Pratique du Shadowing: How to Best Group Words & Pause for Clear English | Thought Groups - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo
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Have you ever noticed that some English speakers sound like this?
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I went to the store to buy some groceries.
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And then others sound like this.
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I went to the store to buy some groceries.
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And finally, you have, I went to the store to buy some groceries.
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Which of those sounds the most clear and the most natural to you?
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If you're thinking number three,
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I totally agree with you.
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But what exactly is the difference between those three examples?
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The answer is definitely not vocabulary or grammar.
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It's knowing how to group words together naturally so that you know where to pause and breathe while you're speaking in English.
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This simple skill of knowing how to group words together will transform robotic English into smooth,
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flowing speech that others easily understand.
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I want you to think about a recent conversation where you felt stuck between two extremes,
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either speaking so carefully that each word stood alone,
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or the other extreme of running all your words together so fast that others had to ask you to repeat yourself.
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Maybe it was explaining an idea of English,
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or sharing a story with friends, or describing something important.
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Today in this lesson, you're going to learn exactly how English speakers group their words together naturally.
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By the end of this lesson,
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you're going to know what are thought groups,
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how to identify them, and where to pause naturally in your speech.
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As a result, you'll know exactly which words to group together while you're speaking for clear meaning and smooth speech.
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So let's start with what you need to know first.
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What exactly is a thought group?
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A thought group is a small collection of words that share one clear message or idea.
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I want you to think of it as a small package of meaning that helps listeners understand your message.
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Let me show you what I mean.
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I want you to take this example sentence.
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The old woman who lives next door is an actress from Italy.
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Here's how English speakers will naturally break this sentence up into thought groups or small packages of meaning.
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The old woman who lives next door is an actress from Italy.
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Each group gives us one clear piece of information in that sentence.
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Who are we talking about?
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The old woman.
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Then we have extra information about her.
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Who lives next door?
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What do we know about her?
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She's an actress.
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Where's she from?
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She's from Italy.
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Understanding this concept of thought groups
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and being able to break your sentences into clear thought groups
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and then slightly pausing so that you can breathe
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while you're speaking is going to make your speech flow smoothly in English and sound perfectly natural.
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So in order to understand all of this,
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we have to know how do you find the thought groups in a sentence?
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There are six clear patterns that we use to help us know which words belong together.
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So let's take a look at each one.
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Pattern number one, don't pause after articles or possessive pronouns.
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In general, English speakers do not pause
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in between an article and the noun that it comes with or a possessive pronoun and the noun that it comes with.
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Now, a quick reminder, articles are a, an, and the.
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Possessive pronouns could be my,
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his, her, your, et cetera.
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So if I think about words that go together,
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my daughter, his book, their house.
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We do not create a break or a pause between those words.
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The reason is these words are closely connected to the words they describe
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and they act as links to meaningful parts of a sentence.
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In other words, they create a thought group.
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So adding a pause in between these words would break the natural flow of your speech
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and create this kind of unnatural natural rhythm.
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For example, here's an incorrect way to say this sentence.
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The book is on the shelf.
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There are too many breaks there and we've broken up the shelf and the book.
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A natural way of saying this is the book is on the shelf.
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We've kept those thought groups together.
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Here are a couple more examples my daughter we've got our thought group possessive pronoun
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and the noun my daughter is learning piano the students finished their projects early and now pattern number two
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keep your infinitives together now a quick reminder an infinitive is the verb with the preposition to
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and to sound more natural we keep these infinitives together because again they're part of the same thought group.
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These infinitives communicate a single action,
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so when we split them with a pause when we're speaking,
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we disrupt the core meaning of that verb phrase.
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For example, here's an unclear way to say this sentence.
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I want to go to the beach tomorrow.
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We've split up that infinitive, to go.
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So here's how to fix it.
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I want to go to the beach tomorrow.
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I want to go to the beach tomorrow.
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Here's a couple more examples.
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She needs to finish the report by Friday.
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They decided to start the meeting at noon.
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Now I'm definitely using slightly longer pause breaks or breathing moments in these example sentences,
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because I really want you to hear where I'm creating those tiny little moments of pause.
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If I were to say that a little bit more naturally,
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it would sound like this.
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They decided to start the meeting at noon.
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I've still included those pause breaks.
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They're tiny.
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It's just a heartbeat of a moment,
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but it's enough to create natural flow,
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allowing me to breathe and make sure that I'm not running all my words together.
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If we go back to the beginning of this lesson where I shared
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that sentence of she went to the store by groceries,
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we have no breaks at all and it makes the entire sentence confusing and lost.
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Nobody can understand it.
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So these breaks allow for meaning to be clear and our speech to flow.
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Let's move on to pattern Number three,
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use conjunctions to start thought groups.
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A quick reminder, conjunctions are words like but, and, because, although.
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These should start a thought group and remain with the information they are linked to.
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These words act as bridges between our ideas.
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So if we pause immediately after a conjunction,
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it creates this abrupt, strange stop,
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and it breaks the natural flow of your speech.
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For example, we do not want to say,
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my sister loves cats, but I love dogs.
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We've broken the natural flow.
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So here's the right way to say that.
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My sister loves cats, but I love dogs.
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I've kept that conjunction with the part of the sentence it belongs to.
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Here's another example.
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Although it was raining, we went for a walk.
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Or, I love summer, but I don't like extreme heat.
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Moving on to pattern number four.
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Separate time and location information.
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Time expressions and location phrases usually form their own thought groups.
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This helps listeners clearly understand when and where things happen.
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Time expressions can appear at the beginning,
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the middle, or the end of a sentence.
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For example, yesterday morning, I went to the park.
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I arrived at the airport at noon.
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They'll complete the renovations next month.
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In each case, I have information about the when,
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and I'm keeping that information together.
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The same thing is true with location phrases that help us organize where something took place.
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For example, I studied at the library for three hours.
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Or she works in New York at a big company.
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And now pattern number five,
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set apart your transitional words.
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Transitional and sequential words help us to organize or create structure with our ideas.
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English speakers will form separate thought groups with these words by pausing after them.
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And this helps our listeners follow what we're saying more easily.
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For example, first of all,
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we need to make a plan.
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After that, you can take a break.
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Finally, our suitcases arrived back at the hotel.
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In each case, I've got a transitional or sequential word helping me understand the order of events or the structure.
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And I'm making sure that it's its own separate thought group.
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And for our last pattern,
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it's important to create separate groups for extra information.
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When you're adding descriptive details or extra information using who,
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which, that, where, and when,
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I want you to create a separate thought group.
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This is a clear place to break in your sentence.
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Again, this helps listeners to distinguish the main information from the bonus or additional details.
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For example, here's a sentence to avoid.
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The man who lives next door is a doctor.
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We don't want to separate who from the details that they're connected with.
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So here's the right way to say that.
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The man who lives next door is a doctor.
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Here's another example.
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My aunt who lives in Paris is visiting soon.
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or the restaurant, which opened last month, is very popular.
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Okay, there's no question that learning to group these words naturally takes practice
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but you don't have to figure it out
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or do it all alone inside my fluency school program my
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step-by-step speaking program you can master these exact patterns with guided practice
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and feedback through focused speaking sessions
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and real conversations you get to learn how to develop this natural rhythm that makes you easily understood with clear,
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smooth flowing speech.
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Now, Fluency School is a program I only open twice a year.
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So if you want to get ready to join me for the next session,
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you can learn more at speakconfidentenglish.com fluency school.
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Now that you have these six patterns in place,
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let's do a little bit of practice in some real situations.
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For example, if you're in a meeting,
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here's a sentence you might use and all the appropriate places to add a slight pause,
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allowing yourself time to breathe,
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and still creating a very smooth sentence.
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Here it is.
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Thank you for your feedback.
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I understand your concerns, and I'll address them all.
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Practice that with me.
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Let's go back and try it again,
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and I want you to shadow or mirror what you hear me saying.
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Thank you for your feedback.
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I understand your concerns and I'll address them all.
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Next, let's talk about sharing weekend plans.
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For example, I'm planning to visit the museum with my family on Saturday morning.
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Let's do it again.
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I'm planning to visit the museum with my family on Saturday morning.
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And then let's imagine that you have to explain a delay.
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Maybe you're late for a meeting.
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Here's how you would do that.
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Because of the heavy traffic,
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I might be late to our appointment.
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Because of the heavy traffic,
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I might be late to our appointment.
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Okay, now it's your turn to practice.
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I'm going to share some sentences with you here on the screen,
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and I want you to choose one of these sentences to practice grouping into words naturally.
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So you should see these sentences here on the screen next to me.
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I'm not going to say them out loud because I'm afraid
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that I might use those natural breaks and you'll hear where I put those pauses.
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I want you to review these sentences
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and think carefully about what you've learned in this lesson and try to create those natural breaks.
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If you need to, you can absolutely pause this video for a moment and try saying some of these out loud.
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You can also share your answers with me in the comment section down below this video.
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I'll also share the answers with those natural breaks in the comments below.
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I want you to remember that developing these natural speech patterns takes consistent practice.
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So start with one pattern at a time and start one sentence at a time,
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gradually expanding, combining them more and more as you get comfortable.
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Now, if you found this lesson helpful to you,
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I would love to know,
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and you can tell me in one very simple way.
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Give this lesson a thumbs up here on YouTube and subscribe for more English confidence tips every single week.
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Also, if you find yourself taking too long to respond in conversations
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because you're spending a lot of time thinking and translating in your head,
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I want you to watch my lesson on how to think faster in English.
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It will show you exactly how to skip the translation step and respond naturally in your conversations.
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Thank you so much for joining me.
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I look forward to seeing you next time.
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Vocabulaire et conseils d’expression pour cette leçon
Cette leçon d’expression orale de niveau C1 s’appuie sur la vidéo « How to Best Group Words & Pause for Clear English ». Les mots qui reviennent le plus souvent : word, sentence, example, break, pause. Cette vidéo contient 215 phrases et 2112 mots à répéter en shadowing. La partie parlée dure 14:43. Le locuteur parle à un rythme régulier d’environ 144 mots par minute, confortable pour le shadowing. 86 % des mots font partie des 3 000 mots les plus courants en anglais ; le reste mérite d’être vu avant de commencer.
Vocabulaire clé de cette vidéo
Les 15 mots les plus avancés de la vidéo, avec leur prononciation et leur sens :
| Mot | Prononciation | Sens |
|---|---|---|
| pause nom | /pɔːz/ | pause |
| infinitive nom | /ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv/ | infinitif |
| possessive adjectif | /pəˈzɛs.ɪv/ | possessif |
| pronoun nom | /ˈpɹoʊ.naʊn/ | pronom |
| listener nom | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | auditeur, auditrice |
| groceries nom | /ˈɡɹoʊ.s(ə.)ɹiz/ | courses, provisions |
| conjunction nom | /kənˈd͡ʒʌŋk.ʃn̩/ | conjonction |
| noun nom | /naʊn/ | nom, nom substantif |
| transitional adjectif | /tɹænˈzɪʃənəl/ | transitoire |
| shelf nom | /ʃɛlf/ | rayon, étagère |
| verb nom | /vɝb/ | verbe |
| organize verbe | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | organiser |
| rhythm nom | /ˈɹɪð.əm/ | rythme |
| abrupt adjectif | /əˈbɹʌpt/ | brusque, precipité |
| preposition nom | /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/ | préposition |
Les verbes à particule que vous entendrez
| Mot | Sens |
|---|---|
| break up verbe | rompre, couper |
| go back verbe | rentrer, retourner |
| look forward to verbe | avoir hâte de, attendre avec impatience |
Des phrases à répéter
Des phrases courtes et complètes de la vidéo, à réutiliser dans la conversation de tous les jours :
- Who are we talking about?
- What do we know about her?
- We've kept those thought groups together.
- We've split up that infinitive, to go.
- I've still included those pause breaks.
La grammaire de cette vidéo
Les structures que le locuteur utilise le plus, avec les mots exacts de la vidéo :
| Structure | Dans la vidéo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + participe passé — une action passée qui compte encore maintenant | Have you ever noticed · we've broken · We've kept |
| Propositions relatives who / which + proposition — une précision sur une personne ou une chose | woman who lives · man who lives |
| Voix passive be + participe passé — l’accent est mis sur ce qui arrive, pas sur qui le fait | are thought · are closely connected · are linked |
Prononciation à surveiller
Le locuteur utilise 44 contractions et formes réduites, comme I'm, you're, we've. Prononcez-les sous leur forme courte, telles que vous les entendez.
- Les sons « th »: rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, smoothly /ˈsmuːðli/, thumb /ˈθʌm/
- Les sons « sh » et « zh »: conjunction /kənˈd͡ʒʌŋk.ʃn̩/, transitional /tɹænˈzɪʃənəl/, shelf /ʃɛlf/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, renovation /ɹɛnəˈveɪʃən/
- Mots longs — placez bien l’accent: infinitive /ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv/, transitional /tɹænˈzɪʃənəl/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, renovation /ɹɛnəˈveɪʃən/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/
Les sons difficiles pour les francophones :
- /tʃ/ et /dʒ/ — à ne pas adoucir en « ch » et « j »: conjunction /kənˈd͡ʒʌŋk.ʃn̩/, sequential /səˈkwɛntʃəl/
- /r/ anglais — langue recourbée, sans frotter la gorge: pronoun /ˈpɹoʊ.naʊn/, groceries /ˈɡɹoʊ.s(ə.)ɹiz/, transitional /tɹænˈzɪʃənəl/, organize /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/
Comment s’entraîner avec cette vidéo
- Écoutez la vidéo en entier une fois sans parler et notez les mots que vous ne connaissez pas.
- Répétez phrase par phrase à vitesse normale, en reprenant chacune jusqu’à ce que votre rythme corresponde à celui du locuteur.
- Enregistrez-vous et comparez avec l’original, en faisant attention à des mots comme pause, infinitive, possessive.
Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?
Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.