Shadowing Practice: What If We Moved All 8 Billion People To Mars? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “What If We Moved All 8 Billion People To Mars?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Mars, Earth, space, planet, billion. This video has 268 sentences and 3358 words to shadow. The speech runs for 26:43. The speaker talks at a steady 126 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| colony noun | /ˈkɔl.ə.ni/ | A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area. |
| sunlight noun | /ˈsʌnˌlaɪt/ | All the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun; especially, that in the visible spectrum and that bathes the Earth. |
| asteroid noun | /ˈæst(ə)ɹɔɪd/ | A naturally occurring solid object, which is smaller than a planet and a dwarf planet, larger than a meteoroid and not a comet, that orbits a star and often… |
| dioxide noun | /daɪˈɑksaɪd/ | Any oxide containing two oxygen atoms in each molecule. |
| harsh adjective | /ˈhɑɹʃ/ | Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses. |
| barren adjective | /ˈbæɹən/ | Not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile. |
| sustain verb | /səˈsteɪn/ | To maintain, or keep in existence. |
| import noun | /ˈɪm.pɔɹt/ | Something brought in from an exterior source, especially for sale or trade. |
| habitable adjective | /ˈhæbɪtəbəl/ | Safe and comfortable, where humans, or other animals, can live; fit for habitation. |
| kilogram noun | /ˈkɪləɡɹæm/ | In the International System of Units, the base unit of mass; conceived of as the mass of one litre of water, but now defined by taking the fixed numerical… |
| livable adjective | Endurable, survivable, suitable for living in, inhabitable. | |
| multiply verb | /ˈmʌltɪplaɪ/ | To increase the amount, degree or number of (something). |
| subsurface adjective | Below the surface. | |
| accelerate verb | /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/ | To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of. |
| greenhouse noun | /ˈɡɹːnˌ(h)aʊs/ | A building used to grow plants, particularly one with large glass windows or plastic sheeting to trap heat from sunlight even in intemperate seasons or… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pull together verb | To unite for a common objective. | |
| speed up verb | /spiːdˈʌp/ | To accelerate; to increase speed. |
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. | |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| get down to verb | To start focusing on doing something serious | |
| go along with verb | To acquiesce to or comply with a proposal, despite lacking a desire or value for it. | |
| go around verb | To move or spread from person to person. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Wherever we go, we're going to need some sunlight.
- For argument's sake, let's be incredibly generous.
- We'd have to maintain a fleet double the amount.
- How do we survive?
- We've changed the composition of the atmosphere.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have estimated · has already begun · have been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being trashed · being directed · can be turned |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who have · people who trashed · someone who really |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 34 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, can't, wouldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: harsh /ˈhɑɹʃ/, emission /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/, shuttle /ˈʃʌtəl/, ambitious /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/, fraction /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: habitable /ˈhæbɪtəbəl/, accelerate /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪt/, atmospheric /ˌætməsˈfɛɹɪk/, optimistic /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk/, technological /ˌtɛk.nəˈlɑ.dʒɪ.kəl/
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 colony, sunlight, asteroid.
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.































