Prática de Shadowing: INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 🌎A Different Life🌎 B1 - B2 | Level 5 - Level 6 | BRITISH ACCENT SUBTITLES - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo

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Hello and welcome to Lovely English Stories.
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Thank you for stopping by.
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This story is written for intermediate English learners.
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Ready?
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Let's get started.
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B1, B2 English Story.
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A different life.
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Josie was fed up with her friends, if truth be told.
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They were narrow-minded and stuck in the same routines they'd had for years.
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She wasn't like them.
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She'd always felt different.
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She never wanted to follow the ideals they had set for themselves.
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She wasn't interested in pursuing a successful career,
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having kids or meeting a so-called perfect husband who would no doubt cheat on her further down the line.
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She wanted a different kind of life to them.
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Josie often saw married couples as lonely figures trapped together in their,
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on the surface, picture-perfect lives.
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Sure, they have the house and the car and the exquisite holidays, but do they have the love,
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the passion and the excitement any more?
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Josie always knew she was an anomaly in the small town in which she grew up.
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She had no desire to stay and yet always found herself back there after she'd finished one of her whirlwind adventures.
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Every time she came back, she hated it that little bit more.
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Of course, it had its pros.
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The people were friendly, the pubs were good,
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her family were close, and she could meet up with some of her more open-minded friends and discuss in-depth topics at length.
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But then she'd meet up with her old friends Who,
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in all honesty, she had grown apart from But they all clung to this sense that they had something in common
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The reality was that Josie didn't have anything in common with them She went to their lunches
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and often sat there daydreaming as they talked about their radiators,
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their jobs, their children's sleeping patterns and their pension pots.
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It was soul-destroying for her.
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There was nothing wrong with their way of life, of course.
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What bothered Josie was that they always tried to project their lives onto her,
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as though the way she chose to live was offensive to them.
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They couldn't understand why she wasted her time volunteering, travelling or taking courses and learning languages.
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They certainly couldn't understand why she hadn't made her first step onto the property ladder yet.
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It was exhausting.
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Party after party and lunch after lunch, she was bombarded with the same questions.
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Are you dating anyone yet?
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And I don't know how you cope being back at your parents.
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Don't you want to buy?
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And the dreaded, why don't you just get on the dating apps?
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Josie had to stifle her eyes from rolling.
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It was infuriating.
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Why couldn't they see that she just wasn't like them.
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She didn't question why they'd paid £4,000 for a new sofa,
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why they'd decided to go all-inclusive to Tenerife, or why they'd just got another new car on finance.
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Everyone made their own decisions and she wished they would just accept the way she wanted to live.
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Josie was a free spirit.
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Since being a child, she has always wanted to be out in the world exploring and learning new things.
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Her motto to live by was that variety is the spice of life.
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You never learn anything new if you keep doing the same old stuff.
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As a result, Josie could speak three languages.
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She travelled to over 30 countries and she had worked in various jobs.
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Her diaries were full of memories of exciting experiences.
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Experiences that her friends from her hometown weren't interested in, in the slightest.
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It made her feel sad.
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One day, after visiting some friends for brunch, Josie got back to her desk and signed into work for the day.
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She was working as a language teacher online.
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She loved helping her students and interacting with people from different cultures.
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The student she had a lesson with was from Spain.
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She lived in the mountains and didn't have access to an English school where she lived.
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Josie had a lightbulb moment.
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What if she could go there and teach these people?
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Everyone deserved the right to an education after all.
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Her draining morning listening to her friends reel off their latest financed purchases made her reassess her life.
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She had managed to save some money while being back at her parents and working online during the lockdown.
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She decided to look into a working visa for Spain, living costs and more.
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Josie could speak intermediate Spanish.
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She got a B in Spanish at GCSE and had spent a semester at university in a small town south of Madrid.
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She tried to keep up her Spanish skills as much as she could,
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often by teaching Spanish people English or by taking part in English to Spanish tandems.
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Josie had lived and worked as an English teacher in Germany, Thailand, Vietnam and London.
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In between contracts she would go back to her hometown and live in her parents' spare room.
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This was where she currently found herself.
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She knew it was always just an intermission.
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But for some reason, whenever she came back,
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her friends thought she would stay there and work hard to try and have a life like theirs.
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Josie shook her head in disdain at the thought.
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She often wondered why she kept in touch with them.
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They weren't bad people, but they had all changed so much since school.
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They kept in touch purely to remember the good old times.
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But the good old times had gone over 20 years ago.
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Was it time for them all to move on?
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Josie spent a few weeks looking into teaching opportunities in Spain.
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She managed to secure two interviews.
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She was nervous but ready for her next adventure.
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One interview went terribly.
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The interviewer decided to test Josie's Spanish skills She froze on the spot and couldn't remember a thing
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Then she fumbled her way through her presentation and completely fluffed all her answers Her second interview went much better
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She took a couple of Spanish lessons beforehand, just in case they decided to switch languages mid-interview.
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She needn't have worried.
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The interviewer was kind and generous, and they spoke at length about teaching English,
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teacher concerns, and how to enthuse and inspire students.
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Josie felt good after the interview.
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If she were successful, she would work at a small privately owned language school in a small Spanish town close to Valencia.
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She could finally live her dream of being close to the sea.
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The interviewer told her they'd be in touch by the end of the week.
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It was only Monday.
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Josie knew it would be a long week.
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She tried to think positively and imagined herself at the school.
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It felt right.
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She drew up a budget and a plan.
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The role was initially for a year.
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That was ideal for Josie to decide if she liked it and whether the school liked her or not.
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She looked into visas and worked out what she needed to prepare and when.
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On Wednesday, she was meeting her old school friends for lunch.
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As usual, their questions about her lifestyle flowed.
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Why don't you just get a normal job?
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And why don't you buy a little flat?
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There's one for sale on my road.
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Josie went to the toilet and took a few deep breaths to calm her composure.
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Maybe she should just tell them that the lives they had chosen to lead were not what she wanted.
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She liked moving around and exploring.
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She loved teaching English and learning languages.
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She liked to be spontaneous.
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She decided against it and went back to the lunch.
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As she did, her phone started ringing.
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It was an international number.
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Josie paused for a moment, assuming it was a call centre.
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She was going to reject the call.
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Then she realised it might be the job.
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She went outside and answered.
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It was good news.
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The headteacher didn't want to wait until Friday.
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They knew they wanted her.
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They offered her a provisional start date in six weeks
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and they would help her with finding accommodation and any paperwork she needed.
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Josie was overjoyed.
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She had to sit on a wall in the beer garden and compose herself.
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It was really happening.
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She was about to spend the next 12 months living and working close to Valencia.
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She quickly called her parents and told them the news.
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They were happy and sad.
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They'd miss her, but they knew this was the best thing for her.
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Then she walked back into the pub.
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You've been ages, her friend exclaimed.
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We thought you'd fallen down the loo.
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Josie smiled.
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She wanted to tell them, but wasn't sure if she could be bothered with their response.
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It could go one of two ways.
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They could be overjoyed or they would be bitter somehow.
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She decided to be honest.
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Well, I just got a phone call actually.
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I've been offered a brilliant opportunity to teach English in Spain, so I'll be moving in six weeks.
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Her friends looked stunned.
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They congratulated her, but it felt cold somehow.
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They were happy for her, but they found it hard to relate to anything she wanted to do.
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They were content with their suburban lives and she was happy with hers.
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They had become opposites and Josie realised she needed to embrace that.
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Her friends weren't there to please.
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They were there to be just that, her friends.
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In the run-up to Josie leaving, she had lots of goodbye parties.
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The day before she left, she received a package from her school friends.
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They had put together lots of things that they knew she loved and that reminded them of her.
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They also wrote little cards and she was overcome by emotion.
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They were encouraging and kind and one admitted that they couldn't relate to her choices,
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but nevertheless they were still proud of what she did and what she had accomplished.
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Josie realised that they had overcome a barrier.
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As people grow older, they do grow apart and have different lives.
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They just had to learn to accept that everyone is unique and has a special perspective on what they want from life.
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Josie packed the cards.
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She decided she would proudly display them in her new flat.
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One of her school friends had already booked to see her in the summer.
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She said she needed more time for herself to do the things she enjoyed, like travelling.
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Maybe Josie was rubbing off on them after all.
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Do you still keep in touch with your school friends?
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Tell us in the comments below.

Contexto & Antecedentes

A história "A Different Life" apresenta Josie, uma jovem que se sente frustrada com a vida convencional e as expectativas de seus amigos. A narrativa explora suas reflexões sobre a sociedade, a busca por um estilo de vida autêntico e sua vontade de explorar o mundo ao invés de se conformar com as normas sociais. Ao seguir a jornada de Josie, os aprendizes de inglês em níveis B1 e B2 podem refletir sobre as escolhas da vida e as diversas maneiras de viver, além de aprimorar suas habilidades linguísticas através de um conteúdo envolvente.

As 5 Principais Frases para Comunicação Diária

  • "Are you dating anyone yet?" - Uma pergunta comum que pode ser usada para saber sobre a vida pessoal de alguém.
  • "I don't know how you cope being back at your parents." - Uma expressão que demonstra curiosidade sobre a rotina de alguém.
  • "Why don't you just get on the dating apps?" - Sugestão que reflete a pressão social para o uso de tecnologia na vida amorosa.
  • "It was soul-destroying for her." - Uma frase que ilustra a frustração e desânimo de alguém em uma situação.
  • "Everyone made their own decisions." - Uma afirmação que enfatiza a importância da liberdade pessoal.

Guia de Shadowing Passo a Passo

Realizar a prática de "shadowing" com a história de Josie pode ser uma forma extremamente eficaz de melhorar sua fluência em inglês. Siga estas etapas para aproveitar ao máximo essa técnica:

  1. Ouvir Atentamente: Assistir ao vídeo algumas vezes sem legendas para se familiarizar com a pronúncia e o ritmo da narração.
  2. Legendas em Inglês: Ative as legendas em inglês e escute novamente. Preste atenção na entonação e na ênfase das palavras.
  3. Repetição: Pause o vídeo após cada frase e tente repetir em voz alta, imitando o tom e a pronúncia do narrador. Essa etapa é fundamental na sua prática de conversação em inglês.
  4. Gravação: Grave-se fazendo o "shadow speak" e compare com a narração original. Isso ajudará a identificar áreas que precisam de dedicação.
  5. Feedback: Se possível, peça a alguém que fale inglês para ouvir sua gravação e dar feedback sobre sua pronúncia e fluência.

Plataformas de shadowing site podem ser úteis para se conectar com outros aprendizes e conseguir apoio na sua jornada. O uso de recursos como shadowspeaks pode enriquecer ainda mais sua prática, proporcionando novas oportunidades para interagir e desenvolver suas habilidades de comunicação.

O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.