Shadowing Practice: English Connected Reading Training | 美音连读教程 | 雅思口语Part2：Describe a vacation that you have been on - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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What's up, it's Alex.
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This is a part two answer to describe a vacation that you have been on.
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When I was 14, my family and I, my family and I, and I,
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this D disappears, went to, went to, these two T's connect,
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went to Italy, went to Italy,
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Italy, there's a very small It's not to Italy, it's to Italy.
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To Italy, on vacation.
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When I was 14, my family and I went to Italy on vacation.
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I had a great time. Had a...
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This D is very light.
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Great time.
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These two T's connect.
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I had a great time.
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Back then, I didn't have a phone.
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Didn't have.
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There's no T.
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The T disappears didn't have.
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I didn't have a phone.
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So wide, so wide, there's a wuh, so wide.
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So I'd go to internet cafes.
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The word internet doesn't have this t, internet.
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So I'd go to internet cafes and pay, and pay, there's no D here, and pay a couple of euros.
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Couple of euros.
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This F disappears.
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Couple of euros.
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To send emails.
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This D is very light.
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To send emails.
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To my friends.
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friends.
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There's no D sound here.
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To my friends about the places I visited. About the.
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These two sounds connect. About the.
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About the places I visited.
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I just gotten a.
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Now this is a little tricky.
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Gotten a.
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These T's disappear and there's a glottal stop.
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Gotten a.
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I'd just gotten a nice new camera.
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And I ended up, and I, this D disappears.
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And I ended up taking, ended up, both of these D's are light.
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And I ended up taking more than, more than.
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So more than three.
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If I say this quickly, the vowel completely disappears and it's just more than three,
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more than, more than, more than three thousand photos.
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Thousand photos.
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This d disappears.
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Thousand photos in just three weeks.
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Just three weeks.
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This T and the TH connect.
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Just three weeks.
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After the trip, this P is not pronounced.
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After the trip, after the trip, I compiled the photos.
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This D disappears.
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Compiled the photos.
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Photos.
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This T is very light.
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Photos.
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And the stories.
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And the stories.
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This D and the TH connect.
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And the stories.
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Into a, into a, there's kind of a W here, into a, into a little book as a souvenir.
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When I was 14, my family and I went to Italy on vacation.
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I had a great time.
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Back then, I didn't have a phone, so I'd go to internet cafes
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and pay a couple of euros to send emails to my friends about the places I visited.
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I'd just gotten a nice new camera, and I ended up taking more than 3,000 photos in just three weeks.
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After the trip, I compiled the photos and the stories into a little book as a souvenir.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you'll have the opportunity to enhance your English pronunciation skills through connected reading techniques. By watching a video featuring a personal narrative about a vacation in Italy, you'll practice how to naturally connect words in spoken English. This method is crucial for improving your fluency and understanding native speech patterns. Through targeted shadow speech exercises, you'll learn not only to pronounce individual words but also to link them together smoothly, which is essential for achieving a more natural speaking style.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • great time - An expression to describe enjoyable experiences.
  • internet cafes - Places where you can access the internet for a fee.
  • send emails - The act of sending electronic messages via the internet.
  • gotten a - A phrase indicating the act of receiving something.
  • more than three thousand photos - Refers to a large quantity of pictures taken, emphasizing enthusiasm.
  • couple of euros - A casual way to refer to a small amount of money.
  • glottal stop - A phonetic phenomenon that helps in connecting speech in natural conversations.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning from this video, consider using a shadowing app to practice alongside the speaker. Start by watching a segment of the video, focusing on Alex's rhythm and intonation. Pause after each phrase and attempt to mimic his pronunciation. Pay close attention to how certain sounds are connected; for example, notice how "my family and I" flows seamlessly when spoken.

Remember to practice regularly. Repeat each segment multiple times to really solidify your understanding. The goal is to improve your English pronunciation through shadow speaking, which involves mirroring the speaker's words and sounds directly. Increase your speed gradually as you grow more comfortable, but always ensure that clarity is maintained. Engaging actively with the video content not only improves your pronunciation but also allows you to learn English with YouTube in a fun and interactive way.

Embrace the nuances of English speech and watch as your confidence in speaking increases, making communication with others smoother and more enjoyable. Happy learning!

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.