Shadowing Practice: 10+ English words that you pronounce INCORRECTLY - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Stop mispronouncing these words in English.
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They all have silent letters.
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You can't work this out on your own.
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Someone has to teach you and that's why I'm here today.
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And if your goal is to speak English with a clear,
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natural British accent, my five-day British accent boot camp is exactly what you need.
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It's a short but complete, targeted training programme with daily practice routines so you can see real improvements from day one.
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And right now you can join for a special discounted price.
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To learn more and join, click the link in the description box or scan the QR code there.
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Okay, let's get started with the lesson.
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I'm going to show you a pair of words which both have the same silent letter.
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Say the words out loud and try to identify the silent letter.
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Then listen and repeat after me to check and practice.
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Here's our first pair.
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Try it yourself.
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Listen and repeat after me.
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Handsome.
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Wednesday.
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Now in both of these words, the letter D is silent.
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It's not handsome or wedness day.
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Drop the d sound.
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Handsome.
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Wednesday.
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Can you think of any more words with a silent d?
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Sandwich and handkerchief are two common examples, although some people do say sandwich.
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I think it's harder to pronounce that way.
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Another common pronunciation I like is actually with a mmm sound.
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Sandwich.
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Okay, our second pair of words.
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Say them out loud now.
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Can you spot the silent letter?
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Okay, listen and repeat.
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Biscuit, circuit.
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So both of these words have a silent U.
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It's not biscuit or circuit.
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Biscuit, circuit.
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This silent U confuses my students in other common words like build and builder.
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So take care with those words too.
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Okay, pair number three, which letter is silent in both of these words?
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Read them aloud, see what you think.
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The letter H is silent.
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Listen and repeat.
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Honest, air.
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We don't say honest or hair, drop the h sound.
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Can you think of any other words beginning with a silent h?
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H itself shouldn't have the h sound at the beginning, h.
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There's also hour, honour and herb.
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In British English, we say herb.
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Erb is more North American pronunciation.
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I say herb.
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Americans tend to say herb.
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Now, be careful with your article usage with these silent H words.
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We need to use an, not a, as they begin with vowel sounds.
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It was an honest mistake.
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Give me an hour.
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There are lots more silent H words in English, but most of them are so common, they usually don't cause confusion.
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The letters WH in what, where, when, and why, for example, are just pronounced with a W sound.
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My students do sometimes get confused by the pronunciation of the letters CH in some of these words though.
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Look at these four words.
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How are the letters CH pronounced in each one?
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Well, in the first word, chaos, the letters CH make a K sound.
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like in school, scheme, mechanic, and chemistry.
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Notice it's not chemistry, it's chemistry.
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Now in chore, the CH is pronounced ch, like in church and choose.
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But the CH in chef is pronounced sh,
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but in yacht, the letter CH are silent.
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Don't get caught out by those sneaky silent letters.
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Time for pair number four.
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Read these aloud.
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Now, you won't believe the number of times I've heard students say answer and sward, but these pronunciations are not correct.
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Never pronounce the letter W in these words.
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Instead, say answer, sward.
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You might have already noticed that the letter W is silent when written with R at the beginning of a word,
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like in right, wrist, wrinkle, and wrong.
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Take care with those silent Ws.
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Similarly, the letter K is silent when it appears with the letter N at the beginning of a word.
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But you knew that, right?
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Can you think of any other examples?
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Well, we've got words like knife,
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knuckle, knight, knee, knit, and knot,
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to name but a few.
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Okay, are you ready for our fifth pair?
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Here it is.
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Which letter is silent in both of these words?
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Scissors, muscle.
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The letter C isn't pronounced in either of these words.
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I hear skizzes and muskles all the time.
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Drop the C and say scissors, muscles instead.
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The letter C is silent in a lot of words with the letters SC together.
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Can you think of any more examples?
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Well, Take care with the words scent,
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scenario, fascinate and ascent as they all have a silent C.
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Now, can you spot the silent letters in pair number six?
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Both of these words contain a silent F.
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Just joking, I'm just making sure you're paying attention.
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It's the L that is silent.
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I hear a lot of students trying to pronounce the L.
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half, calf.
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Forget the all sound and just make the long R vowel sound instead.
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Half, calf.
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Much easier.
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Okay, pair number seven, say these words out loud.
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The letter S is silent in both of these words.
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I'll is pronounced the same as the contraction of I will and is one syllable.
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Isle.
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And it's not Island, it's Island.
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Okay, time for our penultimate pair.
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Read them aloud.
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Which letter is silent?
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That's right, we never pronounce the letter P at the beginning of words with S.
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Psychology.
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Psychic.
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Can you think of any more words like this?
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Well, we've We've got psalm, pseudonym, and psychedelic.
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These are all words of Greek origin.
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Oh, and take care with these silent P words my students always mispronounce.
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We have cupboard and receipt.
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I know it's so tempting to say receipt.
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Receipt.
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Cupboard receipt.
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Okay, time for our final pair.
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Read these words out loud and try to identify the silent letter.
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Now, if you said musicale or basically with a or a, try again musically, basically.
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That's right, with some adverbs ending c-a-l-l-y, the a is silent.
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Some speakers will pronounce it as a soft schwa sound musically, basically.
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This is less common.
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Most speakers don't pronounce the letter a at all and just say musically, basically, both with just three syllables.
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Right, we've got just enough time for a quick shadowing task
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to help you remember some of the words with silent letters that we've covered today.
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I'll mark the silent letters on screen to help you.
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Shadow me if you can, or listen, pause, and then repeat.
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You ready?
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The handsome builder is coming to put up the kitchen cupboards at half five this Wednesday.
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He's also going to fit an island where I can keep my knives,
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scissors, receipts, sandwich and biscuit tins and basically all of my bits and pieces.
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Honestly, it's the best case scenario as I haven't got the muscle to do it myself.
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How did you find that?
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Rewind and speak along with me again to practice further.
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Right, that brings us to the end of today's video.
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Were there any silent letters that surprised you?
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Were there any that you think I should have mentioned and didn't?
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Let me know in the comments.
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And if you would like more help with your British pronunciation, my five-day British accent boot camp is on sale.
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Click on the link in the description box or scan the QR code there to learn more and join.
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I will see you in the next video.
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Bye!

Boost Your English Speaking with Targeted Pronunciation Practice

This video is a goldmine for English speaking practice, focusing on a key fluency milestone: mastering silent letters to sound clearer and more natural. Silent letters are a common hurdle, but with the right training, you can eliminate mispronunciations that trip up even intermediate learners.

Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions for Daily Use

  • "Stop mispronouncing these words in English." (A direct way to address pronunciation errors)
  • "Drop the [sound]." (A practical tip for simplifying tricky words)
  • "Can you think of any more words with a silent [letter]?" (A great question to test your learning)
  • "Take care with those words too." (A reminder to focus on common problem areas)

Fix Your Weak Spots: Mastering Silent Letters

Silent letters are the main pronunciation issue this video tackles. Let’s break down the actionable advice: - Silent D: Words like "handsome" and "Wednesday" don’t include the "d" sound. Practice saying them as "han-sum" and "wenz-day" to avoid over-pronouncing. - Silent U: "Biscuit" and "circuit" drop the "u" sound—say "bis-kit" and "sir-kit" instead. Watch out for "build" and "builder" too! - Silent H: "Honest" and "hour" start with a silent "h" (say "on-est" and "our"). In British English, "herb" is also "erb" (not "hurb"). To improve, use shadow speech: repeat the words aloud immediately after the video, mimicking the rhythm and stress. Tools like a shadowing app or shadowing site can help you compare your pronunciation to native speakers. Consistent practice with these words will make your speech sound more polished, helping you hit that natural accent goal. Remember, small fixes like dropping silent letters can make a big difference in how confident you feel when speaking English.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.