Shadowing Practice: What's Your Funny Bone? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
♩ Squeaks and I just got back from playing in the big pile of leaves near the Fort!
2
But something kind of strange happened.
3
When we came inside for lunch, I accidentally hit my elbow against the table in the Fort’s kitchen, and it actually really hurt.
4
Even weirder, I felt pain all the way down my arm to my fingers, even though only my elbow hit the table.
5
Don’t worry, Squeaks.
6
I’m totally okay now!
7
Still, I didn’t hit my elbow against the table that hard against the table.
8
So why did it hurt so much?
9
And why did I feel a strange tingly pain all the way to my fingers?
10
I know my fingers didn’t hit the table, just my elbow.
11
Weird, right?
12
Well, the part of the elbow I hit is called the funny bone.
13
It’s way more sensitive than other parts of your body, so if you accidentally bump it, it can really hurt.
14
But the reason I could feel it all the way in the tips of my fingers is that the funny bone isn’t a bone at all.
15
It’s actually a nerve.
16
A nerve helps information travel between your body and your brain.
17
We have them all throughout our bodies, from our fingers to our toes and everywhere in between.
18
And there’s a special name for all these nerves: the nervous system.
19
It helps us do, well, everything.
20
When we touch something with our fingers, we can feel it because the nerves in our fingers are carrying the message all the way from our hand to our brain.
21
The message tells the brain, “Hey, we’re touching something right now!” The nervous system also helps us see, carrying the picture from our eyes to our brain.
22
So, we really need our nervous system, or else different parts of our body wouldn’t be able to communicate with our brain.
23
Our brain works with the rest of our body to make sense of the world.
24
And that includes when we feel pain.
25
You might be wondering why we need to feel pain at all.
26
I mean, it really hurts!
27
But our nervous system is actually helping us!
28
Say I had some soup that was too hot.
29
If my nervous system didn’t tell my brain “That soup is too hot,” I could burn my mouth by continuing to eat it.
30
But since my nervous system spoke up, I knew to let the soup cool off just a little bit.
31
So, let’s go back to when I hurt my elbow.
32
For most of the body, the nervous system is protected by other parts of the body, like muscles.
33
Basically, it’s padded nicely so that if I, say, bump my leg or the side of my arm, it doesn’t hurt that much.
34
But on this little part of my elbow, the nerve isn’t protected.
35
This nerve has a special name: the ulnar nerve.
36
The ulnar nerve runs from your neck, down your shoulder, all the way to your hand.
37
Then it splits into two branches – one is inside your pinky finger and the other branch is inside your ring finger.
38
When the nerve gets bumped at your elbow, it actually bumps up right against your bone!
39
That’s why it hurts so much.
40
And you can feel that pain all the way down the rest of your ulnar nerve, to your fingers.
41
But, don’t worry, if you do accidentally bump your funny bone, the pain will go away.
42
Although you should always tell a grown-up just in case.
43
So, now you know why bumping your funny bone hurts so much.
44
But that doesn’t explain why we call it a “funny bone”!
45
Getting hurt isn’t funny.
46
Well, people have two ideas about where the name came from.
47
The first idea has to do with one of the bones in your arm close to where the nerve is.
48
This bone is called the humerus, and that sounds a lot like humorous, which is another word for funny.
49
The second idea is just that it feels funny when you hit your funny bone – not “ha ha” funny, but that it’s kind of weird, which is another way that people use the word “funny.” Well, Squeaks, from now on, I’m going to be careful not to hit my elbow.
50
But if I do, at least now I know why it hurts and that the pain will go away soon!
51
Thanks for joining us.
52
If you want to keep learning about the weird and fascinating ways that our bodies work, and keep discovering stuff about our amazing world, hit the subscribe button, and we’ll see you next time here at the Fort!
📺 Same Channel
A21
Dig In To Paleontology
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
The Amazing Power of Magnets | SciShow Kids Compilation
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
Build Earth from the Inside Out! - #sciencegoals
American AccentKidsTeens
A21
Watch a Seed Sprout! | Squeaks Grows a Garden! | SciShow Kids
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
Unpoppable Bubbles! | Summer Experiments | SciShow Kids
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
Why Do Animals Have Tails?
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
How Do Our Bodies Move?
American AccentKidsTeens
A24
How Do Koalas Stay Cool? | Animal Science for Kids
American AccentKids
A2Amazing Animal Groups | Science for Kids
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A219
How Airplanes Fly! | Airplane Science | SciShow Kids
American AccentKidsTravel EnglishTeens
A22
Why Does Cooking Eggs Make Them Hard? | The Science of Cooking | SciShow Kids
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
Let's Plant a Garden! | Squeaks Grows a Garden! | SciShow Kids
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
Why Do We Get Goosebumps?
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
Let's Make Slime! | Experiment | SciShow Kids
American AccentKids
A21
Build a Tiny Plant World! | Science Project for Kids
American AccentKidsDaily Conversation
A25
Blue Whales: The Biggest Animal EVER! | SciShow Kids
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
Earth's Most Extreme Weather | SciShow Kids Compilation
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A24
Where Does Yogurt Come From?
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2Your Body's Senses | SciShow Kids Compilation
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2Where Does Sand Come From and More Viewer Questions Answered! | SciShow Kids
American AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
✨ Recommend Video
A21
61 sentences
Human Body
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
87 sentences
Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A219
53 sentences
Why Do Paper Cuts Hurt So Much? | How Does Your Brain Respond to Pain? | The Dr. Binocs Show
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
67 sentences
Annoying Orange - ASMR (ft. Rebecca Parham)
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
19 sentences
Down to Earth: Crash Course Kids #4.2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
29 sentences
Sound, Vibrations and Sound Waves
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A211
44 sentences
Ever wonder why Animals have Tails? + more videos | #aumsum #kids #science #education #whatif
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A23
79 sentences
Storyfun 4 Unit 6 Do whales have stomach-ache?
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A27
62 sentences
What if You Hold Your Poop For Too Long? | How Digestive System Works? | The Dr Binocs Show For Kids
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
15 sentences
Human Tears - Why do onions make you cry? | #aumsum #kids #science #education #children
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
Why This Video Is Perfect for English Speaking Practice
The video “What's Your Funny Bone?” is a goldmine for english speaking practice because it blends casual, conversational language with clear explanations—mirroring how native speakers talk in everyday life. The dialogue flows naturally, with pauses, questions, and relatable anecdotes that make it easy to follow and mimic. Plus, the topic is universal, so learners can focus on pronunciation and intonation rather than decoding complex ideas. It’s an ideal example of how to learn english with youtube by leveraging engaging content.
Breaking Down Natural Speech Patterns
Let’s look at 3 key lines that showcase authentic English:
- “But something kind of strange happened.” The phrase “kind of” softens the statement, making it sound conversational—not stiff. Native speakers often use such fillers to sound natural, not formal.
- “Don’t worry, Squeaks. I’m totally okay now!” Short, direct sentences with exclamation marks convey emotion, a common trait in spoken English. This structure helps learners practice pacing and emphasis.
- “Well, people have two ideas about where the name came from.” “Well” here acts as a transition, guiding the listener. It’s a subtle tool that makes speech flow smoothly, which is crucial for shadowspeak practice.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Try
Shadowing—repeating speech immediately after a native speaker—is a proven technique. Here’s how to use this video for english speaking practice:
- Watch the video once to understand the story.
- Play a 5-second clip, pause, and repeat it aloud, mimicking the tone and speed. Focus on matching the “funny bone” explanation’s clarity.
- Record yourself, then compare to the video. Notice gaps in pronunciation (e.g., “humerus” vs. “humorous”).
- Use a shadowing app to slow down tricky parts, like the ulnar nerve description, until you can speak them fluently.
This shadow speech loop trains your mouth and brain to work together, making natural speech feel automatic. Over time, you’ll notice your confidence and clarity improve—all by learning from a fun, relatable video!
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 | is called · is protected · isn't protected |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | humorous, which is · weird, which is |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will go · we'll see |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | are carrying · is actually helping |
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.