Shadowing Practice: Why the UK is in the EU - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The writing's on the wall.
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Well, in any event, we'll have to think of something to make the public think kindly towards administration because of the Europass.
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Quite.
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Europass?
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Europass.
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European Identity Card.
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Well, Bernard, surely you've informed the Minister...
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Minister, didn't you do your boxes last night?
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No, I was redrafting the redraft of the draft.
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Well, briefly, Minister, Brussels is about to decree
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that there should be a new European Identity Card to be carried by all citizens of the EEC.
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Now the Foreign Office is quite ready to go along with it as a quid pro quo
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for a deal over the butter mountain, the wine lake and the milk ocean.
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The lamb war and the cod stink.
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And quite obviously the Prime Minister wants you to introduce the legislation.
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Me?
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Yes, well it's well known that you're pro-Europe you see
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and it would simplify our administration enormously in the long run So it's a good idea.
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Good idea.
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Good idea.
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Good idea.
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Not a good idea.
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Political suicide.
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Trying to make British people carry compulsory identification papers.
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They'll say I'm introducing a police state again.
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Is this what we fought two world wars for Humphrey?
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Well Minister it's really little more than a sort of driving license.
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It's the last meal in my coffin that's what it is.
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You might get away with calling it Euro Club Express.
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Why do we have to introduce it?
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Can't the Foreign Office do it?
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Well in fact that was the Prime Minister's original suggestion
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that the Foreign Secretary thought that this was a Home Office matter
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and the Home Office took the view that it was essentially an administrative matter and the Prime Minister agreed.
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They're all playing pass the parcel.
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Can you blame them when you can hear it ticking?
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Well I'm afraid that the identity card bill is planned to be the last action of this department.
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Wonderful ammunition for the anti-Europeans.
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Yes, don't the Foreign Office realize what damage this will do to the European idea?
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Well, I'm sure they do.
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That's why they support it.
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Well, surely the Foreign Office is pro-Europe, isn't it?
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Yes and no. If you'll forgive the expression.
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The Foreign Office is pro-Europe because it is really anti-Europe.
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The Civil Service was united in its desire to make sure that the common market didn't work.
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That's why we went into it.
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What are you talking about?
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Minister, Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last 500 years to create a disunited Europe.
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In that cause, we have fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, with the Germans against the French, with the French and Italians against the Germans, and with the French against the Germans and Italians.
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Divide and rule, you see.
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Why should we change now, when it's worked so well?
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Ancient history, surely.
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Yes, and current policy.
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We had to break the whole thing up, so we had to get inside.
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We tried to break it up from the outside, but that wouldn't work.
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Now that we're inside, we can make a complete pig's breakfast of the whole thing.
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Set the Germans against the French, the French against the Italians, the Italians against the Dutch.
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The Foreign Office is terribly pleased.
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It's just like old times.
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Surely we're all committed to the European ideal.
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Really, Minister?
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If not, why are we pressing for an increase in the membership?
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Well, for the same reason.
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It's just like the United Nations, in fact.
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The more members it has, the more arguments it can stir up, the more futile and impotent it becomes.
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Appalling cynicism.
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Yes.
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We call it diplomacy, Minister.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Why the UK is in the EU”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Minister, foreign, Europe, European, French. This video has 68 sentences and 618 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:29. The speaker talks at a natural 178 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 13 of its 68 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| redraft noun | A second or subsequent draft | |
| appalling adjective | /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/ | Horrifying and astonishing. |
| cynicism noun | /ˈsɪn.ɪˌsɪzəm/ | A distrustful attitude. |
| disunite verb | /dɪsjuːˈnaɪt/ | To cause disagreement or alienation among or within. |
| enormously adverb | Extremely, greatly: to an enormous degree. | |
| futile adjective | /ˈfju.taɪl/ | Incapable of producing results, useless; doomed not to be successful; not worth attempting. |
| impotent adjective | /ˈɪm.pə.tənt/ | Lacking physical strength or vigor; weak |
| simplify verb | /ˈsɪmplɪfaɪ/ | To make simpler, either by reducing in complexity, reducing to component parts, or making easier to understand. |
| parcel noun | /ˈpɑɹsəl/ | A package wrapped, as for shipment or transport. |
| compulsory adjective | /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/ | Required; obligatory; mandatory. |
| diplomacy noun | /dɪˈpləʊməsi/ | The art and practice of conducting international relations by negotiating alliances, treaties, agreements etc., bilaterally or multilaterally, between states… |
| tick noun | /tɪk/ | A tiny woodland arachnid of the suborder Ixodida. |
| coffin noun | /ˈkɔfɪn/ | A closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial. |
| decree noun | /dɪˈkɹiː/ | An edict or law. |
| terribly adverb | /ˈtɛɹ.ɪ.bli/ | Very; extremely. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get away with verb | To get away, or escape, taking (something) with one. | |
| go along with verb | To acquiesce to or comply with a proposal, despite lacking a desire or value for it. | |
| stir up verb | /ˈstɜː.ɹʌp/ | To arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Minister, didn't you do your boxes last night?
- They'll say I'm introducing a police state again.
- Why do we have to introduce it?
- What are you talking about?
- Why should we change now, when it's worked so well?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be carried · is planned · was united |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've informed · have fought |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, didn't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, identification /aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: cynicism /ˈsɪn.ɪˌsɪzəm/, compulsory /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/, diplomacy /dɪˈpləʊməsi/, ammunition /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən/, identification /aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
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 redraft, appalling, cynicism.
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.