Shadowing Practice: David Gilmour At Later... with Jools Holland - The Interview (2024) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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A marvellous studio this evening with acts, brand new acts, great legends, all sorts of people.
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And speaking of great legends, one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and great singers, great songwriters, the lot, we have David Gilmore.
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Thank you.
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Very nice to see you.
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So, congratulations on your number one album, Luck and Strange.
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I was talking to Matt Johnson and it was his first album for 25 years.
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But this is your first album for nine years.
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That's still quite...
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It's not 25, but it's quite a gap.
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Why is it so long?
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There have been a lot of albums over a lot of years, and I'm slowing down a little bit at this point in my life.
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It sounds great.
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I'm working all the time, but without a timetable, and it just takes a while.
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Next one will be much quicker, I promise.
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You think?
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Good, OK.
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We'll all stand by for that in a couple of years' time.
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Luck and Strange, great title.
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Where does that come from?
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Well, it's Polly's lyrics to a track,
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which is a jam session that we did in 2006 with Rick Wright playing the keyboards on it.
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We've repurposed it for this
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and the lyrics are about the temptations of the sort of lifestyle
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that I've had and other people in our business have had.
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You know all about those yourselves.
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Well, how difficult it is to resist those temptations.
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Yes, I mean, that Piper's call is, you know, summoning you to follow and you find it hard to resist.
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Always somebody, but also temptations and diversions.
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It's always something to divert you, what you're trying to get with the music you're trying to do. That too.
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But that's sort of a, these things are a long way in the past.
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And Polly is, of course, a great author.
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Very good title of that book, Lying in Bed.
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Great title, that double meaning there.
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But she's been doing some of the words, but also you've had other family members helping, haven't you?
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Well, Romani, my daughter, is singing lead vocal on one of the tracks for the next song we're going to do.
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Her voice is amazing, I have to say i heard her songs maybe 10 years ago or something
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and she was good then now she's absolutely incredible she sang
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with your band didn't she my big band she sang uh la vie on rose
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made us all weep it was beautiful when she was 13 yeah exactly
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because you are noted as one of the world's great guitar
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players does the flow come out more easily i suppose um would the right piece of music
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and the right words inspiring you there are still moments where
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it comes flowing out very naturally other times takes a bit
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more work now you've just done some triumphant shows in rome
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at the ancient circus maximus home of the chariot races yes the you know gladiators
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and all 150 000 people it used to hold until julius caesar up the capacity to 250 000
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but we only used a tiny bit at at one end, a measly 15,000 people.
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Well, that's pretty good.
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And there were no chariots or anything.
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Nope.
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But of course, the question you just played in Rome, the question I know a lot of people are going to be asking, what did you have to eat?
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Well, Italy is a legendary place for food.
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I love Italian food, of course.
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But we were a little bit stuck in a very lovely hotel which had a brilliant restaurant.
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In a moment you're going to do the closing song on the show and Roman is going to sing it.
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What is it you're going to be doing?
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It's called Between Two Points.
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It's a song by a band from the 90s called the Montgolfier Brothers.
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Two guys who wrote this lovely song, lovely vulnerable song that Polly and I both listen to on a regular basis.
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Until we came to the thought one day that Polly suggested that we do a cover version.
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I thought we don't do cover versions, but on this occasion it's such a great song.
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It's definitely worth it.
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It sounds absolutely wonderful.
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And congratulations on a wonderful record that's gone to number one, quite rightly.
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Thank you very much, David Gilmore.
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Thank you, Julian.
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Lovely to see you again. And now...

Why This David Gilmour Interview Is Perfect for English Speaking Practice

This clip shines as speaking material because it features natural, conversational English—casual yet articulate, with pauses, contractions, and real-world topics. The dialogue flows like a real chat, making it ideal for practicing shadow speech (repeating phrases in real time) to master rhythm and intonation. Plus, the mix of questions and answers mirrors everyday interactions, helping you learn to respond dynamically.

Break Down the Dialogue: Natural English in Action

Let’s unpack 3 key lines that sound authentic and why they work:

  • “It sounds great. I'm working all the time, but without a timetable, and it just takes a while.” The contraction “I'm” and the casual “it just takes a while” make this feel unscripted. Notice the pause after “timetable”—native speakers often pause to gather thoughts, which you can mimic with shadowing technique.
  • “Her voice is amazing, I have to say I heard her songs maybe 10 years ago or something and she was good then now she's absolutely incredible.” This run-on sentence (common in speech) uses “or something” to soften a vague memory and “absolutely incredible” for emphasis. Repeating this helps you sound natural, not robotic.
  • “Well, that's pretty good. And there were no chariots or anything. Nope.” Short responses like “Well, that's pretty good” and “Nope” show how native speakers simplify interactions. These phrases are easy to practice with shadowspeak to build fluency.

A Simple Practice Routine for This Video

Use the shadowing technique with this clip in 3 steps:

  1. Watch and listen: Play 5 seconds of the video, focusing on tone and pauses. Pause, then repeat the line out loud, matching the speed and stress. This is shadow speech in action.
  2. Record yourself: After 5 minutes of repeating, record 30 seconds of the dialogue. Compare your recording to the video—note where your rhythm or intonation differs.
  3. Expand: Once comfortable, play 10-second clips and repeat. Aim to keep up with the speaker without pausing. This builds muscle memory for natural speech.

Do this daily for a week, and you’ll notice your English sounds more conversational. Learn English with videos like this one to make practice fun and effective!

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.