Shadowing Practice: Weird and Wonderful Amphibians | SciShow Kids Compilation - Learn English Speaking with Video
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214 sentences
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Oh, look!
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It came right back!
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Hi there!
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Squeaks and I were just watching videos of people throwing boomerangs!
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That's a toy that comes back to you if you throw it just right!
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Squeaks and I learned all about Australia!
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We heard boomerangs come from there, and we thought the idea of a toy that comes back to you sounded pretty fun.
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Oh, you wanted to get one, huh?
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It sounds like it might be a little tricky to learn, but fun, too.
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Hmm, you know, I think I've seen this shape somewhere before.
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What was it called?
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Aha!
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Squeaks, take a look at this animal.
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What do you notice about it?
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Oh, yes, I agree!
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I think its head does look a little like a boomerang.
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This is an animal called Diplocollis.
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It lived over 250 million years ago, a long time before dinosaurs even existed.
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But it did live at about the same time as Dimetrodon.
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Remember when we talked about Dimetrodon?
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We learned that it's a really old animal with a sail on its back.
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And even though it looks like one, it's not really a dinosaur.
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Diplocollis was also not a dinosaur.
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It was an amphibian.
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Amphibians are a kind of animal that have body parts that help them live both in water and on land.
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Right!
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The frogs that live in the fort's pond are amphibians.
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So are other animals like salamanders and toads.
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Most amphibians hatch from eggs in water.
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When they're babies, they have body parts called gills to help them breathe underwater water.
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That means the water is the place where they live, or habitat.
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Since they can't breathe in air, they need to stay in water.
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But that changes as the amphibians get older.
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They grow body parts that help them breathe air, so they can live on land, too.
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But even grown -up amphibians, who can breathe air, need to stay in damp places.
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They need a lot of water to live.
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That means we're pretty sure Diplocollis lived in or around water, just like the amphibians as we know today.
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Oh, well, as cool as Diplocollis is, it's still kind of a mystery.
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Because it lived so long ago, scientists have to put different clues together to find out how it lived.
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Right!
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Like fossils!
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Fossils are bones or other signs left behind by animals that lived a long time ago.
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Scientists can tell a lot about life long ago by looking at fossils.
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For example, if a scientist finds a fossil skull that has tooth marks in it,
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that can be a clue that the animal was eaten by another animal.
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Yep, it took a big old chomp!
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Scientists can also tell a little about an animal by comparing fossils of its body to animals that are alive today.
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Today, Diplocollis had a long, flat body that was shaped kind of like the bodies of alligators, fish, and salamanders.
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What do you think that tells them?
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Yes, the shape, or structure, of these animals' bodies helps them move in water.
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So scientists think that, like salamanders, Diplocollis spent time in water, too.
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Huh.
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Scientists aren't exactly sure why this animal has such a funny -shaped head.
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At first, some thought that the function, or job, of its big head was to make Diplocollis a tough meal for a predator to swallow.
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But then, we found a Diplocollis skull that had a bite out of it.
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And that bite matches the shape of the mouth of Dimetrodon.
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And since Dimetrodon was able to get its chomp on, that's evidence that the shape of Diplocollis' head might not have been great protection after all.
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Other scientists think that the animal's funny -shaped skull helped it to be a speedy swimmer.
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Why do they think that?
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Well, scientists made a model of a Diplocollis' skull.
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A model is a simple version of something that we can use to understand how that thing works.
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Then, they put it in a special tube called a wind tunnel.
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Engineers use wind tunnels to see how rockets and airplanes will fly through the air, but it can also show how something moves in water.
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And what they found was that when the skull was pointed just right, the animal's boomerang -shaped head would have helped to lift its
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body quickly through the water — kind of like the way an airplane's wings lifted off the ground?
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during takeoff.
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And that would've been super helpful when Diplocollis was chasing something to eat.
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So although it may have looked kind of funny, the boomerang shape might have helped Diplocollis to take off and swim very fast through the water.
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So what do you say, Squeaks?
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Do you still want to go get a boomerang of our own
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and see if we can get it to take off and come back?
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Hi there!
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You're just in time! time.
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Squeaks is just getting back from his play date with Sam the Bat.
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What, Squeaks?
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What is going on?
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Oh, I see.
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You and Sam found a new fish in your video game
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and you want to see if you can get one as a pet?
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Okay, well, let's figure out what this mystery fish is first.
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Can you describe it for me?
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Even though this animal lives in the water, I don't think this is a fish, Squeaks.
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Fish don't really have legs, and this animal has four of them.
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This sounds like a type of amphibian.
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Amphibians are a special kind of animal that tend to live part of their lives underwater, and part of their lives on land.
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Many people know about frogs, the amphibians that start out as eggs and then hatch into tadpoles in the water and slowly transform,
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or metamorphose, into frogs that can breathe air and live on land.
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Metamorphosis describes the way some animals change as they grow up, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly or a tadpole turning into a frog.
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There are other types of amphibians, too, and given the long body you mentioned, I think this animal is an amphibian called a salamander.
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Salamanders start as eggs and hatch into larvae in the water.
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Then they metamorphose into adults that look sort of like wet lizards, with long bodies and four short legs.
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Most salamanders transform into adults who live on land.
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But there are some salamanders that live underwater their whole lives.
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Hey, Squeaks, what color did you say this animal was?
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Pink!
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That solves it.
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Here, was this the animal that you saw?
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You saw an oshalot!
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Some people call them axolotls, but it's actually pronounced oshalot.
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Oshalots are a special type of aquatic salamander, which means that they live underwater their whole lives.
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So I can see why you would mistake it for a fish.
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Take a look at this adult ocelot.
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What do you notice?
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Ooh, the bits on its head do look like feathers.
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And while they do float around like you might imagine a feather does, those things on the sides of its head are actually gills.
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Gills are special structures, or body parts, that Oschelots use to breathe underwater.
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Their job, or function, is to pull in oxygen from the water around them.
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When I breathe, I bring oxygen -filled air into my lungs.
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And the special veins in my lungs pull oxygen out of the air and into my blood for my body to use.
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Do you see where the special veins might be on the oshalot's gills?
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Yep, all of those stringy bits have lots of veins in them!
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When they move through the water, the gills use those veins to collect oxygen, and then send it through the oshalot's body.
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Most salamanders lose their gills when they transform into adults, and then use lungs like ours to breathe air instead of water.
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But oshalots and a few other species of salamanders use their gills their whole lives.
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They look a bit like a kid forever, even though they're all grown up.
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Oshalots are super cool!
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They can come in many different colors, like olive green, black, yellow, white, and even the pink that you saw.
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Oschelots can even regrow body parts, like legs and even their heart, if they need new ones.
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They're one of my favorite animals.
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Hmm, well I don't know if it's a good idea to get one, Squeaks.
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Oschelots only live in one lake in the entire world right now — Lake Xochimilco.
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They used to also live in Lake Chalco nearby, but the lake was destroyed.
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It is pretty sad.
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Ocelots in the wild face a lot of danger because of changes to Lake Xochimilco, their last remaining habitat.
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A habitat is a place where an animal lives, that provides everything it needs.
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It would be very difficult to recreate the ocelots' habitat in your own home.
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They're much harder to care for than a dog or a cat, and the equipment needed to care for them can be expensive.
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People have sometimes dumped ocelots into nearby ponds when they didn't want them as pets anymore,
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which causes problems in these new habitats for the ocelots and the animals that already lived there.
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If we really want to get a pet oshalot, we would want to be extremely careful, do a lot of research,
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and think about why we want one as a pet.
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That's a really cool idea, Squeaks.
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If we love oshalots, instead of having one as a pet, maybe we can learn more about them.
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I know there are lots of people working to help oshalots, and I can't wait to learn about what we can do to help, too.
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And maybe I might find a special oshalot -stuffed animal for your birthday.
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Oh, please, princess, said the frog.
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A magic spell has turned me into a frog.
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I need but one kiss to break the curse.
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Hmm, what do you think about this situation, Squeaks?
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Ooh, you're right, it is a bit unusual.
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Oh, I mean, the frog does look kind of like candy, but this frog is definitely not for eating.
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In the fairy tale about the princess and the frog, the frog turns into a handsome prince.
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Unlike the fairy tale, you should not pucker up to a frog not just because you don't know where it's been,
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but because frogs are full of surprises.
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Let's take another look at our frog friend.
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What do you notice?
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Oh, you are right!
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It's more colorful than a whole bag of candies.
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Some animals use bright colors and bold patterns as a way to protect themselves.
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Scientists call this aposemitism.
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Some animals try to blend in or hide, But, apisemitism is a way for animals to stand out.
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They use bright colors and patterns, or even strong smells.
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It's almost like waving a big flashy sign that says, Hey, I'm right here!
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Yes, exactly!
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Just like that, Squeaks!
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It's a warning to predators that if they try to eat this animal, they're in for a yucky surprise!
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For example, a ladybug might look pretty, but it tastes gross to predators or other animals that want to try and eat it.
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Have you ever wondered why a skunk has such bold stripes?
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I mean, they do look pretty fancy, but the pattern is also a warning.
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It's warning you to stay away from its stinky spray.
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And some aposematic frogs warn you that they could make you very sick.
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If predators know to stay away, it saves them from eating something dangerous.
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And it saves the animal from being eaten!
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The frog in our book is called a poison dart frog.
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Know why it's called that, Squeaks?
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Yep, these brightly colored frogs can be poisonous!
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Poison dart frogs live in Central and South America.
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That's very far from where we live, Squeaks!
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So you won't find them anywhere near the fort.
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There are about 200 different species, or kinds, of poison dart frogs.
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And many of them have poisons in their bodies that come out through their skin.
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Which can make humans sick, or make them paralyzed so they can't move.
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Sometimes the toxins can even be deadly.
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The deadliest of them all, the golden poison dart frog,
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oozes a toxin from its skin that stops a person's muscles and the heart from working.
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There's enough poison in just one tiny golden poison dart frog to kill ten people, or a couple of elephants,
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or about 20 ,000 mice.
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I don't know how many rats, but probably a lot.
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They're called poison dart frogs
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because some indigenous people in Colombia have used their poison to put on darts and arrows to help them hunt for food.
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Speaking of food, the poison in poison dart frogs actually comes from what they eat.
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They like to eat tiny creepers like ants, termites, and beetles.
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And scientists think that there's one beetle that helps poison dart frogs make their poisons.
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Oh, I see.
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You're wondering if they'd still make poison if they can't find the right beetles to eat.
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Poison dart frogs in captivity — living in places like zoos
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instead of in the wild — will get fed other things instead of those beetles.
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And after a while, without those beetles, they can actually stop being poisonous.
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Poison dart frogs are just a few centimeters long and drop -dead gorgeous.
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Their aposematic patterns come in some of the most brilliant colors on Earth.
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They're very pretty to admire, from far away away.
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And a predator that once tried to eat something yucky will remember to stay very far away.
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But some non -poisonous frogs use the bright poison dart frog patterns to fool predators into staying away, too.
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That's a whole other trick called mimicry, which basically means copying.
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An animal mimic is kind of a copycat who tries to look like other, more dangerous species.
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For example, this tiny species of poison dart frog is called a mimic poison frog.
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That sure is a bright pattern, like a big sign that says, look at me!
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Yeah, if I were a predator, I would not try eating the mimic poison frog!
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But it's so small that it doesn't have as much poison as its more dangerous relatives.
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It just looks like the other poisonous frogs, so predators think they should stay away.
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And how about this sanguine poison frog?
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It isn't poisonous, but these cool patterns still tell predators to stay away.
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Say, Squeaks, can you tell the difference between these two snakes?
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Hmm, they are almost the same, but look closely at their stripes.
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This one is a harmless snake called the Scarlet Kingsnake.
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And this one is a very dangerous snake called the Coral Snake.
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Their patterns aren't exactly the same, but they're really close, so it's just best to stay away.
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Yeah, a lot of animals do use mimicry, and there are lots of reasons to mimic poison dart frogs.
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Both the dangerous aposomatic animals and the harmless mimics have found ways to stay safe from predators.
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I'm just glad that we get to appreciate all the beautiful colors and patterns, without getting too close!
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Thanks for joining me and Squeaks today!
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If you'd like to keep learning with us and all our friends, be sure to subscribe!
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And I'll see you next time, here at the Fort!
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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 “Weird and Wonderful Amphibians”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: frog, animal, poison, Squeaks, dart. This video has 214 sentences and 2563 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:27. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| poison noun | /ˈpɔɪ.zən/ | A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested. |
| dart noun | /dɑɹt/ | A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; for example, a short lance or javelin. |
| scientist noun | /ˈsaɪəntəst/ | One whose activities make use of the scientific method to answer questions regarding the measurable universe. A scientist may be involved in original research… |
| predator noun | /ˈpɹɛd.ə.tɚ/ | Any animal or other organism that hunts and kills other nonplant organisms (their prey), primarily for food. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| gill noun | /ɡɪl/ | A breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals. |
| fossil noun | /ˈfɑsl̩/ | The mineralized remains of an animal or plant. |
| habitat noun | /ˈhæb.ɪ.tæt/ | Conditions suitable for an organism or population of organisms to live. |
| underwater adjective | /ʌndɚˈwɔtəɹ/ | Beneath the surface of the water; of or pertaining to the region beneath the water surface. |
| poisonous adjective | /ˈpɔɪzənəs/ | Containing sufficient poison to be dangerous to touch or ingest. |
| beetle noun | /ˈbiːtəl/ | Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings… |
| oxygen noun | /ˈɑksɪd͡ʒən/ | The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Sometimes called elemental… |
| snake noun | /sneɪk/ | Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptiles with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues. |
| vein noun | /veɪn/ | A blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries back to the heart. |
| egg noun | /ɛɡ/ | An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| stay away verb | To avoid or not go anywhere near someone or something. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| take off verb | To remove. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| leave behind verb | To abandon. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What do you notice about it?
- What do you think that tells them?
- Can you describe it for me?
- Here, was this the animal that you saw?
- What do you notice?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was eaten · was shaped · was pointed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've seen · have sometimes dumped · has turned |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might be · might not have · may have |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were just watching · was chasing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 34 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, don't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, feather /ˈfɛðə/, tooth /tuθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, flashy /ˈflæʃi/
- Long words — get the stress right: underwater /ʌndɚˈwɔtəɹ/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, indigenous /ɪnˈdɪd͡ʒənəs/, captivity /kæpˈtɪvɪti/, salamander /ˈsæləˌmændɚ/
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 poison, dart, scientist.
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.