Shadowing Practice: Working from home – A2 English Listening Test - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
So, how long have you worked from home?
2
About eight years now.
3
What about you?
4
Only for a couple of months.
5
Why did you decide to work from home?
6
Was it when you had your son?
7
No, I was already working from home when my son was born.
8
Actually, I started working from home as a freelance writer because I got an offer to write a geography book.
9
Before that, I was working as a teacher, but it was really tiring.
10
The writing job wasn't well paid, but it seemed interesting, so I decided to quit teaching and do it.
11
After that project, I applied for other jobs, and luckily the work kept coming.
12
What about you?
13
Oh, I started working from home because the company I worked for was losing money.
14
They had to downsize.
15
A few of my colleagues lost their jobs.
16
The company moved to a smaller building.
17
I could only keep my job if I agreed to work from home, so I did.
18
Do you enjoy it?
19
Not really.
20
I miss chatting to people, joking around, or deciding at the last minute to go for a drink or dinner after work.
21
Just chatting to colleagues, we found things we had in common.
22
I started playing badminton with one girl, and played cards in the evenings with some others,
23
but they've all lost their jobs and moved away now.
24
New people have started work at the company, but I don't get to know them like I did in the past.
25
Yes, I can see that's a problem.
26
Is it the same for you?
27
Not really.
28
As a teacher, I was always too tired or too busy to socialise much with colleagues.
29
Now I'm busy, but not as tired.
30
That means I have enough energy to spend time with people.
31
Of course, I spend time with my family, but I'm also going to an art class at the moment, and I've met a couple of great ladies there,
32
and we often meet up for drinks and chat.
33
Maybe you should do something like that too.
34
Maybe I should.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Working from home – A2 English Listening Test”. This video has 34 sentences and 350 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:09. The speaker talks at a natural 163 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 7 of its 34 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
13 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| colleague noun | /ˈkɒliːɡ/ | A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate. |
| joking verb | /ˈd͡ʒoʊkɪŋ/ | Kidding, trying to fool. |
| tire verb | /ˈtaɪ̯ɚ/ | To become sleepy or weary. |
| geography noun | /d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/ | The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them. |
| luckily adverb | /ˈlʌk.ɪ.li/ | In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately. |
| freelance adjective | /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ | Of or relating to a freelance; without a long-term employment contract. |
| badminton noun | /ˈbæd.mɪn.tən/ | A racquet sport played indoors on a court by two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs of players (doubles), in which a shuttlecock is volleyed over… |
| downsize verb | /ˈdaʊnsaɪz/ | To reduce in size or number. |
| socialize verb | /ˈsoʊʃəlaɪz/ | To interact with others, especially personally, informally and off the clock rather than formally and officially. |
| chat verb | /ˈt͡ʃæt/ | To be engaged in informal conversation. |
| writer noun | /ˈɹaɪ.təɹ/ | A person who writes, or produces literary work; an author can refer to themselves as "the writer". |
| teach verb | /ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ | To pass on knowledge to. |
| quit verb | /kwɪt/ | To leave (a place). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| move away verb | To go away from a place, especially when permanently changing one's residence. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Why did you decide to work from home?
- Was it when you had your son?
- Do you enjoy it?
- Yes, I can see that's a problem.
- Is it the same for you?
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 | have started · I've met |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | started working · kept coming · started playing |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was already working · was working · was losing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. 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 colleague, joking, tire.
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.