シャドーイング練習: After Class English #15: What is Summer Break? | EXCLUSIVE RELEASE - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ
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Hi everyone and welcome back to the After Class English Podcast.
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The podcast where we talk in slow, clear English for adult English learners to understand American English in real life context.
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Today we are going to focus on the American school system and specifically something American students can all relate to, and that is summer vacation.
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But we are also going to dive a little bit deeper.
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We are going to talk about the history of the American school system as well.
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We will answer questions like, why do American students get such a long summer break?
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And is the school system the same everywhere in the United States?
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Let's break it down step by step.
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Don't forget to follow along to this episode with the practice packet down below.
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You can always download it before you listen or after.
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Okay, let's start here.
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The American school system is divided into different levels.
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Let's start here with elementary school.
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Notice my pronunciation.
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It looks like elementary, but it's not pronounced that way.
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Well, you can say it that way,
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but most Americans will pronounce it like elementary, tree school, elementary school.
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I know it's weird.
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Elementary school is from kindergarten to fifth grade, and in some states it's kindergarten to sixth grade.
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Elementary school takes place when the students are five to eleven years old.
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And note, many American students go to preschool or pre -K,
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pre -kindergarten, where you are around three to four years old.
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The students are around three to four years old, and it is there in preschool that the students start beginning to gain independence from their parents.
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They're usually half days, like from 9am to 1pm or something like that, and they're usually only a couple times a week.
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But it's for a student to practice going to school, taking care of their basic needs,
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and learning to socialize with others before they go to elementary school, or in other words, start kindergarten.
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So preschool, elementary school.
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Inside elementary school, you have kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade,
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fourth grade, and fifth grade.
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And in some states, sixth grade.
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It depends.
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We'll get there later.
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After elementary school, students go to middle school or junior high.
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Again, Depending on the state, it's either called middle school or junior high.
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Just depends.
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Students in middle school are starting at around 11 and ending middle school around 14 years old.
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And finally, we have high school from 9th grade to 12th grade,
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where students start at 14 and end at 18 years old when they become a legal adult in the United States.
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Most school days in the United States run Monday through Friday.
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A normal school day is around 7 to 7 .30 start time with a 2 .30 finish time
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or 8 a .m to 8 .30 start time with a 3 .30 to 4 end time.
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American students study a lot of the same subjects as many people all over the world like history,
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English, science, physical education like gym class and even art classes and foreign language classes too.
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But school systems and what they offer really depends on the state and the school district.
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A school district is like a territory of land, so to say, that is ruled by one governing party,
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the district executives, or the people in charge of making the rules for all the schools in that territory or location.
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Some districts are better off economically than others, and some schools just have different demands for different things.
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For example, my town in the Midwest, I was lucky to have three foreign language options by the time I was in high school.
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They offered Spanish, French, and German.
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But other places in the United States start foreign language in middle school, and when I was in middle school,
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they didn't offer foreign language until eighth grade, and they only offered Spanish, because where I lived, that made the most sense.
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Our town really just had a population of mostly English and Spanish speakers, so there wasn't really a demand for a French teacher in middle school,
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at least not in my district.
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Another thing to point out is that some schools begin in September and some schools begin in August.
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Again, this also depends on the climate of where you live.
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For example, when I lived in Wisconsin, we would start school in middle to late September,
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and then we would begin our summer vacation around the beginning or middle of June.
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This is because where I lived, it was very cold up until like May.
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So it didn't start getting warm outside until June anyways, and it could really only be like 60 degrees in June still.
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But later in my life, I moved schools to a different state, and I realized we started school in August, but we ended school in May.
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And the month made all the difference from where I moved from.
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So my point is, is even though the United States is one country, education is not completely identical everywhere.
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Now let's talk about summer break.
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This is something you've probably seen on movies or tv shows right
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when you're a kid you go through the whole school year just thinking about summer again
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because summer feels like forever when you're a child i mean it's roughly three months
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and that feels like a lifetime
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when you're like eight in most u .s schools summer break is 10 to 12 weeks
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but why does it exist we'll have to go back in history a little bit to answer that question.
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So there is a common myth that it all has to do with farming.
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All throughout the 1800s, many
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Americans worked on farms and in rural areas.
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Children were expected to help their families plant during harvest season.
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So yes, the summer was a very useful time for farming.
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But one important detail of this time is that there was no one system.
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Not all schools had the same schedule back then.
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Some rural schools were open in the winter and not the summer.
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But you might think, after the Industrial Revolution, what about the cities?
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Well, those schools had a problem with heat.
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As you can imagine, before air conditioning, the classes became extremely hot in the summer, so it made learning very difficult and uncomfortable.
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So to spare the students the agony, they just closed the schools for the summer.
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But of course, over time and into the 1900s, the U .S education system became a little bit more organized.
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Schools began adopting a standardized calendar.
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Summer break kind of just became the default schedule, so both the rural farming schools and the city schools benefited from taking the summer off.
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But let's talk about today's more modern debate, because not everybody takes long summer breaks anymore.
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The modern debate surrounding summer break, though, is a little bit different.
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Some educators argue that summer break needs to be a thing of the past.
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They argue that students forget too much over the summer, which is unfortunately very, very true.
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Also, some parents struggle to find child care over the summer because they're working and they need their kids in school.
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But also, students of course have different households and different families with different priorities.
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Therefore, some students might study the whole summer as encouraged by their parents, and other students might not.
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Maybe they don't have the same parental supervision or lifestyle as those students.
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I even knew students that would go to summer school or got tutoring over the summer, and those students absolutely excelled.
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But some educators argue it increases learning gaps between students.
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On the other hand, some educators are for summer break.
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They believe students need to rest.
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The families benefit from the extended travel time.
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Like a lot of people go on vacation during summer with their kids
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because they don't have to worry about school
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and they can get the time off work coordinated and they have more free time with their children.
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And I would argue that teenagers also benefit from the long break.
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Teenagers can take the summer to work.
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I think in the United States you can start working at 14 with parents' permission.
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I'll have to check that here.
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So as you can see, summer break has its pros and its cons.
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But what do you think?
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Do you think students should keep a long summer break?
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Let me know in the comments below if you're at this point in the podcast.
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As someone that grew up in the American school system, I feel like I can speak on summer breaks a little bit.
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So what is summer break actually like for the standard American kid?
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For many students, summer means sleeping in, traveling, part -time jobs, full -time jobs, or even taking some summer classes.
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Some students lose academic progress from the year prior, and this is called summer learning loss.
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And this summer learning loss is why some school districts in
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the United States are trying to change to year -round schooling or more breaks that are shorter instead of one long break.
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But honestly, most schools still follow the traditional system.
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It almost feels like a part of the American culture at this point.
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Like my grandma had a summer break and my mom had a summer break as a kid.
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And so did I and so will my children.
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It's like, you know, that feeling as a kid is so nostalgic, right?
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We've talked about that word in previous podcasts, but it feels sentimental.
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And you know, your child is looking forward to it every single year, just like you used to.
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And I know when I have kids
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that I'm going to watch their eyes light up on the last day of school
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when they know they have a whole summer break to look forward to.
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Because it honestly does feel kind of fun when you're a kid.
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But before we end today's podcast, let's practice some speaking together.
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Repeat after me.
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In the USA, school is divided into three levels.
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Elementary, middle, and high school.
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Summer break lasts 10 to 12 weeks.
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There are historical and practical reasons for this schedule.
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Not all schools follow the same system.
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Now answer this question in the comments below.
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Do you think your country should have a short summer break or a long summer break?
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Think about your lifestyle, your school system, your family needs, maybe even your learning habits.
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What do you think is better?
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Long summer break or short summer break?
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Maybe many breaks.
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Let me know in the comments below.
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And don't forget to download the practice packet for even more studying.
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If you want to share some of your answers with me, don't forget you can message me on this platform too.
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Remember, if the podcasts slow down a little bit,
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that's because we are now going live twice a week and having the podcast be twice a month instead of every week.
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So more exclusive lives and two podcasts a month.
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Thank you guys so much for your support.
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I appreciate you all so very much.
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And I will see you guys very, very soon.
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Bye, guys.
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このレッスンの語彙とスピーキングのポイント
このスピーキングレッスンは、動画「After Class English : What is Summer Break?」を教材にしています。 繰り返し出てくる語は次のとおりです：summer, break, student, elementary, grade。 この動画には、シャドーイング用の文が148文、単語が1866語あります。 音声の長さは12:01です。 話す速さは1分あたり約155語で、日常会話に近い自然なペースです。 単語の89%は英語の頻出3,000語に含まれるため、語彙は分かりやすいです。
この動画の重要語彙
動画に出てくる覚えておきたい単語15語を、発音と意味つきで紹介します。
| 単語 | 発音 | 意味 |
|---|---|---|
| elementary 形容詞 | /ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/ | 基本的な |
| podcast 名詞 | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | ポッドキャスト |
| kindergarten 名詞 | /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/ | 幼稚園 |
| argue 動詞 | /ˈɑɹ.ɡju/ | 議論する, 論ずる |
| depend 動詞 | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | 依存する |
| vacation 名詞 | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | 休暇, 休み |
| educator 名詞 | /ˈɛd͡ʒəkeɪtɚ/ | 教育者, 教育家 |
| sixth 形容詞 | /sɪksθ/ | 六番目 |
| lifestyle 名詞 | /ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/ | ライフスタイル, 生活様式 |
| divide 動詞 | /dɪˈvaɪd/ | 分割する, 分ける |
| teenager 名詞 | /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ | ティーネージャー, ティーンエイジャー |
| packet 名詞 | /ˈpæk.ɪt/ | パケット, 小包 |
| practical 形容詞 | /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/ | 実践的な |
| gap 名詞 | /ɡæp/ | 間隙, ずれ |
| encourage 動詞 | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | 勇気付ける, 奨励する |
動画に出てくる句動詞
| 単語 | 意味 |
|---|---|
| look forward to 動詞 | 楽しみにする |
| point out 動詞 | 指す, 指し示す |
| slow down 動詞 | 遅らせる |
繰り返し練習したい文
動画に出てくる短く完結した文です。日常会話でそのまま使えます。
- Let's break it down step by step.
- Let's start here with elementary school.
- I'll have to check that here.
- Do you think students should keep a long summer break?
- What do you think is better?
この動画の文法
話し手がよく使っている文型を、動画の実際の表現とともに紹介します。
| 文型 | 動画での表現 |
|---|---|
| 受動態 be + 過去分詞 — 誰がするかより、何が起きるかに焦点を当てる | is divided · is ruled · were expected |
| 現在完了形 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去の出来事が今も関係している | you've probably seen · We've talked |
| 関係詞節 who / which + 節 — 人や物について情報を加える | summer, which is · students that would |
| 動詞 + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — 後ろに-ing形が続く動詞 | start beginning · start getting · start working |
注意したい発音
話し手はdon't, you're, they'reなど、短縮形や弱形を22回使っています。聞こえたとおりの短い形で発音しましょう。
- 「th」の音: sixth /sɪksθ/, eighth /eɪtθ/, myth /mɪθ/
- 「sh」と「zh」の音: vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, supervision /ˌs(j)uːpəˈvɪʒən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, socialize /ˈsoʊʃəlaɪz/
- 長い単語（アクセントの位置に注意）: elementary /ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/, kindergarten /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/, educator /ˈɛd͡ʒəkeɪtɚ/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/
日本語話者が苦手な音：
- /r/ と /l/ の区別 — /l/ は舌先を歯茎につけ、/r/ はどこにもつけない: elementary /ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/, preschool /ˈpɹiːskuːl/, practical /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/, roughly /ˈɹʌf.li/, relate /ɹɪˈleɪt/
- /v/ — /b/ にならないように、上の歯を下唇に当てる: vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, divide /dɪˈvaɪd/, dive /daɪv/, eleven /əˈlɛv.ən/, harvest /ˈhɑɹ.vəst/
- /f/ — 「フ」ではなく、上の歯と下唇で出す: lifestyle /ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/, lifetime /ˈlaɪf.taɪm/, roughly /ˈɹʌf.li/, default /dɪˈfɔlt/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/
この動画での練習方法
- まず声を出さずに動画を最後まで聞き、知らない単語をメモします。
- まず0.75倍速で一文ずつシャドーイングし、慣れてきたら通常の速度に戻します。
- 自分の声を録音して元の音声と比べます。elementary, podcast, kindergartenなどの単語に特に注意しましょう。
シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由
シャドーイング（Shadowing）は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的：ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影（shadow）」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。