Meaning → video example → shadowing

Hear the word you searched for in a real video.

Check the meaning, hear the sentence, then say it yourself.

Try the first 30 sentences of each lesson free, without signing up

English word

pencil

UK /ˈpensl/US /ˈpensl/

noun

a narrow piece of wood, or a metal or plastic case, containing a black or coloured substance, used for drawing or writing

1. Hear it in context

Play the full sentence where this word appears.

2. Say the same sentence

Shadow it and continue learning in the lesson.

Real video examples

The exact sentence containing your word

Listen free · 6 / 30

The Danger of a Single Story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TED video example

Shadow this sentence →Continue the lesson →

First 30 sentences free · no account or card required

I was also an early writer, and when I began to write, at about the age of seven, stories in pencil with crayon illustrations that my poor mother was obligated to read,

The Danger of a Single Story

From one sentence to the full lesson

Bilingual subtitles · repeat a sentence · shadowing · word bank

Tap a word in the lesson, then save it to your word bank.

Open the lesson →

Print the lesson as a PDF

Preview and print the first 10 sentences free. The full handout requires Pro.

Preview printable lesson →

Remember pencil through real videos

LingoTube turns TED / YouTube videos into sentence-by-sentence bilingual lessons: synced subtitles, tap any word for meaning and pronunciation, save to your word bank with spaced repetition.

Learn "pencil" in a video →

Learn with famous talks

Steve Jobs' Stanford Address

Apple · Watch now

Sir Ken Robinson TED

TED · Watch now

Tim Urban TED