Shadowing Practice: When I completely embarrassed myself – C1 English Listening Test - Learn English Speaking with Video
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59 sentences
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1
Fiona.
2
This happened a couple of years ago, just before Christmas.
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My boyfriend and I are out doing some last minute shopping and the roads are absolutely packed.
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Cars everywhere, traffic barely moving.
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So, we're in the car when I suddenly remember we've got no milk, no tea, no bread, basically nothing for breakfast tomorrow.
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So I say, we'd better pop into the grocers on the corner.
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I'll just grab a few things.
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And then I tell him, don't even bother trying to park.
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It'll take us all day.
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Just drop me off outside the shop and drive around the block.
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I'll only be a minute.
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So off I go, grab the things we need, and when I come out, I see his car slowly crawling past the shop.
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Oh, and bear in mind, it's freezing and I'm all wrapped up in a hat and scarf.
14
You can barely see my face.
15
I run over, jump into the back seat while the car's still moving, slap the back of the driver's seat and say, go, go, go.
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And the driver shouts, oh my God, oh my God.
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I realise it's not my boyfriend's voice.
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I pull my scarf down, look up, and there's this poor old man, maybe 70, absolutely terrified.
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Before I can say a word, he panics, slams his foot down on the accelerator, and we go straight into the car in front.
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So, yeah, I just gave a sweet old man the most traumatizing Christmas present ever.
21
Amanda.
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So this happened a few years ago at work.
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I was part of this big team, a couple of hundred people, and there was this huge company convention coming up.
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Everyone was absolutely obsessed with getting one of the event shirts.
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So one of the guys on my team, John, couldn't go because he a jury duty, and he says, please, please save me a shirt.
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Get me a medium or a large.
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I don't mind.
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I just really want one for a gift.
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So I go to the convention, grab the shirts, but there are only extra large left, so I can only get one of those for John.
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When I get back, I send this email to the whole team saying something like, hey everyone, great event, hope you all had fun.
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Then I add, John, I left you an extra large shirt on your desk, sorry about the size.
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Then I head home.
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I'm driving and my phone just keeps ringing and ringing.
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I'm thinking, what's going on?
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Is there an emergency?
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So I finally pull over and check and it's John.
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Apparently, I'd missed the letter R.
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So instead of shirt, I'd written, John, I left you an extra large shit on your desk.
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Sorry about the size.
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Connor.
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This happened last summer while I was on holiday in Portugal.
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I'm just wandering around this little town, you know, exploring mind-to-mind business, when suddenly it just starts absolutely pouring down,
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down like proper buckets of rain.
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Within seconds I'm soaked through and then this lovely old lady, absolute angel, opens her door and says, oh you poor thing, come in,
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come in, have some coffee while it passes.
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So I go in, dripping all over her floor and she's so sweet.
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She even offers me a dry pair of trousers.
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Apparently they belong to her late husband.
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So I take them, thank her, and she points me to a little room so I can get changed.
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Now, my jeans are completely stuck to me, right?
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So I'm trying to pull them off, but they're like glued to my legs.
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And as I'm doing that, I sort of lose my balance, knock into a bookcase, and suddenly this urn on the top shelf wobbles
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and falls yeah the urn with her husband's ashes and
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because i'm wet they just stick all over me like honestly
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i'm standing there half naked dripping wet covered in well her husband She runs in,
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gasps, covers her mouth and I just go, I'm so, so sorry.
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And she says, oh, don't worry, dear.
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He always liked meeting new people.
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So, yeah, not exactly the cultural experience I was expecting.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “When I completely embarrassed myself – C1 English Listening Test”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: shirt, absolutely, grab, suddenly, pull. This video has 59 sentences and 700 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:29. The speaker talks at a natural 156 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| drip verb | /ˈdɹɪp/ | To fall one drop at a time. |
| scarf noun | /skɑːf/ | A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck. |
| accelerator noun | /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/ | One who, or that which, accelerates. |
| bookcase noun | /ˈbʊkˌkeɪs/ | A piece of furniture for the storage and display of books. |
| grocer noun | /ˈɡɹoʊ.səɹ/ | A person who retails groceries (foodstuffs and household items) from a grocery. |
| obsess verb | /əbˈsɛs/ | To be preoccupied with a single topic or emotion. |
| terrify verb | /ˈtɛɹɪfaɪ/ | To frighten greatly; to fill with terror. |
| traumatize verb | /ˈtɹɔ.mə.taɪz/ | To injure, e.g. tissues, by force or by thermal, chemical or other agents. |
| wobble verb | /ˈwɑbl̩/ | To move with an uneven or rocking motion, or unsteadily to and fro. |
| soak verb | /soʊk/ | To be saturated with liquid by being immersed in it. |
| wander verb | /ˈwɑndɚ/ | To move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood. |
| trousers noun | /ˈtɹaʊzɚz/ | An article of clothing that covers the part of the body between the waist and the ankles or knees, and is divided into a separate part for each leg. |
| litter noun | /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ | Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals. |
| crawl verb | /kɹɔːl/ | To move by dragging one's body along or close to a surface, like a worm or insect, or on one's hands and knees, like a human baby. |
| glue noun | /ɡlu/ | A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides, used in solution as an adhesive; or any sticky adhesive substance. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| get back verb | Return to where one came from. | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
| pull over verb | To come to a stop, and turn off the road (i.e. onto the roadside or hard shoulder). | |
| run over verb | To exceed the allotted time. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I'll just grab a few things.
- It'll take us all day.
- I'll only be a minute.
- I realise it's not my boyfriend's voice.
- I'm thinking, what's going on?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shelf /ʃɛlf/, shout /ʃaʊt/
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 drip, scarf, accelerator.
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.