Shadowing Practice: Your Parents Were Just People Too - Learn English Speaking with Video
B1Your Parents Are NOT Your Punching Bag #wherepainmeetspower
B1Unit 1 tiếng Anh 10 Reading
B1Why It Matters What You Say And Think - animated story motivation
B1relationships are hard.
B1Should parents give their children more freedom?
B1My Dad Roasted My Friends At Dinner Like It Was His Comedy Show 💀
B1I Was Raised By My Sister | Non-Biological Mothers | Cut
B2Life Lessons Old People WISH Young People Knew
B1Do Your Parents Know?
B1Best conversation between Joey and His Mom - Soul
B1🎧 Shadowing Practice with Justin Bieber – Boost Your Accent, Fluency & Confidence
B1"Being a dad doesn't mean your life is over." #YoungSheldon
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Your Parents Were Just People Too”. This video has 16 sentences and 169 words to shadow. The speech runs for 0:53. The speaker talks fast, about 192 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 93% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 11 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| curious adjective | /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/ | Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying. |
| sacrifice noun | /ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/ | Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity. |
| forgive verb | /fɚˈɡɪv/ | To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against. |
| stressful adjective | /ˈstɹɛsfəl/ | Irritating; causing stress. |
| realization noun | /ˌɹɪə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ | An act of figuring out or becoming aware. |
| slack adjective | /slæk/ | Lax; not tense; not firmly extended. |
| realize verb | /ˈɹi(.ə)ˌlaɪz/ | To become aware of, understand, or appreciate (a fact or situation, especially something which has been true for some time). |
| grow verb | /ˈɡɹəʊ/ | To become larger, to increase in magnitude. |
| appreciate verb | /əˈpɹiː.ʃi.eɪt/ | To be grateful or thankful for. |
| begin verb | /bɪˈɡɪn/ | To start, to initiate or take the first step into something. |
| tough adjective | /tʌf/ | Of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were living · were going |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: realization /ˌɹɪə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/, appreciate /əˈpɹiː.ʃi.eɪt/
- Long words — get the stress right: realization /ˌɹɪə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/, appreciate /əˈpɹiː.ʃi.eɪt/
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 curious, sacrifice, forgive.
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.