Shadowing Practice: Connected Speech You NEED to Know in English πΊπΈ - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hey guys, welcome back to another video with me, Lau.
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Hey guys, welcome back to another video with me, Lau.
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Today we have a very useful, very interesting video, as always, but this one especially.
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In this video, I'm going to give you specific examples of how we speak fast in the United States and Canada.
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By being aware of these examples and practicing them yourself, it will help you prepare for listening to that, like hearing that and identifying what they're saying, and also using it yourself.
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If you haven't seen my video, how to understand fast English, you have to watch that video.
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Well, the video is in Spanish, so you can only watch it if you know Spanish, unfortunately.
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But in that video, I talk about basically the same kind of thing that I'm talking about in this video with just different examples.
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I'm going to put the link in the comments and you need to watch that after this video, if you haven't seen it.
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I talk about examples like instead of saying, it should not have happened, we say, it shouldn't have happened.
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It shouldn't have.
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Shouldn't have.
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Or instead of,
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I could have done that we say i could have done that i coulda i coulda shoulda coulda woulda very important examples you need to watch that video
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all right the examples in this video today are going to be like a similar idea but different phrases different things and if you
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get used to this way of talking you'll realize that you're actually flowing better it's actually easier to say and overall it's
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just fun and it sounds good all right so with that being said let's get into it we almost never say hey, what are you doing?
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Unless we're like, hey, what are you doing?
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You know, like if we really want to give emphasis to what are you doing, then we might say that.
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But in general, a lot of times we're just going to be like, what are you doing?
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What a, so what are becomes what a, what a, you becomes ya, what are you doing?
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Doing, doing, what are you doing?
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What are you doing?
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By the way, I recommend pausing the video after I teach each one of these phrases so that you can practice it yourself.
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All right.
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And if you have to go back and repeat, fantastic.
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Hey, what are you doing?
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And another version of this is what you're doing?
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What you're doing?
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Hey, what you're doing?
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Hey, what you're doing?
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What you're doing?
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What you're doing?
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What you're doing?
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In what you, what are you is all combined.
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It's just what you, what you're doing.
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So what are you doing?
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It's actually the longer version of what you're doing.
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We use both.
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It just depends what you feel like using in that moment.
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What are you doing?
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What you're doing?
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And even if we're talking to multiple people.
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Hey, what are you guys doing?
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Hey, what are you guys doing?
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Hey, what are you guys doing?
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Hey, what are you guys doing?
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Hey, what are you guys doing?
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What are you guys doing?
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Sometimes it's yeah, sometimes it's you.
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Either way, what are you?
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What are you?
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What are you?
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What are you?
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What are you guys doing?
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Hey, what are you guys doing?
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And in the south, it's very common to say, hey, what are y'all doing?
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What are y'all doing?
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What are y'all doing?
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Hey, what are y'all doing?
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What are y'all doing?
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I was listening to some of my videos where I'm talking in English and I was listening to the way that I combine words, and I wrote down some examples from that.
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I noticed that instead of saying, we should have it done by tomorrow, I said, yeah, we should have it done by tomorrow.
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We should have it done by tomorrow.
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We should have it.
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We should have it.
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A lot of times with should, we don't even say should, okay?
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A lot of times it's just a sh or a sh.
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We should have it.
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We sh have it.
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We should have it.
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We should have it.
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We should have it done by tomorrow.
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And instead of by tomorrow, by tomorrow, by tomorrow.
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All the time in English, the T is really like a D.
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We write a T, but it's like a D sound, by tomorrow, especially when talking fast or normal.
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We should have it done by tomorrow.
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We should have it.
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We should have it.
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We should have it done by tomorrow.
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Dumb by tomorrow.
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Yeah, we should probably have it done by tomorrow.
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We should probably, probably, probably, probably, yeah, we should probably have it done by tomorrow.
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The next example is very similar.
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We say instead of I could have it every day, we say I can have it every day.
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I can have it.
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So just like the should becomes like SHH the could becomes like CEH, CEH.
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I can have it, I can have it.
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Yeah, I can have it every day.
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I can have it.
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Another one I said was, if you can have a conversation in English, if you can have a conversation, if you can have, if you can have, you can, if you can have a conversation.
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And that one's a little hard because I could be saying you could have, you can have, you can have.
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But I also could be saying you can have.
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We do the same thing with can when we talk fast.
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You can have is actually you can have.
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So it could be could or can.
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We do the same thing to both.
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If you can have a conversation, if you can have.
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It looks like I wrote down another example of could.
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I said at one point in one video, I said, it could be hard.
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It could be hard.
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It could be.
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It could be.
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It could be.
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It could be.
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It could be.
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But I could also be saying, it can be.
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It can be hard.
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That one might have a slight, slight like N sound in there.
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Like, it can be.
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It can be.
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It could be.
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The difference is extremely subtle.
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So they basically sound like almost the same.
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Did you already cook?
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that becomes, did you already cook?
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Already.
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Did you already cook?
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Did you already cook?
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And by the way, some of these examples, like we do say the original version a lot.
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Like we do say, did you already cook?
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Already.
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Already.
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We do pronounce the L and the whole word sometimes.
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Yes.
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Often.
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Yeah.
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But when we talk fast, it often sounds like already.
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Did you already?
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Did you already?
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So when you learn this word in English class, they're going to tell you like already, Or if you look on the internet or Google Translate, like already.
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And yeah, that's like the official pronunciation of the word or if you're like emphasizing it.
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But we almost never say that.
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We say like already or already.
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It's a lot easier than saying already.
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And notice that we're also saying didja, didja instead of did you.
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Didja already, didja already.
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Notice how did you already all of a sudden sounds like one word.
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Didja already, didja already say that?
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Didja already, didja already.
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And when you're consuming content in English and you're studying it, you should be paying attention to this.
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A few words come together to make like one sound.
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And if you get used to those groups of words, that will help you a lot in your listening and speaking.
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Did you already know that?
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In one video I said, and all the other kids would be silent.
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And all the other kids will be silent.
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That's what we deal with would.
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With should and could, a lot of times we cut off the end, but with would, a lot of times we cut off the beginning.
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So instead of saying, kids would be, I'm saying, kids would be.
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So one day I was talking to myself in my room as I do all the time.
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And I said, yeah, I'm going to put them in the oven.
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And I said, wait a minute, I got to write that down.
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Put them in the oven.
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We use um, put them, put them.
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We often write it like M, but we don't always say it like M.
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We say like, um, put them, put them in the oven.
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We use this to say them, which can refer to like them, like people, or them, like plural of a thing, you know, like multiple objects.
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Right.
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So when I was saying put them in the oven, I wasn't talking about people.
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I was saying, put the potatoes in the oven or, you know, put the multiple items of food in the oven.
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Put the cookies in the oven.
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Put them in the oven.
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Here and there, we might say, put them in the oven.
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Put them in the oven.
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But a lot of times, it's just put them in the oven.
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But if you don't understand the context, it could be a little confusing if we're talking about them or we're talking about him.
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Because we do the same thing with him.
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I am making these cookies for him.
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I might say, yeah, I'm making them for him.
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Yeah, I'm making them for him.
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Making them for him.
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Yeah, I'm making them.
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Making them.
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I'm making the cookies.
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I'm making them.
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I'm making them for them.
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For him.
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For him.
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Yeah, I'm making them for him.
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Ah, you're making the cookies for him?
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Yeah, I'm making them for him.
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Yeah, he would love these cookies.
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Yeah, that's why I'm making them for him.
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Yeah, that's why I'm making them for him.
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Yeah, that's why.
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I'm saying, yeah, that's why.
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That's why.
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Yeah, that's why I'm making them for him.
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The next one is what do you, what does he, what does she, what do they becomes?
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what are you?
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What are you?
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Or what are ya?
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Sometimes what are ya?
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Sometimes what are you?
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Okay, it could be both.
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It could be both.
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What does he?
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What is he?
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What is he?
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Notice how we don't even say the H in he.
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We just say what is he?
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What is he?
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What is he?
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What does she becomes what is she?
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What is she?
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What do they?
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Becomes what are they?
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What are they?
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What are they?
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The next thing we do all the time in English is instead of saying I don't blah blah blah, we say, I don't, I don't, I don't, but like together, I don't, like we drop the D and say, I don't, I don't want to do that.
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I don't want to do that.
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And sometimes wanna is just one.
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I don't want to do that.
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I don't want to think about it.
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I don't like that.
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I was watching a video of a British teacher, very popular on YouTube.
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Well, he's got a lot of subscribers.
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His most popular video is a video kind of like this, where he explains how to understand native speakers when we're talking.
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And of course he was teaching British English.
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He was giving the British perspective, British version.
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But I was able to take some stuff from that.
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And now I'm gonna give my American perspective.
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So he said, instead of saying, I didn't want to, they would just say I didn't want to, I didn't want to.
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So they don't say the T in didn't, they say didn't, that's very common in American English as well, and instead of saying to they say to, and yeah that's also extremely common in American English.
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So we do the same thing and we also say I didn't want to, but I would take it a step further.
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I think what's even more common and even easier to say in American English, we have two variations.
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You can say, I didn't wanna, I didn't wanna, or I didn't wanna, I didn't wanna, wanna.
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And I think we use, I didn't wanna, when we're ending the phrase there, we're ending the sentence, right?
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That's it.
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Yeah, I just didn't wanna, done.
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End of sentence.
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I think we use wanna more when we're continuing the sentence, like, I didn't wanna do that.
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I didn't wanna do that.
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But to just end the sentence, And that's the difference between English and some other languages like maybe some Romance languages like Spanish or Portuguese for example.
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You can just say in those languages like I didn't want.
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I didn't want but in English you have to say I didn't want to I didn't want to.
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So a lot of times we just say I didn't want to.
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I didn't want to.
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I just didn't want to.
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Yeah, I could have done that.
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But I didn't want to.
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I could have done that, but I did not want to.
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Yeah, I could have done that, but I just didn't want to Just, just, instead of just, just, there's so many examples.
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I just didn't want to.
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I just didn't want to.
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Okay, the last thing I want to share, I think is a little interesting for me.
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In the British English video, he started the video by saying, should we go have a good day?
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And I'm not doing the British accent, by the way, I can't do it.
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But basically he said, should we go have a good day?
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Should we go have a good day?
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And in my American English brain, I thought he was saying, should we go and have a good day?
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but actually he was saying, shall we go and have a good day?
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And that's a big difference between American and British English.
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In British English, they still use shall.
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In American English, we almost never use shall.
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And if we use shall, it's because we're being funny, kind of like imitating the British or, you know, old English.
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We do that to be funny or to be cute or whatever, but that's not how we regularly talk.
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So when I heard shwe, should we go and have a good day?
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I thought it was, should we?
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And if we use that phrase in American English, shui, and we do, that's what we would be saying.
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So if you hear that shui in American English, it's probably should we or not shall we.
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And this ties back to one of my first examples where I said we don't even really pronounce the whole should a lot of the time.
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Sometimes, yeah, but a lot of times we just say the sh.
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And so it's like that.
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Should we, shui, shui, go have a good day.
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All right, there are many, many more examples, but I'm going to end the video there because I don't want it to be too, too long.
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I don't know about you, but I don't really like super long videos, nor do I like editing them.
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Let me know what you thought of the video in the comment section.
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And I appreciate all the nice feedback I've been getting about my videos in English.
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Thanks so much for the support and I'll see you in the next video.
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Bye bye.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will delve into the fascinating world of connected speech in American and Canadian English. By examining how native speakers often shorten and blend words, you'll not only enhance your listening comprehension but also gain the confidence to incorporate these phrases into your own speaking. This practice will enable you to speak more fluidly and sound more natural when engaging in conversations. To maximize your learning experience, consider using this lesson as an opportunity to learn English with YouTube by following along with the video examples provided.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Shouldn't have - This is the contracted form of "should not have."
- I coulda - A casual way of saying "I could have."
- What are you doing? - Often shortened to what a or what you're doing in casual conversation.
- Hey, what you doing? - A more relaxed way of asking someone what they are doing.
- You guys - Used when addressing multiple people, also simplified in speech.
- Ya - The contracted version of "you," commonly used in informal speech.
- Wanna - A casual, colloquial way to say "want to."
- Gonna - Used in place of "going to."
Practice Tips
To effectively improve your English pronunciation and speaking skills, consider using shadow speak techniques with the video. Begin by listening closely to the phrases being spoken, paying special attention to the transitions and contractions used by the speakers. Here are some practical steps to guide your practice:
- Pause the video after each phrase is introduced, allowing time for you to repeat what you hear. This English speaking practice will reinforce your learning.
- Try to imitate the speed and tone of the speaker as closely as possible. This will help you adapt to the rhythm of natural English conversation.
- Go back and repeat challenging phrases several times. Consistent repetition will help solidify your understanding and improve your ability to use them in everyday speech.
- Practice with a friend or language partner to enhance your speaking abilities, creating a supportive environment where you can experiment with these connected phrases.
By incorporating these strategies into your daily practice, you will improve English pronunciation and boost your overall fluency in a fun and engaging manner.
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 β like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1β2 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 β making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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