Shadowing Practice: What Do You Do For a Job / Living? | Easy English 80 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello, welcome to Easy English.
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So today I want to find out what the people of Brighton do for a job, how they got the job and what they enjoy about the job.
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Let's go.
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What do you do for a job?
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So I work at Sainsbury's.
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Technically, well, technically the role I do is called a training assistant, but essentially what I call it is stacking shelves.
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So I'm basically on the shop floor like unloading all of the morning's delivery uh that's come in just sticking that on the shelves and i work across like the fresh department so kind of your milk your veg uh some meats some yogurts and cream and stuff like that and basically make sure that all gets out whilst also like helping any customers that come in sure what do you do for a job okay well i'm retired but I used to work for the tax office HMRC in Brighton retired a few years few three or four years ago what do you do for a job okay so I work in the music industry predominantly so I work as a band manager promoter events manager I guess you could kind of call it and also a production manager based in Cardiff so I do various different tasks from doing accounts, doing offers and doing a bit of promotion and marketing, all the kind of various different elements of working in the music I guess.
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Wow, you're like a one-man band, no pun intended.
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No pun intended, yeah, yeah.
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One-man band, four bands.
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But I also do a bit of tour management and And then, yeah, I also do a bit of photography as well.
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So that's why I'm out here in Brighton or near Brighton doing a bit of photography just as a bit of kind of a bit of a hobby, a bit of a trip away.
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And I just thought, well, I'm over this way, bring my camera and kind of, yeah, do a bit of snaps.
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But I also do a part of my job is a bit of promotional and portrait photography and a bit of street photography as well.
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So kind of like, yeah, all the various different elements kind of mixed together.
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Can you tell me what do you do for a job?
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I'm an estate agent in Hertfordshire.
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Okay, and for those who might not know what that is, could you describe what your job entails?
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Yeah, I actually work in the Land and New Homes department, so I take on big plots of land with, say a house with a plot of land to the side and help people get planning on it.
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on it so put another house on the side and then they I help them sell it and hopefully they move on and well they they they their dreams come true hopefully I'm a dream maker there you go would you be able to tell me what you do for a job yeah so I work in employment support okay And what does that entail?
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Just helping people, no matter how long they've been unemployed, find work or a course that suits them really.
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What do you do for a job?
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I am an urgent carer with Coastal Care.
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An urgent carer for Coastal Care.
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And can you describe what that job entails?
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So basically, as far as I know, when people go into hospital, they generally come out with a care package.
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So those that to back to their homes and don't have anyone to help them recover from a an injury or something then they'll come out with a care package which is part of what we do so as urgent care we're temporary service yeah so it's generally like between six to eight weeks that you're entitled to care and then from there you move on to a permanent care company where they come in for longer periods and help with shopping and stuff like that.
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I see, almost like a rehabilitation thing.
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Yeah, so urgent care, I mean, like our, probably our longest call is about 30 minutes.
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So anything between 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes.
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So it's just going in, making sure that people have help with a wash or that they've eaten.
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You know, just general looking after people, I suppose.
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How did you get into the band management side of things?
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So I studied music technology in Cardiff in the University of South Wales.
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And then I was, my sort of ideal job at the time would have been a studio producer or studio engineer.
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But I knew like by just, by doing the course and getting to know kind of the industry and there's a lot less studios because a lot of people are doing it DIY and recording at home.
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And so I thought, right, OK.
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And then I started doing a bit more promotion.
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So I started promoting my own night in the third year of university in a venue in Cardiff.
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So it was just a Monday night, student night in a venue called The Globe.
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And I was promoting once every week there with a few of my friends who were doing the studio sort of engineering, sorry, the front house engineering and also doing the design work for the posters.
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So it was kind of part of the course.
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We kind of did that as like an extracurricular sort of stuff.
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And yeah, and so through that, I just got to know bands by promoting them.
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And one of them who I was actually studying with at the time, he was like, oh, you've put us on a few times.
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You fancy like managing us?
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And I was like, hmm, okay.
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I never really thought about management, but then I was like, okay, yeah, why not?
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so it was a band called De Niro who were originally from North Wales which is where I was brought up and Tom from De Niro said you know or maybe we could kind of work together and I started just on a casual basis booking some shows for them and then started ranging things like you know merchandise and trying to sort of set up record label like you know links with record labels and agents and stuff like that and booking some shows for them and just sort of different elements of it but yeah that's really how I got into it Is this job something that you had in mind that you might do or did you fall into it?
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No, I went to two colleges, got asked to leave one, carried on with the second one.
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I never got thrown out of anywhere, I always get asked to leave and I did a building degree, construction degree, went on from there, worked for a family firm of construction and seven years did labouring for seven years enjoyed it got made redundant in 91 carried on and then went straight to I walked down the town to in local town and said to the guy I want a job and he said I haven't got any so I said well I'll come and work for nothing so started from there it's 30 years ago oh well 31 years ago now oh wow and so I guess there's some job enjoyment then if you've been doing this No.
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For the first 20 years, yes.
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For the last 10, no.
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Absolutely none whatsoever.
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People are far more needy.
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The general public tend to be far more needy now than they ever were 20 years ago.
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No.
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I've done it for the last 10 years.
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It kind of has changed, but it's different.
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And what's your theory on this change?
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Just, I think it's the media.
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As in social media.
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Ah, they've seen their dream home and they want to get it.
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Well, they ask questions, lots and lots of questions.
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Dare I say it, lots and lots of questions.
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But they ask lots and lots of questions.
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And if you don't give them the answer immediately, whereas 20 years ago, sort of 10 to 30 years ago, you had to put an advert in the paper.
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It was very much a very sort of sedate way of doing it, whereas now it's a lot more.
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If you're not there 24-7, you get your derriere kicked.
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I understand now.
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Is this something which you sort of wanted to go into or did you sort of fall into it by accident?
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A bit of both really.
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Most of my work experience has been like turning my experiences around.
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So I was receiving some help from a few employment support advisors before and then I just ended up becoming one.
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So my coach sent me the job and then now I'm one of them.
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Wow.
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How did you get this job?
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Did you want to do it?
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Oh, I've been there.
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I was there for years.
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I applied, originally applied back in the 80s.
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I needed someone to move out of London and they were recruiting and I just ended up there.
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So it was a means to get out?
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It was a means to get out of London.
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With your job, what are the perks, you'd say?
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discount is probably one.
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Constantly surrounded by food as well.
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Quite nice.
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The people I work with are really nice as well.
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And like sometimes if a customer has like recommended you or you've done something that's like a bit beyond your job, you get like a £10 voucher to spend across like stores that are linked to Sainsbury's.
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Oh really?
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So yeah, that's quite nice to have that like incentive to work towards something like that and maybe like be a bit kinder than you would usually okay um definitely uh working with amazing artists and hearing new material and new tracks uh so obviously you hear it firsthand so they send me over stuff uh like so elsa tully she's just got a release out um in a couple of weeks time and she'll like send me the stuff over and then i sort of listen to it and maybe give some feedback but i kind of leave it to the artists because they're the ones, they're the experts obviously, and they're the ones whose material it is.
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So I don't try to get too involved with that, but I can give my feedback and listen.
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But that's the beauty of it, is I love listening to new music.
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So having that firsthand, when an artist sends you a new track and you're like, my God, this is amazing, I love this.
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You can just go like, this is like your first person, the first person to hear this outside of their like little bubble, which is quite cool.
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Touring is amazing as well.
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So I've done a lot of touring of the UK, but also Europe and been lucky to kind of go to amazing festivals like Glastonbury and Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City through working with musicians and artists that I love and adore.
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So it's kind of really, that's the best bit, hanging out with your mates.
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It does sound very glamorous, but when you have to drive, so the most craziest drive, I think, well, I've done a couple of crazy drives, but the most craziest, I think, was doing one night in Paris with a band called Boyazuga, who, again, friends of mine, who I've worked with for a few years.
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We drove from overnight from Paris to do showcases in Brighton in the Great Escape and they did like five or six showcases the next day.
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And we were like, we got there at, I think it was like five o'clock in the morning after driving overnight, got there.
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We had to do obviously Eurotunnel and all that.
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And by the time we got there, just had about two or three hours kip, had to be up again.
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And then I was driving around various different setups in Brighton and it was just like, it was, it was, you know, organized chaos, but I loved it.
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I didn't get any, like hardly any sleep because you kind of, once you settle down, you're still buzzing but um that sounds great living in the madness of it all is fun i think yeah totally when i said uh the question would be what is your job you uh you i feel like you almost didn't want to do the interview then yeah absolutely everyone hates estate agents okay and this is like a cliche right yeah we're just one up from tax inspectors you're not a tax inspector as well are you No, I hope not.
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I've yet to interview one.
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But why is that?
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I understand tax inspectors, right?
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Because you have to give your money away to them.
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But what is the problem or the cliche behind the issue of...
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How old are the kids you're doing this for?
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Are they young?
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It's not specifically for kids.
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It's for anyone learning English.
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Oh, okay.
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What age from?
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Are they older?
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Anyone can watch it.
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Okay.
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I was going to use an expletive, then I won't.
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You do.
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I can bleep.
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Estate agents aren't...
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aren't they're vilified and for a very good reason they're they're normally that we're just basic liars that's that's what they are they're virtually every single one i've ever met apart from the ones that i work with are liars they embellish the truth they sell something they don't actually own to people who don't really want it to realize a dream they're ever going to be paying for for the next 30 years and unfortunately we're all on that treadmill and can i ask the final final question is it true the whole rumor about you know like when you go for a viewing a state just will time it just before just before or after the like the plane has done the flyby or the train has oh yeah yeah we had one in uh local i was going to give my address anyway locally to where i live and it the train line ran right down the back of it and as we went down the guy shouted over the top of the trains they're not very noisy are they thanks for watching this week's episode let me know what you do for a job and what the perks are and we'll see you next week bye Thank you.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice English speaking skills by listening to real conversations about different jobs and working experiences. The video explores various professions, allowing you to hear how native speakers describe their roles, the skills they use, and what they enjoy about their work. This exercise is designed to enhance your understanding of conversational English, improve your pronunciation, and expand your vocabulary, all of which are essential for IELTS speaking practice and effective communication in everyday situations. By engaging with this content, you'll gain more confidence in expressing your own job experiences and aspirations.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Training assistant - A person who assists in training others, typically within a work environment.
  • Stacking shelves - The act of organizing products on shelves in a store.
  • Promoter - Someone who organizes events to promote artists or performances, often in the music industry.
  • Urgent care - Temporary assistance provided to individuals recovering from medical procedures or injuries.
  • Planning permission - Official approval required to develop land or change its use.
  • Rehabilitation - The process of helping a person return to a healthy state after an illness or injury.
  • Photography - The art or practice of taking and processing photographs.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning and improve your English speaking practice using the shadowing technique, follow these tips:

  • Listen attentively: Focus on the natural rhythm, tone, and pronunciation of the speakers. This will help you emulate their speech patterns more accurately.
  • Repeat phrases: As you listen, pause the video and repeat key phrases or sentences. This will enhance your vocabulary and help you grasp how to use the terms in context.
  • Speak along: Try to speak along with the video in real-time. This practice helps you adapt to the speed and flow of native conversation, making your speech sound more fluent.
  • Record yourself: Use your phone or a recording device to capture your voice as you shadow the video. Listening back allows you to identify areas needing improvement in pronunciation and intonation.
  • Engage with the content: After practicing with this transcript, try to create your own sentences about your job or an industry you are interested in, using the new vocabulary you have learned.

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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