Shadowing Practice: What Wedding Traditions Look Like Around The World - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
31 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Cultures throughout the world have their own unique ideas on how to say I do.
2
We're taking you around the globe to show you how people celebrate their big day.
3
The dollar dance, also known as the money or apron dance, is a tradition associated with countries all over, including Poland, Hungary, Nigeria, Philippines, and Mexico.
4
These videos feature a Mexican -American wedding and Mexican -Filipino wedding.
5
Money is tossed, handed, or pinned onto the couple, while different guests take turns dancing with the newlyweds.
6
The money is a great way to help with a little extra financial support
7
and to let them know you wish them a life of prosperity.
8
Jumping the broom refers to a wedding tradition in which a couple literally jumps over a broom.
9
There's a misconception that it began during slavery in the United States, but it originated in Ghana and is still practiced there.
10
The broom holds spiritual value and symbolizes the sweeping away of evils and past wrongs.
11
Today, some African -American couples include it in their ceremony as a tribute to tradition.
12
In Greece, the kumbaro is similar to the best man.
13
On the morning of the wedding, they help the groom prepare for the ceremony by helping them shave and get ready.
14
It's a practice that signifies trust between close friends.
15
In the days before the wedding, one or both of the fiancés are taken by their friends and family and covered in various substances like soot,
16
feathers, food, and more.
17
The tradition started as a way to ward off danger from supernatural forces.
18
After being covered up, they're paraded around town
19
while their friends make plenty of noise and make a scene for all to see.
20
The Chinese tea ceremony is a wedding tradition that bonds two families together.
21
While kneeling, the couple serves tea to their parents.
22
Traditionally, the couple serves the groom's parents and elders in order of seniority followed by the bride's family.
23
This serves as a formal introduction to show respect and to express gratitude.
24
In return, the couple usually receives lucky red envelopes with money or jewelry.
25
In this pre -wedding ritual turmeric paste is rubbed onto the couple's skin by friends and family.
26
In India, turmeric can signify a lot of things, including purity, fertility, and good health.
27
The paste also gives the couple a nice glow for their big day.
28
The ceremony is usually accompanied by traditional song and dance and is supposed to ease nerves.
29
This German tradition has guests smashing porcelain before the wedding to wish the couple luck in their married life.
30
The couple is responsible for cleaning up the shards to symbolize teamwork.
31
The more shards of broken dishes, the better the luck the couple will have.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B15
57 sentences
How to MC a wedding? (Step by step instructions with examples on how to MC an event)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
17 sentences
Shadowing-Mẫu-Day 13-Đi chùa cầu may
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
13 sentences
954 Divorce
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
48 sentences
Elements of a Day of the Dead Altar
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
404 sentences
Japan Changed Us... | Botez Sisters ASIA VLOG
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
77 sentences
They are a generous couple.
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1161 sentences
How To Talk About MONEY 💰 English Conversation & Vocabulary
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
104 sentences
Top 10 Weirdest and Unusual Laws Around the World || Most Weird Laws in The World (2021)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
14 sentences
Bride insult mother in law and disrespect her. #kind #humanity #kindness
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B113
9 sentences
Buổi tối sau khi đi đám cưới Ấn Độ - Homebody in New York #indianwedding #ielts
IELTS PrepDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
140 sentences
The British Dating Rules Nobody Tells You
British AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
21 sentences
LEVEL 2 DAY 14
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “What Wedding Traditions Look Like Around The World”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: couple, wedding, tradition, ceremony, broom. This video has 27 sentences and 459 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:03. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ceremony noun | /ˈsɛɹ.əˌmoʊ.ni/ | A ritual, with religious or cultural significance. |
| pasta noun | /ˈpɑ.stə/ | Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating. |
| formal adjective | /ˈfɔɹməl/ | In accordance with established forms. |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
| spiritual adjective | /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəl/ | Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul. |
| associate noun | /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/ | A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or employee. |
| ward noun | /wɔɹd/ | The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.) |
| ease verb | /iz/ | To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc. |
| globe noun | /ɡloʊb/ | The eyeball. |
| pin noun | /pɪn/ | A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening. |
| tribute noun | /ˈtɹɪbjuːt/ | An acknowledgment of gratitude, respect or admiration; an accompanying gift. |
| substance noun | /ˈsʌbstəns/ | Physical matter; material. |
| dish noun | /dɪʃ/ | A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle. |
| slavery noun | /ˈsleɪvəɹi/ | An institution or social practice of owning human beings as property, especially for use as forced laborers. |
| nerve noun | /nɝv/ | A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. |
| cover up verb | To conceal or disguise. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, dish /dɪʃ/, smash /smæʃ/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, shave /ˈʃeɪ̯v/
- Long words — get the stress right: ceremony /ˈsɛɹ.əˌmoʊ.ni/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, prosperity /pɹɑˈspɛɹ.ɪ.ti/, supernatural /ˌsu.pəɹˈnæ.tʃə.ɹəl/
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 ceremony, pasta, formal.
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.