Shadowing Practice: Why Anne Carson does boxing - Learn English Speaking with Video

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let's say you're 25 then you make some decisions do things

have setbacks have triumphs become someone a bus driver a professor a pirate then one day you wake up and you're 70.

looking ahead you see a black doorway you begin to notice the black doorway is always there at the edge,

whether you look at it or not.

You wonder if other people are seeing it too.

You ask them, they say no. If the brain is plastic, as we now believe it is, it can be changed.

Certain activities can rewire it by generating new neurons to replace lost ones,

or by exciting neurons that have gone idle or slow boxing is recommended its combination of difficult cardiovascular effort

and deliberate focusing of the mind has proven to reduce the symptoms

and slow the progress of the disease body and brain work together i go to boxing class three times a week

Everyone in the class has Parkinson's, various degrees of damage.

As you may know, there are six basic kinds of boxing punches.

One, jab.

Two, cross.

Three, hook with left hand.

Four, hook with right hand.

Five, uppercut with left hand.

Six, uppercut with right hand.

I find that when I am trying to perform a complicated boxing combination, i can feel the neurons in my brain struggling

and striving at the midpoint of every class the coach yells

gloves on now putting on your first boxing glove is easy because you still have another hand

putting on the second glove not so easy meanwhile the coach is yelling don't use your teeth

so conventional practice is to look around for someone at large in the gym and ask him or her

to put on your glove for you it's the same structure as the ancient greek ritual called supplication hikatea as

when priam comes to the tent of achilles at the end of the iliad and supplicates for the body of his son.

And in my boxing class, I observe that it is all but

impossible when someone else is putting a glove on your hand to conjure up or worry about the black doorway.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Why Anne Carson does boxing”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: boxing, glove, doorway, neurons, putting. This video has 27 sentences and 359 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:58. The speaker talks at a steady 121 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% 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

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
glove noun	/ɡlʌv/	An item of clothing, covering all or part of the hand and fingers, but usually allowing independent movement of the fingers.
doorway noun	/ˈdɔɹweɪ/	The passage of a door; a door-shaped entrance into a house or a room.
hook noun	/hʊk/	A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
yell verb	/jɛl/	To shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement.
meanwhile adverb	/ˈmiːnwaɪl/	During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place.
complicated adjective	/ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/	Difficult or convoluted.
punch noun	/pʌnt͡ʃ/	A hit or strike with one's fist.
conventional adjective	/kənˈvɛnʃənl̩/	Pertaining to a convention, as in following generally accepted principles, methods and behaviour.
generate verb	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/	To bring into being; give rise to.
observe verb	/əbˈzɜːv/	To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
tent noun	/tɛnt/	A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
ritual noun	/ˈɹɪt͡ʃ.u.əl/	A rite; a repeated set of actions, especially in religious contexts.
pirate noun	/ˈpaɪɹət/	A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.
triumph noun	/ˈtɹaɪ̯əmf/	A conclusive success following an effort, conflict, or confrontation of obstacles; victory; conquest.
deliberate adjective	/dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/	Done on purpose; intentional.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look ahead verb		To consider the future, to anticipate future events.
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.
work together verb		To be coworkers with someone; to share a workspace with someone.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have gone · has proven
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	can be changed · is recommended

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: conventional /kənˈvɛnʃənl̩/, supplication /sʌplɪˈkeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, deliberate /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/, cardiovascular /ˌkɑːdi.əʊˈvæskjʊlə(ɹ)/, supplication /sʌplɪˈkeɪʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like glove, doorway, hook.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: Why Anne Carson does boxing - Learn English Speaking with Video

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