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Shadowing practice: American Dad: Like Mother, Like Daughter (Clip) | TBS

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

Full transcript

  1. Every woman eventually becomes her mother.0:00
  2. Will I become my mother?0:02
  3. No, every man marries his mother.0:04
  4. Noice.0:07
  5. Hailey, think of all the ways you're already like Francine.0:08
  6. Laid back except for a quick burst of anger.0:11
  7. Lazy, heavy substance abuse.0:14
  8. For you, weed, for Francine, collectible guardians of the galaxy, big gulp cups full of white wine.0:16
  9. You should consider yourself lucky, Hailey.0:22
  10. This is Francine we're talking about here.0:24
  11. I'm an icon.0:27
  12. I'm sorry, but me, become like you.0:28
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  1. Gross.0:31
  2. It's like Barf City population no thank you.0:32
  3. Oh, see right there, Francine just said that like two minutes ago.0:36
  4. No, she didn't.0:39
  5. Barf City population no thank you.0:40
  6. Well, Hailey, too bad for you that you're gonna end up being like me whether you like it or not.0:43
  7. Now, I see it's time for my 10 a .m.0:49
  8. nap, so...0:52
  9. Here comes another one of your obnoxious little sayings.0:52
  10. Give mama some sugar so she can have them sweet dreams.0:56
  11. Ugh, Barf, Sylvania.1:02
  12. Population no thank you.1:05
  13. Huh?1:07
  14. Gotta get rid of my headbands.1:11
  15. No, wait, mom got rid of hers.1:14
  16. What does that mean I need to keep mine?1:16
  17. Canister Co.1:18
  18. That's mom's brand.1:20
  19. Babe, are you alright?1:25
  20. No, Jeff, I am definitely not f***ing alright.1:27
  21. I have to get rid of anything related to my mom.1:31
  22. What about that dress?1:33
  23. Huh?1:36
  24. No!1:36
  25. Not here by second shoe to become your mother!1:51
  26. If you just had a nightmare, please don't tell me about it.2:01
  27. No need for both of us to get scared.2:05
  28. Wait a minute, that's it?2:08
  29. Away, I'm not anything like my mom.2:10
  30. You.2:13
  31. Oh, she would never marry someone like you.2:14
  32. Almost nobody would.2:16
  33. Thanks, babe.2:17
  34. I'm not becoming my mother.2:20
  35. I'm glad to.2:22
  36. No offense, but being married to Mrs.2:24
  37. S.2:27
  38. Barf City, population no thank you.2:27
  39. Layed back except for quick bursts of anger.2:31
  40. Why is this mother f***ing junior Jumble so hard?2:34
  41. Lazy.2:38
  42. Oh man, I sure am tired from that quick burst of anger.2:39
  43. Heavy substance abuse.2:43
  44. Oh my god, I'm not becoming my mother.2:47
  45. I married her.2:51
  46. Now, give mama some sugar so she can have them sweet dreams.2:52

English speaking practice with a fast American Dad mother daughter argument

This clip is a good pick for english speaking practice because it never slows down for you. Hailey and Francine argue over whether Hailey is turning into her mother, and the lines land in quick bursts with almost no pause between speakers. At 176 words per minute and rated B2, it moves faster than 41% of the catalogue, so your mouth has to keep up with retorts rather than measured explanation.

The scene runs 58 lines and stays inside one argument the whole time: headbands, weed, a canister brand, and a running joke about a place called Barf City. Jeff drifts in only to get waved off, which keeps the exchange a real two person conversation rather than a monologue with commentary. If you're trying to learn english with movies, sitcom clips like this give you natural conversational rhythm that a scripted textbook dialogue never has.

The language in this clip: what to notice for english shadowing practice

Three lines are worth isolating before you shadow this line by line. The reductions are easy to miss at 176 words per minute, and the catchphrase repeats with almost identical intonation each time, which makes it good for stress and rhythm work.

  • "Well, Hailey, too bad for you that you're gonna end up being like me whether you like it or not." The reduced "gonna" and the trailing "whether you like it or not" both compress into single beats when spoken fast.
  • "Gotta get rid of my headbands." A short, complete reduction: say it as one breath group, not four separate words.
  • "Barf City population no thank you." This line repeats at lines 14, 17 and 50 with the same falling pitch each time, so once you have the rhythm you can reuse it across the whole clip.

How to work through it for american accent training

Work the scene in this order, moving from the slowest line to the fastest exchange.

  • Start with line 1, "Every woman eventually becomes her mother." It's the only fully deliberate, unhurried line in the clip, so use it to set the vowel shapes and stress pattern before speed matters.
  • Move to "Well, Hailey, too bad for you that you're gonna end up being like me whether you like it or not." Say it slow once, then drill the gonna reduction on its own before putting the full line back together.
  • Loop "Barf City population no thank you." at its three repeats and match the falling pitch each time rather than reading it flat.
  • Finish on the closing line, "Now, give mama some sugar so she can have them sweet dreams." It echoes an earlier line word for word, so you can check your own pronunciation against how you said it the first time through.
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