Shadowing Practice: Fluency - Day 09 - Why is may accent so bad - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Why is my accent so bad?
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Learners can be seriously hampered by a negative outlook, so I'll address this very important point early.
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First, your accent is not bad.
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It is non-standard to the American ear.
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There's a joke that goes, what do you call a person who can speak three languages?
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Trilingual.
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What do you call a person who can speak only two languages?
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Bilingual.
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What do you call a person who can only speak one language?
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American.
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Every language is equally valid or good, so every accent is good.
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The average American, however, truly does have a hard time understanding a non-standard accent.
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George Bernard Shaw said that the English and Americans are two people divided by the same language.
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Some students learn to over-pronounce English because they naturally want to say the word as it is written written.
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Too often, an English teacher may allow this, perhaps thinking that colloquial English is unsophisticated, unrefined, or even incorrect.
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Not so at all.
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Just as you don't say the T in listen, the double T in better is pronounced D, better.
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Any other pronunciation will sound foreign, strange, wrong, or different to a native speaker.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Fluency - Day 09 - Why is may accent so bad”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: language, accent, English, speak. This video has 18 sentences and 199 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:19. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 4 of its 18 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| accent noun | /ækˈsɛnt/ | A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to… |
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| colloquial adjective | /kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/ | Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal. |
| hamper verb | /ˈhæm.pɚ/ | To put a hamper or fetter on; to shackle. |
| learner noun | /ˈlɜɹnəɹ/ | One who is learning; one receiving instruction. |
| trilingual adjective | /tɹaɪ̯ˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/ | Able to read or speak three languages. |
| unrefined adjective | crude, raw or unprocessed | |
| unsophisticated adjective | Not sophisticated; lacking sophistication. | |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| bilingual adjective | /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/ | Having the ability to speak two languages fluently. |
| incorrect adjective | /ˌɪn.kəˈɹɛkt/ | Not correct; erroneous or wrong. |
| outlook noun | /ˈaʊtˌlʊk/ | A place from which something can be viewed. |
| divide verb | /dɪˈvaɪd/ | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Why is my accent so bad?
- What do you call a person who can speak only two languages?
- What do you call a person who can only speak one language?
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 written · is unsophisticated · is pronounced |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person who can |
Pronunciation to watch
- Long words — get the stress right: colloquial /kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
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 accent, pronounce, colloquial.
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.