Shadowing Practice: Why Is My Leg Asleep? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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43 sentences
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INTRO Hey, Squeaks...
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Oh, I'm ok.
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My leg just feels kinda weird...
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It’s tingling, but in a way that feels prickly!
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Oh yeah, you're right!
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I think my leg is asleep!
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Maybe this has happened to you before, too.
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Sometimes if you’ve been doing something that presses on your arms or legs for a while, like sitting in one position or leaning on your elbow, it’ll start to go numb and you can’t feel as much with that part of your body.
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Then, once you move so you’re not sitting or leaning that way anymore, your arm or leg starts to get all prickly, almost like you’re getting lots of tiny pokes all over, even though there’s nothing actually poking you.
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People sometimes call that feeling pins and needles.
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And that sounds a lot like what happened to me!
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It’s something that can feel pretty weird, even though it happens to people all the time.
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When we say that an arm or leg fell asleep, we don’t really mean that it was asleep the way you are when you fall asleep at night.
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It’s just called that because you can’t feel much with it while it’s numb, almost like it’s sleeping.
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And that tingling, pins and needles feeling you get when you shift your position is kind of like your arm or leg is waking up!
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You get that prickly feeling because your body is a little bit confused.
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You might already know that there’s blood moving everywhere in your body all the time, pumped through little tubes called blood vessels by your heart.
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It’s really important that the blood moves through all the parts of your body, because that’s how they get energy so they can work properly.
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But when you sit in one position or lean on your arm or leg for a while, you’re pressing on those blood vessels and making the tubes smaller, so not as much blood can get through.
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And without enough blood, your arm or leg can start to go numb.
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The reason you can feel something when you touch it is because of little things called nerves that are all over your body.
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Whenever you pick up a toy or touch something that’s hot or cold or hurts, these nerves are like little messengers that tell your brain all about what you’re touching.
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But the nerves only work well if they’re getting enough blood.
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I must have sat in a way that was pressing on his leg for a few minutes, the nerves in my leg weren’t getting enough blood.
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So my leg stopped being able to feel as much — it went numb and fell asleep.
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But then I moved!
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And once my body wasn’t pressing on his leg anymore, more blood started moving through it again and his nerves woke up.
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But nerves get a liiiittle confused when they wake up.
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At first, they don’t really know /what/ you’re feeling.
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They start telling your brain that you’re feeling tiny little pokes, even though nothing is really touching you!
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That’s where the pins and needles feeling comes from.
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Pretty soon, your nerves get used to having enough blood again and go right back to normal.
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So to keep yourself from getting pins and needles, you can just make sure you don’t sit or lean in one position for too long.
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And if you do get them, all you have to do is just wait.
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You can shake around the arm or leg in the meantime to help the blood get flowing again, but either way, the prickling will go away after a minute or two.
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Whew, Squeaks!
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It feels like my nerves are finally getting back to normal!
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My leg is better now!
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But now the next time I get pins and needles, I’ll know all about why it happens.
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And so will you!
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Thanks for joining us!
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If you want to keep learning and having fun with Squeaks and me, hit the subscribe button, and we’ll see you next time here at the Fort!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Why Is My Leg Asleep?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: leg, blood, nerves, arm, feeling. This video has 43 sentences and 674 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:10. The speaker talks fast, about 212 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nerve noun | /nɝv/ | A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics. |
| asleep adjective | /əˈsliːp/ | In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting. |
| pin noun | /pɪn/ | A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening. |
| needle noun | /ˈniː.dəl/ | A long, thin, sharp implement usually for piercing as in sewing, embroidery, acupuncture, tattooing, body piercing, medical injections, sutures, etc; or a… |
| lean verb | /ˈliːn/ | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
| numb adjective | /nʌm/ | Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation. |
| poke verb | /poʊk/ | To prod or jab with an object such as a finger or a stick. |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
| tube noun | /tuːb/ | Anything that is hollow and cylindrical in shape. |
| vessel noun | /ˈvɛsəl/ | Any craft designed for transportation on or in water, such as a ship, boat, or submarine. |
| shake verb | /ˈʃeɪk/ | To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly. |
| pump noun | /pʌmp/ | A device for moving or compressing a liquid or gas. |
| meantime noun | /ˈmiːntaɪm/ | The time spent waiting for another event; time in between. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| messenger noun | /ˈmɛs.ən.d͡ʒɚ/ | One who brings messages. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| get through verb | /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/ | To overcome; to endure. |
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. | |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | stopped being · started moving · start telling |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was pressing · wasn't pressing |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're not sitting · is waking · you're pressing |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | it'll start · will go · I'll know |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 nerve, asleep, pin.
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.