Shadowing Practice: Why Matt Baumann became an NASM Certified Personal Trainer - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Why Matt Baumann became an NASM Certified Personal Trainer”. This video has 13 sentences and 169 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:02. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| certification noun | /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | The act of certifying. |
| athlete noun | /ˈæθ.liːt/ | A participant in any of a group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country running and racewalking. |
| semester noun | /sɪˈmɛstɚ/ | Half of a school year (US) or academic year such as autumn or spring semester. |
| buck noun | /ˈbʌk/ | A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad, skunk and kangaroo. |
| referral noun | /ɹɪˈfɜː.ɹəl/ | The act or process of transferring someone or something to another, of sending by reference, or referring. |
| schedule noun | /ˈʃɛd͡ʒuːl/ | A procedural plan, usually but not necessarily tabular in nature, indicating a sequence of operations and the planned times at which those operations are to… |
| basketball noun | /ˈbæs.kɪt.bɔl/ | A sport in which two opposing teams of five players strive to put a ball through a hoop. |
| client noun | /ˈklaɪ.ənt/ | A customer, a buyer or receiver of goods or services. |
| graduate verb | /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒueɪt/ | To be recognized by a school or university as having completed the requirements of a degree studied at the institution. |
| train noun | /ˈtɹeɪn/ | The elongated back portion of a dress or skirt (or an ornamental piece of material added to similar effect), which drags along the ground. |
| realize verb | /ˈɹi(.ə)ˌlaɪz/ | To become aware of, understand, or appreciate (a fact or situation, especially something which has been true for some time). |
| coach noun | /koʊt͡ʃ/ | A wheeled vehicle, generally pulled by a horse. |
| seriously adverb | /ˈsɪɹ.i.əs.li/ | In a serious or literal manner. |
| none | /noʊn/ | Not any of a given number or group. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was trying |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started looking |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, couldn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, schedule /ˈʃɛd͡ʒuːl/
- Long words — get the stress right: certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, seriously /ˈsɪɹ.i.əs.li/
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 certification, athlete, semester.
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.