Shadowing Practice: You Are Not Multitasking. You Are Losing the Night. - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “You Are Not Multitasking. You Are Losing the Night”. This video has 22 sentences and 121 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:26. The speaker talks slowly, about 84 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 14 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tab noun | /tæb/ | A small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc. |
| rush verb | /ɹʌʃ/ | To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully. |
| badly adverb | /ˈbæd.li/ | In a bad manner. |
| trap noun | /tɹæp/ | A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body. |
| midnight noun | /ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/ | The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise. |
| warn verb | /woɹn/ | To make (someone) aware of impending danger, evil, etc. |
| theirs | /ðɛɚz/ | That or those belonging to them; the possessive case of they, used without a following noun. |
| brutally adverb | In a brutal manner; viciously, barbarically. | |
| fragment noun | /ˈfɹæɡmənt/ | A part broken off; a small, detached portion; an imperfect part, either physically or not. |
| multitasking noun | The simultaneous execution of multiple tasks (programs) under the control of an interrupt-driven operating system. | |
| task noun | /tæsk/ | A piece of work done as part of one’s duties. |
| zero noun | /ˈzɪɹoʊ/ | The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero. |
| switch noun | /swɪt͡ʃ/ | A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow. |
| exact adjective | /ɪɡˈzækt/ | Precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or the truth; perfectly conforming; neither exceeding nor falling short in any respect. |
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 tab, rush, badly.
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.