Shadowing Practice: How To Improve Your English Pronunciation - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello everybody, Elliot here from ETJ English.
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Today I'm here to give you some guidance on how to learn pronunciation.
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The reason why is because, well, when I speak to most of my students, my subscribers, their biggest problem is never what they're doing,
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it's more how they're doing it and why they're doing it.
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These are the questions we need to ask before we try to improve or change our pronunciation, our accent, and take it seriously.
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The first thing I want you to ask yourself, I want you to write this question down, ask yourself this question and give yourself some answers.
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Why am I trying to change my accent or why am I trying to improve my pronunciation?
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Are you an actor?
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Are you trying to improve for an audition, for a performance, for a movie?
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If that's the case, intense sessions are going to be very important.
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You're not trying to permanently change your accent every time you open your mouth.
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Instead, you want to be able to switch.
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You want to be able to just change to the British accent or whatever accent it is when you need it.
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So the way you learn would be different to someone who, for example, is trying to permanently change their accent.
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So this leads on to my second category, the British accent, or let's say the accent fanatic.
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Are you a huge fan of RP?
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Are you a huge fan of American English?
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Do you just want that accent?
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Do you want to be able to just open your mouth
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and have muscle memory and just produce the sounds
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that make you sound like you're a modern RP speaker or whatever type of speaker you want to be?
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This is the more long -term kind of goal, and it will be something you'd be working on for, yeah, a very long time, but it obviously is the most rewarding,
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especially if you have a huge passion, a lust for this accent.
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It's amazing when I see my students slowly change each sound, sound by sound, they slowly gain more of this accent
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and they create the muscle memory and it's a really fascinating thing to watch
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and to help with
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and the third category is someone who is just trying to
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improve for accent reduction maybe you have some thick sounds in your accent
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or some really annoying sounds that bother you sounds or techniques
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which make it difficult for your listener to follow what you're
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saying maybe they always have to say sorry what was
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that what did you say
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and this can get really annoying it can affect communication it can affect friendships
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and that's why we would need accent reduction reducing the problematic sounds in your accent so that you can communicate better
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this is something we need to do before we do anything but you can just stop at accent reduction
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you don't have to do more after the accent reduction you could then work on the british accent
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or work on a whatever accent.
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The second question I want you to ask yourself before we start going into the techniques is what accent do you like?
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Do you love modern received pronunciation?
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My accent, the accent I teach.
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Do you adore a particular American accent or do you like the Australian accent?
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Do you like an accent from Edinburgh?
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Do you like the Scouse accent?
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What accent do you love?
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Oh and I'm so sorry to all the snowflakes out there
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if I didn't mention your accent today i know this may have ruined your day
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and you may want to write a very angry comment below but i'm
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so sorry i just can't mention every accent in this video all i want to say is choose your favorite
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and don't just think oh everybody loves this accent
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so i'm going to pick this one what accent do you
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like tell me in the comments below i'd love to know all the different accents you like
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so now we need to talk about the methods how are
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you going to approach your learning how you going to start improving the first thing to understand is
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that learning english is different to learning pronunciation learning english is
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more about your brain about memory remembering grammar remembering vocabulary remembering
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rules right pronunciation is muscle based it's just like learning to
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play the guitar you have to keep practicing until you remember
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you know you're looking okay I need to do this I need to do this
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and then eventually oh I can do this without looking oh I can close my eyes
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and I can play this song we are training your muscles to remember things muscle memory
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so the more you practice the more your muscles start to get comfortable so
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because of this we don't want to do long two -hour sessions on pronunciation training for acting that's quite good
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but if we're trying to permanently change the accent
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or trying to produce some muscle memory it's more important to do short sessions throughout the day So,
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for example, you could do 10 minutes of practice just speaking, focusing on one sound or one technique while you're in the shower.
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Maybe you could work on your intonation whilst reading a book to your child
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or reading a book in the morning to yourself.
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Read it out loud and practice your intonation or one vowel sound
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or something you're working on right now maybe in the evening
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before you go to bed just create some sentences in your mind
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and just say them to yourself in the mirror however you
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want to practice find what works for you make sure you
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also incorporate some listening practice listen to tv shows podcasts
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and focus on that one thing that you're working on whichever sound it may be
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or whichever technique and imitate the person you're listening to
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so short sessions throughout the day to work on your muscle
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memory the most important two words in this learning process muscle memory firstly is your accent stress timed
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or is it syllable timed i won't explain what this means today
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but english is a stress timed language which means the way
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that we speak is very different to those who have syllable timing in their speech.
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We have important words and we make them more obvious and the less important words are more relaxed.
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This can be a big thing to learn for people who have syllable time languages such as Italian or Spanish speakers.
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Is your language tonal like Mandarin
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or Thai where you change the tone on a word and it will change what the word is, whereas in English what we do is we change the tone and it changes the feeling.
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We can sound happy, sad, confused, we can sound excited, sarcastic, like we're asking a question, and we do all of this with our intonation.
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You know, I could say, really?
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Or I could say, really?
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Changing the tone will change the effect.
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Is this something that you're not so sure about?
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Okay, intonation is something you also need to work on for accent reduction.
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Look at the vowels in your language.
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Are there any vowels in your accent which are the same in let's say modern RP which you're learning.
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Compare the phonetics in your language to the language you're learning.
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Usually there will be some phonetics in British English
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which are very very different or not even included in your native accent
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so those would be ones you will definitely want to look at.
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Compare them, look for differences and similarities.
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So once you've looked at all of these differences you now need to start working on things.
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Where to start?
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Well stress and intonation this is like your foundation this is where you begin building okay
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so imagine a big skyscraper we're building a huge massive skyscraper
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but if the bottom the foundation the thing
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which holds the whole building together is not strong enough everything
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will collapse stress is your foundation it's your rock it's what will make people understand you the most even
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if you're pronouncing loads of vowel sounds wrong
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if you are stressing correctly it will make it easier for
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your listener to understand you intonation in particular is best improved with listening practice
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so listen to podcasts tv shows radio youtube videos
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and just listen for the tones listen to the ways they go up
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and down and if you're taking a course or you're learning with the teacher, you'll know why they are going up and down, changing their tones on different words.
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If not, just train your ear to start kind of picking it up.
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It's like a song you hear on the radio.
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The more you hear it, the more it gets stuck in your head and you start just singing it without realizing.
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That's what intonation is.
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It's just something you pick up from people around you and the things you listen to.
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So immerse yourself in the accent and pick up the tones.
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When it comes to sounds, I strongly recommend you work on one at a time.
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So you could start with the schwa sound, which is one of the most important sounds to British English.
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Uh, in words like about or teacher. And practice it.
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Find loads of words with it.
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Find lists of words with it.
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Do listening practice and listen.
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Every time you think you hear the schwa sound, check in the dictionary. Does it?
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Fantastic.
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Add it to your list.
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Okay? and then start making a big list practicing sentences
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and words involving the schwa sound think about this sound everywhere you go when you're talking to someone
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only focus on that one sound
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and this is why i say only one sound at a time because
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if you're focusing on too many sounds at once there's too
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much to think about the language the vocabulary the grammar
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and loads of sounds no that's not going to help you improve keep that one sound
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as the one thing you're working on it's your whole life
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and it's all you're thinking about when you speak apart from the words obviously
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and then you can stop pause correct yourself don't be afraid to correct yourself
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and slowly the more you correct yourself and think about
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that sound you'll notice
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that your body starts to kind of produce the sound for you you've trained your muscles now
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so now you can move on to another sound remember we're starting with accent reduction
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So maybe focus on the sounds you have the biggest problems with.
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Of course, you can compare maybe two sounds at the same time.
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Let's say you've spent some time working on the a sound, but you find you often pronounce it as e, because that's one of your issues.
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You might have a problem with had and head, man and men.
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Well, if that is the case, start comparing the two sounds.
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Create loads of minimal pair lists where you have these words, man, men, sand, send, and create some sentences look out for these sounds
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when you're speaking correct yourself as I said slowly make your
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way through the sounds brick by brick in this skyscraper
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which we're slowly building taller
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and taller very slowly one of my favorite things to explain
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to my students is to use your ears your eyes
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and your brain
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when you practice ears listening practice listen to everything spend 10
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minutes 20 minutes some point in your day just listening to a podcast don't think about anything just think about
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that one sound that you're working on write down check in the dictionary create lists make sentences
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and then practice eyes reading practice maybe
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when you're reading a book in the evening before bed
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or you're reading a web page a news page
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and the first time you read maybe read it for pleasure just read it
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because you want to read it then read it a second time
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and just look for the one sound or the one thing you're working on.
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Maybe it's where the stress should be.
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Maybe it's where you could put some intonation.
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Maybe it's the ah sound or the ih sound.
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Just look for that sound and use the dictionary.
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Have it online next to you.
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Cambridge Dictionary, I recommend.
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Search for the word.
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See if it has that sound in it.
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Okay, create your big list.
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Brain.
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Think about words or phrases you use a lot in your daily life do they have this sound
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or this technique in it fantastic practice it perfect it think
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about common words you say a lot make sentences with them
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or just look in the mirror and talk to yourself just speak freely
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because when we're reading our intonation is different so we do need
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that free speech practice as well where we sound more natural more conversational this is why there are
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so many pronunciation courses available not just mine you can look for whichever one you want
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but if you like me you like my accent i have a course available
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and the reason why it's had such great reviews is
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because of the fact that you have all of the learning content
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which you can watch whenever you want right you can just watch a lesson
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and then okay i've watched this lesson now it's time to practice okay
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so you have all of the material you can watch the
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lesson again you don't have to wait for a skype lesson
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or you don't have to wait for a private lesson
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but the other bonus is
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that you can contact me with voice messages to get corrections whenever you want
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so your teacher is there to correct you whenever that's the
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key okay the key is to have constant correction to have
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constant guidance oh your tongue's a bit too high oh your tongue's a bit too low we need
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that and there's not enough time in a short lesson to to do that and to wait every week for.
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So that's why I stopped teaching on Skype.
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I started off by teaching on Skype and it was great.
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I met some great people, but the improvement was too slow and I knew I could make my students learn faster.
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So not just my course, there are other courses available.
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There are apps available where you can actually talk to people.
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I think there's one called Hello Talk.
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They're not sponsoring this video, but I use them for learning Spanish.
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And you can send voice recordings to people who are native
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and they could maybe tell you oh that doesn't sound right you know
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if you tell them
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that you're working on your pronunciation then they'll give you a few corrections on
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that and i highly recommend that if you're also learning english you treat
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that separate so you learn english
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and then you learn pronunciation separately just like learning spanish
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and maths two different subjects they need to be learned separately ideally
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so that's about it hopefully this gives you more of an
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idea of how pronunciation learning works maybe some methods you could take
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so thank you very much for watching don't forget you can
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join my course by clicking the link in the description go
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to etjenglish .com i'd be happy to welcome you on the course
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if you have any questions please post them in the comment
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section below too that's me done for another video i'll see you next time cheers guys bye
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 213 sentences and 2616 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:59. The speaker talks at a natural 175 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- accent /ækˈsɛnt/ (noun) — 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…
- pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
- muscle /ˈmʌs.əl/ (noun) — A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
- tone /ˈtəʊn/ (noun) — A specific pitch.
- lesson /ˈlɛs.ən/ (noun) — A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
- reduction /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/ (noun) — The act, process, or result of reducing.
- technique /tɛkˈniːk/ (noun) — The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements.
- distress /dɪˈstɹɛs/ (noun) — Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.
- compare /kəmˈpɛɚ/ (verb) — 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…
- dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/ (noun) — A reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each word's meanings or senses, oftentimes also…
- podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ (noun) — A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on…
- permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/ (adverb) — In a permanent manner; lastingly.
- whichever /wɪt͡ʃˈɛvɚ/ — Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'.
- skype /skaɪp/ (verb) — To make (a telephone call) using Skype software.
- mirror /ˈmiɹɚ/ (noun) — A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- work on (verb) — To apply mental or physical effort to (something) in order to shape, form, improve, investigate, solve it, etc.
- think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
- look for (verb) — To seek.
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
- book in (verb) — To check in (to a hotel).
- check in (verb) — To announce or record one's own arrival at a hotel, airport etc.
- go up (verb) — To move upwards.
- wait for (verb) — To wait until the specified event occurs.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 62 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, reduction /ɹɪˈdʌk.ʃən/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/, corrections /kəˈɹɛkʃənz/, passion /ˈpæʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/, permanently /ˈpɜː.mə.nənt.li/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/
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, pronunciation, muscle.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who is · language which means · those who have |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've looked · you've trained · you've spent |
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.