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Shadowing practice: Talking about πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘¦β€οΈ family: Real Easy English

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Full transcript

  1. Welcome to Real Easy English from BBC Learning English.0:00
  2. In this programme, we have real conversations in Easy English to help you practise listening and learn new words and0:04
  3. phrases.0:12
  4. I'm Beth.0:13
  5. And I'm Neil.0:14
  6. In each episode, we talk in English about a different topic that you need for everyday speaking.0:16
  7. If you want to read along, you can visit our website, BBC Learning English dot com.0:24
  8. Hello, Beth.0:36
  9. Hi, Neil.0:37
  10. How are you?0:38
  11. I'm very well, thank you.0:39
  12. What are we talking about today?0:40
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  1. Well, today's episode is all about family.0:44
  2. We'll be talking about who is in our families and comparing them.0:48
  3. OK, great.0:53
  4. So, what do we mean when we say comparing our families, Beth?0:55
  5. Well, when we compare two things, we look at them and see if they are the same or different.1:00
  6. And we can compare things in different ways, but we often do it with adjectives.1:08
  7. OK, let's start the conversation.1:15
  8. So, Neil, how big is your family?1:18
  9. It's probably average, really.1:23
  10. I have one sister, but she has three kids and I have two kids.1:26
  11. So when we get together with my parents, there are a few of us.1:33
  12. It's not tiny.1:37
  13. It's not huge.1:39
  14. OK, yeah.1:41
  15. I think my family is definitely smaller than yours because I don't have any brothers or sisters.1:42
  16. I am an only child, so when I get together with my family, it's very small because I also only1:50
  17. have one cousin and she is an only child as well, so my family's tiny.1:59
  18. OK.2:05
  19. And what is your family like?2:06
  20. It's small, but what's it like?2:08
  21. It is small, but we're very close, so we see each other quite often.2:12
  22. We are a bit silly.2:16
  23. we like to go out and have food and play games and we can be quite loud even though there2:18
  24. aren't many of us.2:26
  25. OK, it sounds like you get on well with your family, is that right?2:27
  26. Yeah, definitely.2:32
  27. Yeah, I love spending time with my cousin and she has two children.2:33
  28. What about you?2:37
  29. Do you get on well with your sister?2:38
  30. Yes, I get on well with my sister.2:41
  31. We don't see each other very often because because we don't live in the same place.2:44
  32. But when we see each other, we have a nice time.2:49
  33. We catch up and chat.2:53
  34. So, Beth, we have used the expression get on well with someone.2:56
  35. What does that mean?3:03
  36. Well, that means that you have a good relationship with them.3:05
  37. So if you get on well with your sister, it means when you're together, you're happy, you're not fighting.3:08
  38. it's easy to have good conversation.3:15
  39. You don't really have any arguments.3:18
  40. Maybe when you were a child, you didn't get on well with your sister.3:20
  41. I don't know.3:24
  42. Yes, I think now that we are grown -ups, it's easier to get on well with your sibling.3:26
  43. When I was a kid, maybe I was a bit mean to her.3:32
  44. Oh dear.3:36
  45. So Neil, your sister has three children.3:38
  46. What are the ages of them?3:41
  47. Well, for a start, they're all boys.3:43
  48. OK.3:46
  49. Oh my gosh, that sounds very difficult.3:47
  50. And the oldest one is 17.3:50
  51. And he has just done his driving test.3:55
  52. It's difficult to believe because he's the oldest.3:59
  53. He's always been the oldest, but now he's almost an adult.4:02
  54. And is he the oldest, including your children?4:07
  55. So out of all the kids, he's the oldest?4:10
  56. He is, yeah.4:12
  57. Yeah.4:12
  58. So in my family, my cousin has two children and they are five and two.4:13
  59. Little ones.4:21
  60. Yeah, they are the youngest in the family.4:23
  61. But I was the youngest in my family until they came along and I am 32.4:24
  62. So I was used to being the youngest, but I'm not the youngest anymore.4:31
  63. Now we've got little ones.4:36
  64. Oh, well.4:38
  65. Are you sad?4:38
  66. No, I'm OK.4:40
  67. OK, let's quickly recap the vocabulary we learned in this conversation.4:48
  68. We learnt compare, which means to look at two things to see if they are the same or different.4:53
  69. Bigger and smaller, which are ways to compare the size of something.4:59
  70. Youngest and oldest, which are ways to talk about the age of someone or something.5:04
  71. And we looked at get on well with someone, which means to have a good relationship with them.5:09
  72. Thanks for listening to Real Easy English.5:19
  73. Visit our website for more activities and courses to help you with your English – bbclearningenglish .com.5:22
  74. Next time, we'll talk about food and some of our favourite meals to eat.5:29
  75. Delicious!5:36
  76. See you then.5:37
  77. Bye.5:38
  78. Goodbye.5:38

English shadowing for beginners: an A2 conversation about family

Real Easy English pairs two BBC hosts, Beth and Neil, in a straightforward two person chat, the kind of daily English conversation practice that suits A2 learners. The pace sits at 157 words per minute, faster than 23% of the catalogue, so slow the video down and repeat if it runs away from you across the ninety lines. Neil opens with "How are you?" and Beth answers "I'm very well, thank you." before they settle into comparing their families, hers tiny, his stretching to "three kids" on top of his own two.

The show frames its own purpose before the hosts even start: "In this programme, we have real conversations in Easy English to help you practise listening and learn new words and" phrases. That framing makes this good english speaking practice for anyone building a daily habit, because the topic word, family, stays fixed while the vocabulary around it keeps shifting.

British English pronunciation practice in Beth and Neil's dialogue

This section helps you practise English speaking using real lines from the recording rather than a script written to sound tidy.

  • Beth's line "Well, when we compare two things, we look at them and see if they are the same or different." carries the episode's key word, compare, stressed and unhurried, which is why it is worth repeating on its own before the sentence around it.
  • Neil's back to back "It's not tiny." and "It's not huge." put a falling pitch on each opposite word, a clean drill for the contrastive intonation British speakers use when they are ruling things out one at a time.
  • Beth's "I am an only child" sits right before she trails into the next line and loses her thread, a natural spot to pause the audio and let your own voice catch up before she continues.

How to shadow this line by line for daily English conversation practice

Work the episode in three short passes rather than one long run through, since at this pace a beginner loses the thread fast.

  • Start at the shortest exchange, "How are you?" answered by "I'm very well, thank you.", and repeat both sides until the greeting feels automatic. This is english speaking practice for daily use at its plainest, so it is the right place to warm up.
  • Move to Neil's family description around "It's probably average, really." and shadow this line for the falling pitch on average, then hold "It's not tiny." against "It's not huge." back to back to feel the contrast land.
  • Finish on Beth's longer turn, "I think my family is definitely smaller than yours because I don't have any brothers or sisters." followed later by "I am an only child". Repeat each clause on its own, since matching her mid sentence pauses is part of speaking fluently in real conversation, not just getting the words right.
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