Shadowing Practice: How to Finish Speaking in English Without an Awkward Silence - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Have you ever finished telling a story or sharing an idea in English?
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And then it's just silence.
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No one starts to speak.
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You wait, they wait.
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There's this long pause, and everyone just keeps looking at you.
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So after a few uncomfortable seconds, you quietly add, and that's it.
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Now, everyone knows you've finished speaking, but that awkward moment has already happened.
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If you've experienced that, in this lesson,
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you're going to learn exactly how to make it clear that you have finished speaking in English before those awkward silences begin,
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no matter whether you're telling a story, sharing an opinion, or giving an update.
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we're going to look at how to complete your final thought how to use your voice to signal the ending
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and when needed invite someone else to speak
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so to avoid those awkward uncomfortable silences the first thing your listener needs is an ending
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that sounds complete sometimes you may know exactly how you want to finish for example you might say
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and after the market we went home that was the end of our day
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or so i think we should wait till friday the endings are clear they're complete
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but we don't always get that luxury sometimes you lose your train of thought
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while you're speaking maybe you forget a detail you want to share
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or you just can't find the right word
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and everything gets lost in those moments that's when someone might say
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and then we went to the market
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and yeah that's not really a complete thought so in
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that moment your listener may not know whether the story's finished
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or whether you're still trying to continue trying to find the right words
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and when that kind of statement happens those awkward silences begin
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But if you ever lose your train of thought or get lost trying to find the right word, you don't need to force yourself to remember every detail.
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Instead, you can briefly acknowledge the problem and then finish with the main point.
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For example, let's say that I'm telling a story and I kind of lose my focus.
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So I might say, and then we went to the market and, well, shoot, I just lost my train of thought.
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I can't remember what I was going to say.
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But the important thing is we made it home.
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The truth is conversations don't always go exactly as we planned.
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The goal is to simply give your listener a clear final thought instead of letting your words kind of disappear.
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Now, along with that complete thought to show that you're finished speaking, your voice can also help to make the ending clearer.
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And this is where our intonation is important.
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We can use our voice to show a finished thought by using falling intonation.
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This means that your voice moves lower as you reach the end of your sentence.
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Listen to that again.
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This means that your voice moves lower as you reach the end of your sentence.
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For example, if we go back to the story I was telling before, I might say, and after the market, we went home.
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That fall helps the sentence sound complete.
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It helps your listener hear that you have reached the end and that they can respond.
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On top of that, you can also slightly slow down on those final words.
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For example, but what's important is, we made it home.
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Here, that combination of a complete thought, the falling intonation, and the slower pace,
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all of these work together to make it clear that you are ending.
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You're finished speaking, and it helps to avoid those uncomfortable or awkward silences.
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As a result, when you stop speaking, you give your listener the signal that it's their time to respond.
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Now, when I say that your voice falls
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and maybe your pace gets slower i want to be very clear here we're not talking about
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simply allowing your voice to become quieter we don't want it
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to disappear for example we don't want to finish a sentence with
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and then we made it home
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and yeah do you notice how quiet it sounded in fact maybe you couldn't even hear it in this video
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and the first response when something goes really quiet is either that awkward silence or a quick, what was that?
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And I don't know about you, but hearing those questions like, what was that?
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Or say that again, can get really discouraging.
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One of the reasons we hear them so often is our voice is too soft and quiet.
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So we still want to allow for proper volume and enunciation.
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We just want to make sure that that intonation falls at the end of the sentence.
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Now, if you want more detail on this, I have another lesson where I share more detail on how rising
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and falling intonation can help you hold your turn while speaking, avoid interruptions, and show when you're finished.
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So if that's something you'd like to take a look at, I'll leave a link to that lesson in the notes below.
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But for now, I want you to remember this.
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Let your voice fall clearly on the final words,
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and then allow another person to respond now sometimes especially
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if you've been speaking for a longer period it can help
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to add a few clear words at the end for example
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if you're finishing a story you might say
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and anyway that's what happened in the end or
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if a story doesn't have an ending yet you might say so we'll see what happens next.
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And if you're sharing an opinion, you might end your opinion with, well, that's how I see it.
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Or I'm interested in what others think.
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And of course, you can also make it exceptionally clear who should speak next by adding a question.
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You could directly ask, and what do you think?
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Does anyone want to add anything?
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Or Priya, over to you.
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Each of these phrases does more than simply show that you're finished.
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They also help your listener know exactly what should happen next, whether to respond, ask a question, or take the next turn.
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Of course, you don't need to use all of these every time you speak.
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But when you have been speaking for several minutes, and when several people are involved or you're on a video call,
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a clear closing phrase can prevent those awkward silences.
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So now that we have these strategies in place, let's take a look at how these signals often work together.
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For this, I want you to imagine
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that you're giving an update in a meeting
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and you might finish by saying the design is finished and now we're waiting to hear from the vendor.
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Priya, over to you.
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Your final thought is complete.
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Your voice falls so everyone can hear that you've finished.
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And that final statement, Priya, over to you, makes it clear who should speak next.
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And if you're not handing the conversation to one person, you can say, the design is finished, and now we're waiting to hear from the vendor.
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Does anyone have any questions?
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When you bring these pieces together, You don't need to wait through an awkward silence and add something like, that's it, or I'm done.
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Instead, your listener already knows that you finished and they know exactly what should happen next.
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So now I want you to practice.
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Take a moment to think about a situation where you need to speak for a period of time in English, like when you're telling a story,
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sharing an opinion, or giving an update practice those in advance
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and choose a sentence
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that you want your listener to hear at the end practice it out loud make sure
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that the thought is complete
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and then say it again this time slowing down with the final few words
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and letting your voice fall at the end for example
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so I think we should wait until Friday and
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if the situation requires it you could add a clear question as a handoff.
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For example, what do you think?
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Or over to you.
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Try that multiple times.
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Practice saying it out loud so you really get comfortable with these strategies and you can hear yourself using them.
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When your final thought is complete, when your voice clearly reaches the end with falling intonation,
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and if, when appropriate, you add a question or provide a direct handoff,
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your listener knows that you've finished and you can avoid those awkward silences.
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Now, as always, if you found this lesson helpful to you, don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you're watching or listening from today.
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Thank you so much for joining me and I look forward to next time.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze video bevat 113 zinnen en 1464 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 9:46. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 150 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. 90% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is goed te volgen.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
15 woorden uit de video die het leren waard zijn, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| silence zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈsaɪ̯ləns/ | stilte |
| awkward bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈɔk.wɚd/ | onhandig |
| listener zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | luisteraar, toehoorder |
| lesson zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | les |
| uncomfortable bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/ | ongemakkelijk |
| phrase zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | uitspraak |
| disappear werkwoord | /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ | verdwijnen, verzwinden |
| vendor zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈvɛn.dɚ/ | leverancier |
| helpful bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | behulpzaam |
| luxury zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/ | luxe |
| invite werkwoord | /ɪnˈvaɪt/ | uitnodigen, nodigen |
| wherever | /(h)wɛɹˈɛvɚ/ | waar, waar ook |
| briefly bijwoord | /ˈbɹiːfli/ | kortweg |
| acknowledge werkwoord | /əkˈnɑ.lɪd͡ʒ/ | bekennen, erkennen |
| subscribe werkwoord | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | abonneren |
Phrasal verbs die je zult horen
| Woord | Betekenis |
|---|---|
| look forward to werkwoord | uitkijken naar, zich verheugen op |
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — iets dat eerder begon en nog bezig is | you've been speaking · have been speaking |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | Have you ever finished · you've finished · you've experienced |
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | are involved · is finished |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 44 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals you're, don't, you've. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/, exceptionally /ɪkˈsɛp(t)ʃənəli/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, enunciation /ɪˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, interruption /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, exceptionally /ɪkˈsɛp(t)ʃənəli/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, enunciation /ɪˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, interruption /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als silence, awkward, listener.
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.