Shadowing Practice: American English Connected Reading | Conversational English: Get cameras repaired - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hey, what's up?
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It's Alex.
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Today, let's look at the connected readings in a short dialogue I wrote where somebody is trying to get their camera repaired.
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Let's have a look.
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Hi, I'm having some trouble with my camera.
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Some trouble.
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I'm having some trouble.
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Some is kind of reduced and connected to the word trouble here.
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I'm having some trouble.
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Some trouble.
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I'm having some trouble with my camera.
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When I turn it on, it on, there's a tap here.
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And in this text, there's actually a lot of these taps.
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It makes.
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Now here, before the aw in on, the T turned into a tap.
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But before the mm in makes, the T turns into a glottal stop.
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When I turn it on, it makes a sound like it's gonna turn on.
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Here, going to connects into gonna.
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like it's gonna turn on.
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It makes a sound like it's gonna turn on.
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But then, but then, here the T in but connects to the th in then.
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You can also do a glottal stop before the th sound. But then...
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But then the green light here just blinks.
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The green light here...
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The green light here...
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So the T in light turns into a glottal stop.
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Light here just blinks.
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Now the T after S disappears.
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Just blinks.
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But then the green light here just blinks and it shuts off.
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an-n.
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So here, and turns into an and connects to it.
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And then the T in it turns into a glottal stop.
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Just blinks and it shuts off.
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I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything.
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Here we have didn't drop.
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So there's a glottal stop after the n in didn't. Did n.
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Glottal stop.
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Drop it or drop it or.
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Now before or we turn into a tap with that T.
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Drop it or.
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The vowel in or actually reduces to er.
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Drop it or get it wet.
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Get it wet.
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Here the T in get turns into a tap.
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And the T in it turns into a glottal stop.
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Get it wet.
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Now, I'm saying get it wet using a glottal stop there because that's the end of my little sentence section.
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But in this text, it's get it wet or anything.
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We connect the wet to or.
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Again, we reduce or into er, and we make that T into a tap.
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I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything.
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It was working fine.
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Glottal stop before the W in was.
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It was working fine.
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And then we connect and then by removing that D and connecting the N sound to the TH sound.
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And then I put it in my bag.
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put it in.
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Two tap Ts there.
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Put it in.
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Put it in my bag.
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And the next time, and the, again we take out that D,
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and the next time, connect those two Ts together in next time,
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and the next time, and the next time I took it out, it was like this.
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Took it out.
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A tap T there for the end of it and and then a glottal stop before was.
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The next time I took it out, it was like this.
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Do you know if I can fix it?
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Do you know if...
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Do you know if I can fix it?
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So, know if.
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We could kind of do a wha sound.
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Know if...
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Know if...
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We could make a wha sound with our lips here.
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Or we could just relax our lips and say, No if, no if, with no lip movement at all.
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Do you know if, do you know if, know if, kind of connecting no and if into nof.
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Do you know if I can fix it?
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Do you know if I can fix it?
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Do you know if I can fix it?
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So here, can turns into a very reduced can.
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I can, I can fix it.
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Now finally, one last glottal stop.
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fix it, it, and glottal stop at the end of it.
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Hi, I'm having some trouble with my camera.
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When I turn it on, it makes a sound like it's gonna turn on, but then the green light here just blinks and it shuts off.
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I didn't drop it or get it wet or anything.
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It was working fine, and then I put it in my bag, and the next time I took it out, it was like this.
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Do you know if I can fix it?

Why practice speaking with this video?

Engaging in real-life dialogues is a powerful method to enhance your English speaking practice. This video focuses on a common scenario where someone is seeking assistance in getting a camera repaired. By listening to and practicing this conversation, learners can develop their ability to communicate effectively in everyday situations. The context of the dialogue aims to reflect a realistic service interaction, allowing you to familiarize yourself with relevant vocabulary and expressions that you can use in similar circumstances.

Moreover, using a shadowing site approach, you can practice speaking by mimicking the speaker, which helps improve fluency and pronunciation. This method can significantly aid in your ability to converse comfortably in English, making it an excellent complement to traditional learning resources. As you learn English with YouTube, not only do you acquire new vocabulary, but you also build confidence in your speaking abilities.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

  • “I’m having some trouble”: This phrase highlights the use of the present continuous tense to describe ongoing difficulties. You can adopt this structure to express various situations where you might need help.
  • “It makes a sound like it’s gonna turn on”: Notice the contraction “gonna” for “going to”. This informal expression is widely used in conversational English, making it essential for effective communication.
  • “I didn’t drop it or get it wet”: The use of “didn’t” demonstrates negation in the past simple tense. Practicing this pattern will help with both writing and speaking when discussing past events.
  • “The green light here just blinks”: The word “just” is frequently used in conversation to indicate a slight change or action, making it an important term for learners to master.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Pronunciation can often pose challenges for English learners, especially due to the connected speech present in daily conversations. In this video, you’ll encounter several pronunciation traps:

  • Glottal stops: Words like “light” and “it” involve glottal stops, where the “t” sound is softened or omitted. This can be tricky, but practicing with shadow speech from the video can help.
  • Reduced vowels: The word “or” in this context is often pronounced as “er”, which is a common reduction in fast speech. Learning to recognize and use these reductions will greatly improve your listening skills.
  • Connected sounds: Pay attention to how words link together, such as “get it wet.” Understanding these connections is crucial for achieving a natural flow in speech.

By honing in on these grammar structures and pronunciation challenges through consistent practice, you’re well on your way to mastering English. Incorporating conversational phrases from the video into your daily speaking practice, whether for IELTS speaking practice or casual conversation, will help solidify your skills.

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.