves to play cards.
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I can't stand card games.
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4. Susan I enjoy reading.
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I read a lot of books, and I love going to the library.
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My dad likes outdoor things.
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He's really into sports and swimming, and he always tells me I should get more interested in sports,
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but Mom tells me that reading is the best way to learn.
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She always gives me books that she's been reading.
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5. Robert I'm very interested in computers.
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I'm always teaching myself new computer programs and I have a lot of great software.
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My brother and I spend all our free time in computer stores and on the internet.
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My sister is more interested in the arts.
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She likes music and she loves to read.
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She hates computers.
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6. Beth I love traveling.
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My mother and I go to a different place every year.
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Both of us love to learn new things about cultures.
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My father never goes with us because he hates flying.
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My older sister is in college, so she stays home and studies while we're away.
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Sometimes I wish my sister and my father would travel with us, because I miss them.
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Page 36 4.
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Let's Listen Task 2
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How is each family member different from the speaker?
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Write the letter.
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1. Wen Ping Both of my parents are taller than me.
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My dad is pretty tall, but my brother is even taller than my dad.
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Together they look like a basketball team.
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My sister and I are the short ones in the family.
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2. Michael My brother isn't interested in music at all.
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He's into cars, like my dad.
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But I'm not interested in cars.
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I play the guitar and the piano.
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I guess I love music because of my mom.
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She sings beautifully.
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She plays the piano really well, too.
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3. Justin I love animals.
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I have a dog and I keep a couple of parrots in a big cage in my room.
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I love taking photographs of wild birds when I'm in the countryside.
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My dad and I often go away for the weekend and we have a great time bird watching.
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My sister thinks I'm crazy.
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When my sister has free time, she loves to play cards.
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I can't stand card games.
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4. Susan I enjoy reading.
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I read a lot of books and I love going to the library.
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My dad likes outdoor things.
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He's really into sports and swimming and he always tells me I should get more interested in sports,
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but mom tells me that reading is the best way to learn.
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She always gives me books that she's been reading.
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5. Robert I'm very interested in computers.
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I'm always teaching myself new computer programs, and I have a lot of great software.
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My brother and I spend all our free time in computer stores and on the Internet.
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My sister is more interested in the arts.
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She likes music, and she loves to read.
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She hates computers.
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6. Beth I love traveling.
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My mother and I go to a different place every year.
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Both of us love to learn new things about cultures.
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My father never goes with us because he hates flying.
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My older sister is in college, so she stays home and studies while we're away.
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Sometimes I wish my sister and my father would travel with us because I miss them.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Unit 9 The Family - Tactics for Listening Basic”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sister, brother, dad, older, interested. This video has 203 sentences and 1260 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:54. The speaker talks at a steady 127 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| piano noun | /piˈænɪː/ | A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers… |
| 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). |
| outdoor adjective | /aʊtˈdɔː/ | Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air. |
| photograph noun | /ˈfoʊ.təˌɡɹæf/ | A picture created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor, etc. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| cage noun | /keɪd͡ʒ/ | An enclosure made of spaced bars, normally to hold animals while providing some ventilation. |
| youngest adjective | /ˈjʌŋ.ɡɪst/ | Most recently begun or formed. |
| beautifully adverb | /ˈbju.tɪ.fə.li/ | In a beautiful manner. |
| countryside noun | /ˈkʌn.tɹiˌsaɪd/ | An area located outside of towns and cities; an area that is not urban or suburban; a rural area. |
| beth noun | /bɛθ/ | The second letter of the Phoenician alphabet, 𐤁 |
| uncle noun | /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/ | The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent. |
| cousin noun | /ˈkʌz(ə)n/ | Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a… |
| twin noun | /twɪn/ | Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling. |
| handsome adjective | /ˈhæn.səm/ | Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly |
| aunt noun | /ɑːnt/ | The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Is your daughter older than your son?
- How old is your son?
- Which one is your father?
- Is she older than you?
- Do you have any sisters?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | she's been reading |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | older than · younger than · taller than |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | love taking · enjoy reading · love traveling |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | my oldest · the youngest · the best |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 33 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: beth /bɛθ/, grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/
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 piano, guitar, outdoor.
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.