Shadowing Practice: American English Connected Reading | Food You Tried For The First Time - 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 sounds in a short answer
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where you're saying what you tried for the first time at a restaurant.
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Let's take a look.
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It seems crazy now.
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It seems crazy.
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So here the T will turn into a glottal stop.
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It seems.
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It seems crazy.
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At the beginning of the sentence, the whole word it, because it's such a short
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and common word gets reduced quite a lot and it blends with the next word.
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It seems, it seems crazy, it seems crazy now, it seems crazy now, but I was already in college,
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but I, we tap that t in but, but I was, was.
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We reduce that uh in was, and that's just a very short quick uh sound.
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But I was already in college.
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Connect the in with the sound in college.
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But I was already in college, already in college, the first time I had boba.
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The first time.
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The first time I had boba.
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So here the two T sounds in first time connect.
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The first time I had boba.
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I'd never heard of it.
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I'd never.
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So we're going to put that D and the N together, and it's called a nasal release.
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It's the N coming out of your nose as your tongue is saying D.
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I'd nn.
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I'd never.
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I'd never heard of it at all when I was growing up.
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Heard of it at all.
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We're going to connect all of these short words here.
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Of it at all.
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The word at gets kind of reduced to something sounding quite a lot like the word It.
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Heard of it at all.
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Heard of it at all.
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Heard of it at all.
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I'd never heard of it at all when I was growing up.
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When nigh connect the nuh to the i sound, and was also gets that same reduced vowel.
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I'd never heard of it at all when I was growing up.
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The city I grew up in didn't have, didn't have.
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Glottal stop there with the T before the H.
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Didn't have.
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The city I grew up in didn't have much in the way.
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Much in the.
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So we connect the N and the TH together. In the.
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Didn't have much in the way of Asian food or dessert places.
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Asian food or dessert places.
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Now here this word or I could choose to break up the sentence and add some emotion to it, Asian food or dessert places,
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or I could link them together and I could say Asian food or dessert places.
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If I link them together and I don't give any emotion to the sentence, or turns into er.
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Asian food or dessert places, Asian food or dessert places.
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So here, dessert, there's a glottal stop there for the t, dessert places, dessert places back then.
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I remember being really surprised.
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I remember.
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So here, I remember.
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That first syllable in remember gets kind of reduced or blended with I.
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I remember.
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I remember.
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I remember.
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I remember being really surprised.
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Really is the reduced form of really, and most people use really in connected speech.
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I remember being really, really surprised when I...
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Surprised when I...
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Connect that D and the W there.
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Surprised when I...
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It sounds kind of funny to connect it with no words around it.
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Really surprised when...
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Surprised when I tried boba.
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Tried boba.
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In the same way, we're going to connect D and B here.
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Tried boba.
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Tried boba.
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Tried boba for the first time.
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For turns into for.
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Tried boba for the first time.
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Connect the T and the T there again.
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First time.
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I was like.
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I was like.
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So here was connects to I, and the vowel in was gets reduced.
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It's much shorter.
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I was like, I was like, I was like, do you eat these little pearls? Do you? Do you?
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So here, d is the reduced form of do.
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Do you eat becomes do you eat? Do you?
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Do you eat?
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Do you eat?
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Do you eat these?
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So we want to connect you and eat.
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We do that with a little wha sound.
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You, you eat, you eat these.
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Then we take the tea in eat and turn that into a glottal stop.
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Do you eat these little pearls?
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Do you eat these little pearls?
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Do you just only drink the tea?
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Do you just, just, just, so just, the uh sound turns into something closer to I.
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Just, just, do you just only drink the tea?
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Also, the tea in just disappears in fast speech.
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Do you just, do you just, do you just only drink the tea?
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Only drink the tea?
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What are you supposed to do?
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What are you supposed to do?
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So here, what are you turns into what are you?
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What are you supposed to do?
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Here, supposed, supposed drops that I from the first syllable.
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Supposed becomes sposed.
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What are you supposed to do?
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Sposed.
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Connect the D and the T here.
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Supposed to.
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And we reduce the vowel in two, but then we have the full vowel for do.
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What are you supposed to do? To do.
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What are you supposed to do?
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In this video, I'll read the text twice.
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First, with all the natural sound changes, but at a lower speed.
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Then, at a normal speed with all the sound changes again.
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Let me know in the comments which one you like.
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Are you looking for a single course that explains all the connected speech rules, plus gives you thousands of sentences to practice with?
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I've put together a full pronunciation course, focused exactly on how American English really sounds.
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Believe me, this has been a huge amount of research on my end, and it's full of all the little details that they never tell you in textbooks.
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All you have to do is follow along and let the repetition do the work.
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I'll put the link in the description, but now let's get back to the video.
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It seems crazy now, but I was already in college the first time I had boba.
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I'd never heard of it at all when I was growing up.
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The city I grew up in didn't have much in the way of Asian food or dessert places back then.
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I remember being really surprised when I tried boba for the first time.
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I was like, do you eat these little pearls?
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Do you just only drink the tea?
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What are you supposed to do?
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It seems crazy now, but I was already in college the first time I had boba.
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It seems crazy now, but I was already in college the first time I had boba.
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I'd never heard of it at all when I was growing up.
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The city I grew up in didn't have much in the way of Asian food or dessert places back then.
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I remember being really surprised when I tried boba for the first time.
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I was like, do you eat these little pearls?
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Do you just only drink the tea?
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What are you supposed to do?
Why practice speaking with this video?
If you're looking to improve English pronunciation and gain confidence in speaking, this video is a fantastic resource. The context revolves around sharing a personal food experience, which can make the learning process more relatable and engaging. By practicing along with the video, you will not only enhance your speaking skills but also develop a natural rhythm when using American English. This fun and casual setting allows you to learn English with YouTube effectively, integrating real-life scenarios into your practice. Connecting words and phrases as you speak will help you sound more fluent and native-like.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker uses several key grammatical structures that can enhance your conversational skills. Here are some important phrases to note:
- “It seems crazy now”: This expression highlights how perspectives can change over time. Using “it seems” is a great way to offer opinions or reflections.
- “I'd never heard of it at all”: This phrase effectively communicates a past experience. The use of “I’d” (I had) is common in spoken English, showing the importance of contractions for natural speech.
- “When I was growing up”: This clause indicates a timeframe for the speaker’s experiences, allowing learners to practice discussing their own backgrounds in a similar way.
- “Didn't have much in the way”: This expression conveys limitations or absence in a more conversational tone, which can enhance your English fluency.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you utilize the shadowing technique from this video, be aware of certain common pronunciation traps that learners face:
- Glottal Stops: The speaker demonstrates how the “t” in words can turn into a glottal stop, particularly in phrases like “it seems” or “didn't have.” Practicing this will help you sound more fluid.
- Nasal Releases: Pay attention to the blend of sounds, like turning "I'd never" into "I'd nn" (nasal sound with "never"). This technique is essential for mastering connected speech.
- Word Reduction: Notice how short function words like "at" can become less distinct in casual speech. Skipping over these can improve your speaking speed and fluency.
By focusing on these pronunciation traps, you can refine your speaking abilities, making communication in English feel more effortless and authentic. Embrace the shadowspeak approach and watch how it transforms your English proficiency!
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.