Shadowing Practice: Why Teenagers Are So Embarrassing | Jim Gaffigan - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
112 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
We should acknowledge being a teenager today is the hardest it's been in generations.
2
What these teenagers have to deal with, it's insane, right?
3
Social media, the prevalence of drugs, pornographies everywhere.
4
I guess what I'm saying is I wish I was a teenager.
5
I had to walk a mile and a half for cigarettes.
6
I think the greatest irony of teenagers is that they're embarrassed of their parents.
7
It's like, oh, you're embarrassed of me?
8
have you looked in the mirror each of my teenagers has come to me at different points
9
and been like hey can you act like you don't know me we can make that permanent
10
it's amazing how consistent the theme of embarrassment is throughout parenting right Because when your kids are little, they're constantly embarrassing you, right?
11
Some of the things they say or scream, they're like, Why is that guy so fat?
12
Is that woman a witch?
13
Choose, choose.
14
It's juice.
15
Juice.
16
Please say juice.
17
That actually happened to me.
18
I was in a Whole Foods in New York City, and my two blonde children were screaming for Jews.
19
They were demanding Jews in a way that would lead you to believe they've been delivered Jews before.
20
Jews, Jews, Jews, Jews.
21
For the love of Jesus, please say Jews.
22
They love Jews.
23
Not Jews.
24
I mean, they love Jews too.
25
If you get that from me, I'm a Jew lover.
26
Love me some Jews.
27
Your kids consistently embarrass you, and then one day, out of nowhere, you're the biggest source of humiliation in their life.
28
They don't tell you when that happens, and there are strict rules that you only learn about when you break them.
29
I was at dinner recently, and my 14 -year -old daughter was like,
30
and then dad walked into the high school my wife is like honey you didn't go into the school did you
31
it was cold out
32
what planet are we on
33
my children give me guild trips i wouldn't even contemplate like my my daughter was in to play on Thursday and Friday, so I went on Thursday night,
34
and then Friday morning she saw me with my rollie bag, and she was like, you're not coming to my show tonight?
35
I'm like, you've never been to one of my shows.
36
I do 300 a year!
37
My big plan was to teach my children responsibility by selling posters after one of my shows.
38
So I texted my teenager, I'm like, do you want to sell posters after my show?
39
I'll pay you.
40
She texted back, great, sounds good.
41
So then I texted my teenage son.
42
I'm like, do you want to sell posters after my show?
43
I'll pay you.
44
He texted back, no thanks, I don't need the money.
45
He doesn't have any money.
46
He has my money.
47
I just texted back, you're out of the will.
48
I'm kidding, he was never in it.
49
If my father asked me to do something, He wouldn't even stick around for an answer.
50
You want to shovel the driveway?
51
Then he'd just leave.
52
It was understood I was going to shovel the driveway or move out.
53
I was kind of frightened of my dad.
54
My children treat me like some bank teller they reluctantly have to deal with.
55
Once a week, they just appear in front of me.
56
Mom said I could get a shark
57
So I guess I need your credit card I'm like what the hell are you talking about He's yelling again mom
58
If my dad was in a room in the house I wouldn't go to that side of the house
59
I'll just pee outside And I had all these older siblings that used to send me in there to ask questions.
60
Go ask Adam and go to Dairy Queen.
61
I'm not doing it.
62
I'm not doing it.
63
Go.
64
You're too young to kill.
65
dad what the hell do you want he he said no
66
when i didn't have kids i didn't understand my dad at all
67
and by the way
68
if you don't have children none of this should make sense like even the concept of a saturday night
69
when you don't have kids you're like saturday and
70
when you're a parent you're like who can we pay to come to this house watch this child
71
and your standards drop so dramatically
72
initially you're like they should have a PhD
73
and then you're like well how long were they in jail murder it wasn't children right Satanists look it right
74
in any parent will tell you about like having children has
75
enriched their lives it's exposed them to things they never thought
76
they do like kids just you end up doing things you
77
never thought you do like for me going outside you ever
78
go outside with real little kids you don't even know what to do with him.
79
You're like, well I normally just drink out here.
80
Who wants to play a game of nap?
81
Parenting is hard the entire time.
82
The task changes though.
83
When you have a baby you're like, this is the hardest thing I've ever done but I would do anything for this baby.
84
And when you have a teenager you're like, this is the hardest thing I've ever done
85
but I don't want to go to jail for murder your
86
experience may differ our real issue the issue we face is
87
we have too many kids we have too many kids but
88
if I did anything about it now people would get
89
so upset how old is the fetus 17 years five kids it's a lot it's a lot
90
and my wife works so hard she works so hard
91
and i try to travel as much as i can there's always help we always have a babysitter a helper
92
and these people have incredible backstories often they've escaped from countries
93
with oppressive regimes they're always sending money back to help a relative
94
and after they've worked for us for a month they always come up
95
and say the same thing i quit like do you need more money like i'm going back to north korea
96
that place is like a vacation compared to being around your family
97
five kids is a lot my parents had six kids but it was easier back then because they didn't care
98
six wasn't even that big we lived across from a family
99
that had 13 kids 13 you never even saw the mother
100
occasionally there'd be a shadow in a window she was like
101
boo radley we weren't sure she even existed eventually I met the mother of 13
102
and she was a sweet woman who obviously hadn't slept in 40 years
103
but she looked like a mom
104
because moms used to look like moms now moms look like yoga teachers moms look like yoga teachers
105
and dads look like yoga teacher stalkers
106
when a dad can't find a mom he definitely sounds like
107
a stalker he's like where the hell is she I'm gonna kill
108
that woman can I help you sir it's my wife I'm gonna kill her
109
but no matter what a parent looks like there's an unseen
110
mental tax that's been paid you know like they did a study all those people
111
that stormed the capitol on january 6 you know what they all had in common a teenager at home Jim,
112
that's cheap, but I'll take her.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B2260 sentences
24k
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B217 sentences
Why You Remember Embarrassing Moments
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
34 sentences
A Great Reason to Not Be Religious Anymore - Anthony Jeselnik
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B227 sentences
Ranking the Funniest Between Two Ferns Moments #funny #celebrity #trending #funny #foryou #shorts
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
20 sentences
Your Parents Are NOT Your Punching Bag #wherepainmeetspower
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
11 sentences
My Dad Roasted My Friends At Dinner Like It Was His Comedy Show 💀
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
450 sentences
Class of 09 Nicole's brother gets arrested route.
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2167 sentences
The Differences Between Generations — And What They Mean for a Changing America
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
130 sentences
100 People Tell Us Their Biggest Regret | Keep it 100 | Cut
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
53 sentences
Why Are You Single? - Kitty Flanagan | Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
258 sentences
Jimmy O. Yang Destroys Asian Stereotypes...
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B223
34 sentences
Family Guy: Peter Knocks Out TV (Clip) | TBS
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Why Teenagers Are So Embarrassing”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Jew, teenager, mom, dad, texted. This video has 112 sentences and 1233 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:05. The speaker talks at a steady 136 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| teenager noun | /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ | A person between thirteen and nineteen years old (inclusive). |
| juice noun | /d͡ʒuːs/ | A liquid made from plant, especially fruit. |
| yoga noun | /ˈjoʊ.ɡə/ | Any of several Hindu or Buddhist disciplines aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity; especially a system… |
| poster noun | /ˈpoʊstɚ/ | A picture of a celebrity, an event etc., intended to be attached to a wall. |
| scream verb | /skɹiːm/ | To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek. |
| embarrassed adjective | /ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/ | Having a feeling of shameful discomfort. |
| driveway noun | /ˈdɹaɪvˌweɪ/ | A short private road that leads to a house or garage. |
| consistent adjective | /kənˈsɪs.tənt/ | Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature. |
| relative noun | /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv/ | Someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption; someone in the same family. |
| mirror noun | /ˈmiɹɚ/ | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| insane adjective | /ɪnˈseɪn/ | Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad. |
| nowhere adverb | /ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/ | In no place. |
| vacation noun | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| move out verb | To leave one's present location; to leave somewhere for another place. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- It's like, oh, you're embarrassed of me?
- I'm like, do you want to sell posters after my show?
- I just texted back, you're out of the will.
- I'm kidding, he was never in it.
- You want to shovel the driveway?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to send · used to look |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | it's been · have you looked · they've been delivered |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | they've been delivered · was understood · been paid |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 63 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, regime /ɹəˈʒiːm/, humiliation /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, embarrassment /ɪmˈbæɹ.əs.mənt/, pornography /pɔɹˈnɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, humiliation /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃən/
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 teenager, juice, yoga.
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.