Shadowing Practice: 5 Secrets for a Perfect "British" Accent! 🇬🇧 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.

Welcome to Smashing English.

Today we are talking about five secrets for a perfect British accent.

Yes, let's get straight into it.

I am so excited about this.

It's going to be great.

So, yes, today we are looking at the modern RP accent.

The modern RP, it sounds a little bit like how I am speaking right now.

La la la.

This is kind of the accent we are talking about.

Modern RP is short for modern received pronunciation.

Famous speakers are people like

Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Emma Watson if you go to the BBC News,

you probably will hear this accent.

You do not have to speak with this accent, but a lot of my students want to learn it.

So we are here to learn that today.

So secret number one.

By the way, hello, everybody.

I can see you.

Hello.

Hello, everybody.

John, Edris, Harper.

Thank you so much for being here from Hong Kong. So exciting.

Where are you watching from?

Let me know.

So the first thing we are going to talk about is you have to move your voice up and down.

So when you want to sound like a natural speaker, when you hear people with an accent and you think, wow, that sounds so natural.

It might be because of this.

So, let me show you something.

Oh, look at this.

So, in modern RP, there's usually a certain rhythm.

There's a certain up and down.

So, yes, we say the words, but it's how we say them.

That's what makes it really special.

So, look at this.

We start up here.

There was, and then we go down once, an old man named John.

So, we're kind of following this figure of eight thing that is really common in modern RP speakers.

There was once an old man named John.

So try that.

Try making that with your hands.

Like this figure of eight.

So we go up with our voice, then down, then up again, then down, then up again, then down.

You don't have to do it religiously, like, oh my gosh, I have to, you know, always be up and down.

But try to have that feeling of rising and falling,

especially when you get to the end of a sentence or the end of a thought.

Make sure you go down after that.

So let's practice this together.

There was once an old man named John.

Notice how we go named John.

Okay, always on the down.

And go higher than you think as well.

So you may think that you're going quite high with your voice, but maybe you're not.

Maybe you're just going, there was once an old man named John.

That's not enough.

We need to go higher than you think.

There was once an old man named John.

I love to go on holiday and see all the things and I would love to visit Spain.

There's this flowy up and down -ness in this accent

and I think that is what makes it sound different to a lot of other accents.

So let's try it one more time.

There was once an old man named John.

Name John.

If you can at least get that ending part, that will make me really happy.

Name John.

Think about going down when you get there.

Well done, well done.

So let's try the sentences.

You ready?

So we're going to try these sentences, but following this up and this down.

I like your new shoes because they look really comfortable.

And it doesn't always perfectly fit the up and the down

because we're not robots and we do want to express ourselves and express the meaning of what we want to say,

but generally there's this up and down.

Let's try the next one.

She goes to work by bus, but sometimes she walks home.

You have to feel free that you can go up with your voice and down with your voice.

If your voice is always at the same pace,

at the same pitch, it won't be very interesting to listen to you know,

if you are giving a presentation at work and everything sounds the same, it doesn't matter what accent you use.

It doesn't matter if you're speaking in this accent or something else.

It just will sound a bit dull.

So we want to make things exciting, particularly if you want this accent.

Let's try the next one.

We had pizza for dinner and watched a film together.

Do you hear that?

Watched a film together.

It kind of la da da da da da.

Yes, this video is being recorded, so it will be available on YouTube afterwards.

Don't worry so yeah it kind of feels like this roller coaster going up and down it's got this lovely flow

let's try the next one can you open the window

because it's quite hot in here can you open the window

because it's quite hot in here there's this da da da da da you know

There's always an up and down.

It is a beautiful day, so let's go for a walk.

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It is a beautiful day, so let's go for a walk.

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It is a beautiful day, so let's go for a walk.

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So whenever you're practicing, whenever you're speaking, just try to lift the pitch of your voice and let it go down towards the end.

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See if that can be something that feels comfortable for you.

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I know it may feel a bit strange, but when you are practising on your own, try it.

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A good thing you can do is try doing a really big siren from bottom to top.

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just

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so you can hear how much voice

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you have you don't have to be limited to this much we have a lot of voice

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that we can um use lovely jubbly so if you didn't know today i launched my full British accent course.

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I'm so excited about it.

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I have spent months and months and months on this course and I'm really, really proud of it.

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It has everything you need.

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If you want to speak with this accent, which I'm guessing you do because you are here at this video, so clearly you are interested.

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This has everything you need.

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You know, when I make YouTube videos, I can give you little tips and stuff, but this is a full,

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like beginning to end, you will get everything you need.

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So let's watch a little preview, everybody.

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Why don't we watch a preview?

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And I can't hear it unless I do this.

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So let's watch a preview.

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This is from the course and it will lead us into our next tip.

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So pay attention because this is what we are going to be learning next here we go

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so what we're going to do to practice this is we're going to try a very long th

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but we're going to go between the two

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so this is what i want you to work on you ready so we're going to go like this big breath

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So we're not stopping, okay?

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We're literally just going from one to the other.

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This is great practice to warm those muscles up.

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Try it with me.

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Here we go.

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Do you notice how my face isn't changing?

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The shape is not changing at all.

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Try it again.

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Here hope you're doing this by the way this is excellent warm -up

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and practice for what we're about to do very good very good

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so yes we are coming into the th by the way if you buy this course during this live stream,

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if you buy this course and tell me, I will put you on the wall of amazing learners.

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So, we've already had some amazing people.

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Jose!

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Jose or Jose?

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Some people are Jose and some people are Jose.

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So, you tell me, are you a Jose

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or a Jose you get to go on the wall of amazing learners

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because he has bought the course thank you so

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so much I hope you find it useful

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and I hope you get some amazing things from it

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so thank you so much

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if you want to be on the wall of amazing learners

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click the link in the description get your course tell me

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and I will put you on the wall

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we've had some other people who have bought

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it actually who else have we got who else do we have we've got lots of people here

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but I don't know their names because I can just see their email addresses

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so sometimes just an email address I don't know so

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if you've bought it let me know uh Jose great Jose thank you so much Jose.

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So get your course now and I will put you on the wall.

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Okay, so leading on to secret number two, the TH.

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So as you saw in that clip, we have two different types of TH.

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We have unvoiced and voiced.

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Two different types of TH, okay?

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Oh, Harper says, when I'm 18, I want to buy the course and go to London.

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That sounds amazing.

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You don't need to go to London to get the course though, just saying.

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So yes, so unvoiced, we make it like this.

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So we put our teeth in, we put our tongue in between our teeth and we go like that.

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Just a breath, relax your face, relax.

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okay we need to see your tongue voiced is the same

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but we add voice to it okay

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and we need to make a buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz here like

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if you feel your lips there should be buzzing

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should sound like a b so in that video we were going from one to the other we were going

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and that is one of the warm -ups

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that I give you in the course to help your th become really really strong

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so let me show you where you might hear those different ths

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so unvoiced I've put it in blue and voiced I've put it in red

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so we've got I think those three brothers live together the, near the theatre.

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Do you hear the difference?

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So do you hear the difference between think and those?

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Think those.

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The those has much more of a buzz in front of it.

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And when you're practicing th, I want your th to be nice and long.

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You can make it as long as you like.

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It's not about sounding good right now

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when you're practicing it you don't need to worry about sounding good just make it long

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so practice it like this I think those three brothers live together

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near the theater and I want you to keep it

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that long until you feel really confident and then you can shorten them,

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shorten them, shorten them, but we should really hear the difference between the two.

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Let's, oh, sports writer says, how to find out whether a TH is voiced or unvoiced.

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Unfortunately, there's not a really easy, quick thing to do and say, yeah, that is all TH,

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that is all, that is all voiced, that is all unvoiced.

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So you do have to just get familiar with words and the more you practice, the more you will pick up.

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But unfortunately, there's no easy way to know straight away.

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There are some patterns that you can learn, but it's not as easy as just this and this.

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Let's try the next one.

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My mother and father always thank me for helping them.

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My mother and father always thanked me me for helping them.

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Let's make that even longer actually.

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My mother and father always thank me for helping them.

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Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz with the red ones.

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Let's try the next one.

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There's nothing better than a warm bath on a Thursday.

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so look in front of a mirror if you're

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if you're looking in a mirror

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and you can't see your tongue you might not be making it correctly

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so seeing your tongue is a real good sign

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that you are saying it probably in the right shape next one

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they thought the way oh I forgot to highlight

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that one oh look at me terrible oh I'm terrible

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there we go let's try this they thought the weather would be warmer than this.

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There should be buzz.

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If it doesn't feel like you're making a buzz, it might not be quite right.

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These things belong to the other three people over there.

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Okay, so TH just takes time.

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You have to train your muscle of your tongue.

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Just like going to the gym you have to train those muscles

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this is the same thing we are training a muscle

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so you have to practice again and again and again

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and in the course I give you plenty of ways to practice

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but I also

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if you get the pro course

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you get a 12 -week practice plan with loads of audio tracks me speaking me giving

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you things to practice tongue twisters so you don't have to decide what you're going to do to practice.

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I will do that for you.

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So I give you the plan so you can just do what it says and you don't need to think really.

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So yes, if you want to find out more about this course, this full British accent course that I have made,

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I'm very, very proud of it.

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The info is in the description.

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Some frequently asked questions.

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Does anyone have any questions about this course.

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Let me know in the chat, do you have any questions at all?

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I will answer it right now.

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We've had some more people getting the course.

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That's so exciting.

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Luciana, I'm going to put you on the wall of amazing learners.

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You get to go on here.

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Where are you?

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Yes, because Luciana's bought the course.

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She's great.

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Thank you so much, Luciana.

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You are the best.

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I'm so excited for you to see your accent change

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and I'm so excited for you to feel confident speaking English with this accent if that's what you want to do.

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So any other questions do we have?

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Let me know.

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Someone says you look pregnant in the photo.

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Well I was pregnant in the photo and I still am pregnant

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So I took that photo when I, this photo here, I took this photo when I, I don't look pregnant in that photo.

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What do you mean?

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You can't see that I'm pregnant at all.

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Um, yes, I was about four months pregnant when we took that photo and I'm now nearly six months pregnant.

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What am I now?

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I don't even know I don't know I think I'm seven seven months pregnant I think goodness me um

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so yeah this has been a real um journey to build this

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while I've been feeling very pregnant um why is the th pronounced differently in some words

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I don't know I don't know English is really annoying um

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so yes are there any if you have any questions about the course if you have bought the course,

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tell me in the chat and I will give you a big thank you

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and I will put you on the wall of amazing learners if you have bought the course.

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So tell me, tell me, tell me.

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There are two different types of course.

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So you can get the standard course and you get all of the course with 40 video lessons, practice texts, audios.

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The pro version is the same.

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You get all of that, but you also get a 12 week practice guide.

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So you know what to do for 12 weeks.

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You get 70 practice audio tracks.

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That took me a long time to make.

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And also I've got some real lessons in there.

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So I've got half three 40 minute lessons with my real students, giving them feedback so you can learn with them.

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someone's got a question.

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Oh, great.

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Someone asks, why do we learn RP?

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Why do we learn?

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You don't absolutely don't have to.

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You absolutely don't have to learn this accent.

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No one has to.

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But I've taught online now for many years

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and 80 % of my students want to learn this accent

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they are interested in it they like how it sounds they like

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that it's clear they like that it's consistent and they like

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that it is internationally understandable so if you work internationally

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or you want to move to a different country everyone can understand it

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so no one needs to speak with this accent please don't think

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this is me saying you have to do it but

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so many people want to um that I thought I would make this course

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because there seems to be lots of people who want it

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so that's why i made it um

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when you buy the course do you have to be online to work on it um yes to access

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it all exists on an online platform

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so you would need a wi -fi access to be able to access it um

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but there are plenty of things that you download

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that you can do without wi -fi access so like the practice guide

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and the pdfs they're all downloadable so you can do those whenever you want.

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So keep asking me your questions if you have any questions.

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Okay, next tip.

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Here we go.

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Secret number three.

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Oh, no. What does that mean?

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Oh, no.

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Goodness me okay oh no this sound oh oh okay oh now

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that sound so many students struggle with it so many students find

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that sound really really hard so in oh no they just often get it wrong if they're do this accent.

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So what you need to do, it's a diphthong.

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So there are two sounds in it.

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So it goes, oh, so the first sound is what we call a schwa,

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which is a completely neutral sound.

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uh try that with me uh okay completely neutral sound then the second part of the sound goes

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so if I put those two together watch my mouth okay do you see how relaxed my face was at the beginning

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oh oh oh the problem is a lot of students get the first part wrong

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so you see that first part a lot of students go oh

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or oh that beginning is not quite right

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so you have to really practice the start

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and make sure you're not doing some sound that isn't quite right

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so let's just do that a couple more times

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so we go oh oh oh oh okay

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so make sure you start on an uh sound

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so let's practice some of these words so we've got no so if i slowed it down it would be no

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No. No. Look at my mouth.

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No. No. Not now.

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No.

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Make sure you relax your face at the beginning

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next one show grow hello

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home bone ocean emotion

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toes nose unknown throne okay so that beginning part of

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that sound is so so so important

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if you're going now show grow it sounds like you are the queen

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or the king and it's too much it's not quite right

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and if you go now shall grow that sounds like you are Adele

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that sounds like very London Cockney which is a great accent but if you want this accent, then we have to do this correct.

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So we've got some more questions about the cause.

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Let's look at them.

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So first question we've got, what does RP mean?

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That is a great question.

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I keep saying RP, RP, RP.

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RP is short for received pronunciation.

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Modern RP is a British English accent that doesn't clearly show which part of England someone comes from.

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It sounds less formal than traditional RP or heightened RP, which is more associated with royalty.

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So hello, my name is the Queen and I am very excited to talk to you all here.

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That is very heightened.

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No one really speaks like that anymore.

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So this modern RP is the accent that you probably hear the most if you go on the BBC.

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So if you listen to Emma Watson, Emily Blunt, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, those are kind of your modern RP speakers.

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So that's what that means.

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What was the other questions?

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I've got some more questions here.

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Is it not common to have a heightened RP accent?

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Yeah, it's not common at all heightened IP hello I would like to welcome you all here today

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because it that's very uncommon

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so don't we don't want to learn I mean maybe you do

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but not many people speak with that accent how much does it cost

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so I believe this course is pretty cheap compared to some pronunciation courses

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I really wanted to keep the price low

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because we live in a really expensive time money is

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so tight for everybody I get it it's really hard

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so I did not want to charge $300 $400

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so I've tried to make it a price

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that feels like it's the value of what it is

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and also the value of the amount of time I've spent on it because I've spent so much time on it.

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So these are the prices.

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I believe that's a fair price, but I understand money is really tight.

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What else have we got?

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To follow this course, do you have to be fluent and high level of English?

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I don't think you have to be a high level of English.

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Um, I, there are subtitles on all the videos, so all the videos have subtitles, so you don't need to,

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um, you don't need to be really high level.

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I don't think so.

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I think having a, okay, if you can understand me now, I think you're fine.

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um okay fabulous so let's watch another preview clip

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so we're gonna watch another preview clip this is from another part of the course um

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and then we're going to carry on so this is from the course

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if you want to buy it and

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if you want to go on the wall of amazing learners tell me

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if you've bought the course and i will put you on there.

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So here we go.

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Let's watch this.

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Here we are.

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I was born.

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There's that or again from before.

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I was born.

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Let's do this sound. That sound.

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What is that sound?

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I know it looks like an a?

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Do we say it like a?

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Do we say a about?

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A about?

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No. So what do you think?

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What sound is that?

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It's actually a schwa.

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So we don't say about.

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We don't say about.

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We say about.

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Look at how relaxed my mouth is. About.

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Uh, uh, uh, about.

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Really try to fight any instinct to go about. About.

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And then this is the ow sound.

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Ow.

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So the whole word goes about. About out.

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I was born about 10 minutes from here actually.

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Now you can put a pause there because there's a comma

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so you can pause it or I'm going to interrupt myself because she's about she.

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I'm about to talk about something that we are about to talk about so I will tell you instead.

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I've had another good question about the course on here.

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If we buy the course today, will we have access to them in a year?

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Yes, you have lifetime access.

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When you buy it, you can access it forever. So it's yours.

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You buy it and it's yours forever.

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So yes, you can have it as much as you want.

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Okie dokie, next up, secret number four, link those

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ours oh actually we've got two more people maria

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and mandy you're going on the wall of amazing learners

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because they have the course they have the course look at that look at that wonderful

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thank you so much maria and mandy you are fantastic i'm so excited for you that you can do the course.

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Okay, so secret number four.

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Link those R's.

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Link those R's.

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So, the rule.

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In modern RP, we only pronounce an R if it comes before a vowel sound.

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I'm going to say that again.

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We only pronounce an R if it comes before a vowel sound.

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So, have a look at those words.

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If there's an X, we're not saying the R.

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We're not going car, okay?

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If there is a tick, then we are saying it.

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Please answer my question.

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What does RP mean?

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I did.

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I answered it.

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You might missed it.

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Go back on the video.

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I answered your question. So, car.

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Keep your tongue flat.

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Don't go car.

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Okay, car.

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Because it doesn't come before a vowel sound.

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However, road, that comes before a vowel sound because it comes before O, right?

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So, we need to say that one.

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Road.

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Lovely.

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Here, that's an interesting one

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because it looks like it comes before a vowel it looks like it comes before a vowel

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but we don't pronounce this vowel we don't say heary

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so it's silent so we don't say it

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so it's not a vowel sound yes it's written as a vowel

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but it's not a vowel sound so we don't say that R.

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We say hear.

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Keep your tongue flat.

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This next one, there's a vowel sound after it.

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There's a vowel sound after it.

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Red.

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So we say that R.

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The next one, there is a vowel sound after it.

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So we say it.

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E. Sorry.

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Sorry.

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That's a vowel sound.

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But the last one, it doesn't come before a vowel sound.

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So keep your tongue flat.

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Start.

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Start.

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OK, that is the general rule of R in modern RP.

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However, however, when we are linking, which we always want to link because sounding natural,

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we need to link words together so when we are linking

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if a word ends in an r

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and the next word starts with a vowel sound we pronounce the r

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so we forget about that rule

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so look here far on its own we wouldn't pronounce the r

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so on its own we say far however when we're linking if the next word starts with a vowel we say it.

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So we say far away.

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Far away.

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So it's like you put the R at the beginning of the next word.

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Raway.

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Far away.

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Far away.

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Raway.

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Okay.

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Next one.

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Mother is.

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Separately.

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Linking them mother is

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so it's like you're saying riz the second word is riz

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mother is mother is the next one car alarm car alarm put

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that r in front of the second word car alarm car alarm

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do you hear that so let's look at a few more car engine four apples here

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and now war and peace never again father -in -law

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so the key is you want to make it so that the r gets attached to the next word.

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So it's like you're saying rengin,

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rapples, rand, rand, ruggen, rin.

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So it's like you're adding the r to the next word.

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So let's do these one more time, say them with me.

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Car engine.

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Four apples.

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Here and now.

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War and peace.

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Never again.

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father -in -law.

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Okay, that is going to make you sound so natural, though that is like beautiful.

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If you can do that, it's going to sound great.

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So what do you get in this course?

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This is my brand new

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Speak With A British Accent Modern RP course.

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It just launched.

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I'm so proud of it.

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I can't wait for you to have it.

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So you will master every vowel and consonant.

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You will learn exactly what to do with your mouth, where to put your tongue, your teeth.

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You will link words smoothly, just like we were just doing, linking, putting things together.

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We will be connecting your words.

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We'll be talking about the rhythm.

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So stress, intonation, connected speech.

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Do I stress this word?

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Do I stress that word?

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And then we will be working through so many dialogues,

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texts, things, you know, real life text to put it into practice and put it all together.

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If you have bought the course, tell me in the chat.

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If you have bought it, let me know and I will put you on the wall of amazing learners.

516

Let's add some names to this, actually.

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Who else have we got?

518

Oh, someone's just bought it.

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Jassy, I'm going to go for.

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Let's go for it.

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I think that's your name amazing thank you

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so much Jassy you're the best you are the best thank you

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so much because you're not only getting an amazing course

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but you are supporting me and my maternity leave

525

which I am very very grateful for because I don't have a real job so I don't have maternity leave

526

So thank you so much.

527

And we've had someone else.

528

Who is this?

529

Oh, I don't know who that name is.

530

James.

531

I know James.

532

Lovely.

533

Look at that.

534

That wall is getting pretty full, but I can still put lots more names on there.

535

Thank you so much for buying the course.

536

You're the best.

537

Yes.

538

Let me know if you have any more questions about my course.

539

Let me know if you've bought it.

540

I love you all.

541

You're great.

542

Okay, let's watch one more.

543

Oh no, this isn't a preview clip.

544

So I'm just going to show you a little bit of what the course looks like.

545

So you can see here, this is kind of near the beginning of the course where we're talking about the vowels and the shapes and everything.

546

You can see along here, all of the lessons on the side.

547

Then there's lots of drills in there with close -up of my mouth

548

so you can really see what my mouth is doing for all of the sounds

549

and you can very easily just jump in

550

and just use those to practice as often as you want um

551

so they're kind of there for your daily practice um

552

and yes we do a lot of working through texts

553

and picking out everything oh should we say this like this how do we link

554

that together there's so much in there um

555

and we've got some some things for you to download as well

556

so you've got lots of practice passages with audios

557

there's just a lot in there I just tried to include as much as I could um

558

because I really wanted to put all of my knowledge into one course and there it is.

559

So, info is in the description.

560

Okay, it's time for our final secret.

561

The final secret.

562

So, long and short.

563

Long and short.

564

Some vowel sounds are short and some are long.

565

We need to hear that there's a difference.

566

So, in front of us, we have monophthongs, which are vowel sounds with one sound.

567

Some of them are short.

568

So these are short.

569

So we say e, a, u, u, u, i, o.

570

Short.

571

If I say the words, you've got pen, map, sun, book, water, fish, pot.

572

Short sounds.

573

We just make them and then we're done.

574

However, we also have long ones.

575

So, do you see that in the symbols, some of them have two dots?

576

So, some of them have two dots.

577

If a symbol has two dots, it means it's a long vowel sound.

578

So, we go or, ah, ee, oo, uh, and they just sound longer.

579

They just need to have a little bit more length to them.

580

So we would say horse, star, tree, moon.

581

turn.

582

Can you hear the difference?

583

If I say all of the vowels together, see if you can hear the difference between the short ones and the long ones.

584

So we've got pen, map, sun, book, water, fish, pot,

585

horse, star, tree, moon, turn.

586

They just have that little bit more length to them

587

if you want a quick way of remembering the long sounds you can use this sentence

588

so this sentence has all of the long sounds in it a star horse turns to see the moon

589

now those are the long vowel sounds so

590

if you want to have a quick easy way of remembering how to do it or what the long sounds are?

591

It's that.

592

So let's try that again.

593

A star horse turns to see the moon.

594

Lovely.

595

So when you've got a sentence like this, the underlined ones, those are the long sounds.

596

So they should just sound a little bit different to everything else.

597

So if I read these sentences, listen to how I do the sounds that are underlined.

598

Those are the long sounds.

599

So we've got, let me tell you a story about a nurse who travelled the world.

600

They're just a little bit longer.

601

Let me tell you a story about a nurse who travelled the world.

602

Just need to have that little bit more length.

603

Next one.

604

Don't listen to her.

605

She can't do anything.

606

Now, these are the interesting ones because technically that is a long sound.

607

It's this one.

608

And do is also a long sound.

609

This one.

610

However, when they are unimportant words like pronouns or, you know, like little unimportant words,

611

we don't make them as long.

612

So we do it for words like story, world, nurse, because they are important words.

613

But if it's like a preposition or a pronoun, we don't make them as long.

614

However, this one, I feel awful about this.

615

Awful.

616

That's this sound, horse awful I feel awful

617

so let's just make sure we hear a nice difference between the short vowel sounds

618

and the long ones but we go into lots of detail with this in my course

619

so if you are watching this

620

and you just think wow

621

I want to learn more about this I want to have this accent go to the description

622

and you can find out anything you want to know about the course

623

any more questions anyone else who's bought it

624

if we're going to add anyone else to the wall of amazing learners before

625

we go can anyone else make it onto this wall are you going to buy the course let's see

626

if anyone's bought it on email let's see

627

and once you have it once you buy it you have it forever

628

so there's no expiration you don't have to worry about losing the course once

629

you get it you get it forever and you have access forever and ever.

630

You can take it at your own pace.

631

Yeah, I'm super, super proud of it.

632

It took me a long time to make, and I can't believe it's out, and people can use it,

633

and people can, yeah, people can work on their accent with it.

634

That just sounds crazy to me, and I'm very, very very excited um to hear what you think

635

and hear the feedback and hear the um the progression you know I would love it

636

if you could record your voice at the beginning of the course and then um

637

record your voice at the end and then send me both

638

that would be amazing to listen to um yeah thank you

639

so much for being here um I'm really passionate about this course I wouldn't promote it

640

if I didn't think it was good

641

and I really do think it is good I hope

642

so yes go to the description you can find all the information

643

if you have any questions about the course you can go to the contact page on our website

644

and you can ask any questions that you have here

645

you will get a course

646

but you will also be supporting the channel be supporting me on my maternity leave so that I can have some

647

time with my new baby.

648

So yes, thank you so much for being here.

649

If you want other ways to support the channel, you can become a member.

650

So if you click the join button, you can become a member and there are lots of benefits there.

651

You can also check out the other courses on smashingenglish .com.

652

I've got something else that I'm releasing very soon as well.

653

So keep your eyes peeled for that.

654

Yes, smashingenglish .com has all our courses.

655

Thank you so much for being here.

656

I can't wait for you to take this course and see how much it changes your accent if you want that.

657

Thank you so much for being here.

658

Well done, well done.

659

And I will see you next time.

660

Ta -ta!

661

The course is out.

662

Yay!

663

I'm so excited.

664

Bye!

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “5 Secrets for a Perfect "British" Accent! 🇬🇧”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: sound, accent, vowel. This video has 664 sentences and 6206 words to shadow. The speech runs for 45:36. The speaker talks at a steady 136 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
accent noun	/ækˈsɛnt/	A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to…
buzz noun	/bʌz/	A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones.
preview noun	/ˈpɹiːvjuː/	An experience of something in advance.
pronounce verb	/pɹəˈnaʊns/	To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously.
relax verb	/ɹɪˈlæks/	To make something loose.
audio adjective	/ˈɔ.di.oʊ/	Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight.
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
awful adjective	/ˈɔːfʊl/	Very bad.
muscle noun	/ˈmʌs.əl/	A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
alarm noun	/əˈlɑɹm/	A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
clip noun	/klɪp/	Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
nurse noun	/nɝs/	Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession.
dot noun	/dɑt/	A small, round spot.
maternity noun	/məˈtɜɹnəti/	The state of being a mother; motherhood.
pronunciation noun	/pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/	The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go down verb	To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
work through verb	To get past a difficult or stressful situation by thinking or talking about it.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
go back on verb	To be treacherous or faithless to; to betray.
go up verb	To move upwards.
pick out verb	To remove by picking.
pick up verb	To lift; to grasp and raise.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Where are you watching from?
Why don't we watch a preview?
Do you notice how my face isn't changing?
Do you hear the difference?
What else have we got?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if i slowed it down it would be · If we buy the course today, will we
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have spent · we've already had · has bought
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	being recorded · is voiced · was born
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	people who have · people who want · Cockney which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 164 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, bath /bɑːθ/, theater /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/, throne /θɹəʊ̯n/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, shoe /ˈʃu/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, passionate /ˈpæʃənɪt/
Long words — get the stress right: maternity /məˈtɜɹnəti/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, unimportant /ˌʌnɪmˈpɔɹtənt/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like accent, buzz, preview.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 5 Secrets for a Perfect "British" Accent! 🇬🇧 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?