シャドーイング練習: Why China's population is shrinking - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

練習モードを選ぶ

各モードは全画面の練習ルームで開きます。

86 文

文が短すぎたり長すぎる場合は、Editをタップして調整してください。

This chart shows

China's birth and death rate over the last 60 years.

For most of it, births are high.

But in 2022, China had more deaths than births, causing its population to decrease for the first time in six decades.

To get why this is such a big deal, consider this.

China is the world's manufacturing superpower, and that's in large part because of its huge population.

Nearly 30 % of the country's economic output comes from manufacturing.

Now here's China's population over the last 60 years.

Even after losing almost a million people in 2022, its population is still about as big as it's ever been — 1 .4 billion people.

But that's projected to shrink by nearly half by the end of the century.

Over the years, China's growth and policies have contributed to its population decline.

Today, it's looking to reverse course, to keep its population steady.

The problem is, it might be too late.

In the 50s under Mao, China experienced one of the most gruesome famines on record.

30 million people died.

If we look at that on the birth and death rates chart, you'll see a big spike in deaths.

At the same time, the birth rate dropped, causing the population to shrink.

But as often happens with wars, famines and other major crises, immediately after, there was a baby boom.

Combined with global medical advances that decreased infant mortality rates, China's average family now had six children.

The birth rate had skyrocketed, which the government saw as a big problem.

The Chinese leadership realized the population was growing too fast and something needs to be done.

The government came out with a policy.

They called it later, longer, fewer.

Later marriages, longer birth intervals, and fewer births.

As a result, China's birth rate started trending down.

But it wasn't low enough for China's leaders.

And in 1980, they implemented the extreme one -child policy, which limited most families to one child.

That policy was also backed up by very harsh measures.

There were campaigns of sterilization, IOD insertion, and induced abortions.

And while these campaigns began during the later longer -fewer era, they were at their worst under the one -child policy,

when China sterilized 20 million men and women and induced nearly 15 million abortions in a single year.

But China had accomplished its goal.

Population growth was under control.

Except, as China would soon realize, these restrictive policies worked a little too well.

In order for any population to stay the same size in the long run, each couple needs to have, on average, 2 .1 children.

This is called the replacement rate.

The idea is that one child replaces one parent, and that 0 .1 makes up for children who die before they become adults.

But China has had a fertility rate that's far below two for over three decades.

To bring that up, in 2016, China finally ended the one -child policy.

And after briefly trying out a three -child policy, in 2021, they finally let families have as many children as they'd like.

But it hasn't worked.

One big reason is the unique family structure produced by the one -child policy.

We're looking at what's called a 4 -to -1 family structure with a couple having four parents above them

and one child below.

Most countries have diverse family structures, some with three kids, others with none.

But with China's 4 -to -1 model, millions of only children are under increasing pressure to care for their aging parents and elderly grandparents.

And this can make having multiple children even harder, especially as the cost of living keeps rising.

A recent survey revealed

that more than 50 % of young people don't want more than one child because of financial and work pressures.

We've seen cash subsidies for additional birth, longer maternal leaves, subsidizes for kindergarten,

and all sorts of monetary support.

Well, the thing is, almost none of them has worked because having a child is exceedingly expensive and it's a lifelong commitment.

And so it's not — it's really actually hard to put a price on this.

But China's population crisis isn't just about babies.

It's also about the balance between young and old.

If we look at population pyramids that show distribution by age, we see that countries like Kenya, with rapid population growth, look like this.

Wide at the bottom, representing a lot of new young people, and narrow at the top.

Countries experiencing slower growth, like the Philippines, are still triangular, but the difference between top and bottom is less pronounced.

Now take a look at China and notice the narrow bottom, so fewer babies, and the heavy top, a larger number of elderly people.

Which is happy.

outcome of our improvement in health and in standard of living,

but combined with sustained low fertility and that just produces sustained population aging.

In 2050, that pyramid is projected to look like this.

And that will further drive down

China's population, shrink its labor force, and put the whole country in a uniquely difficult position.

In the 80s, China became a hotspot for foreign investment, cheap manufacturing and exports.

A generation later, it was shooting up the ranks and becoming one of the world's leading and fastest growing economies by GDP.

But not only did that economic modernization drive birth rates down further, it also didn't translate to an equally strong economy for everyone.

If we look at the GDP per capita, the best indicator we have for standard of living, China is much lower than these high -income countries.

China became a major world economy nearly overnight, but it's still a middle -income country.

Many, especially in rural areas, haven't benefited much from China's economic boom.

And China has yet to develop the necessary safety nets to support its aging population.

To build the social infrastructure,

like the social programs in health care and in pension, It takes time.

And that's getting actually tougher with the economy that's slowing down.

And a slower economy will inevitably redefine

China's role in the world as a manufacturing superpower.

What this means for China,

for the world, is that the resource constraints from within would also constrain the Chinese ambition and its global reach.

In some ways, China isn't alone.

A lot of Asian and European countries are experiencing population declines, too.

What makes China different is how fast this all has happened.

It was only 40 years ago that

China started leveraging its booming population to become an economic superpower, all while still trying to stem population growth.

Now that China's population growth is officially over, China may have to rethink its future, not just as a global superpower,

but for its citizens at home, too.

アプリをダウンロード

流暢に話すために必要なすべて

AI発音採点文ごとに採点

IPA練習すべての音をマスター

単語学習自分の単語帳を作る

単語ゲーム遊びながら覚える

QRをスキャン

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

同じチャンネル

FOR YOU

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「Why China's population is shrinking」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：population, China, birth, rate, policy。この動画には、シャドーイング用の文が87文、単語が1091語あります。音声の長さは7:22です。話す速さは1分あたり約148語で安定しており、シャドーイングしやすいペースです。単語の85%は英語の頻出3,000語に含まれます。残りは練習の前に確認しておきましょう。

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
chart 名詞	/t͡ʃɑɹt/	チャート, 図表
narrow 形容詞	/ˈnæɹəʊ/	狭い
abortion 名詞	/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/	妊娠中絶, 人工流産
decrease 動詞	/dɪˈkɹiːs/	減少する, 減る
elderly 形容詞	/ˈɛldɚli/	年配, やや年とった
combine 動詞	/kəmˈbaɪn/	合わせる, 結び付ける
pyramid 名詞	/ˈpɪɹ.ə.mɪd/	ピラミッド, 金字塔
famine 名詞	/ˈfæm.ɪn/	飢饉
subsidy 名詞	/ˈsʌbsɪdi/	援助, 補助
infrastructure 名詞	/ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/	インフラストラクチャ, インフラ
replacement 名詞	/ɹɪˈpleɪsmənt/	代替
output 名詞	/ˈaʊtpʊt/	出力
reveal 動詞	/ɹɪˈviːl/	現す, 表す
citizen 名詞	/ˈsɪtɪzən/	市民
equally 副詞	/ˈiːkwəli/	等しく, 平等に

動画に出てくる句動詞

単語	意味
slow down 動詞	遅らせる
try out 動詞	試す, 試してみる

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
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	it's ever been · have contributed · has had
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	be done · was also backed · is called

注意したい発音

話し手はisn't, didn't, don'tなど、短縮形や弱形を10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。

「sh」と「zh」の音: abortion /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/, pension /ˈpɛnʃən/, harsh /ˈhɑɹʃ/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/
長い単語（アクセントの位置に注意）: fertility /fɝˈtɪləti/, infrastructure /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/, monetary /ˈmʌnɪtəɹi/, indicator /ˈɪn.dɪˌkeɪ.tə(ɹ)/, inevitably /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbli/

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: replacement /ɹɪˈpleɪsmənt/, reveal /ɹɪˈviːl/, briefly /ˈbɹiːfli/, translate /tɹænzˈleɪt/, mortality /mɔɹˈtælɪti/
/v/ — /b/ にならないように、上の歯を下唇に当てる: reveal /ɹɪˈviːl/, reverse /ɹɪˈvɝs/, diverse /daɪˈvɜːs/, overnight /əʊvə(ɹ)ˈnaɪt/, inevitably /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbli/
/f/ — 「フ」ではなく、上の歯と下唇で出す: fewer /ˈfjuː.ɚ/, fertility /fɝˈtɪləti/, famine /ˈfæm.ɪn/, infrastructure /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/, briefly /ˈbɹiːfli/

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。
通常の速度で一文ずつシャドーイングし、話し手のリズムに合うまで繰り返します。
自分の声を録音して元の音声と比べます。chart, narrow, abortion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。

シャドーイングのやり方: ステップ別の完全ガイドを読む →

シャドーイング練習: Why China's population is shrinking - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

練習モードを選ぶ

アプリをダウンロード

Why financial literacy education in the US sucks

The surprising pattern behind color names around the world

White, pink, and brown noise, explained #shorts

Five things you need to know for the 2026 midterms | America, Actually

Why are weddings so damn expensive?

Are headphones destroying our hearing?

How to be less neurotic | The Gray Area

We’re already using AI more than we realize

The Ticketmaster monopoly is over, now what?

The biggest peach myth in America

How to solve problems like a designer

The origin of the '80s aesthetic

Why “Buy one, get one free” isn’t a great deal

How F1 drivers survive their own cars

Why 350°F is the magic number for baking

How did pink become a girly color?

The real reason Boeing's new plane crashed twice

Why AI art struggles with hands

Why is everything getting so expensive?

Proof of evolution that you can find on your body

Why Do India And China Have So Many People?

China-youth unemployment

What is the “generation gap problem”?

Three Kingdoms - OverSimplified

How China Could Fall Into the Middle-Income Trap

The REAL reason China built so much

Why are families disappearing from London?

Phát âm chuẩn - Anh ngữ đặc biệt: China's Relaxed One-Child Rule (VOA)

How America Got So Good At Buying Sh*t

The World’s Most Average Person

Will Vietnam get old before it gets rich?

MIT Explains the 12 Possible Endings for AI