Shadowing Practice: What is A Balanced Diet? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
Do you have a balanced diet?
2
This is very difficult to determine as it is very complex to find out.
3
A balanced diet contains the right amount of carbohydrates,
4
fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water and dietary fiber to make the daily requirements of the body.
5
Every one of us requires different nutrients and this depends on our lifestyle, activities and age.
6
This is why a balanced diet for one person may not be a balanced diet for another.
7
Balanced diet provides the energy to survive and stay healthy.
8
Energy is needed to do work while we are awake and to perform activities when we are at rest or asleep.
9
The amount of energy needed to carry on vital processes of the body
10
when it is in complete rest is known as basal metabolism, where metabolism is the chemical reactions that take place within our bodies.
11
The basal metabolic rate is a measure of how fast chemical reactions are occurring when a person is completely at rest.
12
For example, the energy required in the beating of the heart.
13
Basal metabolic rate is affected by climate, body size, age, sex and health of an individual.
14
Climate, a person living in a cold country, tends to lose more heat in his surroundings and uses more energy in order to maintain his body temperature.
15
Thus, his basal metabolic rate is higher than that of a person living in the tropics.
16
Body Size People of the same sex and age may have different body size and weights.
17
It is estimated that those with a bigger build require more energy than those with a smaller build.
18
Age Growing children normally have a higher basal metabolic rate than older people because they require more energy for growth.
19
In adults, the basal metabolic rate tends to decrease slowly throughout life.
20
Sex Men normally have a higher heat production than women of the same body size and age,
21
which requires more energy, as men usually have a smaller amount of fatty tissue in their bodies.
22
Thus, the prevention of heat loss is less efficient in men than in women.
23
Health The thyroid gland in the neck controls the metabolic rate by secreting a hormone called thyroxine.
24
If someone has an underactive thyroid, it results in insufficient thyroxine, and thus thus lowering the metabolic rate.
25
Overactive thyroid produces more thyroxine, resulting in a higher metabolic rate.
26
Activity If someone is very active and does heavy work, he or she needs more energy per day than a person who is moderately active.
27
Thank you.
📺 Same Channel
✨ Recommend Video
B24
61 sentences
Balanced diet | Health | Biology | FuseSchool
Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B21
12 sentences
How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B235
17 sentences
How exercise benefits your body
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
268 sentences
What Happens If You ONLY Drink WATER For 72 Hours?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B11
13 sentences
Video
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
42 sentences
8 Foods That Boost Your Metabolism (Backed By Science)
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
472 sentences
REAL English Listening Practice 👂 - 20 Minutes Native Speakers Conversation About Health - S1E8
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
52 sentences
Food in my life! Eating habits in different countries. You are what you eat - agree?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B28
269 sentences
Every Common Cause of Death & How to Avoid It, Explained
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B26
45 sentences
RE3 Unit 6A
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
438 sentences
Psychiatrist Explains Why You Feel Tired All The Time (No Matter What You Do...)
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
132 sentences
Top 5 Diet Tips for Flawless, Youthful Skin
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 27 sentences and 423 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:45. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- metabolic /mɛtəˈbɒlɪk/ (adjective) — Of or pertaining to metabolism.
- thyroid /ˈθaɪ.ɹɔɪd/ (adjective) — Of, relating to, or being the thyroid cartilage.
- metabolism /məˈtæb.əˌlɪz.əm/ (noun) — The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
- occur /əˈkɜː/ (verb) — To happen or take place.
- efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/ (adjective) — Making good, thorough, or careful use of resources; not consuming extra. Especially, making good use of time or energy.
- vital /ˈvaɪtəl/ (adjective) — Relating to or characteristic of life.
- asleep /əˈsliːp/ (adjective) — In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting.
- tissue /ˈtɪʃ.(j)u/ (noun) — Thin, woven, gauzelike fabric.
- estimate /ˈɛs.tɪ.mət/ (noun) — A rough calculation or assessment of the value, size, or cost of something.
- lifestyle /ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/ (noun) — A style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group.
- prevention /pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/ (noun) — The act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action, access, or approach; thwarting.
- requirement /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹmənt/ (noun) — A necessity or prerequisite; something required or obligatory. Its adpositions are generally of in relation to who or what has given it, on in relation to whom…
- depend /dɪˈpɛnd/ (verb) — To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
- decrease /dɪˈkɹiːs/ (verb) — Of a quantity, to become smaller.
- awake /əˈweɪk/ (verb) — To become conscious after having slept.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
- carry on /ˈkæɹi ˈɑn/ (verb) — To take baggage or luggage onto an airplane, rather than check it.
- find out (verb) — To discover, as by asking or investigating.
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: thyroid /ˈθaɪ.ɹɔɪd/, thyroxine /θaɪˈrɒk.sin/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, tissue /ˈtɪʃ.(j)u/, prevention /pɹɪˈvɛnʃən/, insufficient /ɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/
- Long words — get the stress right: metabolic /mɛtəˈbɒlɪk/, metabolism /məˈtæb.əˌlɪz.əm/, insufficient /ɪnsəˈfɪʃənt/, carbohydrate /kɑɹboʊˈhaɪdɹeɪt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like metabolic, thyroid, metabolism.
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.