Shadowing Practice: an honest conversation about sounding like a native - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creando lección...
1
Hey, what's up?
2
Stephanie, the English coach here from EnglishFullTime .com.
3
In this video, I want to have an honest conversation with you about wanting to sound like a native.
4
I want to share my perspective, my opinions, what I've observed, what I've experienced over the years.
5
And in general, I just want to share some insights that I think might help you along on your journey.
6
Now to begin, I don't think that you have to sound like a native, but I do think
7
that trying to sound like a native can be the very best thing you ever do for your English
8
and I'm gonna explain why in this video the first thing I want to say is
9
that I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to sound
10
like a native in fact that's exactly what I wanted back
11
when I was learning Spanish and it helped me
12
so much where I went wrong though is I wanted to pass as a native
13
and that played around with my confidence way too much
14
and I made an entire video about
15
that called the dark side of wanting to sound like a native speaker i highly recommend
16
that you watch it as soon as you finish this video anyways back
17
when i was learning spanish i 100 wanted to sound like
18
a native i wanted to master the sounds the rhythm the
19
intonation the linking i even wanted to use the vocabulary
20
that native speakers use i wanted to use the sentence structures
21
and patterns that native speakers use and i knew that native spanish speakers all over the world spoke spanish differently.
22
I knew they had different accents.
23
I couldn't quite hear the differences back then, although I was learning to hear the differences.
24
I got a lot better at that later on.
25
But anyhow, I remember this one time in college because I was studying Spanish at the university.
26
That was my major.
27
And I just remember this one time where our teacher who
28
was from Spain was telling us about all the different ways we could say apricot in Spanish.
29
And she was kind of sharing it like it was this fun, silly, cool little thing.
30
And she's like, yeah, in Spain, we say al baricoque.
31
In Argentina, they say damasco.
32
In Mexico, they say chavacano.
33
And she just presented the information to us like, oh, look how cool this is.
34
And as the learner, I was so frustrated and so annoyed because I was like, that's fantastic.
35
What am I supposed to say when I speak Spanish?
36
I have three options.
37
I don't know what to choose.
38
And that is I think when I started realizing, hey, I have to choose an accent i have to choose a way of speaking
39
that i can follow so i have something to model my spanish off of i need patterns
40
that i can follow because if not there are no patterns
41
and it's going to be very difficult for me to find
42
my way of speaking anyhow choosing the accent was really easy for me
43
because my mom was from argentina i didn't learn spanish growing up
44
so i was on a mission to master the language
45
that i felt i was missing out on
46
so needless to say i chose argentinian spanish and then
47
when i went to argentina because i studied abroad there
48
and i ended up meeting my husband
49
and his family i basically chose their accent as my way of speaking
50
and they became my role models
51
and being surrounded by one type of spanish day in
52
and day out allowed me to finally absorb the patterns to notice the nuances to notice the sounds
53
and to imitate and copy what I heard exactly as I heard it.
54
Now, before you start thinking, Oh my goodness, Stephanie, I don't live in an English speaking country.
55
There's no way I can do this.
56
Hold your horses.
57
We have the internet.
58
You can absolutely choose an accent and surround yourself with
59
that accent using online content so that you can allow your brain to absorb the patterns of that accent.
60
And it will make it easier for you to start speaking English
61
because you will have the framework you need to build your own language skills upon now some people say wait
62
but your accent is your identity you can't hide it you
63
shouldn't try to hide it you shouldn't want to hide it
64
your accent is your identity that's who you are that's where you're from those are your roots etc etc etc
65
and I say if that's how you feel you are absolutely entitled to feel
66
that way but that is not how I feel
67
or how I felt
68
when I was learning Spanish I was not like yeah I'm
69
american i want everyone to hear my american accent i want
70
to speak spanish with this really thick american accent i'm
71
so proud of being american i'm so proud of my accent
72
and yet no way no not at all i was like oh i don't like the way spanish sounds
73
when we're speaking it with a really thick strong american accent
74
no like i want to learn the sounds of the actual language
75
and i want to modify my sounds and my rhythm
76
and my intonation so that I can imitate it
77
so well I kind of see it as like honoring the language
78
that you're learning it's like you're trying to do the best job
79
that you can do now that's my opinion that's how I feel about it and
80
so guess what I actually learned how to speak Spanish with
81
a really good accent I'll demonstrate in just a second but basically I believed it was possible, and so I tried, and so I achieved.
82
And what I want to say here is what you believe is possible for your English will determine
83
so much of what you actually accomplish
84
because you're definitely not going to try to do something if you don't even think it's possible.
85
If you do think it's possible, you're going to try, and you might not pass as a native, but I don't even think that should be the goal, right?
86
You might get really good at English.
87
You might love the way that you sound you might love your pronunciation you might get
88
so clear people never misunderstand you there are
89
so many good things on the other side of wanting to
90
sound like a native choosing an accent choosing a role model
91
and trying so for example in Spanish I know not everyone here speaks Spanish
92
but you'll be able to hear what I'm talking about in these examples
93
if I wanted to say it's for me okay it's for me in Spanish
94
if I said it with a very strong American accent I would say, es para mí, es para mí, okay?
95
And I think that sounds awful.
96
I would never want to speak Spanish like that.
97
And sure, some people do speak Spanish like that, but they probably don't speak very well.
98
They probably aren't very fluent.
99
They probably don't have very big vocabulary.
100
They're not very articulate.
101
I didn't want that level for myself.
102
So I went for something better, what I think is better.
103
And I don't say es para mí, I say es para mí, es para mí.
104
Okay, so much smoother, much more natural and easier.
105
It just rolls off the tongue so much better.
106
So actually, if you learn the sounds of the language, the way native speakers say the sounds,
107
your language skills will actually be more fluent because native speakers are speaking quickly.
108
They're speaking naturally and fluently
109
because their mouths have already figured out it's already inside the
110
language right how to get from one word to the next
111
word the quickest way possible in English for example we use
112
the flap a lot we are just flapping from one word into the next it's
113
when the t at the end of a word stops being the t sound
114
and it just becomes a flap like what if what
115
if I'm not saying what if okay I'm saying what
116
if what if what if right we just flap from one word into the next.
117
It makes your speech so much more fluent.
118
You have to learn the flap if you want your English to be smoother, more natural, more fluent, etc. And this isn't just about sounds because if you're trying to sound like a native speaker,
119
you're going to care about the way native speakers construct their sentences and their phrases.
120
You're going to care about their fixed phrases, their vocabulary, and saying things in a way that native speakers talk.
121
And you'll stop translating directly from your language
122
and you're gonna look for the most natural way to say something
123
so for example in Spanish to say I had a good
124
time I had a good time a lot of native English
125
speakers would say tuve un buen tiempo right tuve un buen tiempo
126
and that's not what native Spanish speakers say they say la pasé bien la pasé bien la pasé bien
127
so you have to take the time to get
128
that familiar with the language with the culture with the way
129
that it's used around the world let's do another example I can't wait to see you right
130
if I was just using an American accent to speak Spanish
131
I would say no puedo esperar a verte okay that's a terrible accent
132
and that's not even how native Spanish speakers would communicate
133
that idea they would say que ganas de verte tengo muchas ganas de verte
134
and maybe they would say no veo la hora de verte
135
but definitely not no puedo esperar a verte
136
or no I can even say it with a nice accent
137
no puedo esperar a verte no puedo esperar a verte right it's like okay the accent is fine
138
but I'm basically speaking English in Spanish now
139
if that's what you have to do to get your point across absolutely go for it
140
that is a tool in your toolbox
141
and even I use it sometimes to this day
142
but what I think is even better than
143
that is just learning how the language is used around the world learning the phrases
144
and the sentence constructions that people are already using every single day
145
because once you get those patterns locked in your mind it's
146
like boom boom boom you just move from one pattern to the next
147
when you're expressing your ideas and it's actually so much easier to talk
148
because you're just grabbing phrases one phrase at a time
149
and then linking them together to communicate your ideas
150
and then once in a while sure you're gonna say something that's expressive
151
and all your own like something you've never heard anyone else say before, but language is just a bunch of patterns at the end of the day.
152
At least that is what I have noticed.
153
Now, the other thing about wanting to sound like a native speaker is you end up training your voice
154
so much that you have so much control and you can choose how you sound.
155
And I don't know about you, but I want to be able to choose how I sound in a language.
156
I don't just want to be stuck with bad habits that I have by default.
157
So, in learning how to master one accent, I actually learned a little bit about various different types of accents
158
and sometimes I play around with accents when I speak Spanish.
159
I also do this when I speak English for comedic effect.
160
Sometimes I'll throw in a word in Australian English or an accent that sounds a little bit more British.
161
It's really fun and it actually makes you sound more expressive.
162
So for example, a phrase in Spanish that I could say is, Ya que estamos en el baile, bailemos, right?
163
but I could also change the way that that sounds and I could say ya que estamos en el baile, bailemos, right?
164
It's very subtle but I hear the difference
165
and Spanish speakers will hear the difference and
166
if I'm around someone who speaks with a certain type of accent I can grab onto that accent, I can use it, I can play around with it, I can imitate it, it's so much fun and I think
167
that is part of the beauty of learning a language and just playing around with your voice and having fun.
168
And it's not mocking another person to play around with accents from different places.
169
It's just fun.
170
You have permission.
171
It's fine.
172
Okay, believe it or not, we're just getting started.
173
I have so much more that I want to say about this.
174
I hope you're hanging in here with me.
175
Basically, I think everyone is entitled to sound how they want to sound.
176
And it's your choice.
177
If you want to sound like a native, if you want to practice native like English speaking patterns, absolutely go for it.
178
If you believe that your accent is your identity, and you really want to hold on to it
179
and you don't want to sound like a native speaker
180
and there are certain sounds in your accent
181
that you want to hold on to like that French R for example
182
or a Spanish R you're more than welcome to do it
183
all you have to evaluate is do people understand you is it interfering with your clarity
184
because if it is you might want to change it
185
if you don't care about that or if you don't need to care about
186
that then that's up to you at the end of the
187
day each person should be able to do what they want
188
and I also think that wanting to change your accent does not mean you're rejecting your identity.
189
It's like I went after a very specific type of accent in Spanish.
190
I achieved that.
191
I didn't reject my identity in any way.
192
I just don't make where I'm from part of my identity.
193
My identity is built on other things.
194
It's built on my character.
195
It's built on my work.
196
It's built on my values.
197
It's not about, oh, I'm American
198
and my entire identity is based on where i'm from like
199
i don't really care where i'm from it's just like
200
that was chance i happened to be born in california i had nothing to do with it
201
so i put my identity in other things but at the same time
202
if you're super proud of your roots
203
and where you're from i don't want to take
204
that away from you
205
and i don't think anybody should i think there's room for
206
all of it do you see what i mean do you
207
see what i'm getting at like there's room for all of
208
us at the same table we all have different desires we all have different backgrounds
209
and we all want different things
210
and we shouldn't be shamed for wanting what we want
211
because sometimes you want to sound like a native speaker
212
and then you get shamed for it like oh why are
213
you trying to sound like a native speaker you sound fake you're trying too hard right
214
and people pull you back or they bring you down
215
and sometimes it's your own peers
216
and that's not cool you have to figure out what is going to serve you in life
217
and what is going to make you happy and go after
218
that if you need a certain type of English to be successful in your work environment then go get
219
that type of English go make it happen go train your
220
voice actors train their voices all the time they learn different
221
accents singers learn different singing styles you can sing with a
222
jazz style you can sing opera pop all right your voice
223
is an incredible instrument it is a bunch of muscles
224
and you can train these muscles it's Like when you go to the gym and you go there for the first time, you have terrible form and your muscles are weak.
225
What do you expect?
226
But show up every single day and a few days later, you are going to have a rockin' body, all right?
227
That is just how it works.
228
Same thing with language practice.
229
You can have the accent you have by default, okay?
230
Or you can train it and you can make it into something else.
231
It's up to you.
232
Anyhow, part of the reason why I'm making this video is
233
because I received a DM recently on Instagram from a guy and this is what he said.
234
he said, I have very bad pronunciation with a strong Italian accent.
235
I also speak much worse compared to how I understand written English.
236
I have never really exercised pronunciation specifically.
237
I only tried a bit while trying to take the certification.
238
Not sure what certification he's talking about, but then he says, I have been told that accent is something you can hardly master and you can't hide.
239
So basically he felt like, why try?
240
Why even try?
241
And yet at the same time he's clearly not satisfied with how he sounds in english
242
and how he speaks and it's just crazy to me
243
that these ideas are spreading like oh you can't change how
244
you sound yes you can you can absolutely change how you sound i did it i am a living example
245
and there are
246
so many people out here in this world i mean even
247
polyglots who learn how to sound like a native speaker in
248
multiple different languages come on like yeah we can change how we sound
249
but the thing is If you don't believe it's possible, you're not even going to try.
250
If you don't try, you're not going to achieve anything.
251
Do you see how it's all connected?
252
So your beliefs around this are really important.
253
And you can choose, again, what you believe.
254
You can maintain your sense of identity in your native language and where you're from, and you can retain a bit of your accent, and you can also be clear in English and natural and fluent.
255
A good example of this is Sofia Vergara.
256
She is well known in the English -speaking world, and she has a very strong Colombian accent and she likes it and
257
if you look back into her earlier career she was actually working really hard to get rid of her accent
258
and sound more american and
259
if you listen to interviews from her from a long time ago she definitely sounds more american
260
and then she decided heck with this i don't want to do this
261
and she reverted back to her stronger more colombian accent
262
and she's happy
263
and she's successful however eliza gonzalez did something completely different she is a mexican actress who also acts in English
264
and she totally sounds American when she speaks, right?
265
She worked for that.
266
She wanted that.
267
And that is how she likes speaking.
268
Do you see what I mean?
269
Like we get to choose.
270
We get to choose and we get to do what we want.
271
And we don't have to listen to what other people say we should or should not do.
272
This is about you.
273
This is about what you want.
274
This is about your voice.
275
It's about liking your voice.
276
And it's about, you know, just being happy with how you sound in English okay
277
so to wrap up this video a couple more things instead
278
of asking will I ever pass as a native start asking yourself what would happen
279
if I actually tried how good would I get
280
if I actually tried I don't think you have to pass
281
I don't think you even have to want to pass
282
that was my big mistake but passing
283
and wanting to pass was not necessarily the problem it's how I felt
284
when I didn't achieve that that was the problem because wanting to pass as a native, if you don't have any like psychological complexes,
285
the way I did, it could actually be a great goal because it causes you to work harder to try harder, right?
286
Okay, that's it.
287
I hope I explained myself well, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
288
And if you want to learn pronunciation with me, if you want to work on your accent, if you want to really get confident in your voice as an English speaker,
289
then I want to invite you to join my English life community
290
because this is exactly what we work on every single day.
291
I put all of the best training that I've ever made into this one place.
292
So check the link in the description and come join us.
293
And also I'm going to leave the link in the description to my seven day fluent pronunciation challenge.
294
This challenge is phenomenal.
295
It is a seven day challenge.
296
It has over seven hours of pronunciation training that you're gonna get access to.
297
And I think you're gonna love it and it's completely free
298
so that's it
299
and i will see you in the next video okay sorry
300
dog is chasing a squirrel out there okay oh it's so distracting
📺 Mismo canal
B12
Practice Speaking & Reading Out Loud With This English Shadowing Exercise
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B19
Episode 1: Fluent Pronunciation Training
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
Will reading out loud improve your pronunciation & speaking skills?
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B12
Fast Speech | How To Sound Like A Native English Speaker
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B26
Practice Speaking & Reading Out Loud with This English Shadowing Exercise
American AccentDaily Conversation
B2What Fluency Feels Like
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
✨ Recomendar Video
B2216 oraciones
English Podcast | Why You Should Stop Trying to Sound Like a Native Speaker
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B224
6 oraciones
How to Improve Spoken American English - Sound like a Native Speaker
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
263 oraciones
9 English Learning Lies You Probably Believe
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
395 oraciones
Think In English With Me | Episode 1: Motivation
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B26
143 oraciones
Why Studying More Isn't Making You Fluent
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
143 oraciones
Do You Need A Native Speaker to Practice English Speaking?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B23
101 oraciones
How to Have Interesting English Conversations (Even If You’re Shy!)
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
389 oraciones
How To Go From B1 To B2 Level of English (What ACTUALLY Works)
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B22
118 oraciones
How I Trained My Brain to Think in English (and Stop Translating)
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
146 oraciones
Become a Confident English Speaker | Practical Strategies
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
217 oraciones
Why English is SO Hard to Learn!
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B23
427 oraciones
7 Ways You're Overcomplicating English Learning
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “an honest conversation about sounding like a native”. Las palabras que más se repiten: sound, accent, native, spanish, english. Este vídeo tiene 300 frases y 3589 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 17:54. El hablante habla rápido, unas 201 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. El 84 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| accent sustantivo | /ækˈsɛnt/ | acento léxico |
| pronunciation sustantivo | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | pronunciación |
| fluent adjetivo | /ˈfluənt/ | fluyente, fluente |
| flap sustantivo | /flæp/ | solapa, solape |
| paragraph sustantivo | /ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/ | párrafo, parágrafo |
| imitate verbo | /ˈɪmɪteɪt/ | imitar |
| vocabulary sustantivo | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | vocabulario |
| expressive adjetivo | /ɪkˈspɹɛsɪv/ | expresivo |
| intonation sustantivo | /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/ | entonación |
| surround verbo | /səˈɹaʊnd/ | envolver, cercar |
| absorb verbo | /æbˈsɔɹb/ | absorber |
| certification sustantivo | /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | certificación |
| bail sustantivo | /beɪl/ | fianza, caución |
| rhythm sustantivo | /ˈɹɪð.əm/ | ritmo |
| apricot sustantivo | /ˈeɪ.pɹɪ.kɑt/ | albaricoque, chabacano |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| end up verbo | terminar, ir a parar | |
| figure out verbo | averiguar, captar | |
| grow up verbo | crecer | |
| roll off verbo | /ˈɹol ˈɔf/ | rodar de/desde |
| show up verbo | comparecer, personarse | |
| wrap up verbo | envolver, arrebujar |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- I don't know what to choose.
- There's no way I can do this.
- I didn't want that level for myself.
- Do you see how it's all connected?
- Do you see what I mean?
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | being surrounded · be stuck · is entitled |
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | I've observed · have already figured · you've never heard |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 96 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, you're, I'm. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, misunderstand /mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como accent, pronunciation, fluent.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.