Shadowing Practice: Rival developers could be called in to finish thousands of Bathla homes in NSW | 7NEWS - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Premier Chris Means could ask rival developers to step in
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and finish thousands of homes following the collapse of one of Sydney's biggest property players.
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Administrators describe Bathurst's financials as extremely complex as many buyers now fear they'll lose their deposits.
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Locked out from their own great Australian dream.
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I just thought no this can't be happening.
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It was just a big shock.
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Sue Mancuso paid a $32,000 deposit for a Bathler apartment near Wollongong in December.
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She's now living with her daughter indefinitely.
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Works had stalled and we were a little bit suspicious as to what was going on.
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One of thousands of Bathler buyers left in the lurch after the developer plunged into administration.
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Today, not sure she will ever move in.
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I'm very, very, very worried about it.
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For us, it's a big deposit and if we lose it, it's hard to try and get that sort of money that's ever saved up.
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Bathler has 2,000 dwellings on the go, a mix of homes and apartments with deep tentacles through northwest Sydney as well as the Hunter and Illawarra.
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Illawarra, the company owing $3.6 billion to creditors,
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though financial documents reveal $18.6 million in deposits, is currently being held in trust accounts, protected by law.
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A small sight of hope for off-the-plan buyers stuck in limbo.
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Look at the contract and work out if they're entitled to receive their deposit back, if they want to terminate, if they're able to terminate the contract.
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Developers had been quietly warning that rising material costs,
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high government taxes and slowing growth were making the construction of new homes unviable,
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fearing the collapse of Bathla could be the start of a growing trend.
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We have to think creatively about who's going to step in, complete the project.
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It's not going to be easy.
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Taylor Aiken, 7 News.

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "Rival developers could be called in to finish thousands of Bathla homes in NSW | 7NEWS" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.