Shadowing Practice: Connected speech in English - why do we need it? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hey everyone, it's Hadar.
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Thank you so much for joining me.
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Today I'm going to talk about a topic that I absolutely love and I think it is so useful and helpful, and that is connected speech.
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Connected speech is the idea of connecting words together within the same thought group or unit inside the sentence.
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Let's take, for example, the sentence, you already know what I think about it.
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So, without connected speech, meaning if I separate the words intentionally or unintentionally sometimes,
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this is what you're going to hear.
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You already know what I think about it.
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And when I connect the words together, this is how it sounds.
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You already know what I think about it.
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So, this idea of connected speech is not only to help me sound more American, right?
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It will eventually, because this is how it's spoken.
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But that is not the purpose.
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The purpose is that when I connect words together,
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it is a message that I send that this is a unit within the phrase.
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And why do we need that?
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Think of writing an email, sending an email to someone that you care about.
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And think of you typing out the entire email without breaks, without stops, without spaces.
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It would be very overwhelming, right? and think as if maybe every word would be underlined.
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It would be really hard to understand what this email is about, what the message is, what is the important part, how to organize the thoughts.
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Now, it will be clear eventually, but the person reading would have to work a little harder to get that.
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And this is exactly the same with connected speech.
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Because connected speech on one hand and pauses and breaks on the other
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is a way for you to organize what it is that you're saying.
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And if you separate the words when you speak, it feels like every word is emphasized and the speech is not organized.
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And it's harder to receive the message.
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So when you work on connected speech, understand that it's not an accent thing.
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It's a delivery thing.
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It's a communication thing.
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And it will help you organize your thoughts better when you think of connected speech,
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one, and two, it would help you get to the next stage of what words you want to stress
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and what words you want to reduce.
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Now, I have a lot of videos that explain that aspect of stress and reductions and all of that, so I'm going to link to all of those in the description below.
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Because that's not what we're talking about today.
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We're talking about how to connect the words together.
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Now, what we're going to do is we're going to look at a bunch of examples
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and see what people do when they speak.
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And we're going to analyze it and practice it together.
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Now, as we go into this exercise, I want you to think of connected speech as if it's a unit within the sentence, like I said, where one word is connected to another.
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Now, there is a technical aspect on how to do it, and I'm going to cover it today.
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But this is how I want you to think about it.
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I want you to think about saying this sentence or phrase without stopping your voice, because when you don't stop your voice and you keep your voice going,
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that's what connects the words together.
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Let's take the phrase, you missed your train.
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You missed your train.
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If I try to emphasize every word individually, then I won't connect them.
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You missed your train.
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But when you try to say it while connecting the words without stopping your voice or breath between those words, that's where the magic happens.
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Listen, you missed your train.
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You missed your train.
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Right?
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I didn't do anything special here.
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I just didn't pause between each word.
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And here's the thing.
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A lot of times people separate the words to be clearer, right?
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So that they're more understood, where in fact, what that causes is for people to be less clear, because then the speech sounds like staccato,
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you know, instead of legato, which is what English requires in a way.
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Now, here is the technical aspect of connecting.
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When you connect to words, you have a few options.
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Vowel to vowel, you already know, and then we just connect one vowel to another.
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And sometimes we get intrusive sounds, like in this example right here, you already know.
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You know, the W sneaks in to help me connect the OO sound with the AH sound.
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You already know.
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Or he is the best.
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He is, right?
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If I connect those two vowels, he is, you hear a small Y sound there.
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So that's what happens when you connect two vowels together.
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And sometimes when we connect two words, it could be a consonant that connects with a consonant.
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Good thing.
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Nice hat.
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And then we just want to glue those consonants together without adding vowels in between.
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Sometimes, and that's the easiest case when you have a vowel and then a consonant.
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Play with me.
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Say something.
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That's pretty easy.
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And then, and that is my favorite part, sometimes you have a word that ends with a consonant and then another word that starts with a vowel.
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And what happens here is really interesting because what happens is
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that the consonant of the first word becomes the beginning of the next word.
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Right?
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It connects to the vowel in the next word.
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For example, all over, all over.
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So I could say all over and then kind of like stop my breath in between, but all over makes it smoother.
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Makes it sound like it's one word, which is what we want really.
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She's all over.
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She -zal -zal, right?
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The Z of is becomes the beginning of all, and the L of all becomes the beginning of over, she's all over, she's all over.
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So this is the technical aspect of what's happening. But remember
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that the whole idea is to just keep your voice going as you are saying a certain phrase
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or part of the sentence.
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Now, let's look at a few examples and see what that sounds like.
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Rach, come on, I'm not going to wear any of this.
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Let's listen to it again.
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Rach, come on.
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I'm not going to wear any of this.
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Good.
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So we have Rach, comma.
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So there is a break.
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He's not connecting Rach to anything else.
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Come on.
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Come on.
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This is a phrasal verb.
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And here it's a unit that is connected.
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The stress is on the second part of the phrasal verb.
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And in this case, the M of come becomes the beginning of the next word.
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Come on.
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Come on.
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And then he says, I'm not gonna wear, I'm not gonna wear, right?
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So, not only that he connects everything together in this phrase, he's also reducing a lot of things, right?
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I am, I'm, not going to,
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not gonna wear, I'm not gonna wear, I'm not gonna wear.
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And then we have any of this, any of this.
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So, any of this, this is the proper phrase, but the of is reduced to a schwa, a.
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He connects the any with the schwa, any, any, that's the intrusive sound, ya, any, and then this,
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any of this, any of this.
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Let's do it together.
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Rach, come on, I'm not going to wear any of this.
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Let's look at another example.
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I just don't want to take a photo.
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A lot of reductions and a lot of connections here.
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So the phrase is, I just don't want to take a photo.
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So I just, I just, I just...
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She's not pronouncing the T in the word just, and that is okay, especially when you connect it to another word that starts with a consonant, you will notice that often people drop the T.
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Instead of, I just don't, I just don't, let's listen to it again in a slower speed.
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I just don't want to take a photo.
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I just don't wanna, don't wanna, don't wanna, don't wanna, right?
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So we connect everything together.
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The T is also dropped between the don't and the want, right?
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The T after an N, when it's unstressed, in this case in a function word, is often dropped.
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I just don't wanna, I just don't wanna.
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I just don't want to take a photo.
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Right?
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So here we see what happens when the k sound becomes the beginning of the next part.
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Take a photo.
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I just don't want to take a photo.
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I just don't want to take a photo.
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Now, here's something important.
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Even though the example I used has a lot of reductions and she speaks really fast,
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connecting words together doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go faster.
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Right?
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So that is an important part.
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It just means that you don't stop your breath and voice between words.
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Let's look at another example.
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What are the odds?
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What are the odds?
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What are the odds?
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So here we have another reduction of the R.
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What a, what a, what a.
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So we connect the what with the schwa sound.
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That is the reduction of R.
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What a...
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And then going into the odds, connecting the word the with odds.
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What are the odds?
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What are the odds?
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What are the odds?
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What are the odds?
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All right, let's look at a slightly longer example, a longer sentence where everything is pretty much connected.
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Let's listen.
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I picked up a lot about dramatic structure from doing my scenes in acting class.
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I picked up a lot about dramatic structure by doing my scenes in acting class.
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So we have a few units here, and within each unit all the words are connected.
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So the first unit is, I picked up a lot about dramatic structure.
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Everything's connected.
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I picked up, the T of pick, I picked up, and yeah, the D is pronounced as a T.
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I picked up a, so the P becomes the beginning of the next word, a lot.
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I picked up a lot a, the T becomes the beginning of the next word.
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I picked up a lot about, dramatic.
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So the T connects with the D, no breaks there, about dramatic structure, right?
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The K sound connects to the S, no breaks there.
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This is how it would sound if I did pronounce every word separately.
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I picked up a lot about dramatic structure.
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And quickly, I picked up a lot about dramatic structure.
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Feels very staccato, right?
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Feels like, you know, like every word is stressed.
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Versus, I picked up a lot about dramatic structure.
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So notice that I don't have to go faster to connect the words together.
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It's just about this idea of one word going into another.
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I picked up a lot about dramatic structure.
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And then the next part is, From doing my scenes in acting class.
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From doing my scenes.
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From doing my scenes.
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From doing my scenes.
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Almost all connections here are consonant to consonant, right?
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From doing my scenes.
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So, when you practice it, just make sure that you're not separating the words.
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It's not from doing my scenes, but from doing my scenes.
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And then enacting class.
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E -n -acting.
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E -n -acting.
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The N becomes the beginning of the next word.
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E -n -acting.
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E -n -acting.
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It's almost like we're creating new words that are comprised of a bunch of other words.
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E -n -acting class.
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Let's do this one together.
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I picked up a lot about dramatic structure from doing my scenes in acting class.
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And one last one.
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I just said hi.
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I just said hi.
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Again, another example of just that is reduced, the T has dropped, and it's connected to the next word.
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I just said hi.
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I just said hi.
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Everything's connected.
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I just said hi.
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I just said hi.
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I just said connected speech.
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All right, now I want to hear from you.
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On a scale of one to 10, how hard is it for you to connect words together, or even to think about it, one being very, very, very hard,
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I never connect my words together, and I don't know how to do it, to ten, oh, I always connect my speech,
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whether you practiced it or it comes organically to you.
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Now, I do want you to remember that in your native language, you are very likely connecting the words together without even thinking about it,
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because that happens in any language.
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But sometimes when we learn a new language, we try to be clear, or we don't know exactly how to do it, or we structure the sentence differently,
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and we end up separating the words.
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And like I showed you, sometimes it's not helpful to do that on the contrary.
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So, in the upcoming week, I want you to think about this idea of connected speech.
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I want you to think about this idea of keeping your voice going as you're speaking, especially when you say small parts inside the sentence.
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And of course, practice with this video a few times until you start feeling it and enjoying it more and more.
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Thank you so much for being here.
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If you don't follow me on my other social channels, then I'm inviting you to do that.
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We have my podcast, The Influency Podcast.
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You can listen to it on your favorite podcast platform.
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I release there two episodes a week.
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You can also sign up for my newsletter to get my weekly lesson to your inbox every single day,
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along with special things that are happening or events that are happening inside of our community.
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And you can connect with me on Instagram at hadar .accentsway or TikTok,
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Hadar Shemesh English, where I share daily fun and helpful content.
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Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day and I will see you next week in the next video.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 227 sentences and 2356 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:14. The speaker talks at a natural 155 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| dramatic adjective | /dɹəˈmætɪk/ | Of or relating to the drama. |
| odd adjective | /ɑd/ | Differing from what is usual, ordinary or expected. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| reduction noun | /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/ | The act, process, or result of reducing. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| distress noun | /dɪˈstɹɛs/ | Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature. |
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| pause noun | /pɔːz/ | A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation. |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| emphasize verb | /ˈɛm.fə.saɪz/ | To stress, give emphasis or extra weight to (something). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 59 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, wanna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, smooth /smuːð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: reduction /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/, intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/, schwa /ʃwɑ/
- Long words — get the stress right: necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, individually /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(u)əli/, intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/, organically /ɔːˈɡænɪkli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like connect, dramatic, odd.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is connected · would be underlined · is emphasized |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | legato, which is · word, which is |
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.