Shadowing Practice: Are YOU Mispronouncing These 50 Common English Words? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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are you mispronouncing these 50 common English words?
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So many learners and even native speakers get these words wrong.
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Remember, this lesson is based on my own accent, modern received pronunciation, other accents are available.
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This is a guide.
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Oh, and if you really want your English accent to be clear, crisp and confident, I have two things for you.
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First, you need to know where you currently are and for that I have created a free online pronunciation level test.
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It only takes a few minutes.
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I send you your results by email.
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Take that test, click on the link in the description box or scan the QR code there.
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That will tell you where you currently are but if you know that you want to improve, if you know you want to speak English with my accent Modern RP,
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I have launched my fast track to a British accent.
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It's the five -day British accent bootcamp.
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All I need from you is 15 to 30 minutes each day or five days.
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We will tackle tricky vowel sounds.
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We will nail the British R sound.
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I will show you how we blend sounds together smoothly.
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Right now we are offering an incredible price.
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To learn more and join, click the other link in the description box or scan that QR code there.
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Think of it as your British accent makeover for a huge discount.
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Okay, let's get started with the commonly mispronounced words.
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Let's get started with the lesson and please remember that I am modelling these words with my modern RP accent, other pronunciations are available.
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If your version is different from mine, that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.
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Even some of the wrong pronunciations we cover in this video may be regarded as correct in other regional dialects.
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So let's get started with number one.
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How do you pronounce the word in bold?
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I go for a run in the morning.
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This word here causes so much confusion with my students.
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Is it often or is it often?
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It might be one of the most controversial words in the English language.
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Often or often?
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I have said often in the past in my videos and I have received comments correcting me.
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This one is a trick question.
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I just wanted to highlight it because it's so important and I often see it miscorrected.
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Both often and often are correct and commonly used.
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I grew up in Bedfordshire and often was most commonly used.
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I've heard teachers say that often is incorrect.
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It is not.
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It's widely accepted.
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Use whichever feels most natural to you, often or often.
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Number two, how do you pronounce the word in bold?
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I use a moisturizer to my skin.
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Would you say soften or soften?
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If you said soften with a t sound, I'm sorry, but this time you are wrong.
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Soften should always have a silent T.
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I use a moisturiser to soften my skin.
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I was in a yoga class the other week
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and I couldn't relax because the teacher kept telling me to soften the muscles in my face.
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Don't make the same mistake she did soften the muscles in your face.
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A quick note on pronunciation here.
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Even though my yoga teacher mispronounced soften, it didn't impede my understanding.
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The most important thing in English is communication.
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Then work on fine tuning your pronunciation if you want to.
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Okay, number three is a word that I used to mispronounce all the time when I was young.
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I can still hear my mum correcting me.
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We rely on energy.
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The correct pronunciation is nuclear, nuclear.
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But a lot of people get confused with where the y is and say nuclear, nuclear or nuclear.
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They add in an extra y sound.
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Make sure you get it right by saying nuclear, nuclear.
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Now in North American accents, they will drop the y sound from the first syllable,
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nuclear, but it should be nuclear, not nuclear.
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It's very subtle, but it's a mispronunciation I hear often or often.
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Think of it as if you're combining the words new and clear, nuclear, nuclear.
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Okay, number four.
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I'm a big fan of music
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when you pronounce this do you pronounce the l i don't blame you a lot of people do
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but this is incorrect the correct pronunciation is folk.
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Folk.
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I'm a big fan of folk music.
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The letter L is often silent when it comes after a vowel sound and is followed by a consonant sound.
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Not always, often.
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Can you think of any more examples?
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Here are some.
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Read them out with me now to practice.
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We have half, and this last one
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that lots of people get wrong almond many native speakers do actually pronounce the l in almond
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and say almond
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or almond it's controversial i don't want to get into it in general we say almond
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and here's something else to add to the confusion many native
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speakers drop the L sound in several words spelt A -L when technically it should be there.
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Here are some examples.
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Although becomes although.
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Already becomes already.
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Alright becomes alright.
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And always becomes always.
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I do this myself in fast speech.
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Already, alright, always.
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Okay.
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Number five, I took some for my headache.
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Okay.
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This word is so difficult to spell that it's not surprising that loads of people mispronounce it.
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The most common pronunciation is ibuprofen, ibuprofen, with the main stress on the third syllable.
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But lots of speakers misplace the stress and say ibuprofen.
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Another tricky thing about this word is the invisible y sound before the oo, ibuprofen.
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This word causes so much confusion.
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Can you believe I've even heard this pronounced ibuprofen by some native speakers?
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If in doubt, just ask for a painkiller instead.
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Okay, let's move on to a picture round.
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We have some words that confuse so many of my students.
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Firstly, what is this?
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For those who can't see the screen it's a leafy green
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vegetable used as the base of salads it is a lettuce lettuce i know it's
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so tempting to see the letter u and say something like lettuce or lettuce
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but we need to use the short i vowel sound here lettuce lettuce can you think of any other words
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that are spelt with a u two that are pronounced with a short I sound.
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Here are a few.
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Read them with me to practise.
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We have busy, business, and minute.
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Got it?
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We'll try a full sentence together.
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I'll highlight the other I sounds too.
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Repeat with me.
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Give me a minute.
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I'm a bit busy with my lettuce I imagine that's the first time anyone has said that sentence.
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No one on earth could have said that sentence before, it's so random.
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Give me a minute, I'm a bit busy with my lettuce business.
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Okay, number seven, what is this?
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A beard.
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So many students often get confused when pronouncing this word and three other similar words.
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What do we call these?
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We have beer, bear, bird.
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Very similar to beard.
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Beer as in an alcoholic drink.
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Bear as in the animal that lives in the forest.
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Bird, the flying animal.
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And beard, the hair on your face.
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I want to help you remember the difference between these confusing words once and for all.
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So we're going to use some short rhymes to memorise the different pronunciations.
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Are you ready?
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Read along with me.
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He's got a weird beard.
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Same pronunciation there.
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He's got a weird beard. That deer's drinking beers. That deer's drinking beers.
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Okay, here are some more images for you.
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What is this? And what about this?
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Picture one is of a delicious cake or something
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and picture two is of a very dry sandy area word
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number eight is desert desert we stress the first syllable
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and then use the weak uh vowel sound the schwa in the second syllable.
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Desert.
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Desert.
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dessert is stressed on the second syllable and has a long vowel sound like in her dessert dessert
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can you hear the difference desert dessert here they are in
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a sentence we had ice cream for dessert in the desert
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now the spelling of these two very different words is so similar
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that it's not surprising they get mixed up okay another pair of images for you now number nine what is this
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it's blue with clouds in it what is it and what about this it's a man going down a mountain
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really fast onto planks so we have sky as in high in the sky
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and then we have ski with the long e sound.
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Often, my students will confuse these vowel sounds.
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Sky, ski.
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And our last, number 10, what's the dog doing with the bone?
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He's putting it in the ground.
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He is burying it.
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So the verb bury with the letter U is pronounced the same as the fruit.
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Bury with the letter E.
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Bury, bury.
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The letter U causes many of my students to say burying or burying, but that's incorrect.
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It should be bury with an S sound.
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Bury, burying.
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This word confuses a lot of native speakers too.
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There's a place called Bury in the north of England, near Manchester, and not even the residents seem to agree on the correct pronunciation.
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Some Some say berry, rhyming with berry, and others say burry, rhyming with curry.
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So how many of these incredibly common words were you pronouncing correctly?
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Let me know your score in the comments and tell me if any pronunciations surprised you.
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Let's get started with number one.
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How do you pronounce this word?
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My is getting clearer with practice this.
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Now, if you said pronunciation, it's incorrect, but I understand your logic.
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You'll hear many native speakers making this mistake.
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The verb, to pronounce, is pronounced with the OW diphthong.
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So, why not the noun too?
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The correct pronunciation is pronunciation.
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I often get accused of mispronouncing pronunciation because sometimes I say pronunciation so quickly it sounds like it could be pronunciation.
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So if you are ever tempted to correct someone, bear that in mind.
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One other thing you might hear is people adding a soft t sound before the s.
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Pronunciation.
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Some people do that.
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Let's move on to number two.
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How would you pronounce this word here?
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The scientists began to analyse the.. what?
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Did you say data or data?
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Either is correct.
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They are both perfectly correct.
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However, one is more common in British English.
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Do you know which?
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Data is more common in British English.
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Feel free to use the long our vowel sound, data, if that works better for you.
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Now, our friends across the pond in North America would generally say data.
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Okay, our next word also causes a lot of confusion amongst my students.
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How would you pronounce this word?
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I have a hectic, is it schedule or schedule?
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Now, according to most online dictionaries, Brits favour schedule with the sh sound.
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However, I'm British.
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I grew up in Bedfordshire and I heard lots of people say schedule.
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It really is a mix.
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In North America, schedule with the sk sound is favoured, but again, you might hear schedule.
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Number four is a word that seems to be having some sort of identity crisis.
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How would you pronounce it?
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I parked the car in the...
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So there are at least three common pronunciations for this word in British English.
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I tend to say garage.
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It's what I grew up saying.
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My parents say garage.
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This has an id sound at the end.
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Some of my friends say garage, garage, with a long R vowel sound and a zh at the end.
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The zh sound is in words like usually and television.
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A similar pronunciation replaces the zh sound with jh as in jeans, garage.
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So we have garage, garage, or garage.
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All three versions are stressed on the first syllable, ga.
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However, don't get ahead of yourself, I haven't finished yet.
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This word comes from the French word garrer.
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Sorry, my French pronunciation needs a lot of work.
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Meaning to shelter.
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And why am I telling you that?
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Well, in many North American accents, there's a tendency to stress the last syllable and say garage or garage instead.
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So that's five different possible pronunciations for this one word.
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I personally prefer garage
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because it's my dad says let's move on to another controversial
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word how do you pronounce this one here i'd like her
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with jam and cream clotted cream to be precise now
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if you said scone rhyming with phone i'm afraid you're in the slight minority
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if you said scone as in gone with the off sound
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welcome to my club this is most definitely how I prefer to pronounce this word.
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Scone as in gon, not scone as in phone.
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Now, not everyone in the UK agrees with me and I'm certainly not saying that scone as in phone is incorrect.
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I know lots of people who are very passionate about the correct pronunciation of this word.
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There are regional differences as well with how we pronounce scone or scone.
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Let me know which one you'll go for in the comments.
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I welcome some friendly banter from Brits that disagree with me.
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We'll stick with food for the next word.
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How do you pronounce this vegetable here with large, dark green leaves that can be cooked or eaten raw in salads?
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In a sentence, is packed full of nutrients.
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So, I usually say spinach.
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Spinach with the short i vowel in the second syllable and ch at the end spinach,
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not spinach or spinach.
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But here's an interesting thing.
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Some speakers switch this unvoiced ch sound for the voiced j in jeans.
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Spinach.
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Can you think of any other words ending in ch with this alternative pronunciation?
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We have this one.
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Sandwich or sandwich.
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Norwich or Norridge.
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Greenwich or Greenwich.
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Okay, now for a word I hear mispronounced quite often.
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How would you pronounce it?
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Aunt Alice has always been a bit.. what?
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Are we continuing with the food theme?
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No, we're not.
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But I do hear egg -centric quite a lot.
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Instead of the voiced g, use the unvoiced k.
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Eccentric.
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Eccentric.
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Eccentric with the e vowel sound works well too.
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For number eight, we have a pair of words.
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How do you pronounce each one?
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He dreamt of and a lifestyle.
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Okay, so the first word is the noun luxury with the sound.
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Luxury.
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But what happens when we switch to the adjective?
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It's not luxurious.
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The changes to a sound.
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Luxurious.
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I think it sounds more luxurious when you use the sound sound as well.
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Luxury, luxurious.
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Notice how the stress shifts here too.
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Luxury, luxurious.
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Now remember, I'm modelling my modern RP accent,
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but in North American English some speakers use a ck sound followed by a sh, not zh.
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So in British English it's luxurious and in some North American accents.
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It's luxurious.
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Let's stick with the k sound for this next word.
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What do you call this small star -shaped symbol
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that you can add to a phrase to add more information at the bottom of a page?
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Now, if you said asterix, I'm really sorry, but you're wrong.
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Instead of thinking rix, you need to think risk, asterisk.
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Now, you can choose to say asterix or or asterisk.
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and you will be understood that technically the correct pronunciation is asterisk.
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Okay, it's time for our final word and this word is
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so utterly difficult that even the British legend that is Benedict Cumberbatch can't pronounce it correctly. Can you?
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How do you pronounce this super cute black and white animal that lives in the Antarctic?
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The waddled across the ice.
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Okay, so I'm very sorry.
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This is not a penguin.
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It's not a penguin either.
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This very cute animal is called a penguin.
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Penguin.
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Nice and simple, right?
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Not for Benedict.
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Let's get started with the mispronounced words.
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Okay, number one.
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How do you pronounce the word in blue.
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She's made a for herself as a vegan food photographer.
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Now, as you may have guessed, there's quite a debate over how to pronounce this word.
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Two pronunciations are generally considered to be correct.
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Niche that rhymes with quiche and niche that rhymes with which.
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Can you hear the difference?
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Niche with the long e vowel sound ending in sh
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and niche with the short i vowel sound ending in ch as in cheese.
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Niche, niche.
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Now can you guess which one I use?
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I say niche and this pronunciation is much more common in British English.
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To me it just sounds a bit nicer niche niche niche
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go with whichever you prefer okay number two how do you
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pronounce the word in blue here the coastal towns are to flooding okay this is a hard one
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but there are a couple of accepted pronunciations we have vulnerable vulnerable with four syllables or vulnerable,
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vulnerable with just three.
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Vulnerable, vulnerable.
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Which one do you think I favour?
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I prefer three syllables.
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We love getting rid of vowel sounds in the middle of words like this.
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Think comfortable and vegetable and chocolate.
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But the uln consonant cluster, that sounded a bit weird when I said that, uln, right, but vuln, uln.
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That consonant cluster is quite a mouthful.
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Vulnerable.
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Vulnerable.
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So, some people get rid of it and just say vulnerable or vulnerable.
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With or without the ul sound doesn't really matter.
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You are going to be understood.
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What's more important here is the suffix, able, able.
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It's the weak schwa vowel sound, a, not the strong diphthong, a.
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Vulnerable, not vulnerable.
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Okay, number three, how do you pronounce the word in blue?
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The child gave the teacher a grin.
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Okay, I love saying this word and to me it sounds naughty, which is what it means.
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Now, it is usually pronounced mischievous, mischievous, with the main stress on the first syllable.
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However, there's a big debate in the UK.
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Lots of English speakers mispronounce this word.
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My mum mispronounces this word.
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I was originally brought up to mispronounce this word for some reason mischievous has become a common pronunciation
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however it's not spelt mischievous there's no extra syllable there in
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the spelling i grew up in bedfordshire it could be a bedfordshire thing um
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but i remember typing in mischievous with an i -o -u -s at the end
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and always having it marked incorrect by word spellcheck now this non -standard pronunciation is
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so common it actually appears in some pronunciation dictionaries, but you might prefer to learn the more traditional pronunciation that reflects the spelling mischievous.
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Okay, number four, how do you pronounce the word in blue here?
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I'll have a double please.
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Okay, if you said expresso or expresso, I don't blame you, but technically it's incorrect.
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One of my first Jobs was working in a pub and I used to mispronounce this all the time.
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I would even write ex -presso when taking orders.
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I was shocked when I learnt it was spelt espresso instead of expresso.
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Number five, how do you pronounce this word in blue?
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I wrapped up the sandwiches in foil.
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So this is a British versus American fight here.
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In British English, we normally say aluminium, aluminium, or aluminium, aluminium, aluminium.
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But this word can sound very different in North American English.
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Many people say aluminum, aluminum, with the stress on a different syllable.
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The spelling can also be different, reflecting this big pronunciation difference.
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So choose whichever you prefer, aluminum or aluminum.
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Number six, how do you pronounce the word in blue?
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Clear your browser to speed up your laptop.
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Did you say cachet?
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So did I for many years, but it's not right.
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The correct pronunciation is cash, just like cash as in money.
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Computer cash and money cash are homophones.
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These are words that are pronounced the same but with different spellings and different meanings.
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I think a lot of people get confused between the word cash here meaning computer memory and cachet meaning prestige.
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Number seven, how do you pronounce the word in blue here?
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There's a at work that I find really intimidating.
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Okay, did you say clique with the long E vowel sound, clique?
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Well, if you did, that is how most Brits would pronounce this word.
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But in North America, it's often pronounced as a homophone of clique with the short I sound.
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I favour clique.
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Some people favour clique.
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I wonder which pronunciation you've heard before.
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Number eight, the word in blue, oranges are rich in C.
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So, I say vitamin with a clear crisp t sound.
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And I use the short i vowel twice.
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Vitamin, vitamin.
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In North American accents you'll often hear vitamin or vitamin with the i diphthong and the soft almost d sound
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replacing the t sound it's a flap t it's not quite
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the full d sound both are correct it just depends on whether you're aiming for more of a british
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or north american accent okay number nine How do you pronounce this word here?
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The empty chair was a reminder of his absence.
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So this beautiful word, meaning moving, is pronounced poignant.
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Poignant.
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Isn't that gorgeous to say?
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Poignant.
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So we have a silent G in there.
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So if you said poignant, it's not quite right this word comes from old french
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and literally means pricking some other words with french origin
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that have a silent g before the letter n are foreign sovereign a line
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and of course champagne okay are you ready for our last
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word of the lesson number 10 how do you pronounce this word in blue it's difficult to
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if they're pleased with the decision did you say gauge
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or gorge or maybe gadge
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or gadju well the correct pronunciation is gauge the letter a is pronounced with the a diphthong like in pay
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and the letters uge make a j as in jeans
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so gauge rhymes with page let's start with number one how
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do you pronounce this word in blue i'll put Put these flowers in a...
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How do you pronounce it?
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So I say, vase, with the long R vowel sound like in stars.
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The vase has stars on it, but you may have heard this pronounced quite differently.
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Many North Americans switch the R for A and the Z at the end for S.
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So vase for me becomes vase for them.
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Place the vase on the table.
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There is another alternative.
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Some North American speakers prefer a Z sound at the end vase, but this is less common.
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The variation that I have never heard is vase.
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We always say vase in British English.
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Choose whichever you like best.
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What's important is that people understand you.
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Okay, number two.
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How do you pronounce this word in blue?
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Should we take the direct or the scenic home.
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Did you say route or route and which do you think most Brits would use?
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We tend to use the long oo vowel here so route rhymes with boot.
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This pronunciation is very common in North America too
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but some prefer route rhyming with shout but I've never heard anyone say Route 66. Have you?
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Maybe we have some Americans in the chat who can let me know.
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Okay, number three.
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I struggled to pronounce this word as a child and it still sometimes causes me problems.
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So how do you pronounce this word here in blue?
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Some cash and electronics was stolen in the...
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So the correct pronunciation is burglary.
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Burglary.
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Now I've heard all kinds of mispronunciations of this word.
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Burglary.
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Burglary.
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Burglary is the one you should learn
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and a burglary is the general noun for the crime of illegally entering a building and stealing things.
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But what do we call the person who does this?
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This is a burglar.
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A burglar which can also be really challenging to pronounce.
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In fact, some Scottish people find the phrase purple burglar alarm almost impossible to say.
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See if you can say it.
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Purple burglar alarm.
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I wonder how often situations arise where people genuinely have to say the phrase purple burglar alarm.
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Number four.
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How do you pronounce this word in blue here?
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Close the door.
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There's a coming in.
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So, we have a silly spelling here.
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The letters A and U combine to make R, like in aunt and laugh.
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And the letters G, H combine to make F as in laugh.
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Again, and enough.
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So, the correct pronunciation is draft with the long R vowel sound and then at the end.
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Draft.
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Draft.
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I know it's very tempting to say drought or something like that.
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Draft with a short A vowel is also very common in North America and in the north of England.
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I say draft.
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Now I totally understand why North Americans have simplified the spelling
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to match its pronunciation more closely they spell this word d -r -a -f -t much easier okay number five
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and here you get two for the price of one how do you pronounce
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these words in blue film was interesting
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so i didn't finish of them my students ask me about these words all the time are they pronounced either
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and neither or either and neither well
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according to most online dictionaries brits generally prefer either and neither
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and either and neither are more common in north america
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but in north america they do pronounce the r sound at the end.
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Either, neither.
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I have to say though, we now use them pretty much interchangeably.
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I do this myself.
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It just kind of depends on what mood I'm in and how my sentence is flowing.
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It seems that older Brits are sticking with either and neither,
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whereas younger Brits are using either and neither.
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So I have good news.
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Use whichever you like best.
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It really doesn't matter.
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Let's look at number six.
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How do you pronounce this word in blue?
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I grew up in a quiet area.
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This one always comes up with my students in lessons.
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It can be really tricky to get your tongue around this word.
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Rural.
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Rural.
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So the r sound can be challenging and we've got two in quick succession here, one after the other.
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And to make matters worse, we have got my least favourite diphthong.
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Ur as in pure in the middle.
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Gliding from the ur to ur and then back to ur is difficult even for me.
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Rural.
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Rural.
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And then the icing on the cake is that transition from r to l at the end.
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So your tongue has to curl back and then forward.
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Rural.
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Gosh, it's a tough one.
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Give it some practice.
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Rural.
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And well done if you can pronounce it clearly.
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It's tough.
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Number seven.
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I love pronouncing this next word but it's hard.
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How do you pronounce this word in blue?
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I admire her keen intelligence and...
486
So this word describes the quality of being energetic,
487
active or positive and it's pronounced effervescence.
488
Effervescence.
489
What makes it so tricky?
490
Well, I have to concentrate really hard when I pronounce this word
491
because my tongue desperately wants to repeat the f again and say effervescence.
492
But that sounds like I'm saying eff for pheasance, which makes no sense at all.
493
Pheasance starts with a PH.
494
Effervescence.
495
Okay, let's try a much shorter word for number eight.
496
How do you pronounce this word in blue here?
497
We gazed at the snow -capped mountains in.
498
So this word is actually surprisingly easy to pronounce.
499
It contains just one vowel sound. Or.
500
That's right, it's or as in more, door and for.
501
Now in North American accents, this sound is usually pronounced a little more open.
502
So this word could sound more like r, but it's still got a touch of the or in it.
503
Ah.
504
Ah.
505
I really struggled to produce that sound in an American accent.
506
So I would like to ask an American friend, pronounce it for me.
507
Here we go.
508
Ah.
509
Thank you.
510
Let's move on to number nine.
511
How do you pronounce this word in blue?
512
She is the of elegance and good taste.
513
I adore this word.
514
It means you are the embodiment or perfect example of something.
515
Now, if you pronounce this word epitome, I'm afraid that's incorrect.
516
The O is a schwa and that E at the end isn't silent.
517
It's pronounced E.
518
So the correct pronunciation is epitome or epitome.
519
Epitome.
520
Now please learn it and use it.
521
It's a beautiful word.
522
Spread it around.
523
Okay, time for our final commonly mispronounced word.
524
Number 10.
525
How do you pronounce this word in blue?
526
The dinosaur in the Natural History Museum are incredible.
527
So the correct pronunciation is skeletons with the weak i or skeletons with the schwa, skeletons.
528
Now lots of people mispronounce this word and place the stress on the last syllable by mistake, skeleton.
529
And many kids really struggle to say this word and say skellingtons like wellingtons instead, and I find that so cute.
530
Let's get started with the mispronunciations.
531
Number one, how do you pronounce this word in blue?
532
Celebrities have the right to... to.
533
Well, in British English, we can say privacy or privacy.
534
Privacy is more common.
535
Privacy is becoming more common.
536
I tend to use privacy, my husband uses privacy.
537
When we have children, we will have to fight, maybe a thumb war over which pronunciation to use.
538
In both versions, it's important to get the weak schwa vowel sound in the middle a,
539
a, assy, assy, privacy, privacy.
540
Now, in North America, privacy with the I sound, like in high, is more common.
541
As long as you're using the uh, schwa sound, privacy, privacy, you're fine.
542
Okay, number two, how do you pronounce this word in blue here?
543
From trees and houses covered the streets after the storm.
544
Well, the S at the end is silent.
545
So this word ends with a long E vowel sound.
546
And what comes before that?
547
Well, we have lots of choices here.
548
In British English, we tend to go with debris, debris with a short e vowel sound.
549
We also say debris, debris with an a vowel sound.
550
debris, debris.
551
Now, in both of these versions, the stress is on the first syllable.
552
debris, debris.
553
Now, in most North American accents, the stress moves to the second syllable.
554
Debris or debris.
555
Confusing?
556
Yes.
557
But the good news is that as long as you don't pronounce the S at the end, pretty much any way you pronounce this word is going to be correct.
558
Okay, number three.
559
How do you pronounce this word in blue?
560
You're for financial assistance as you earn too much money.
561
Okay, this one is ineligible.
562
Ineligible.
563
Ineligible.
564
If you are ineligible for something, you are not allowed to have it because of certain rules.
565
Now, not only do I hear this word mispronounced by native speakers,
566
but I also hear them confuse this with a similar sounding word, illegible, illegible.
567
It might sound similar, but it has a totally different meaning.
568
Do you know what it means?
569
Illegible means difficult or impossible to read, unreadable, like my dad's handwriting, for example.
570
So take care not to confuse the two.
571
Ineligible, illegible.
572
Number four, Or how do you pronounce this word in blue here?
573
Children must be accompanied by an at all times.
574
This word seems easy, but it causes confusion.
575
The confusion is due to stress, so did you place the main stress on the first syllable,
576
like adult, or did you place it on the second, adult?
577
Adult, adult.
578
It makes me laugh that stress is the main cause of confusion here
579
because I'd say that being an adult or an adult involves a lot of stress.
580
So both pronunciations are totally fine, though adult is more common in Britain.
581
Number five, how do you pronounce this word in blue here?
582
Here, as I opened the oven door, I was hit by a freshly baked bread.
583
So I usually pronounce this word with the short monophthong,
584
as in October, waft, waft.
585
Maybe you saw the letter A and went for waft with an A for apple.
586
This is fine too, it's just much less common.
587
You can also say waft.
588
I favour waft.
589
Okay, let's move on to a picture round for the next five words.
590
How do you pronounce this structure through which smoke is carried up from a fire and out through the roof?
591
It is a chimney.
592
A chimney.
593
Now, some people add a syllable in the middle and say chimney.
594
I wonder if that's because of Mary Poppins.
595
I don't do this.
596
In Mary Poppins, there's a song that goes chim chimney.
597
I won't sing it for you.
598
I don't want to put you through that.
599
There are even some places in the world where people will pronounce it chimney or chimney.
600
norfolk for example and apparently appalachia
601
but unless you live in one of the areas where a
602
regional variation is commonly used it's probably best to stick with
603
the standard pronunciation chimney okay moving on to number seven what do we call these items here like rings necklaces
604
and earrings that people wear as a decoration This is jewellery.
605
Jewellery.
606
Now, some people think we need four syllables here and say jewellery, but we don't.
607
Just three is perfect.
608
Jewellery.
609
And in fact, in many accents, especially in North America, it's reduced to just two syllables.
610
I do this when I'm speaking quickly.
611
Jewelry.
612
Jewelry.
613
In North American English, the spelling is simplified too.
614
Now, this is interesting.
615
Some speakers also switch the uh and uh sounds and say jewelry instead of jewelry.
616
It's your choice.
617
Choose whichever you like best.
618
I think jewelry, two syllables.
619
Nice and simple.
620
Now, number eight.
621
How do you pronounce this computer file that contains still or moving images often sent on the internet.
622
So this word is short for graphic interchange format.
623
And there is a huge debate as to whether the letters should be pronounced gif or jif.
624
I don't really see what all the fuss is about, to be honest i favor gif
625
but i can see why people say jiff i wonder what you think is right
626
and here are two more similar words i often hear mispronounced it's not meme meme
627
or mem it's meme and it's not earl
628
but url make sure you get those right too okay number
629
nine how do you pronounce this delicious green plant that's often used in pasta dishes.
630
Okay, most Brits would call this basil.
631
Basil.
632
We've got the short a vowel sound there, but basil is more common in many North American accents.
633
Which do you use?
634
Basil or basil?
635
Okay, it's time for our final word of the lesson, number 10.
636
How do you pronounce the word for a person who is applying for a job?
637
Well, I say candidate.
638
Candidate with a schwa at the end. At.
639
Candidate.
640
We often use a schwa in unstressed syllables,
641
but interestingly, this word can also be pronounced with a strong A vowel sound.
642
Candidate.
643
Candidate.
644
And approximately 25 % of North Americans do not pronounce the first D.
645
It feels so strange in my British accent to say candidate or candidate, but it does sound better in an American accent.
646
Candidate.
647
My American accent needs work.
648
We'll be right back.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 648 sentences and 5921 words to shadow. The speech runs for 48:07. The speaker talks at a steady 123 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| 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… |
| vulnerable adjective | /ˈvʌln(ə)ɹəbl̩/ | More or most likely to be exposed to the chance of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. |
| privacy noun | /ˈpɹaɪ.və.si/ | The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others. |
| garage noun | /ɡəˈɹɑʒ/ | A building (or section of a building) used to store a car or cars, tools and other miscellaneous items. |
| debris noun | /ˈdɛbɹi/ | Rubble, wreckage, scattered remains of something destroyed. |
| niche noun | /nɪt͡ʃ/ | A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. |
| jewellery noun | /ˈd͡ʒʊ-/ | Collectively, personal ornamentation such as rings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, made of precious metals and sometimes set with gemstones. |
| incorrect adjective | /ˌɪn.kəˈɹɛkt/ | Not correct; erroneous or wrong. |
| brit verb | /bɹɪt/ | To break in pieces; divide. |
| lettuce noun | /ˈlɛt.ɪs/ | An edible plant, Lactuca sativa and its close relatives, having a head of green or purple leaves. |
| vase noun | /veɪ̯s/ | An upright open container used mainly for displaying fresh, dried, or artificial flowers. |
| confusion noun | /kənˈfjuːʒən/ | A lack of clarity or order. |
| spelling noun | /ˈspɛl.ɪŋ/ | The act, practice, ability, or subject of forming words with letters, or of reading the letters of words; orthography. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bring up to verb | To raise (something) so that it reaches a particular standard or minimum requirement. | |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. | |
| get ahead of verb | To take preemptive action before a potential development becomes reality. | |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| mix up verb | To mix or blend thoroughly and completely. | |
| speed up verb | /spiːdˈʌp/ | To accelerate; to increase speed. |
| wrap up verb | To cover or enclose (something) by folding and securing a covering entirely around it. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 65 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, garage /ɡəˈɹɑʒ/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, luxurious /lʌɡˈʒʊəɹi.əs/, luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, luxurious /lʌɡˈʒʊəɹi.əs/, aluminium /ˌæl.(j)uˈmɪn.i.əm/, aluminum /əˈlu.mɪ.nəm/, controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/
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 pronounce, pronunciation, accent.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have created · have launched · have said |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is based · may be regarded · is followed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | those who can · people who are · naughty, which is |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may be · might be · might hear |
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.