Shadowing Practice: Basic Rules of Table Tennis – A Beginner’s Guide - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Welcome to Ping Skills.
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Today we're going to try to clear up all those questions
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that you might have and all those arguments that you might be having about the rules of table tennis.
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Yeah, because a lot of people do argue about the rules, Alice, but once you understand the basic rules, they are pretty simple.
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They are very simple, but there are always those little garage rules
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that creep up that we're going to try to clear for you today.
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So this video will cover the essential rules, but we also on the Pink Seals website have a rules
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section where we cover in more detail some of the more complex rules, so check those out too.
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How do you win a point in table tennis?
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Well, the basic rule is
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that you've got to hit the ball onto your opponent's side of the table
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and they've got to hit the ball back onto your side.
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You're only allowed to let the ball bounce once on the table before you hit it back.
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If I hit the ball into the net, that's Jeff's point because I haven't hit it onto the table.
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Similarly, if I hit the ball off the end of the table, that's Jeff's point because my shot didn't hit the table.
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So that's all pretty simple.
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The other one is that if I let the ball bounce twice on the table, like Jeff just did, then that's the end of the point.
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So Jeff needs to hit that ball after it bounces once on the table.
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Now the other tricky rule is the rule about volleying.
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If I hit the ball before it bounces on the table, that's a volley and that is Jeff's point.
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But if Jeff hits the ball out of bounds on the full and then I volley it, it's already out, that's my point, finally.
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So as soon as someone volleys the ball or hits it on the full, it's the end of the point.
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If it's over the table when I hit it on the full, that's your point.
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If it's past the table, it's already out, that's my point.
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It's only the serve that you hit down on your side.
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After that you have to hit the ball straight over the net.
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If I hit the ball back down in my side in the rally, that's Geoff's point too.
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So Alois, if we're in a rally and the ball hits the net, what happens?
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Okay, so if it hits the net and goes over onto your side of the table, in a rally that's play on and you've got to hit the ball back onto their side of the table.
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Okay, so in a rally play on, what about if it's off a serve?
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If it's a serve that's called a let and what you do with a let is you just replay the serve.
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OK, but how many lets in a row can I get?
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You can serve as many as you possibly can, Jeff.
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So if you can serve 30 lets in a row, it is still a let.
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You don't lose the point.
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How many points do you play a game up to?
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Now you play a game up to 11 points.
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So if I get to 11 and you're on 9, I win the game.
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Obviously, each game you start at Love All.
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all.
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And at love all you have two serves each.
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So you would serve for two serves and then I serve for two serves.
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It doesn't matter whether you win or lose the point, you still serve for two and then I serve for two.
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If the score now gets to ten all, someone needs to win by two points and we only have one serve each.
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So you would serve one and then I serve one.
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That's just to make it fair so that after 10 all we're getting the same number of serves.
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But someone needs to win by at least two points.
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So if I win the next point and get to 11-10, that's not the end of the game.
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I still need to win another point to win the game, 12-10.
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If however at 11.10 you win the point then we need to play up to 13 and so on.
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Someone needs to be two points clear to win the game.
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What happens if I serve a fault in table tennis?
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So I serve and I make a mistake.
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Jeff gets the point straight away so you don't get two serves or two chances, Jeff gets the point after one mistake as a fault.
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Some other interesting rules are about whether the ball hits the edge of the table or the side.
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So to be in, the ball has to hit anywhere on the top of the table.
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So if Jeff hits the ball and it even just hits the edge of the table like that, that's still in.
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But if Jeff is out there and hits the ball
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and it hits the side of the table out here then that's my point.
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So the side is out, the top or the edge is in.
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On the serve even if you throw the ball up and miss it completely that's still your opponents point.
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Or if you throw the ball up and decide to catch it again that That is still my opponent's point.
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So as soon as the ball is up off my hand, it's in play and I have to hit it on the table.
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Another question we get asked a lot is are you allowed to lean on the table or touch the table?
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Well, you are allowed to lean on it with your leg or even with your elbow.
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The only thing that isn't allowed to touch the table is your free hand.
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So you're not allowed to lean on the table like that with either your hand or the back of your hand.
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else is allowed to touch the table when you're playing.
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The only thing is if you touch the table and move the table then that's your opponent's point.
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If you're playing at home you might often play some doubles
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so it's good to just know the basic rules of doubles as well.
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The first rule is that you have to take it in turns with your partner to hit the ball.
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So I've got to hit the first one
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and then get out of the way for my partner to hit the next one.
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If I hit two in a row, the other team wins the point.
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The second rule of doubles is serving.
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You always serve the ball from your right hand box diagonally to your opponent's right hand box
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and you never serve from the left hand box in table tennis, in doubles.
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So serve from the right hand diagonally.
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I serve my two serves to you
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and after we serve our two serves we swap and then you're going to serve to Jeff for the next two serves.
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After that the rotation goes that Jeff will now serve the next two serves to your partner.
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The basic rule to remember there is after your team finishes your two serves that's when it's time to swap sides.
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In doubles you still play up to 11 points so the scoring is the same as in singles.
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You might be wondering about the size of the bats.
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Well you're allowed to play with any size bat that you want.
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So if you want to play with a little bat like that or if you want to play with a big bat, you are allowed to.
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But you would find that
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the little bat is obviously a bit hard to hit the ball
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and the big bats tend to be a bit too big to wheel around
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and that's why most players play with a bat around that size.
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No! Is that a lead?
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Oh my god.
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Oh my god.
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Oh.
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Oh.
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Joe.
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you
Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing spoken English through videos like this one on the basic rules of table tennis can significantly improve your communication skills in a practical context. Engaging with instructional content allows learners to enhance their vocabulary and pronunciation while applying language in a specific domain. By shadow speaking alongside the video, you can mimic the intonation and rhythm of native speakers, making the learning experience more immersive.
The video also provides an opportunity to delve into sports terminology, useful for casual conversations and more formal discussions about games. Making language learning relevant to personal interests, such as sports, keeps motivation high, which is crucial for sustained improvement in IELTS speaking practice.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
This video uses several key structures that are invaluable for English learners:
- Conditional Sentences: "If I hit the ball into the net, that's Jeff's point." Understanding conditionals helps in expressing scenarios and consequences succinctly.
- Present Simple for Rules: "You play a game up to 11 points." This structure is essential when stating facts or rules, making it useful for academic and conversational contexts.
- Modal Verbs: "You have to hit the ball straight over the net." Using modals clearly communicates obligations and necessities, which is important in everyday English.
- Direct Questions: "How do you win a point in table tennis?" This encourages learners to practice asking and answering questions, enhancing their conversational skills.
- Imperatives: "Hit the ball back onto their side of the table." Using commands helps in learning how to give instructions clearly, a useful skill in many situations.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When shadowing this video, pay special attention to the following tricky words and phrases:
- Volley: Ensure you pronounce it correctly, focusing on the 'v' and the sounds that follow to avoid confusion with similar-sounding words.
- Let: This term can be tricky; practice the pronunciation to ensure clarity when using it in conversation.
- Point: The word appears frequently in the video. Practicing its pronunciation helps convey meaning accurately in a scoring context.
Utilizing the shadowing technique while absorbing the content will assist you in mastering these complexities. Repeating phrases immediately after hearing them improves retention and fluency, setting a solid foundation for engaging in discussions on various topics, including sports.
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.