Shadowing Practice: When HR forces you to DTR before you're ready - Learn English Speaking with Video

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18 sentences
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1
Are you two in a relationship?
2
What?
3
With each other?
4
Because this all sounds very personal.
5
Oh.
6
I can assure you the only feelings between us are professional.
7
So you're saying that under no circumstances you two would look at each other as anything more than colleagues?
8
Well, I...
9
What kind of circumstances?
10
Yeah, like Desert Island, first people on Mars.
11
Sure, if humanity was at stake we would do the right thing.
12
Right, for humanity.
13
But she has a boyfriend.
14
I mean, I didn't a few months ago, so that would have been the time to populate Mars, but...
15
Nothing happened.
16
Yeah, well, under the right circumstances.
17
Oh, wait, I thought this was off the record.
18
No, I just got tired of writing.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 18 sentences and 124 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:40. The speaker talks fast, about 186 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds.

Key vocabulary in this video

8 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
circumstance noun/ˈsɝ.kəmˌstæns/Something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event.
humanity noun/hjuˈmænɪti/Humankind; human beings as a group.
stake noun/steɪk/A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
assure verb/əˈʃʊɹ/To make sure and secure; ensure.
colleague noun/ˈkɒliːɡ/A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate.
populate verb/ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/To supply with inhabitants; to people.
boyfriend noun/ˈbɔɪˌfɹɛnd/A male partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.
tired adjective[ˈtaɪ̯ɚd]In need of some rest or sleep.

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like circumstance, humanity, stake.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its resultif humanity was at stake we would do

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →