Shadowing Practice: First Amendment | Constitution 101 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Les maken...
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I'm Jeffrey Rosen and I'm here at the National Constitution Center in front of the First Amendment tablet.
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Let's talk about why the founders believed that Congress can make no law, abridging the freedom of speech,
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press, religion, assembly, and petition?
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Well, they had four reasons, which have been developed by the Supreme Court over the course of American history.
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First, freedom of conscience is an unalienable right because people have the right and the duty to think for themselves.
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Second, free speech makes our representatives accountable to we the people.
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Third, free speech is necessary for the discovery of truth and the rejection of falsehood.
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And fourth, free speech allows the public discussion necessary for democratic self -government.
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Remarkably, all four of these reasons are clearly and brilliantly expressed in two texts that we're going to talk about today.
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Thomas Jefferson's original draft of his Virginia Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom from 1777 and Justice Brandeis' opinion in Whitney v.
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California from 1927.
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Let's begin with Jefferson's bill, which he drafted after returning to Virginia from Philadelphia when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
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Jefferson considered his religious freedom bill among the three most important
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accomplishments of his life important enough to be inscribed on his
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tombstone along with his having drafted the declaration of independence
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and founded the university of virginia under virginia's colonial religious code at the time all dissenters were required to support
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and attend the established anglican church presbyterians
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and baptists could be arrested for practicing their faith
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or preaching the gospel quakers and jews
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and other dissenters could be denied the freedom to marry or to have custody of their own children.
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Jefferson proposed not only to disestablish the Anglican Church and remove all criminal punishments for dissent,
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but also to prohibit all compelled support for religion of any kind.
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He concluded that because freedom of conscience is a fundamental right, government can regulate overt acts against peace and good order,
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but it lacks all power to intrude into the field of opinion.
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Let's review each of Jefferson's four reasons.
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First, freedom of conscience is an unalienable right, because people have the right and the duty to think for themselves.
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Jefferson said, well aware that the opinions and beliefs of men depend not on their own will,
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but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds.
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God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will
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that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of
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restraint in other words jefferson argued freedom of conscience is by definition an unalienable right one
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that can't be alienated or surrendered to government
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because our opinions are the the involuntary result of the evidence contemplated by our reasoning minds.
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We can't give presidents or priests or teachers or fellow citizens the power to think for us, even if we wanted to,
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because we are endowed by our Creator with the capacity to reason, and therefore we can't help thinking for ourselves.
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Second, free speech makes our representatives accountable to we the people.
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In his religious freedom bill, Jefferson emphasized that it's crucial in a democracy
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for citizens to be able to criticize public officials because legislators and religious leaders being themselves fallible and uninspired,
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as Jefferson said, will always try to impose their own opinions and modes of thinking on others.
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Jefferson's prediction came to a head in the controversy over the Alien
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and Sedition Acts in 1798 when the Federalist Congress made it a crime to criticize the Federalist president,
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John Adams, but not the Republican vice president, Thomas Jefferson.
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Third, free speech is necessary for the discovery of truth and the rejection of falsehood.
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Jefferson concludes his religious freedom bill with words expressing his unshakable faith in the power of reason
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and reason deliberation to distinguish truth from error.
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And the words that he used are inscribed in marble on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.
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Truth is great and will prevail if left to herself.
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She is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition,
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disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate.
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Fourth, free speech allows the public discussion necessary for democratic self -government.
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Jefferson believed that in a democracy, all citizens have an equal right and responsibility to exercise their rights of conscience.
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As he put it in the Virginia Bill, proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon
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him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he professes or renounces this or that religious opinion,
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is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right.
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In 1927, in the greatest free speech opinion of the 20th century,
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Justice Louis Brandeis distilled Jefferson's four reasons for protecting free speech into a few inspiring paragraphs.
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The case was called Whitney v.
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California, and here we see the first Jewish justice insisting on the right of Anita Whitney,
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a white woman, to make a speech defending anti -lynching laws, which were designed to protect the life and liberty of African Americans.
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Whitney made her speech at a Communist Party meeting, and she was convicted under a California law
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that made it a crime to associate with organizations that advocated doctrines that might lead people to break the law. In 1926,
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Brandeis had read Jefferson's original draft of the Virginia bill for establishing religious freedom
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and in his Whitney opinion the following year Brandeis adopted
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and refined Jefferson's standard for ensuring
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that government could only punish overt acts of law -breaking
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and not the expression of dangerous opinions as Brandeis put it
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in Whitney fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly
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men feared witches
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and burnt women it is the function of speech to free
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men from the bondage of irrational fears to justify suppression of free speech there must be reasonable ground to fear
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that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced
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and there must be reasonable ground to believe that the danger apprehended is imminent.
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Brandeis's inspiring test for protecting free speech,
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namely government can only ban speech if it's intended to and likely to cause imminent and serious injury,
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was based on his Jeffersonian faith in the power of what he called free
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and fearless reasoning to expose falsehood through public discussion.
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As Brandeis put it, if there be time to expose through discussion the falsehoods and fallacies,
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to avert the evil by the processes of education.
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The remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.
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Only an emergency can justify repression.
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Brandeis's test was finally adopted by the Supreme Court in 1969 in the Brandenburg case, and as a result, the U .S.
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Supreme Court and the United States of America now protect free speech more vigorously than any other country in the world.
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Brandeis went on in Whitney to summarize Jefferson's four reasons for why government can't make laws designed to restrict free speech,
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and in the process, Brandeis achieved a kind of constitutional poetry i'm now going to
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read brandeis's central passage listen closely for each of jefferson's four
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reasons here we go those who won our independence believed
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that the final end of the state was to make men free to develop their faculties
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and that in its government the deliberative forces should prevail over the arbitrary they valued liberty both as an end
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and as a means.
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They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.
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That's a quotation from Pericles' funeral oration.
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They believed that freedom to think as you will
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and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth.
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That without free speech and assembly, discussion would be futile.
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That with them discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine,
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that the greatest threat to freedom is an inert people, that public discussion is a political duty, and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government.
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Well, that's the most inspiring paragraph on free speech ever written.
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But as that paragraph shows,
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all four of Jefferson and Brandeis' reasons for protecting free speech are based in an overwhelming faith in reason itself.
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The First Amendment is based on that faith, that people will take time to develop their faculties of reason through education and public discussion.
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that public discussion will be a check on arbitrary and partisan demagogues rather than enabling them,
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that more speech will lead to the spread of more truth rather than more falsehood, and that people will, in fact,
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take time for discussion and deliberation rather than making impulsive decisions.
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All four of these founding faiths are being challenged in a polarized age of social media,
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which is based on a business model of enrage and engage.
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Twitter and Facebook and other platforms have accelerated public discourse to warp speed, creating virtual versions of the mob.
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Inflammatory posts based on passion travel farther and faster than arguments based on reason.
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And rather than encouraging deliberation,
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mass media can undermine it by creating filter bubbles and echo chambers in which citizens see only those opinions they already embrace.
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For these reasons, some are calling for America's free speech tradition to be reconsidered or amended.
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Here at the National Constitution Center, in front of the First Amendment tablet, we are proud to preserve,
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protect, and defend the faith in reason deliberation
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that is the foundation of the freedom of conscience protected by the first amendment
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which encompasses the five freedoms of speech press religion petition
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and assembly as america's leading platform for non -partisan constitutional education
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and debate we bring together americans of different perspectives to cultivate
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their faculties of reason only by listening to the best arguments
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on all sides of the constitutional questions at the center of american life can you exercise your right
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and duty to make up your own mind.
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Like Jefferson and Brandeis and Frederick Douglass and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and all of these great free speech heroes of American history,
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we are dedicated to what Jefferson called the illimitable freedom of the human mind.
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For here, as Jefferson said, we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead,
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nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles op niveau C1 is gebaseerd op de video “First Amendment”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: speech, freedom, jefferson, Brandeis, discussion. Deze video bevat 123 zinnen en 1737 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 12:44. De spreker praat in een gelijkmatig tempo van ongeveer 136 woorden per minuut, prettig om te shadowen. Slechts 80% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is pittig.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| conscience zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈkɑn.ʃəns/ | geweten, gewisse |
| falsehood zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈfɒlsˌhʊd/ | onwaarheid |
| inspire werkwoord | /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ | inspireren |
| paragraph zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/ | alinea, paragraaf |
| dissenter zelfstandig naamwoord | dissident | |
| overt bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /oʊˈvɚt/ | openlijk, onverholen |
| prevail werkwoord | /pɹɪˈveɪl/ | overwinnen, domineren |
| criticize werkwoord | /ˈkɹɪtɪsaɪz/ | kritiseren, bekritiseren |
| imminent bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈɪmɪnənt/ | imminent, dreigend |
| partisan zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈpɑː.tɪˌzæn/ | aanhanger |
| arbitrary bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹə.ɹi/ | willekeurig, arbitrair |
| rejection zelfstandig naamwoord | /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/ | afwijzing |
| conclude werkwoord | /kənˈkluːd/ | besluiten, concluderen |
| accountable bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /əˈkaʊntəbl̩/ | verantwoordelijk, aansprakelijk |
| expose werkwoord | /ɪkˈspoʊz/ | zichtbaar maken, blootleggen |
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | have been developed · be inscribed · were required |
| Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding | reasons, which have · laws, which were · those who won |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | have been developed · have accelerated |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 8 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals can't, I'm, we're. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De “th”-klanken: unworthy /ʌnˈwɝði/, altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: conscience /ˈkɑn.ʃəns/, deliberation /dɪˌlɪbəˈɹeɪʃən/, suppression /səˈpɹɛʃən/, rejection /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/, disestablish /dɪsɪˈstæblɪʃ/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: deliberation /dɪˌlɪbəˈɹeɪʃən/, unalienable /ʌnˈeɪljənəbəl/, arbitrary /ˈɑː.bɪ.tɹə.ɹi/, alienate /ˈeɪ.li.ə.neɪt/, antagonist /ænˈtæɡənɪst/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: falsehood /ˈfɒlsˌhʊd/, inscribe /ɪnˈskɹaɪb/, criticize /ˈkɹɪtɪsaɪz/, conclude /kənˈkluːd/, expose /ɪkˈspoʊz/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: paragraph /ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/, partisan /ˈpɑː.tɪˌzæn/, tablet /ˈtæblət/, antagonist /ænˈtæɡənɪst/, apprehend /ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnd/
- /g/ — een harde plofklank, geen Nederlandse “g”: paragraph /ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/, antagonist /ænˈtæɡənɪst/, vigorously /ˈvɪɡəɹəsli/, regulate /ˈɹɛɡ.jə.leɪt/, distinguish /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Spreek zin voor zin na op normale snelheid en herhaal elke zin tot je ritme gelijk is aan dat van de spreker.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als conscience, falsehood, inspire.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.