シャドーイング練習: British Small Talk for English Learners (easier than you think) - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

In England, we don't say hello.

We might ask if you're all right.

You all right?

We might say I'm good when life is actually bad.

Welcome to British Smalltalk.

Three years ago, I was terrible at small talk.

Why is that?

Nobody teaches you this stuff.

So in this video I will teach you the secrets of British small talk

so you can walk into any conversation and feel confident

and at the end of the video I'm gonna share a special memory trick so you can remember everything you learn

Small talk is like glue, social glue.

It's about making the other person feel comfortable,

showing them that you care.

In the beginning the goal isn't to talk too deeply,

it's about keeping it light, keeping it fun.

You could talk about the weather, the food, the coffee.

Keep it light-hearted.

In British English when someone asks how are you they probably don't want to hear about your problems

so you can respond I'm good how are you?

Another note is that I hear a lot of people say I'm fine

but I'm fine can be perceived as a little bit negative

so it's better to just say I'm good that always works how are you I'm good

the biggest problem with small talk is

that we focus too much on ourselves instead focus on the

other person ask questions be curious the person who asks best questions is always the most interesting person in the room.

If you want to be interesting, be interested.

Act like Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock wouldn't walk into a room and talk about himself.

He's curious.

He observes.

He looks for clues.

In small talk, you have to look for clues and ask questions.

For example, if somebody talks about their love for dancing,

and you love dancing too,

don't just say, oh, me too.

Dig in.

How long have you been dancing?

What style of dance do you like?

Where do you dance?

Classes or just going out?

How often do you practice?

But what if you don't know the topic they are talking about?

Well, be Sherlock.

Ask questions.

Be curious.

So you can say something like, ah Interesting.

Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Or you could say i'm curious i don't know much about

that but can you tell me this just gets the other person talking

and keeps the conversation flowing recently actually i had a student

in my group classes who was talking about ramadan i didn't know much about ramadan

so i asked him i said i don't know much about it

but i am curious can you can you tell me more about ramadan

and he obliged he was very happy to talk about ramadan with me

and i was happy to listen and by the way

if you want to join the weekly group classes with me

then you can i have a weekly group class on sproutlanguage.com

you can check the link in the description it's super fun and i would love to see you there Speaking of curiosity,

I'm curious about what's around me right now.

This is a plant pot.

These beautiful pink flowers are called bougainvillea.

Let's keep looking.

Ooh, a petal.

This petal fell from that tree.

And behind me there is a large pond with koi fish inside.

Small talk is like a game of ping pong.

You answer and then you return.

Don't hold the paddle for five minutes and talk.

For example, if someone asks, how was your trip?

It was good, thank you.

I went to Hue, I fed the koi fish,

and I took lots of nice photos.

How about you?

Meh, I'm just stuck in the ground.

Or are you enjoying your holiday so far?

Yeah, I'm having a lovely time, thank you very much.

It's been a blast.

How about you?

Are you going anywhere nice this year?

Actually, yes, I want to go to the UK,

but I'm still waiting on my visa.

Anyway, I need to shoot off,

so I'll see you later.

Bye-bye.

While the other person is still talking,

these small words will help you to let them keep talking.

I'm a tree.

Yep, I'm a tree.

Interesting.

Yep, I've got roots.

Cool.

I've also got branches and leaves.

Nice.

I can dance.

All right.

I can dance.

Did you not hear me?

Wow.

100

Seriously?

101

Nah, just kidding.

102

Mmm.

103

I wish someone taught me these small little words

104

when I was living in France because I would just look at people like this.

105

I wanted to give them expression.

106

I wanted to show them that I was listening and that I care.

107

So you can use these small little words to really help you have a better conversation and be a better listener.

108

Imagine yourself as a time traveler.

109

We all have a past,

110

a present, and a future.

111

If you use these in your conversation,

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then it will always continue flowing.

113

What did you get up to last weekend?

114

Have you ever tried?

115

What's something you've learned recently?

116

Now for you behind the camera.

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What's something that you have learned in this video?

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Let me know in the comments.

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A great tip to spark small talk is to use your environment to spark up a conversation.

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For example, we're on holiday.

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I might say, do you come here often?

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I have literally never left.

123

Would you recommend anything nice to do around this area?

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Sorry, I just stand here.

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You can use this in any location.

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If you're in a coffee shop and someone is standing in the queue behind you,

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you can smile.

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say hi

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and ask them do you come here often i'm new here

130

can you recommend anything on the menu what's your favorite food

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using your environment is a fantastic way to spark small talk

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using the future tense in small talk is an excellent way to connect with people by discussing plans,

133

hopes, or events.

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For example, have you got any holidays lined up this year?

135

I'm thinking of going to the North Pole.

136

What are you doing this weekend?

137

I'm seeing my friends.

138

By the way, I just said what are you doing this weekend?

139

I'm using the present continuous for a future event.

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This is way more natural to use than will or are going to.

141

And even more natural way to say that in British English is what are you up to?

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What are you up to this weekend?

143

Just chilling.

144

Nice.

145

See ya.

146

Bye Jay.

147

Now I want to share a secret with you,

148

something that goes way beyond English and it's useful for communication in all aspects of life.

149

But before that, So, let's go for a walk and get the body moving.

150

So now I'm walking by the river and looking out at the boat.

151

Ooh, a man just cycled past.

152

Now I'm walking through a pine forest.

153

Forests are my favourite place on earth.

154

Ooh, a rabbit.

155

A toad.

156

Ribbit.

157

I'm back at the river,

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and now it's time for the most important part of communication.

159

The most important form of nonverbal communication,

160

which affects how people see you,

161

how confident you seem, is your body language.

162

Remember, open.

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Open shoulders, open chest, imagine a string is pulling your head up to the sky so you have a nice upright posture.

164

You're relaxed but you're standing tall, standing straight.

165

Compare that to closed shoulders,

166

crossed arms, and now all of a sudden I seem less approachable,

167

I seem less confident in myself self,

168

if I remember to take a deep breath,

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stand up straight and smile,

170

then I appear way more confidence and it's going to help you in every social situation.

171

The next nonverbal communication tip is all about eye contact.

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In British culture, it's very polite to give eye contact.

173

A wonderful tip that somebody shared with me many years ago is to focus on the left eye.

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Now you have a focal point and it helps you to maintain better eye contact.

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It helps me to maintain better eye contact.

176

Beyond that you've got smiling,

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nodding, and showing the other person that you're listening when they are talking.

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Matching their energy, matching their facial expression makes you a better listener and it makes you seem more polite.

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The final tip of the day is to practice everything

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that you've learned in this video and you can do that with J.I which is an AI version of me.

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You can practice for five minutes per day with him in a stress-free environment.

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You can relax, there's no anxiety about talking with a real native speaker and it will prepare you for real-world conversations.

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Try it now for seven days free.

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Click the link in the description.

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I hope you like it and now Now to summarize, be Sherlock Holmes.

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Be curious and ask questions.

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Play verbal ping pong.

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Answer their question and then return with your question.

189

Ask questions about the past,

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the present, and the future.

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Moving your body.

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Practice good body language.

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And finally, practice speaking with J.I on Sprout.

194

And now as promised, here's the weird memory trick which will help you remember everything from this video.

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And Sherlock Holmes playing ping-pong,

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flying through a wormhole, travelling through time.

197

And look at that body language, he's dancing.

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And on the other side of the net, J.I helping him improve his English.

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And that is how you small talk, my friend.

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。

シャドーイング練習: British Small Talk for English Learners (easier than you think) - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

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シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由