Shadowing Practice: Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore.1983. - Learn English Speaking with Video

The End

Thank you.

Yeah.

This could be the room of any small boy, but it just happens to belong to a boy named Christopher Robin.

Like most small boys, Christopher Robin has toy animals to play with.

And they live together in a wonderful world of make-believe.

But his best friend is a bear called Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh for short.

Now Pooh had some very unusual adventures, and they all happened right here in the Hundred Acre Wood.

In the hundred acre wood,

where Christopher Robin plays, you'll find the enchanted neighborhood of Christopher's childhood days.

A donkey named Eeyore is his friend, and Kanga and Little Roo.

There's rabbit and piglet and there's owl, but most of all Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, toppy little toppy, all scutted with luck.

He's Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, willy-nilly silly old bear.

Now the hundred acre wood boasted many natural wonders, but none was more beautiful than a tiny stream running through the forest.

This particular stream had a very long way to travel.

And by the time it reached the edge of the forest, it had grown up so it was almost a Being grown up, it said to itself, there is no hurry.

We shall get there someday.

Now crossing the river, at its most peaceful spot, was an old wooden bridge.

It was a familiar spot to Winnie the Pooh, for he would often wander there, doing nothing in particular and thinking nothing in particular.

But on the most recent of these excursions, something took his mind off of nothing.

Hmm, this is a very good fur cone, and something ought to rhyme to it.

Think, think, think.

Now, fur cones belong in trees, up high with the buzzing bees.

But this one I found down on the ground, freed by a gentle breeze.

Oh, Barther, I suppose I shall have to find another one.

Pooh had every intention of getting another fur cone, but the river was slipping away so peacefully beneath him that he began to slip away with it.

That's funny.

I dropped it on the other side, and it came out on this side.

Hmm.

I wonder if it would do it again.

I wonder which will come out first.

Well, the big one came out first, and the little one came out last, Which was what Pooh wanted.

I did?

Yes, Pooh.

And that was the beginning of a game called Pooh Sticks.

Which I invented.

Now one day, Pooh and Piglet, Rabbit and Roo were all playing Pooh Sticks together.

But why call it Pooh Sticks?

I thought I started with fur cones.

You did Pooh, but sticks were easier to mark.

Oh, yes.

Now I remember.

Ahem.

Now, one day, Pooh and Piglet, Rabbit and Roo were all playing Pooh sticks together.

All right.

Now, the first stick to pass all the way under the bridge wins.

Now, on your marks, get set...

...go!

We must all start together.

Oh dear, now where was I?

Oh, yes.

On your marks, get set...

...go!

I can see mine!

I win!

Can you see yours, Pooh?

No. I expect my sticks stuck.

They always take longer than you think.

Oh, I can see yours, Piglet.

Mine's a sorta g-g-g-greyish one.

Yes, that's what I can see.

It's coming over to my side.

Come on, Stick!

Stick!

Are you sure it's mine?

It's a big, grey one!

Here it comes!

A very big grey!

No, no, no, no, no, it isn't.

It's...

Eeyore!

Don't pay any attention to me.

Nobody ever does.

Eeyore, what are you doing down there?

Give you three guesses.

Fishing?

Wrong.

Going for a sail?

Wrong again.

Waiting for somebody to help you out of the river?

That's right.

Give Rabbit the time and he'll get the answer.

He's going round and round.

If I decide to practice the slide movement from right to left,

or left to right, it's nobody's business but my own.

Eeyore, what can we...

I mean, how should we...

You think if we...

Yes, one of those would be just a thing.

Thank you, Piglet.

I've got an idea, but I don't suppose it's a very good one.

I don't suppose it is.

Uh, go on, Pooh, let's have it.

Well, if we all threw stones and things into the river on one side of the yore, the stones would make waves,

and the waves would wash them to the other side.

100

Oh, oh, yeah, that's a very good idea.

101

I'm glad we thought of it, Pooh.

102

Uh, Pooh?

103

Oh, Piglet, Piglet, give Pooh a little more room.

104

Get back a bit there, Roo.

105

I think it looks to the left, Pooh.

106

No, to the right, yes.

107

Eeyore, could you stop turning round for a moment?

108

Because it muddles me rather.

109

I like turning, especially round.

110

Pooh, when I say now, you can drop it.

111

Eeyore, when I say now, Pooh will drop the stone.

112

Are you ready?

113

Ready.

114

Good.

115

One.

116

Let me see.

117

Two.

118

Now.

119

Oh, dear.

120

Perhaps it wasn't such a very good idea after all.

121

There he is!

122

Oh, Eeyore, you're all wet.

123

That happens when you've been in a river a long time, Biglet.

124

How did you fall in, Eeyore?

125

I was bounced.

126

Did somebody push you?

127

Somebody bounced me.

128

I was thinking by the side of the river, minding my own business, business when I received a loud bounce

129

but who did it I expect it was Peter your was it Tigger what happened just now you just win

130

when you bounced your into the river oh I didn't bounce

131

him he bounced me I didn't really you I just I just had a cough, you see, and I happened to be behind your, and I said, uh, I said, uh, BLEH!

132

It's alright, Piglet.

133

That's what I call bouncing.

134

I didn't bounce, I coughed!

135

Bouncing or coughing, it's all the same.

136

Oh, no it's not!

137

Try bouncing me, Tigger!

138

All I did was cough!

139

You bounced.

140

Coughed!

141

Bounced.

142

Coughed!

143

Excuse me, perhaps I can help. Who said that?

144

It's the narrator!

145

In order to find out what really happened, we'll simply return to the spot where Eeyore was thinking by the side of the river, up at the top of page 245.

146

There's Eeyore!

147

So he did bounce him.

148

Oh well, it was just a joke.

149

Eww, some people have no sense of humor.

150

Tigger's so thoughtless with his bouncing.

151

Why should Tigger think of me?

152

Nobody else does.

153

Why do you say that, Eeyore?

154

Without question, something was troubling Eeyore.

155

And while his friends puzzled over his unusual behavior, Eeyore followed the stream back to his gloomy spot.

156

Which became even gloomier than usual.

157

Pathetic.

158

Just as I thought.

159

No better from this side.

160

Nobody minds.

161

Nobody cares.

162

Pathetic.

163

Eeyore, what's the matter?

164

What makes you think anything's the matter?

165

You seem so sad.

166

Why should I be sad?

167

It's my birthday, the happiest day of the year.

168

Your birthday? Of course.

169

Can't you see all the presents?

170

No. No. Can't you see the cake, the candles, the pink sugar?

171

No. Neither can I.

172

Oh.

173

Well, many happy returns of the day, Eeyore.

174

Thank you, Pooh.

175

But we can't all.

176

And some of us don't.

177

Can't all what?

178

No, Gathe.

179

No song and dance.

180

No here we go round the mulberry bush.

181

But don't worry about me, Pooh.

182

Go and enjoy yourself.

183

I'll stay here and be miserable.

184

With no presents, no cake, no candles.

185

Eeyore, wait right here.

186

Who hurried home as fast as he could?

187

When who should he find in front of his house but...

188

Piglet!

189

Hello, Pooh.

190

What are you trying to do?

191

I'm trying to...

192

Oh, oh!

193

That is, I was trying to reach the...

194

No, no, no, knocker.

195

Let me do it for you. But Pooh!

196

I found out what's troubling poor Eeyore.

197

It's his birthday, and nobody has taken any notice of it.

198

And he's very gloomy and...

199

Well, whoever lives here certainly takes a long time answering his door.

200

But, but, but, but, Pooh!

201

Isn't this your house?

202

Oh, so it is.

203

Well, let's go in.

204

Go in.

205

Hmm, I must get poor Eeyore a present of some sort.

206

Honey, that should do very well.

207

What are you going to give, Piglet?

208

Couldn't I give it too?

209

From b-b-b-both of us?

210

No, Piglet, that would not be a very good plan.

211

Perhaps I could give Eeyore a balloon.

212

That, Piggly, is a very good idea.

213

Nobody could be uncheered by a balloon.

214

I have one at home.

215

I'll go and get it right now.

216

So off, Piggly trotted in one direction, and in the other direction went Pooh with his jar of honey.

217

However, Pooh hadn't gone very far when a very funny feeling began to creep over him.

218

It began at the tip of his nose and trickled all the way down to the soles of his feet,

219

as if someone inside him was saying, Now then, Pooh, time for a little something.

220

So Pooh had a little something, and then he had a little more,

221

and a little more, until he had taken his last lick from the inside of the jar.

222

Now let me see, where was I going?

223

Oh yes, Eeyore, I was going to...

224

Oh bother, I must give Eeyore something.

225

I think I shall go see my good friend Al.

226

Oh, that should do it, the perfect spot.

227

Yes, yes, coming.

228

Pooh, to what do I owe this?

229

Many happy returns of Eeyore's birthday, owl.

230

Oh, is that what it was?

231

Well, come in, Pooh, come in.

232

You know, that reminds me of the birthday of my great Uncle Robert, a portrait of whom you see upon the wall on your right.

233

He had just reached the ripe old age of 103.

234

Although, of course, he would only admit to 97.

235

And we all felt a celebration was in order.

236

So, while Uncle Robert was returning in the late forenoon from a...

237

What are you giving him, Owl?

238

Uh, giving who, Pooh?

239

Eeyore.

240

Oh, Eeyore.

241

Yes, I...

242

What are you giving him, Pooh?

243

I'm giving him this useful pot to keep things in, and I wanted to ask you...

244

A useful pot?

245

Hmm.

246

Evidently, someone has been keeping honey in it.

247

You can keep anything in it.

248

It's very useful like that.

249

And I wanted to ask you...

250

Oh, you ought to write happy birthday on it.

251

That was what I wanted to ask you.

252

My spelling is wobbly.

253

Hmm, very well then.

254

Ahem, if you please.

255

It's easier if people don't look while I'm writing.

256

There, all finished.

257

What do you think of it?

258

I kept it simple.

259

Just saying happy birthday.

260

It seems like a lot of words.

261

Yes, well, um, actually, uh, of course, I, uh, I wrote a very happy birthday with love from Pooh.

262

Naturally, it takes a good deal of words to say a long thing like that.

263

Oh, I see.

264

Well, thank you, Owl.

265

Eeyore will be most pleased.

266

Oh, I do hope so.

267

Oh, this is so exciting.

268

I'm flying directly over to Christopher Robbins to tell him the news.

269

Many happy returns of Eeyore's birthday, Pigler.

270

And many happy returns to you too, Owl.

271

Oh dear, oh deary, d-d-d-deer, dear.

272

What shall I, how shall I?

273

Well, perhaps Eeyore doesn't like balloons so very much.

274

Good afternoon, Eeyore.

275

Good afternoon, Piglet.

276

If it is a good afternoon, which I doubt.

277

Many happy returns of the day.

278

Meaning my birthday.

279

Yes, you are. And I...

280

I've brought you a present.

281

Pardon me, Piglet.

282

My hearing must be going.

283

I thought you said you brought me a present.

284

I did.

285

I've brought you a.. b-b-b-b-b-balloon.

286

Balloon?

287

Did you say balloon?

288

Yes, but I'm afraid...

289

Oh, I'm very sorry.

290

But when I was running, that is, to bring it, I fell down and...

291

My balloon.

292

My birthday balloon.

293

Red.

294

My favorite color.

295

How big was it?

296

About as big as m-m-me.

297

My favorite size.

298

Many happy returns of the day, Eeyore.

299

I've brought you a little present.

300

It's a useful pot, and it's got a very happy birthday with love from Pooh written on it.

301

And it's for putting things in.

302

Like a balloon?

303

Oh, no, Eeyore.

304

Balloons are much too big to go into a... So it does.

305

Eeyore, I'm very glad that I thought of giving you a useful pot to put things in.

306

I'm very glad I thought of giving you something to put in a useful pot.

307

Many happy returns, Eeyore.

308

Hooray!

309

Oh, bravo, bravo.

310

Good show.

311

This reminds me of the party we once gave my great-uncle Robert.

312

He had just reached the ripe old age of 103, though of course he would only admit to 97.

313

So, we had to instruct the guests to pretend that he...

314

HALLOOOOO!

315

Oh no!

316

Oh no!

317

Oh no!

318

Not...

319

Tigger!

320

Hello, Tigger!

321

We're having a party!

322

A party?

323

Oh boy, a party!

324

Tiggers love parties! and cake!

325

You've got a lot of nerve showing up here after what you did to Eeyore.

326

Well, I think Tigger should leave.

327

Aw, let him stay.

328

What do you think, Christopher Robin?

329

I think...

330

I think we all ought to play poo sticks.

331

Poostix?

332

Oh boy!

333

That's what Tiggers do best!

334

So they gathered on the old wooden bridge and played the game for many contented hours.

335

And Eeyore, who had never played it before, won more times than anyone else.

336

But poor Tigger won none at all.

337

Brrrr, Tiggers don't like Poostix!

338

Let's play again!

339

We must go home now, dear.

340

It's past your bedtime your bedtime gee do we have to

341

i'm not tired come along i think we should all be

342

going yes quite right congratulations to your it's been a delightful party thank you all Oh,

343

no. Tigger, I'd be happy to tell you my secret for winning at Poostix.

344

Uh, you would?

345

It's very easy.

346

You just have to let your stick drop in a twitchy sort of way.

347

Oh, yeah, I forgot to twitch.

348

That was my problem.

349

Monst again.

350

Kinger's all right, really.

351

Of course he is.

352

Everybody is, really.

353

That's what I think.

354

But I don't suppose I'm right.

355

Of course you are, silly old bear.

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56 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This A1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore.1983”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Pooh, Eeyore, piglet, stick, birthday. This video has 355 sentences and 2420 words to shadow. The speech runs for 23:55. The speaker talks slowly, about 101 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 78% 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
bounce verb	/baʊns/	To change the direction of motion after hitting an obstacle.
balloon noun	/bəˈlun/	An inflatable buoyant object, often (but not necessarily) round and flexible.
cough verb	/kɔf/	Sometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound)…
rabbit noun	/ˈɹæbɪt/	A mammal of most genera of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. (Those of the larger kind are instead called hares)
cone noun	/ˈkoʊn/	A surface of revolution formed by rotating a segment of a line around another line that intersects the first line.
uncle noun	/ˈʌŋ.kl̩/	The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
honey noun	/ˈhʌni/	A sweet, viscous, gold-colored fluid produced from plant nectar by bees, and often consumed by humans.
acre noun	/ˈeɪ.kɚ/	An English unit of land area (symbol: a. or ac.) originally denoting a day's ploughing for a yoke of oxen, now standardized as 4,840 square yards or 4,046.86…
grey adjective	/ɡɹeɪ/	Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
unusual adjective	/ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/	Not usual, out of the ordinary.
silly adjective	/ˈsɪl.i/	Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
belong verb	/bɪˈlɒŋ/	To have its proper place.
remind verb	/ɹəˈmaɪnd/	To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
wooden adjective	/ˈwʊdn̩/	Made of wood.
slip verb	/ˈslɪp/	To lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
find out verb		To discover, as by asking or investigating.
go round verb		To physically swirl or rotate.
grow up verb		To mature and become an adult.
stick together verb		To physically combine or join together by adhesion.
come along verb		To accompany.
do down verb		To belittle or intimidate.
fall down verb	/fɔl ˈdaʊn/	To fall to the ground. To collapse.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Are you sure it's mine?
Eeyore, what are you doing down there?
What makes you think anything's the matter?
Can't you see all the presents?
Couldn't I give it too?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've been · has taken · I've brought
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	Being grown · was bounced · could be uncheered
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	wonder which will · last, Which was
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	ought to rhyme · should we · should Tigger

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 47 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: pathetic /pəˈθɛtɪk/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, beneath /bɪˈniːθ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, thoughtless /ˈθɔtləs/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, excursion /ɪkˈskɜː.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, miserable /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/

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 bounce, balloon, cough.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?