Shadowing Practice: How Squeezed Pronunciation Can Help You Sound More English - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Do you want to improve your English pronunciation?
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Well, there is a simple trick that can make you sound more English.
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And it is squeezed pronunciation.
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Want to find out more?
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Then keep watching.
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Hello, it's Keith once again from the Keith Speaking Academy, here to help you become a much more confident speaker of English.
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Now then, do you sometimes listen to a native speaker and think, what did he say?
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And then maybe you check the transcript and you go, he didn't say that.
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For example, you may hear them say, that's interesting.
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And then you look at the transcript and it says, that's interesting.
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It should be interesting.
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But he said interesting.
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What's happening?
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Well, this is what you could call squeezed pronunciation.
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To squeeze, right?
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To take the word and make it smaller.
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Basically, what's happening is certain words in English, we don't pronounce every syllable.
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We kind of swallow some of the sounds and it becomes squeezed.
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It's something we do so that foreigners can't understand us, basically.
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Just joking.
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Now, what I'm going to do then in this video is I'm going to show you 12 everyday common words
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that we use regularly and to see if you can hear the correct or this squeeze pronunciation.
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I'm going to let you guess first and then so you can try and then we're going to go through each one.
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Are you ready for the English vocabulary squeeze challenge?
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Let's do it.
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right are you ready to go
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so what i'll do i'll show you the word you try
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and say it and then compare to how i say it here we go first one
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chocolate so it's not chocolate it's chocolate chocolate chocolate like the word clear clear chocolate.
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Chocolate.
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I love chocolate.
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Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, any kind of chocolate.
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Number two.
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Memory.
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Not memory.
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Memory.
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Memory.
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If my memory serves me right.
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If I remember correctly, right?
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Number three.
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Favourite.
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Not favourite.
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Favourite.
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Vr.
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Little children when they play with a car they go vroom.
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Vroom.
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Vr.
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Like every.
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The same.
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Favourite.
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It's my favourite.
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Look, this is my favourite pen.
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If you can see it, got it on holiday.
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It reminds me of my holiday with my family and my sister in Austria.
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Favourite.
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Vr.
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Next one.
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Comfortable. So not comfor -table.
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Comfortable.
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Ft. Ft. The F and the T are together.
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Comfortable.
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Yeah, this is a really comfortable chair.
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A similar word is this one.
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Vegetable.
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Comfortable, vegetable.
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Right?
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Vegetable meaning kind of a kind of food.
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Aubergine, courgette, carrot, vegetable.
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Comfortable.
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Okay, next one.
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DIFFERENT DIFFERENT Not DIFFERENT DIFFERENT The FR Like FROM DIFFERENT Right?
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Easier OK DIFFERENT We are all different We are all the same But we are all different NUMBER SIX BUSINESS
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business or business.
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It's a z and a n together, not busy -ness, although we are busy when we're in business.
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Business, business or business.
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Business.
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Business is good.
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Business is bad.
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Business has never been better.
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Let's move on to the next.
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OK, next one.
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Library.
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Library.
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Actually, you can also say library.
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Library.
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We do say that, but more often than not, I would say library.
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So I'd move, I'd kind of swallow the A and the R and just have library, library.
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So a library, meaning a place full of books, right?
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It's a bit like the word, you may know the word itinerary, which is the route you're going to follow on a trip.
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Often we don't say itinerary, we say itinerary.
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So the rery becomes itinerary.
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Library.
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Similar kind of thing, okay?
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Next one.
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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days.
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Wednesday.
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Wednesday.
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This is a double whammy because we kind of drop the D sound and then the N -E -S becomes N -Z.
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Wednesday.
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And it's a Z, not a S.
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Wednesday.
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Famous character from the Addams Family.
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Wednesday.
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Gave a really strong stress on the when. When.
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When will you come?
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Wednesday.
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Next one.
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Literature.
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Literature.
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I know.
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Strange, right?
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Literature.
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The T -R becomes T -E -R.
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Like train.
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Litrain.
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Literature.
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Another way of remembering this is think of the word rich as in a lot of money.
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If you've got more money, you're richer.
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Richer.
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Lit.
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Richer.
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Literature.
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Similar to this word.
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Temp.
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Richer.
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Temperature.
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That is how you can remember how to pronounce it literature
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temperature we're all richer for my teaching can i say
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that let's move on to the next one average not average
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average the vr again remember the little kid with the car vroom Average.
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Average.
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Average height, medium build, middle class, middle -aged.
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Average.
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Average height.
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And the next one.
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There are two ways of pronouncing this.
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It could be actually, actually,
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with a chua, actually, or actually, actually, actually.
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Like the film, love actually, actually.
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Imagine chilli, if you enjoy eating chillies or chilli con carne, chilli, actually, actually.
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Actually, it's really good.
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But you can also say actually, chuali.
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You will find some dialects say chwelly, actually.
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All right, next one.
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Our favourite place for food.
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Restaurant.
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So it's not restaurant or restaurant.
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Restaurant.
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Like the train.
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Again, restaurant.
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Sometimes you can say restaurant.
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Restaurant.
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So it's not even an aunt.
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It's just an ent restaurant.
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It's a restaurant.
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It's an interesting restaurant.
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It's a nice restaurant.
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Restaurant.
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OK, that's it.
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So there you have it.
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12 words with that squeezed pronunciation.
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Let me know in the comments which one you found the most difficult.
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And if you know any other examples of this kind of squeezed pronunciation.
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Thank you for watching today.
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Give me a like if you enjoyed it.
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Do remember to subscribe and turn on notifications to find out about future videos coming soon.
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Thanks again for watching.
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Hope it helps you on your journey to become a more confident speaker of English.
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And I look forward to seeing you in the next video.
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Take care now.
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Bye -bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How Squeezed Pronunciation Can Help You Sound More English”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: restaurant, chocolate, word, library, favourite. This video has 171 sentences and 991 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:45. The speaker talks slowly, about 102 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| squeeze verb | /skwiːz/ | To apply pressure (to something) from two or more sides at once. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| vegetable noun | /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/ | A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice… |
| chili noun | /ˈt͡ʃɪli/ | The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking. |
| pronounce verb | /pɹəˈnaʊns/ | To declare formally, officially or ceremoniously. |
| swallow verb | /ˈswɑ.loʊ/ | To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat. |
| transcript noun | /ˈtɹæn.skɹɪpt/ | Something which has been transcribed; a writing or composition consisting of the same words as the original; a written copy. |
| trick noun | /ˈtɹɪk/ | Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle. |
| everyday adjective | /ˈɛvɹiˌdeɪ/ | Appropriate for ordinary use, rather than for special occasions. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| correctly adverb | /kəˈɹɛk(t).li/ | In a correct manner. |
| aunt noun | /ɑːnt/ | The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent. |
| joking verb | /ˈd͡ʒoʊkɪŋ/ | Kidding, trying to fool. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- For example, you may hear them say, that's interesting.
- Let's move on to the next.
- Often we don't say itinerary, we say itinerary.
- When will you come?
- If you've got more money, you're richer.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may hear · may know |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | keep watching · enjoy eating |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | I'm going to do · I'm going to let · you're going to follow |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | i'll do · will you · will find |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, aubergine /ˈoʊ.bɚ.ʒin/, courgette /kʊɚˈʒɛt/
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, itinerary /aɪˈtɪnəˌɹɛɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like squeeze, pronunciation, vegetable.
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.