Shadowing Practice: American Accent🇺🇸: Master the FLAP T and R transition [water, daughter, better, computer] - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey, it's Hadar.
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Today I'm going to talk about a tricky transition in American English.
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The flap T and the R, as in the word butter, greater, and daughter.
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I'm going to talk about the two sounds, the flap T and the R, and how to put them together in an effortless and accurate way.
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So, let's get started.
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Let's first talk about what is the flap T.
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The flap T is a unique pronunciation of the T when it appears between two vowels in unstressed syllables.
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So, for example, if we take the word notice, if I pronounce it with a true T, how people usually perceive the T to be,
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it's going to sound like notice, notice, where I bring the tip of the tongue up and then I pronounce the T, notice.
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But in this situation when the T is between two vowels
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and the syllable is not stress It's not the primary stress of the word then the T changes to RE notice
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Notice you may say that it sounds like a D
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But notice that it's not a real D
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because I don't say no dis No dis it's let's say a very very light D
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notice notice what the tongue does is it comes up to touch the upper palate
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and instead of blocking the air
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and releasing it kind of gives the upper palate a high
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five notice notice you keep the voice going this white sounds to you like a D
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but it's not really a D it's it and for those of you who have sharp ears,
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we'll notice that it actually sounds more like a Spanish soft R, R, R, as on the word pero.
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And if you've seen my previous videos about the flap T, you know that I've used this example.
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And I think it's so easy to understand it like that.
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Listen, pero nores, nores, R, R, R, right?
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So it's the same sound actually.
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If you don't have the R sound in your language, then don't worry about it.
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Just try to make it a very light D.
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Okay?
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So that's the flap T.
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Again, notice, activity, and Betty.
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Now, the flap T appears very often before an R, especially at the end of words, like in water and greater.
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Now, here what we want to do is instead of bringing the tongue down after the flap T,
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you want to pull it in immediately for the American R.
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For the American R, the tongue pulls back and the sides of the tongue touch the sides of the upper teeth.
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Now, if this is the first time that you're learning about the American R, then maybe you don't need to work on this transition first,
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because it's going to be a little more challenging.
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What I recommend is for you to go and master the American R first,
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and you can watch my video about how to pronounce the R and then come back here and work on this transition.
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Otherwise, it's going to be a little too confusing.
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Okay?
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So, but if you know how to pronounce the R or at least you're working towards it, then this lesson is definitely for you.
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So, from the flap T, water, you pull the tongue in rather quickly until the sides of the tongue touch the sides of the teeth.
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water your tongue can be up can be down I mean I recommend for you to keep it up
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because it's going to be easier but remember that what really matters
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when it comes to the R is what the sides of
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the tongue do okay it's how they push against the teeth
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and the curve
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that you have in your tongue in this in the back part of your tongue okay
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so remember that there is no vowel between the flap T and the R.
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Wa-r-r, dr, dr. It's not dare.
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Wa-dare, grey-dare.
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There is no E sound.
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Even though you see the letter E, it's not an E.
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It's a schwa, right?
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And a schwa is a reduced vowel.
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And the R actually takes over the schwa sound.
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So basically it's just a flap T and the R.
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Now let's practice the transition a bit more.
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Rr, drr, drr.
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Remember that when you want to master this transition in words, phrases, sentences and free speech,
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you have to train your tongue to do just the transition smoothly and effortlessly.
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So, you want to find yourself doing this, rrr, rrr, rrr, about 30 to 40 times a day until you master it.
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And if it's hard for you to make the flap T, rrr, rrr, and then the transition to the R, then start with a D.
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D-r, d-r.
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Train your tongue to go through this transition without adding a vowel in between.
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R-r, d-r, d-r, right?
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So you can start with a D.
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D-r, d-r, d-r.
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When it's rather easy you can start making the D a little lighter rrr, rrr, rrr, and then start making it like the flap T.
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Rrr, rrr, rrr. Does that make sense?
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I hope it does.
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Let's put it in words.
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Da-der, da-der.
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You'll notice that once you do this transition over and over again, then in the words it's like easy-peasy.
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Da-der.
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Make sure that the first vowel, the vowel before, is longer.
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Okay?
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So, we give yourself time to kind of prepare for this transition.
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Daughter.
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Water.
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Better.
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Butter.
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Greater.
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Smarter.
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I tricked you here.
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Try it again.
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Why was that difficult?
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Smarter, right?
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It was a little different than the previous ones because of the R.
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There was another R, right?
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Smarter.
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So you need to hear transition from the R to the flap T-R.
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But you can do it.
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You can do it.
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Don't worry.
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So, first of all, remind yourself of the transition.
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And then say the first part of the word, smart, smart, smarter, smarter.
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Now, if it's hard for you to do the flap T, that really light tap after an R, it's okay if it sounds like a D.
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Okay?
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Smarter.
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By the way, the flap T appears between two vowels in unstressed syllables, but also between an R and a vowel in unstressed syllables.
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This is why it's still a flap T.
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Technically, this is an R vowel, so this is why it's still valid, the rule.
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So, smarter, right?
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It's okay if it sounds closer to a D.
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Smarter, but we're working on the transition between the T and the R.
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Smarter, der, der.
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Okay?
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Good.
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Now, practice this with me.
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Let's start.
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Betty bought a bit of butter but she said this butter is bitter
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if I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter
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so she bought some better butter better than her bitter butter
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and she put it in her batter and it made her batter
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better a lot of flap T's and R's here
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so good for you you can do it over
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and over again this is an excellent practice for you to master this flap T
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and R transition now if you want to download a practice sheet with words with R
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and then sentences with R with my audio in it then
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come on over to my website click the link below
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and grab it it's totally free
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and what I want you to do is to practice it many many times until you make it your own
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because remember practice makes better.
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Why better?
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Because perfect is overrated.
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Anyway, once you grab this practice sheet I want you to practice it quite a few times
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and then you will see how it's easier for you to pronounce this transition
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and words that you weren't able to pronounce before, how it's easier for you to pronounce them smoothly and accurately.
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Okay?
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And once it happens I want to hear all about it in the comments below this video.
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So have a wonderful week.
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I will see you next week in the next video.
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Bye!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “American Accent🇺🇸: Master the FLAP T and R transition”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: flap, transition, notice, tongue, rrr. This video has 133 sentences and 1360 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:47. The speaker talks at a natural 155 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| flap noun | /flæp/ | Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved. |
| vowel noun | /ˈvaʊ.əl/ | A sound produced by the vocal cords with relatively little restriction of the oral cavity, forming the prominent sound of a syllable. |
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| syllable noun | /ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/ | A unit of human speech which often forms words corresponding to one opening of the mouth; a vowel and its surrounding consonants. |
| batter verb | /ˈbætə/ | To hit or strike violently and repeatedly. |
| schwa noun | /ʃwɑ/ | An indeterminate central vowel sound as the "a" in "about", represented as /ə/ in IPA. |
| unstressed adjective | /ʌnˈstɹɛst/ | Not stressed or accentuated. |
| bitter adjective | /ˈbɪ.tɚ/ | Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance). |
| dare verb | /dɛ(ə)ɹ/ | To have enough courage (to do something). |
| palate noun | /ˈpæl.ət/ | A part associated with the mouth of certain invertebrates, somewhat analogous to the palate of vertebrates. |
| smoothly adverb | /ˈsmuːðli/ | in a smooth manner; smooth |
| distress noun | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. |
| effortless adjective | /ˈɛfə(ɹ)tlɪs/ | Without effort. |
| effortlessly adverb | /ˈɛf.ɚt.ləs.li/ | Without effort; without difficulty or struggle. |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| come on over verb | to visit someone's home or other location. |
| come up to verb | To approach. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| pull back verb | To retreat. |
| take over verb | To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: schwa /ʃwɑ/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: effortlessly /ˈɛf.ɚt.ləs.li/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, overrated /ˌəʊvəˈɹeɪtɪd/, accurately /ˈæk.jə.ɹɪt.li/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like flap, vowel, pronounce.
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.