Shadowing Practice: Weight loss drugs ⏲️ 6 Minute English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
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I'm Neil.
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And I'm Georgie.
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Neil, I saw you eating a healthy looking salad earlier.
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Is there anything else you do to stay healthy?
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At the moment I am following an exercise routine and I'm eating healthily.
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But I'm not sure if it's having much effect.
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How about you?
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Well, I'm training for a half marathon at the moment,
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so I'm doing a lot of running,
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but I still eat a lot of sugar.
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A sweet treat.
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Diet, exercise and eating in moderation helps some people stay at a healthy weight.
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But with around 65% of British adults estimated to be overweight,
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that doesn't help everyone.
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But this has changed with the recent invention of weight loss drugs.
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Yes, weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Manjaro have been a hot topic this year.
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The drugs are modified versions of natural hormones which make us feel full when released into the body.
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Weight loss drugs are injected into the tummy and replicate this effect,
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but last much longer.
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The idea is that you feel full for longer,
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eat less and lose weight.
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In this episode we'll be hearing more about these drugs helping people lose weight And as usual,
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we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases.
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Plus there's a worksheet and quiz to practice all the vocabulary we'll learn on our website.
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But first I have a question for you, Neil.
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The measurement used by doctors to estimate if someone is at a healthy weight is called BMI.
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But what does BMI stand for?
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Is it a British Medical Index,
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b Body Mass Index or c Body Muscle Index?
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Well, I am 99.9% certain that I know the answer,
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Georgie, so I don't want to spoil it for our listeners.
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So we'll just find out at the end.
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OK then.
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For radio listener Lynne Massey-Davis,
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weight loss drugs have been life-changing.
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Using the drug Manjaro, Lynne lost 20 kilograms in six months and now feels happier than ever about her weight,
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something she discussed with Greg Foote,
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presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme Sliced Bread.
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What's it like to be on it?
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Well, I don't get hungry, so food noise stops.
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And all those scripts about yourself,
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that you're a bad person for eating.
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I feel like that judgment has drifted into the ether.
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And when you say food noise,
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what do you mean by that?
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For me, it was a conflict,
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like I got a devil and an angel on my shoulders.
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The angel said, don't eat that because you shouldn't eat food.
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The devil inside me said,
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oh, but you just want a taste.
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It damaged my self-esteem for a very,
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very long time, probably for the best part of maybe 50 years.
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Weight loss drugs help Lyn reduce food noise,
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a term for intrusive and unwanted thoughts about food.
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In fact, Lyn says her unwanted food noise has gone into the ether,
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meaning it has completely disappeared.
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Before using Monjaro, Lyn felt conflicted about food.
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She says there was an angel on one shoulder
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and a devil on the other – an old idiom which describes having a personal dilemma.
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An imaginary angel, representing Lin's conscience,
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told her what she should do,
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while a devil sat on the other shoulder,
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whispering temptations in her ear.
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Over many years, this inner conflict damaged Lin's self-esteem,
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her belief and confidence in her own abilities.
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Interestingly, weight loss drugs weren't invented to lose weight at all.
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They were originally designed for diabetes,
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a disease caused when somebody's blood sugar levels get too high.
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It was only later that doctors noticed the drug's effect on weight.
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Professor Giles Yeo researches obesity and is also a consultant for companies developing weight loss drugs.
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Here he is talking to BBC Radio 4's Sliced Bread.
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We talked about Ozempic first because that was the first on the market for diabetes.
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And then people began to notice as a side effect that people were losing weight.
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A lot of people with diabetes also have obesity.
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And part of the effects of actually reversing the diabetes is the fact that they lose weight.
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And so doctors began to sort of prescribe them off-label.
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Ozempic was the first drug on the market.
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When something is on the market, it's available for sale.
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A Zempic was designed for diabetes,
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but doctors noticed that patients lost weight as a side effect.
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A side effect is an unexpected secondary effect of a drug or medicine.
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It's usually an undesirable effect,
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although not in this case as it helped people lose weight.
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But could weight loss drugs be too good to be true?
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A public health official in the UK warns
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that the drugs alone are not the solution and that people should be encouraged to have a healthier lifestyle.
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Right Georgie, isn't it time you revealed the answer to your question?
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Yes, I asked about BMI,
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which is the measurement used by doctors to estimate if someone is at a healthy weight.
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But what does BMI stand for?
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Now, Neil, you didn't give me an answer earlier.
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Yes, that's because I was sure the answer is B.
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Body mass index.
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That's correct, well done.
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OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt,
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starting with food noise – intrusive and unwanted thoughts about food.
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The idiom an angel on one shoulder
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and a devil on the other describes a personal dilemma where someone must choose whether to follow their conscience or not.
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Self-esteem means a belief in your own abilities and value.
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If something disappears into the ether,
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it completely goes away, it vanishes into the air.
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A product which is on the market is available for people to buy.
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And finally, a side effect is an unexpected and usually unwanted secondary effect of a drug or medicine.
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Once again, our six minutes are up,
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but if you're interested in programmes about health,
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we have a health topic page,
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which you can find on our website bbclearningenglish.com.
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See you there soon!
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Goodbye!

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will explore the topic of weight loss drugs and their effects on health. You'll practice listening and speaking skills by engaging with the conversational style of British English presented by Neil and Georgie. By the end of this session, you'll not only understand the vocabulary related to health and wellness but also how to express personal experiences and opinions regarding diet and exercise. This is an excellent opportunity to learn English with YouTube, specifically through the lens of real-life health discussions.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Exercise routine - a regular schedule of physical activities.
  • Healthy weight - a weight that is considered safe and normal for an individual's height and body type.
  • Weight loss drugs - medications designed to help individuals reduce their body weight.
  • Full hormone - hormones that signal to the body that it is no longer hungry.
  • Conflict - a mental struggle resulting from opposing demands or impulses, often relating to food choices.
  • Food noise - the internal dialogue or thoughts about food choices and eating habits.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) - a measure that uses height and weight to estimate body fat and assess health.

Practice Tips

To effectively utilize the shadowing technique with this video, find a quiet space where you can focus on the audio. Start by listening to short segments, approximately 15-30 seconds, then pause and repeat what you heard. Pay attention to the tone and speed of Neil and Georgie's conversation; they use natural, conversational English which is essential for improving your English pronunciation.

Using a shadowing app can greatly enhance this practice. Record your voice as you repeat the segments, and compare it to the original dialogue. This reflective exercise will help you grasp the nuances of English speech, such as rhythm and stress. Challenge yourself to shadow along at regular speed once you feel comfortable, aiming to match their intonation and diction.

By incorporating these practices into your routine, you’ll build confidence and fluency, making your English conversation skills as effective as they can be.

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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