Shadowing Practice: Where do bugs go in winter? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hi, it's Doug.
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What's the most colorful insect you've ever seen?
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Well, a couple years ago, I visited the state of Florida, and I was amazed to see these things.
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They're some of the most colorful grasshoppers I've ever seen.
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It's called a lubber.
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And what was strangest of all?
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It was the middle of December when I saw them.
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Florida doesn't ever get very cold in wintertime, so you can see lots of insects there all year someone
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named Kylie has a question about insects let's give her a
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call now hi hi Kylie I have a question for you
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where do bugs go in winter that's a great question
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if you live somewhere with cold snowy winters you might have noticed this too just a few months earlier in the year,
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you could find all kinds of insects around you, butterflies, ants, bees, and lots more.
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But then winter comes, and they're just gone.
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And it's weird, too.
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I mean, it's not like there are no animals out in winter.
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For example, you might still see deer, or squirrels, even a few birds, like if you get a chance to watch a bird feeder.
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So, where do all the insects go?
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What do you think?
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Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
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Well, I grew up somewhere cold and snowy, and I used to wonder this myself.
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But before I tell you about where insects go in winter, let me give you a clue involving a very different kind of animal.
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These frogs.
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You see, I'm kind of obsessed with frogs, and one of my favorite places to visit when I was younger was this pond that was near where I lived.
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I'd look for frogs there.
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I actually got to be pretty good at catching the frogs, showing them to my friends and family, and then releasing them again into the pond.
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But every winter, the pond would freeze over, and the frogs would disappear.
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It wasn't just the frogs, either.
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I started to notice there'd never be any turtles in winter.
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and never any snakes, too.
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It was kind of sad for me, actually.
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I missed seeing all these creatures I would find in the summer.
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One winter, while walking around the edge of the frozen pond, I was bored.
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I saw this rotten log sitting there, nothing too unusual.
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But since I was bored, I decided to flip it over.
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As I flipped it over, I was totally shocked by what I saw.
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There, under the log, nestled into the freezing cold mud, was this frog in the middle of winter.
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It was just laying there, barely moving.
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Whoa, wait a second.
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The frogs were there the whole time?
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That's when I learned that frogs do something kind of like hibernation.
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They go into a long sleep in winter, burying themselves in the mud when it first starts to get cold in the fall.
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I'd heard of hibernation before, but thought it was something that only bears did.
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And it turns out, it's not just frogs and bears but turtles do this as well, and snakes.
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In fact, some snakes, like these, will actually all gather in a big pile, like in a cave underground, which helps them to stay warm.
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Oh yeah, I never thought about where the snakes went.
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So now, what about insects?
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Could it be that they hibernate during the winter too?
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I'll be honest with you, when I first heard this question, where do bugs go in winter, I thought you might be really disappointed by the answer.
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Because the first thing I thought of were insects like these, praying mantises.
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Praying mantises are one of many insects that, well, the answer is, they don't survive the winter.
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They die.
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While it's sad, it's part of their life cycle.
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Every fall, praying mantises, and lots of other insects too, will lay eggs that do survive.
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So even though the adults don't survive the winter, by spring, babies will be born and their life cycle will go on.
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But as I started to research more about this question, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not all insects die in the winter.
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Now, I'd known that some insects,
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like monarch butterflies, will actually escape the cold by flying thousands of miles farther south to reach warmer places.
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They migrate, just like many birds do.
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But what about hibernation?
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Are there any insects that can do something similar to what frogs, turtles, and bears do, where they stay alive all winter but just aren't very active?
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In fact, there are.
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Like these, ladybugs are a good example.
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And just like the snakes you saw earlier, ladybugs will often gather together in a big pile in a warm place.
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Sometimes they even try to stay warm by sneaking their way into people's houses.
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If you live somewhere cold in winter, you might be able to notice ladybugs doing this too.
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So in summary, insects and other bugs have different ways of surviving cold, snowy winters.
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Some of them fly south to warmer places.
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Others die, but lay eggs.
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And still others are able to survive all winter.
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They do something similar to hibernation.
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That's all for this week's question.
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Thanks, Kylie, for asking it.
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Now, for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and chose three questions submitted to me that I'm thinking about answering.
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When this video is done playing, you'll get to vote on one.
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You can choose from Why do people throw confetti? Who invented the alphabet?
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Or, how is glass made?
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So submit your vote when the video is over.
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I want to hear from all of you watching.
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There are mysteries all around us.
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Stay curious and see you next week.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Where do bugs go in winter?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: winter, insect, frog, cold, snakes. This video has 81 sentences and 975 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:58. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 13 of its 81 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| insect noun | /ˈɪn.sɛkt/ | An arthropod (in the Insecta class) characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton. |
| snake noun | /sneɪk/ | Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptiles with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues. |
| pond noun | /pɑnd/ | An inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is smaller than a lake. |
| bug noun | /bʌɡ/ | An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”). |
| freeze verb | /ˈfɹiːz/ | Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature. |
| turtle noun | /ˈtɝtl̩/ | Any land, aquatic, or semi-aquatic reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise. |
| egg noun | /ɛɡ/ | An approximately spherical or ellipsoidal body produced by birds, insects, reptiles, and other animals, often housing an embryo within a membrane or shell… |
| pray verb | /pɹeɪ/ | To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc. |
| submit verb | /səbˈmɪt/ | To yield or give way to another. |
| gather verb | /ˈɡæðɚ/ | To collect normally separate things. |
| flip verb | /flɪp/ | To throw so as to turn over. |
| pile noun | /paɪl/ | A mass of things heaped together; a heap. |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| butterfly noun | /ˈbʌ.tə(ɹ).flaɪ/ | A flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, distinguished from moths by their diurnal activity and generally brighter colouring. |
| colorful adjective | /ˈkʌl.əɹ.fl̩/ | Possessing prominent and varied colors. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
| walk around verb | To walk with no planned destination; to meander. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What's the most colorful insect you've ever seen?
- Let's give her a call now.
- What do you think?
- I'd look for frogs there.
- You can choose from, why do people throw confetti?
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 | was amazed · might be really disappointed · will be born |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've ever seen · I've ever seen |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might have · might still see · might be |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most colorful |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'd, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, hibernation /ˌhaɪ.bəɹˈneɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, disappointed /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/, hibernation /ˌhaɪ.bəɹˈneɪ.ʃən/
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 insect, snake, pond.
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.