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Shadowing practice: 10 Very Short Conversations: At a Restaurant with Mark Kulek ESL

Listen to the line, then say it out loud
Line 1

Full transcript

  1. Hi, this is Mark.0:00
  2. These are 10 very short conversations.0:01
  3. At a restaurant.0:04
  4. Do you have a table for one?0:09
  5. Yes, right this way.0:15
  6. Can I see the menu?0:22
  7. Of course, here you go.0:26
  8. Are you ready to order?0:36
  9. Yes, I'd like the pasta.0:42
  10. What do you recommend?0:50
  11. The chicken is very popular.0:55
  12. Can I have some water?1:04
Show all 54 lines Show fewer lines
  1. Sure, I'll bring it now.1:10
  2. Is this dish spicy?1:18
  3. No, it isn't very spicy.1:23
  4. Can I get this without onions?1:33
  5. Yes, no problem.1:39
  6. Excuse me, we are ready to pay.1:48
  7. Okay, I'll bring the bill.1:55
  8. Can I pay by card?2:03
  9. Yes, you can.2:08
  10. Thank you, the food was great.2:15
  11. You're welcome, have a nice day.2:21
  12. Part two, let's say the sentences together.2:29
  13. Do you have a table for one?2:38
  14. Yes, right this way.2:43
  15. Can I see the menu?2:50
  16. Of course, here you go.2:54
  17. Are you ready to order?3:01
  18. Yes, I'd like the pasta.3:07
  19. What do you recommend?3:12
  20. The chicken is very popular.3:18
  21. Can I have some water?3:24
  22. Sure, I'll bring it now.3:30
  23. Is this dish spicy?3:36
  24. No, it isn't very spicy.3:41
  25. Can I get this without onions?3:48
  26. Yes, no problem.3:54
  27. Excuse me, we are ready to pay.4:00
  28. Okay, I'll bring the bill.4:06
  29. Can I pay by card?4:12
  30. Yes, you can.4:17
  31. Thank you, the food was great.4:23
  32. You're welcome, have a nice day.4:28
  33. Okay, thanks so much.4:39
  34. Great job, and please don't forget to ring that bell to get all our videos.4:41
  35. And please join the channel.4:48
  36. Please subscribe.4:50
  37. And I have a Patreon page.4:52
  38. Support me on Patreon so I can support you here.4:54
  39. Okay, thanks so much.4:58
  40. I will see you next time.4:59
  41. Take it easy.5:00
  42. Bye, thank you.5:02

An A2 restaurant scene built for english speaking practice

This clip is ten short exchanges at a restaurant, spoken by Mark Kulek in an american accent at 131 words per minute. That pace is faster than most of the catalogue, so the lines move quickly even though the vocabulary is A2 level and every sentence is short.

The scene follows one customer through an entire meal: getting a table, reading the menu, ordering pasta, asking about a dish, paying by card, and leaving. Because the same 54 lines repeat once as a full conversation and once as isolated sentences to say aloud, you get two passes at the same material without switching clips.

The language in this ordering pasta and paying the bill scene

The whole clip is built from small, functional questions and answers, the kind you would actually say in a restaurant, which makes it good english shadowing practice for everyday english rather than scripted dialogue.

  • "Do you have a table for one?" is a fixed request pattern. Notice the flat, quick rise on "one", it is the whole question in three words.
  • "Can I get this without onions?" pairs a polite request with a specific detail. Swap "onions" for anything on a real menu and the sentence still works.
  • "The chicken is very popular." is a recommendation line, stressed on "popular", and it answers "What do you recommend?" from just before it.
  • "You're welcome, have a nice day." closes the exchange. The contraction "You're" is spoken as one beat, not two words.

A working order for shadowing this beginner conversation

Because the transcript repeats as full dialogue and then as separate sentences, the clip already gives you a warm up pass and a drill pass. Use that structure instead of restarting from the top each time.

  • First listen to lines 1 through 23 once, just to hear the accent and the shape of the exchange at ordering pace.
  • Then shadow the same block line by line, starting with "Can I see the menu?" and "Are you ready to order?", the two questions a server actually asks.
  • Move to "Yes, I'd like the pasta." and "Is this dish spicy?", saying each one until the rhythm matches without you checking the words.
  • When you reach the second half, lines 25 to 44 repeat the exact same sentences on their own. Use that block to practise speaking english fluently at full pace, with no dialogue context to lean on.
  • Finish on "Thank you, the food was great." and "You're welcome, have a nice day.", the pair that closes the scene, and say both back to back.
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