Shadowing Practice: Improve Your English Listening Skills IN 30 MINUTES! - Learn English Speaking with Video

Les maken...
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Do you want to improve your listening skills of fast English so you can understand native English speakers in any context?
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Well, that's what you'll do today.
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Welcome back to J -Force English.
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Of course, I'm Jennifer and today you're going to test your listening skills from beginner to advanced.
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Now let's get started.
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Level beginner.
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First, you'll listen to me say a sentence three times you need to write down what you hear.
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After each listening test, I'll explain the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
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Let's listen.
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Let's head out early to beat the traffic.
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Let's head out early to beat the traffic.
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Let's head out early to beat the traffic.
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Did you get this one?
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I said let's head out early to beat the traffic.
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Notice how head out combine together to sound like head out, doubt.
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So you hear that D sound on out, head out, head out.
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In the word early, you want that long R as well, early.
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You want to make sure you hear that R, early.
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Now, to beat, because to is a preposition, it becomes unstressed, to beat, to, to beat.
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And And then traffic, you don't want to hear the R, you want to hear the vowel.
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Traffic, traffic.
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And then beat is the same pronunciation as the vegetable beat.
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Now, do you know what the phrasal verb to head out means?
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Native speakers love using this phrasal verb.
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It means to leave a place or start a journey.
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So someone could ask you, what time are you heading out?
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What time are you leaving? but it's whatever place you're at.
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If you're at your home, it means your home.
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If you're at work or a restaurant, it means those locations.
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And then you can reply back and say, I'm heading out in the present continuous.
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I'm heading out around 6 30 AM so I can beat the traffic.
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Now notice here I said, so I can beat, but in my example sentence, originally I said to beat the traffic.
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This is the short form of the purpose clause in order to beat the traffic,
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but native speakers generally drop in order and just say to beat the traffic.
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Now, native speakers also commonly start sentences with a purpose clause.
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To beat the traffic, let's head out at 6 30 a .m.
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Remember, this means in order to beat.
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This is a purpose clause.
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It's not the infinitive because in English grammar, we don't start sentences with the infinitive.
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To make a general statement, you would use the gerund verb.
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For example, beating the traffic in New York City is always a challenge.
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Of course, to beat the traffic, this means to avoid the traffic.
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And if you beat it, it means you get ahead of it.
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So you leave earlier or later to avoid it.
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You could also just take specific streets to beat the traffic, to avoid the traffic.
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Everybody, let's head out to our areas.
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Let's head out into the rainforest and see how she's doing.
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Let's head out to the lake, I'll show you around.
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Amazing job.
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Now let's move on to level intermediate.
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Now you'll listen to natives who have excellent articulation because they're politicians.
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First we'll listen to President Barack Obama.
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You'll hear the clip three times.
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We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago
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that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10 ,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill.
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We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago
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that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10 ,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill.
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We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago
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that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10 ,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill.
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Did you hear all the missing words?
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He said, we got rid of, remember, I told you to remember
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that we got rid of one rule from 40 years ago
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that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10 ,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill.
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Got rid of, let's talk about the pronunciation here.
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We're going to use connected speech where we take individual words and it sounds like one word.
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So I'm going to say got rid.
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So notice at the end, you can take the word of and you can make it an unstressed sound and say duh.
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So uh, instead of of uh, but we're taking that D sound from rid.
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got rid of or got rid of.
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Dove.
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Dove is the full sound and the is the unstressed.
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And remember that to get rid of means eliminate.
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We already talked about that.
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Now let's take a look at could have because we have the auxiliary verb have,
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but you can also turn this into an unstressed of.
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And the same rule applies.
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You can use duh and say coulda, or you can use dove and say could've,
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could've, because you're taking that D from could, coulda, could've.
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What about this sentence?
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We could have eliminated the rule.
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This sentence is grammatically incorrect, because the correct sentence is we could have eliminated the rule.
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Remember that these pronunciation changes, changing have to of only applies to spoken English.
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It doesn't apply to written English.
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So you can verbally say coulda, but in writing it's considered grammatically incorrect.
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Are If you are, then I want to tell you about the Finally Fluent Academy.
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This is my premium training program where we study native English speakers from TV,
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movies, YouTube, and the news so you can improve your listening skills of fast English, expand your vocabulary with natural expressions,
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and learn advanced grammar easily.
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Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach.
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You can look in the description for the link to learn more, or you can go to my website and click on Finally Fluent Academy.
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Now let's continue with our lesson.
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Reach on.
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Now let's listen to our next politician, Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney.
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You'll hear the clip twice.
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Now Canada was amongst the first to hear the wake -up call.
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Now Canada was amongst the first to hear the wake -up call.
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Now Canada was amongst the first to hear the wake -up call.
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Did you complete the sentence?
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He said, now Canada was amongst the first to hear the wake -up call.
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First, let's clarify the pronunciation of Canada, my country, because I hear mistakes because of the syllable stress.
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The syllable stress is on the first syllable, Canada.
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Now because it's on the first syllable, the other two vowels are unstressed.
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Canada.
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Canada.
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Now let's review amongst the.
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Because when you see them as individual words, you can pronounce them fully.
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Amongst the.
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But when you combine them together, you're not going to pronounce the T on amongst.
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You're going to say amongst the, amongst the.
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So there's only one T and that's on the, but you'll hold out that S to connect it together.
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Amongst the.
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Now notice we have to here, but to is the infinitive marker.
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It's a preposition.
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So it's unstressed, to, to here, to, to here.
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Now let's look at how wake up is connected together.
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We say way and then you transfer that to the next sound.
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So the next sound is cup, cup.
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But when you say it together as one word, wake up, wake up.
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The same pronunciation you would use when you wake up in the morning.
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Now you might be wondering what is amongst?
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Well this is simply the formal among and this speech is in a formal setting, so it makes sense that he used amongst,
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but just know that among is the most common standard choice, even when you're in formal situations.
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Now amongst, among, the same word, it's a preposition and it means being one of a group.
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You could say difficulty understanding fast English is common among my students.
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Would you put yourself in that group?
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Well, don't worry because that's exactly why you're here, improving your listening skills.
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So put that's right, that's right, put that's right if you're excited to keep improving your listening skills.
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Now, I included the in your listening exercise because students often make this grammatical mistake.
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The is required before ordinal numbers.
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I work on the second floor.
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Second is an ordinal number.
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She was the third to arrive.
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The third.
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Now you can just simply say the third because it's obvious what the noun is,
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but you can also include the noun if you'd like and say she was the third person.
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Person is the noun to arrive.
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So notice in the clip, Mark Kearney did not name the noun because it was obvious.
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If he did, it would have been Canada was among the first countries.
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Countries because there's more than one, so it's plural.
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Now you know the pronunciation of wake up, wake up call, but what exactly is this?
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This is an idiom, which means it doesn't have a literal meaning.
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It's a warning or event that makes someone realize they need to take action or change something before it's too late.
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It's very commonly used by natives.
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You might say, feeling my IELTS was a real wake -up call.
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It made you realize you need to take action.
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You need to change your study routine.
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You need to change your approach because the result is serious.
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If you don't pass your IELTS, you won't get a job, you won't get into school, you won't get a promotion, whatever the consequence is for you.
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We often use this in life threatening situations, you might say getting into a car accident was a total wake up call.
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You realize that you need to completely change your priorities,
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your job, your relationships before it's too late, before you actually die.
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It was a wake up call.
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Now in Mark Carney's speech, speech, it means Canada was one of the first,
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the first to realize the danger or the urgency of the situation.
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Now let's move on to level advanced.
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And this is more advanced because you'll listen to a British celebrity, Tom Holland.
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His speech is definitely faster than the politicians and faster than I'm speaking now.
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You'll hear the clip three times.
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I was in New York.
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I was shooting the crowded room and I was having a really hard time with the job.
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I was in New York.
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I was shooting the crowded room and I was having a really hard time with the job.
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I was in New York.
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I was shooting the crowded room and I was having a really hard time with the job.
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How'd you do with this one?
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I was in New York.
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I was shooting the crowded room and I was having a really hard time with the job.
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Let's review I was in New York.
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Notice here it's to be the preposition in.
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You can use this for a country, state or city.
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So if your friend asks you, are you at home and your home is London or Paris, you can say, actually, I'm in New York.
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I've been in New York for two weeks.
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I'll be in New York for two weeks.
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And if your friend asks, what are you doing in New York?
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That leads us to our next word.
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I was shooting.
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And then he said the crowded room.
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That's the name of the tv show i believe to shoot
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this is a verb that's used in the movie industry it means to make a movie tv show advertisement
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or video right now i'm shooting this video now his verb tense was in the past continuous
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because the action continued for a period in the past he started shooting on day one
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and then he continued shooting until day 25.
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Tom Holland is British, so he pronounced that T in the middle, shooting.
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That is not something that American speakers do.
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We use a flat T so it sounds like a soft D, shooting, shooting.
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Your next listening exercise was a long one, was having a really hard time with.
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This is an important expression, which is why I wanted you to practice listening to it.
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The expression is to have a hard time with plus noun if you identify a noun.
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This simply means you find something difficult, challenging, or stressful.
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You could say, I had a hard time.
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in the past.
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I had a hard time with fast English until I found Jennifer's channel.
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Does that describe you?
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If it does, put that story, that story, put that story in the comments.
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Now, if you don't use a noun, you can use a gerund verb.
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I had a hard time understanding fast English until I found Jennifer's channel.
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So the same sentence structure to have a hard time plus gerund.
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Hard is the adjective that was used here.
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You can use a synonym, hard, difficult, challenging, frustrating, or other adjective.
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Our next listening exercise, I working.
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Let's see.
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scroll scroll scroll scroll how'd you do i would be on set working i'd come
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and sit in my chair
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and just scroll scroll scroll scroll scroll scroll did you hear i would be
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so here would and then base verb this is used for a repeated
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or habitual past action now it's very common to establish the past time reference.
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You commonly hear natives say, when I was a kid.
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So now we know the time period.
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Yes, it's very broad, but we understand it.
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When I was a kid, I would jump in puddles whenever it rained.
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Did you do that?
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And you didn't just do it one time.
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It was a repeated, habitual past action.
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Or for a time reference, you might say before I deleted Instagram.
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So now we know the time reference is when you had Instagram.
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Before I deleted Instagram, I would scroll for hours.
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So it was a habitual past action.
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Now did you hear and understand I would be on set?
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This is another movie reference shooting on set.
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On set, this is the place where a movie or TV show is being filmed.
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Now, did you also hear that I'd, I'd, I'd come and sit.
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I'd.
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This is I would come.
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Don't worry, because in spoken English, it's very difficult to hear that soft D.
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I'd come.
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I'd come.
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It's the context that makes it obvious that you're using I would come.
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Now here notice we have I would come and I'd sit.
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You can omit the subject and auxiliary verb.
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So you could just say I would come and sit.
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You can do that after and if they are the same. For example,
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I have finished the report written the proposal and spoken to the client
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so notice i didn't repeat i have in front of written spoken
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because they're the same
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if they're not the same you must include it i have finished the report written the proposal
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and i'll speak to the client this afternoon
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so you have to repeat the subject and the new auxiliary verb
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because now it's in the future simple you're doing a great job.
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Now let's move on to level super advanced.
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Now you'll listen to clips from TV and YouTube.
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You'll hear different accents, different contexts, and different styles of speech.
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It's worth mentioning we're going to have to be pretty frank about the human body
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and some of the more icky parts when studying outbreaks.
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It's worth mentioning we're going to have to be pretty frank about the human body
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and some of the more icky parts when studying outbreaks.
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How'd you do with this one?
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She said it's worth mentioning.
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We're going to have to be pretty frank about the human body and some of the more icky parts when studying outbreaks.
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Did you get that?
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Let's review the pronunciation.
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So notice were.
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Native speakers like using contractions and we pronounce them in an unstressed way. Were, were.
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This is of course we are.
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Now she said going to, but as you may know,
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native speakers commonly reduce going to as gonna, gonna, but this is in spoken English only.
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Now native speakers also combine sounds together.
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So here Here we have some of the, instead of saying of, you can just do an unstressed a,
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some of, some of the, some of the.
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So it sounds like one word.
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Repeat after me.
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some of the.
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Let's talk about some grammar and vocabulary.
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Notice one of your missing words was mentioning and that's because to be worth plus gerund verb.
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So I wanted to remind you or perhaps help you learn that you need the gerund with this expression.
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So worth is a gerund verb to be worth doing something.
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For example, it's worth to be.
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It is, as a contraction, it's worth subscribing to J4's English.
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Now, if a friend asks you, should I subscribe to J4's English?
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You can say, yes, it's worth it.
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It's worth it.
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What's the it?
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It's worth subscribing.
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So it represents the gerund.
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It's worth subscribing.
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And if you want to sound like a native, you can add totally.
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It's totally worth it.
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It's totally worth it.
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Do you agree with that?
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If you do, put that's right, that's right, put that's right in the comments.
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Let's talk about to be frank.
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Frank.
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This means to speak honestly, directly, or openly, often about something uncomfortable.
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We often use this to start a sentence.
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To be frank, I thought you were rude to your mother.
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So that might be something that's uncomfortable to tell someone.
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And she used pretty to be pretty frank.
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This is simply an intensifier.
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Now, did you hear the word icky?
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Icky?
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This is an informal way of something as unpleasant, gross, or distasteful.
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Cleaning the bathroom?
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Ugh, it's so icky.
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Wouldn't you agree?
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Or you could say, you have some icky stuff on your shirt, some gross stuff.
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Are you ready for your next listening exercise?
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Remember, you need to complete the missing words.
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You'll hear it twice.
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I've got to level with you.
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Before we started making this movie, I'd never been on a pair of skis in my life.
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Could you complete the missing words?
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I've got to level with you.
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Before we started making this movie, I'd never been on a pair of skis in my life.
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Just like going to becomes gonna, got to becomes gotta in spoken English.
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And again, those contractions which are difficult to hear.
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I'd, I'd, I had.
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A very soft D.
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I'd, I'd.
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Now, instead of saying of, you can reduce that to just simply a, a,
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but then combine them together para para para skis para skis
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now let's talk about those missing words to level with someone this means to share a surprising
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or harsh truth a harsh truth is an uncomfortable truth
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so you can say I have to level with you I
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don't like ice cream now Americans commonly say I gotta I gotta to level with you.
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I got to level with you.
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I have to level with you.
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I got to level with you.
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They're the same thing.
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And the fact that I don't like ice cream could be a surprising truth.
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I got to level with you.
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Or you can say, I have to level with you.
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I got to level with you.
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Your performance has been slipping, going down, slipping.
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So this is a harsh truth.
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It's honest and direct.
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Because of that, But you can also use that expression we learned, to be frank.
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I have to be frank with you.
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Your performance has been slipping.
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Here's your next listening exercise.
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You'll hear it twice.
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I think a lot of people will reflect on their previous year and think, you know what, what is the one thing I want to work on?
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I think a lot of people will reflect on their previous year and think, you know what, what is the one thing I want to work on?
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How'd you do with this one?
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Was it easy or difficult for you?
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I think a lot of people will reflect on their previous year and think, you know what?
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What is the one thing I want to work on?
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Let's talk about those pronunciation changes.
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A lot of becomes a lot of, a lot of, a lot of.
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Now, reflect on, because you have that T sound,
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you can transfer it to the next sound and say reflect on, reflect on.
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So it sounds like one word.
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You can do this with work on, work on, work on.
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So it sounds like one word.
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You know what may have been difficult to hear because it becomes unstressed.
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You know what?
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You know what?
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And want to becomes wanna.
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Wanna.
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Now I wanted you to pay attention to reflect on and work on so you notice those prepositions.
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When you're learning vocabulary, you should also learn the preposition that completes the verb because if you get the preposition wrong,
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it won't sound correct.
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So to reflect on something.
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This means to think deeply or carefully about something, usually before making decisions.
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For example, after the meeting, I reflected on the feedback my boss gave me.
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Maybe he had to level with you.
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Maybe he had to give you some frank feedback, honest and direct and you reflected on that, which is a mature thing to do.
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Let's talk about, you know what?
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You know what?
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This is an interjection.
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So it's used to introduce a thought, or it's simply to create a pause in a conversation.
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So you can say, we should host a party for your sister's birthday, but that might sound very abrupt.
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So if you want to transition or create a pause, introduce an idea, you can use an interjection.
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You know what?
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We should host a party for your sister's birthday.
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So by saying, you know what?
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You get someone's attention and then they're ready to hear your idea.
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Get ready for the next listening exercise.
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You'll hear it twice.
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Watch this video and get the scoop on a little known storytelling technique that'll crank up the believability of your message.
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Watch this video and get the scoop on a little -known storytelling technique that'll crank up the believability of your message.
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Was this more difficult for you?
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Watch this video and get the scoop on a little -known storytelling technique that'll crank up the believability of your message.
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Instead of saying scoop on a with pauses, you can pronounce this as one word.
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Scoop on a, scoop on a, scoop on a, scoop on a.
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Little may have been difficult to hear because that's not how native speakers say it.
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We say little, the, the, little.
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That'll is a contraction of that will, that'll, that'll.
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Let's review the vocabulary, the scoop.
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Do you know this one?
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This means insider information or the latest secret or exclusive details.
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Can you get the scoop on who's getting the promotion?
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So I'm asking you to get the exclusive information or the latest secret details.
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Or I could ask what?
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What's the scoop on the promotion?
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Do you know the latest details?
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Or I could say, who knows the scoop on the promotion?
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So who has the secret or latest details?
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What if I said to you, ooh, it's cold in here.
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Crank up the heat.
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What would you do to the heat?
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Or how about, I love this song.
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Crank it up.
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Crank it up.
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What would you do? to crank up means to increase the intensity volume
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or level of something now in this case the something was the believability
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which is a noun and this is the quality
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or state of being believable which is the adjective
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so to be believable I could say to my friend you didn't win the lottery.
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You were so believable.
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I believed my friend because she's believable.
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Or I could say, to be frank, the story lacked, lacked believability.
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So it lacked the quality of being believable.
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Or I could say, I have to level with you.
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I got a level with you.
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The story lacked believability.
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So look for ways you can mix and match all the vocabulary that you're learning.
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One more listening exercise, you'll hear it twice.
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All right, we've been playing for months.
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Let's do it.
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It's go time.
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All right, we've been playing for months.
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Let's do it.
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It's go time.
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Did you get that first word?
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All right.
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We've been planning for months.
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Let's do it.
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It's go time.
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Now you may not have heard that first word again because of reducing sounds.
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So instead of saying all right, native speakers commonly say, ah, all right, all right, all right.
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So it can be very unstressed or a little bit unstressed.
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It depends on the speaker.
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This one was quite unstressed.
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We've, we've is of course we have.
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For sounds like for, for, very unstressed.
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And do it, to get rid of that pause, you can add a very soft w, do it, do it, do it.
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But when you say it as one word, you don't hear it.
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Do it, do it, do it.
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All right is used as both an interjection or confirmation.
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So if someone says let's meet at two to discuss the project,
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you can say all right to confirm or you can start the discussion by saying all right let's review the sales reports.
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So in this case it's an interjection.
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It gets attention and it signals readiness to start.
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Let's look at let's do it.
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I say this a lot so maybe you've heard it from me.
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This is an informal way to signal readiness to act.
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I could say, today you'll learn 20 phrasal verbs.
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Are you ready?
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And you can reply back and say, let's do it.
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Let's do it, Jennifer.
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Or your friend could ask you, should we sign up for that cooking class?
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And you say, let's do it.
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Let's do it.
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Let's look at it's go time.
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I love this one.
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This is an informal way to say, now is the time to act.
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This is the moment we've been waiting for.
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And it's commonly used with a lot of energy and excitement.
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So you can imagine before a sports game or a big presentation, someone says, it's go time.
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Do you want me to make another lesson where we review real clips from native speakers?
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If you do put, let's go, let's go, which is another way of saying, it's go time.
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Let's go, it's go time.
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Put, let's go in the comments.
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And of course, make sure you like this lesson, share it with your friends, and subscribe so you're notified every time I post a new lesson.
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And you can get this free speaking guide where I share six tips on how to speak English fluently and confidently.
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You can click here to download it or look for the link in the description.
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And let's see how well you can complete this lesson.

What You'll Learn: Fast English Listening & Real-World Phrases

Ready to understand native speakers in any context? This video is your shortcut to mastering two key skills: decoding fast, connected speech and using everyday phrasal verbs like a pro. You’ll also learn how to structure purpose clauses—so you can explain *why* you do things, just like natives. Whether you’re a beginner or moving to intermediate, these quick wins will make you feel more confident in real conversations. And the best part? You can practice right away with shadowing—perfect for "learn english with videos" and "shadowspeak" techniques!

Listen For These Sounds: Connected Speech Secrets

Native speakers don’t speak word by word—they link, reduce, and blend sounds. In the dialogue, "head out" becomes "headout" (listen for that soft "d" linking to "out"). "To beat" turns into "t’beat" because "to" is unstressed. Even "early" has a long, clear "r" sound—don’t miss it! These reductions aren’t mistakes—they’re how English *flows*. Train your ear to catch them, and you’ll stop missing key words. Pro tip: Use "shadow speak" to mimic these links—repeat the sentence aloud *as* you hear it, and you’ll start to hear the connections naturally.

Say It Like a Native: Rhythm, Stress, and Purpose

To sound natural, focus on rhythm and stress. In "Let’s head out early to beat the traffic," stress "head out," "early," and "beat"—these are the key ideas. Notice how "to beat the traffic" is a short purpose clause (instead of "in order to beat")—natives use this all the time! You can even start sentences with it: "To beat the traffic, let’s leave at 6:30." Practice this with shadowing: repeat the sentence, copying the stress and speed. It’s the best way to "improve english pronunciation" and get comfortable with real-world rhythm. Remember: "shadowspeaks" isn’t just about repeating—it’s about matching the *feel* of the language. You’ve got this!

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.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →