Shadowing Practice: Elevate your English: Linking words you can use beyond ‘However’ and ‘Or’ - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hey everyone, it's Hedar.

Today we are going to practice together linking words to help you sound more expressive

and to help you organize your thoughts and also we'll practice connected speech.

So this is also going to be a pronunciation lesson.

First, let's start by defining linking words.

Linking words or connectors or transitional words are the little words

or phrases that we use connect ideas and make what we say or write flow better.

For example, however, so, but nonetheless,

besides, furthermore, alternatively, and so many more.

So linking words are designed to help the other person follow our thoughts, especially when it's a longer sentence or a complex thought.

And it helps guide the other person to see whether we're adding something,

showing contrast, explaining, giving examples, or wrapping things up.

Today we're going to practice five linking words.

We're going to practice the pronunciation and I deliberately chose longer phrases

so we can practice connected speech and we're going to talk about the meaning and how we use them in context.

The most important thing is to always practice new words or new phrases or phrases that you don't regularly use.

in context and repeat it again and again until you make it a habit, until you can use it spontaneously.

Because we all know that the worst thing is to learn something new

or to hear something that you already know

and to put it on the back shelf in the back of your brain and forget about it.

Okay, so this is why the intentional repetition, it's part of my method, the pronunciation confidence method.

This is why it helps you make these words that you learn more available and to use them regularly.

The linking words and phrases that we're going to practice today are in other words, that said, at the same time,

alternatively, and in a nutshell.

Let's start with in other words.

So in terms of pronunciation, we want to connect this whole phrase together.

In other words, we have a th and an r there, so we want to make sure

that the transition is smooth other there there there other connect it with the word in in other

another another the end becomes the beginning of the word other in other

and then the word words notice the pronunciation you don't pronounce

the o here words in other words r to w might pose a difficulty for a lot of you.

So do it slowly first.

In other words, if it's really, really difficult, just drop the R.

Listen.

In other words, in other words, in other words, no one will notice.

No one will know.

Okay.

In other words.

Now the definition, in other words, it is used when you want to clarify

or explain something in a different way when you said it and then you want to highlight it,

emphasize it, or land an idea and you use other words to say it.

It's often used to simplify or rephrase a point.

In other words, for example, she's really good at managing her time.

In other words, she's always on top of things.

Again, she's really good at managing her time.

In other words, in other words, she's always on top of things.

Next sentence, he's really picky with food.

In other words, he won't eat anything unless it's perfect.

One more time.

He's really picky with food.

In other words, notice the pronunciation.

He won't eat anything unless it's perfect.

I'll be there at 10.15.

In other words, I'm running late.

I'll be there at 10.15.

In other words, I'm running late.

Now I want you to pause the video and think of at least one sentence with the phrase in other words.

Okay, good.

Next up, we have that said.

I really like that phrase.

I don't know why, but I really like it. That said.

I don't have a lot to say about this phrase except for the th.

Make sure you stick the tongue out.

And then the t is a held t that connects to an s.

That said so you don't really hear the t it's like

that said that said ah as in cat now

that said is something you say when you want to add a different point

or twist to what you just said so it's in a way

a way to balance things out

or soften what you said before you can also think of it as

if you were to use the word however

or still okay let me give you an example so it's going to be clear

the hike was difficult

that said the view from the top was absolutely worth it the hike was difficult

that said the view from the top was worth it what does

that mean like the hike was difficult right i'm saying something

that has a negative connotation that said i'm softening it

or i have like another perspective to what i just i

had just said the view from the top was worth it Let's look at another example.

She's not great at math.

That said, she's an excellent writer.

She's not great at math.

I made a statement.

That said, you can also think of it as however, she's an excellent writer.

That said, that said, I've never been to Europe.

That said, I really want to visit someday.

I've never been to Europe.

That said, I really want to visit someday.

Okay, now it's your turn.

I want you to pause the video and think of a sentence or a phrase that you can say using that set.

The next phrase is at the same time.

At the same time.

Here we want to connect the words together.

At the, at the, at the.

The T and the TH connect.

To do that, place your tongue on the teeth for the T. at

and then it's already ready for the th the at the

you don't have to pop the t at no need at

the at the at the at the schwa same time that's

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easy to say right at the same time at the same

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time now at the same time is used to show

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that two things are true simultaneously even if they seem contradictory

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or a little surprising together okay at the same time at the same time

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and if we want to think of alternative words you can think of

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while or still i love spending time alone

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but at the same time i get lonely easily does

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that make more sense now so i love spending time alone

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but at the same time i get lonely easily

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so it's kind of like conflicting and surprising that I say those two things.

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But the two things are true at the same time.

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I love spending time alone.

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At the same time, I get lonely easily.

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It's a great opportunity, but at the same time, it's a big risk.

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But at the same time, pay attention to the pronunciation.

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But at the same time, it's a great opportunity.

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But at the same time, you really have to consider it because it's a big risk.

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at the same time.

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She was tired but at the same time full of energy from the excitement.

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She was tired but at the same time full of energy from the excitement.

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So she was both tired and excited.

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Okay, full of energy, I mean, and excited at the same time.

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The two things were happening at the same time.

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Makes sense.

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Pause the video and think of at least now two sentences with the phrase at the same time.

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The next one is alternatively.

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Alternatively.

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Pronunciation.

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You can either pronounce it with an aw as in daughter.

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It's a more rounded version of the open ah sound or ah alternatively.

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Choose whatever you want.

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Now this is a dark l

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so the dark l affects the beginning vowel alternatively a dark l appears before a consonant

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or at the end of words and it sounds like this oh it's not alternatively but all all all alternatively

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if that's difficult for you pronounce whatever l you're used to pronouncing it's still going to be clear.

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Primary stress is on ter, alternative, flap t, li.

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Okay?

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Alternatively, alternatively, alternatively, alternatively introduces another option or possibility,

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an alternative option, an alternative possibility.

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You can think of it as using the word or, or another option is, or instead right these are other phrases

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that could be used for the same situation you could fly

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to london alternatively you can take the train from paris you

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could fly to london alternatively you can take the train from paris

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so i could have easily said you could fly to london

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or you can take the train from paris but alternatively it's got like a fancier way to say it i sound unsophisticated.

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You could fly to London.

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Alternatively, you can take the train from Paris.

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Now, it's not fancy language.

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Okay, you can use it daily.

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It's however you want to use it.

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I'm just giving you the tools.

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You decide how to use them.

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I can cook tonight.

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Alternatively, we could order in.

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Order in is order food from a restaurant to your house.

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I can cook tonight.

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Alternatively, we could order in.

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Let's look at another example.

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You can join the 5 p.m session.

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Alternatively, Alternatively, there's another one at 7pm.

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Again, you can join the 5pm session.

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Alternatively, there's another one at 7.

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Good.

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To summarize this lovely video, we are going to practice the phrase in a nutshell.

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In a, in a, in a, in a nutshell.

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T is held, connected to the sh sound.

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Nutshell, in a nutshell, in a nutshell.

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In a nutshell is used when you want to summarize something in a clear way, okay?

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When you say something and then you just want to end it with a one-liner that summarizes the whole thing, you'll use in a nutshell.

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You can also, alternative phrases would be to sum up or basically, in a nutshell.

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Okay, so let's look at a few examples.

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The first one, the movie was too long, too slow and confusing.

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In a nutshell, I didn't like it.

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The movie was too long, too slow and confusing.

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In a nutshell, I didn't like it.

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Another one, he's lazy, unreliable and never shows up on time.

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In a nutshell, he's not a great teammate.

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Okay, so I said a bunch of things and then to summarize

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or in short or let me put it in very basic words or simple words in a nutshell.

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Bottom line, he's not a great teammate.

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Okay, last one.

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The app kept crashing, the interface was confusing, and the support team didn't help.

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In a nutshell, it was a frustrating experience.

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In a nutshell, in a nutshell.

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Now pause the video and create at least two sentences with a phrase in a nutshell.

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All right, that's it.

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I hope you enjoyed the episode about linking words where we talked about

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literally linking the words and also using linking words in a sentence and how to use them.

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Remember that if you want to add a new phrase or new word into your vocabulary,

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and I bet that you've all heard these phrases or these words before.

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And I bet that you don't regularly use these phrases as well.

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So this is called passive vocabulary when you know a word

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and a phrase if you were to hear it but you don't use it regularly.

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And for you to be able to expand you don't need to keep on learning more and more words, right?

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You keep learning and more linking words and more words you don't know

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but what about all these beautiful words that you know but you don't use like the ones we practiced in this video.

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In this case, my best advice is to just become more confident in using these phrases.

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And I believe that the best way is to say these phrases out loud again and again, building pronunciation confidence.

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So your mouth is used to saying them, you feel like you're owning these phrases or these words, and then you want to use them in context.

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You can google

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phrases with these words or you can use ChatGPT to use these words

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and you can say them again and again and again these phrases

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and then you want to create your own sentences with these words

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or phrases and then you want to start being mindful about using these words that's intentional practice

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when you speak freely

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and then you want to maybe use these words intentionally in a conversation with someone

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or in a meeting because that's how you make these words more available and that's how how you use new vocabulary, passive vocabulary spontaneously.

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All right.

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If you enjoyed this episode, like and share, and you can comment, tell me what you think.

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And if you want to find out more about my lessons and get all the free resources that I have for you, then go check out my website, hadarshamish.com.

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You'll have a lot of fun.

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Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day, and I'll see you next week in the next video.

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Bye.

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.

Shadowing Practice: Elevate your English: Linking words you can use beyond ‘However’ and ‘Or’ - Learn English Speaking with Video

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What is the Shadowing Technique?