Shadowing Practice: Why do people smoke? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 284 sentences and 4250 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:51. The speaker talks fast, about 186 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- cigarette /ˈsɪɡəɹɛt/ (noun) — A small cigar consisting of tobacco or another substance, wrapped up in a thin roll with paper, intended for smoking.
- nicotine /ˈnɪkətiːn/ (noun) — An alkaloid (C₁₀H₁₄N₂), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant.
- tobacco /təˈbækoʊ/ (noun) — Any plant of the genus Nicotiana.
- dose /ˈdəʊ̯s/ (noun) — A measured portion of medicine taken at any one time.
- behaviour (noun) — British standard spelling of behavior.
- lung /ˈlʌŋ/ (noun) — A biological organ of vertebrates that controls breathing and oxygenates the blood.
- biology /baɪˈɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/ (noun) — The study of all life or living matter.
- patch /pæt͡ʃ/ (noun) — A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a…
- withdrawal /wɪðˈdɹɔ(ə)l/ (noun) — Receiving from someone's care what one has earlier entrusted to them. Usually refers to money.
- harmful /ˈhɑɹmfl̩/ (adjective) — Causing or likely to cause harm or damage; injurious.
- rapid /ˈɹæp.ɪd/ (adjective) — Very swift or quick.
- addict /ˈæd.ɪkt/ (noun) — A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug.
- constituent /kənˈstɪtjuənt/ (noun) — A part, or component of a whole.
- cigar /sɪˈɡɑɹ/ (noun) — A cylinder of tobacco rolled and wrapped with an outer covering of tobacco leaves, intended to be smoked.
- filter /ˈfɪltɚ/ (noun) — A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from…
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- go into (verb) — To get involved in; to investigate or explore.
- go back to (verb) — To stem from; to originate in.
- come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
- get in (verb) — To get into or inside something, literally or figuratively.
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
- talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
- back in (verb) — To reverse a vehicle into a space.
- bear in (verb) — To move quickly and sharply in an inward direction during a race; to veer in.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 58 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: exposure /ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, socially /ˈsoʊʃəli/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, transition /tɹænˈzɪʃ.ən/
- Long words — get the stress right: biology /baɪˈɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, biological /ˌbaɪ.əˈlɑ.d͡ʒɪ.kəl/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, representation /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, historically /hɪˈstɔɹɪkli/
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 cigarette, nicotine, tobacco.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | If you don't use them yourself, you'll have · if you're a smoker and you'd rather |
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to have |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've come · has become · has been removed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was given · was discovered · has been removed |
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.











