Shadowing Practice: Vietnam–France economic cooperation reaches new heights | Vietnam Today - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
1
The party general secretary and President Tone and French President Emmanuel Macron attended the Vietnam-France Leaders Forum on September 10th in Paris.
2
The event is part of the Vietnamese party's chief's official visit to France, attracted leaders and business representatives from both countries.
3
Let's take a closer look.
4
At the meeting, government agencies and businesses from Vietnam
5
and France reviewed bilateral cooperation and put forward proposals to promote stronger links across the supply chain.
6
The approach is expected to unlock greater cooperation potential, new partnerships and products and business models.
7
Party General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized three major shifts.
8
First, we need to shift from trading goods to joint production.
9
French corporations establish manufacturing facilities and supplier networks in Vietnam, while Vietnamese businesses invest in France.
10
Second, we need to include technology transfer, workforce training, component manufacturing, and innovation in technology partnerships.
11
Third, we need to shift from bilateral cooperation to jointly building value chains serving ASEAN, the European Union and global markets.
12
Party General Secretary and President Tholam also outlined strategic priorities for business cooperation in major science and high-tech areas,
13
as well as healthcare and high-quality human resources.
14
The two countries have moved beyond building cooperation frameworks frameworks and are now entering on implementation and breakthrough action.
15
Vietnam is committed to ensuring a stable, transparent and predictable policy environment, creating a level playing field.
16
The government will work directly to resolve obstacles so that these agreements can soon become concrete projects and deliver tangible results.
17
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the agreement signed between businesses from the two countries across a range of sectors.
18
The President said healthcare could become a flagship area of cooperation between Vietnam
19
and France and affirmed France's readiness to contribute to major urban transport projects in Vietnam.

What You'll Learn

This video builds practical speaking skills for discussing international cooperation—critical for IELTS speaking practice or professional contexts. You’ll learn to structure complex ideas (e.g., "three major shifts") clearly, use formal vocabulary like "value chains" and "tangible results," and speak confidently about policy and business topics. It also trains you to follow fast-paced, formal dialogue, a key skill for real-world interactions.

Listen For These Sounds

Notice connected speech in phrases like "put forward proposals" (linking "put" and "forward" into "putfor-ward") and "jointly building" (reducing "jointly" to "join-ly"). The speakers often link adjectives and nouns, such as "stable, transparent and predictable" (blending "transparent and" into "transparen-tand"). Pay attention to how "frameworks frameworks" is corrected—natural speech includes small errors, so don’t fear them in your own practice.

Say It Like a Native

Mirror the speakers’ rhythm by stressing key terms: in "shift from trading goods to joint production," emphasize "shift," "trading," "joint," and "production." Use the shadowing technique: play a 2-3 second clip, pause, and repeat it immediately, matching the tone and pace. Focus on the rising intonation in proposals ("unlock greater cooperation potential?") and falling intonation in statements ("Vietnam is committed..."). For extra practice, use a shadowing app to record yourself and compare. This "shadow speak" method helps you internalize natural flow, making your English sound more polished—perfect for English speaking practice or exams.

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.