Shadowing Practice: Why did Jesus ride a donkey into Jerusalem for his Triumphal Entry? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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23 sentences
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After Jesus again referenced his coming death and honored Mary for her faithful act, he finished his meal with his friends.
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He then did something rather strange.
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He instructed two of his disciples to go ahead to the next village, Bethphage, and find a donkey.
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The ancient village of Bethphage is now a part of Jerusalem, but at the time of Jesus, it would have been a separate village between Bethany and Jerusalem.
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The Gospel text reads,
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I'm here at the Church of Bethphage, a Franciscan church located here on the Mount of Olives.
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Now, this present -day church was built in 1883 over the foundation of a 12th -century chapel,
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which itself was built over the foundation of a 4th -century Byzantine shrine.
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Now, the Church of Bethphage is the location associated with the spot where Jesus mounted a donkey
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and began his procession into the city of Jerusalem.
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Now, imagine the scene.
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A large crowd of Passover visitors already had heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
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By now, many of them had heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and they wanted to see Jesus in person.
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Many no doubt saw this as a sign of Jesus' identity as the Messiah, and they wanted to proclaim him as king when he entered Jerusalem.
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When Jesus arrived here at Bethphage, just beyond the city of Jerusalem, he got onto a donkey to ride the rest of the way.
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In this way, he fulfilled an ancient prophecy from hundreds of years earlier.
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Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
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Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
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Behold, your king is coming to you!
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Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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Zechariah 9 .9 When he did this, the crowds surged to greet Jesus,
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marking the beginning of the event known as the Triumphal Entry.
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We'll be right back.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Why did Jesus ride a donkey into Jerusalem for his Triumphal Entry?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Jesus, Jerusalem, Bethphage, donkey, church. This video has 23 sentences and 321 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:53. The speaker talks at a steady 111 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 76% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| donkey noun | /ˈdɑŋ.ki/ | A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse. |
| mount verb | /maʊnt/ | To get upon; to ascend; to climb. |
| meal noun | /ˈmiːl/ | Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity. |
| associate noun | /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/ | A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or employee. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| greatly adverb | /ˈɡɹeɪ̯t.li/ | To a great extent or degree. |
| humble adjective | /ˈhʌmbəl/ | Not pretentious or magnificent; unpretending; unassuming. |
| faithful adjective | /ˈfeɪθ.fl̩/ | Loyal; adhering firmly to person or cause. |
| shout verb | /ʃaʊt/ | To utter a sudden and loud cry, as in joy, triumph, exultation or anger, or to attract attention, to animate others, etc. |
| chapel noun | /ˈt͡ʃæp.əl/ | A place of worship, smaller than or subordinate to a church. |
| visitor noun | /ˈvɪzɪtɚ/ | Someone who visits someone else; someone staying as a guest. |
| salvation noun | /sælˈveɪ.ʃn̩/ | The process of being saved, the state of having been saved (from hell). |
| locate verb | /ˈloʊˌkeɪt/ | To place; to set in a particular spot or position. |
| fulfill verb | /fʊlˈfɪl/ | To satisfy, carry out, bring to completion (an obligation, a requirement, etc.). |
| surge noun | /sɝd͡ʒ/ | A sudden transient rush, flood or increase. |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, shout /ʃaʊt/, salvation /sælˈveɪ.ʃn̩/, shrine /ʃɹaɪ̯n/, procession /pɹəˈsɛʃən/
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 donkey, mount, meal.
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.