Shadowing Practice: How To Speak Upper Class Eton - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello, it's John here.
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Today we have a very interesting topic for you.
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That is the Eton accent and vocabulary.
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Now, Eton is one of the most prestigious schools in the UK, if not the most prestigious.
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So where is Eton?
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Well, it's about 20 miles from central London, very close to the town of Windsor.
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Here is a sample of former pupils who all went to Eton.
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We have Damien Lewis, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Bear Grylls and Ian Fleming all went to Eton.
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Plus two other prime ministers, British prime ministers who went to Eton
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and they're the ones we're going to focus on today because I have recordings of both of them,
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that being Boris Johnson, for many people this is an astonishing moment of hope, and David Cameron.
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And that is something we should all be grateful for.
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And we're going to analyse their accent.
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Then we're going to look at the specific vocabulary that's used at Eton College.
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So, by the end of the video, you should know how to speak Eton.
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So, let's start with Boris.
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Let's hear the way he speaks in this speech.
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Tonight we are leaving the European Union.
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For many people this is an astonishing moment of hope.
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A moment they thought would never come.
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And there are many, of course, who feel a sense of anxiety and loss.
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And then there's a third group, perhaps the biggest, who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would never come to an end.
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So Boris certainly speaks with an RP or Received Pronunciation accent.
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He's got various features, pronunciation features to his accent.
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Let's go through them now.
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OK, so the first thing you'll notice is he's got quite a throaty way of speaking, really at the back of the throat,
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you know, a bit like this.
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Political wrangle.
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On top of that, he's got this sort of start -stop rhythm to it,
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like as if everything he's saying is actually a sound bite.
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Perhaps the biggest.
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Couple that with his highly melodic intonation and he's surely got your attention. Of hope.
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Now, he's obviously nurtured this accent to sound, I don't know, privileged or upper class.
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And you can really tell that he went to a private school.
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He's got that kind of feel about his accent.
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He uses words that RP speakers would use, like astonishing.
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And he's got the classic RP vowel sound, like thought.
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Yes, so he's got this sound just like in classic RP.
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Plus it's a version of RP that's quite rare these days, although you have to say it does stand out because of that.
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Now let's move on to David Cameron who is also an Old Etonian.
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Here's his speech, the first speech he made as PM of Britain.
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Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new government and I have accepted.
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Before I talk about that new government, let me say something about the one that has just passed.
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Compared with a decade ago...
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So, he speaks very clearly.
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Again, you could probably tell that he's been to a privately educated school.
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Maybe not exactly Eton, but he does speak.. he takes care in what he says and he speaks very clearly.
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He also, you would say, has an RP accent.
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That's because the first thing you realise is he doesn't like to drop sounds, especially his T's.
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He always says his T's like in government.
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Government.
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Yes?
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Like that.
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Form a new government.
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The next sound we'll pick up on is the classic RP sound of the O.
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Now I say it a more modern way.
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I say O and he says O, O.
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Right?
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So, people who want to enunciate, who want to speak RP generally take care of their vowel sounds.
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He says this O, O, AGO, AGO, HOPE, right?
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So, that is a clear indication of speaking received pronunciation as well.
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OK, let's move on to the vocabulary.
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Now, the first word, where would the schools be without teachers?
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And this is a word that Etonians use for teachers.
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It is used in one or two other private schools as well, but it's also used at Eton.
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So, they call teachers beaks,
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as in a bird beak and you can literally replace the word teacher for the word beak in sentences in at Eton.
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Everybody, the beak's coming.
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Finish up your homework now, quick.
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Something like that.
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Next, when I was looking at the fees for Eton, which are obviously extremely high, I noticed that the year is split into halves.
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However, the halves are divided into three.
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So, there's three halves to the year.
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That's very strange, isn't it?
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The next two are connected with eating.
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The first one is chambers.
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And that's a break in the morning when you can have a snack.
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I guess at Eton you would say something like...
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OK chaps, it's 11 o 'clock.
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Time for chambers.
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The second one is messing, which means to prepare a snack in the afternoon at your boarding house.
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Because obviously all the kids at Eton live in boarding houses.
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OK.
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Shall we put everything that we've learnt into a sentence?
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so that we can speak Eton.
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So in this half we're having chambers at 11
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and then we're going to go back to the house at 3 for messing.
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But we have to be at the chapel at 3 .30 otherwise the beaks will come hunting for us.
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And there you have it, a crash course in speaking upper class Eton.
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Now I hope you've learned a few things about the Eton accent
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and I hope you can take it away and just for pleasure or for whatever, enjoy yourself with the accent.
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Remember to like and subscribe to the channel for more videos on accents
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and remember right here you can get a better British accent.
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My name is John and I'll say see you later, stay connected, bye.
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So I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this accent video today
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and I hope now you can speak a bit more Eton and a bit more RP.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “How To Speak Upper Class Eton”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Eton, accent, speak, sound, word. This video has 96 sentences and 1020 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:57. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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… |
| chamber noun | /ˈt͡ʃeɪ̯mbɚ/ | The private room of an individual, especially of someone wealthy or noble. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| pronunciation noun | /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| snack noun | /snæk/ | A light meal. |
| prestigious adjective | /pɹɛˈstiːd͡ʒəs/ | Of high prestige. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| anxiety noun | /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/ | An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event. |
| 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… |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| grateful adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ | Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. |
| bite verb | /baɪt/ | To cut into something by clamping the teeth. |
| throat noun | /ˈθɹoʊt/ | The front part of the neck. |
| realise verb | Non-Oxford British standard spelling of realize. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| finish up verb | To complete the last details of a task. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| pick up on verb | To notice, observe, learn, or understand, especially something otherwise overlooked. |
| stand out verb | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.). |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Let's hear the way he speaks in this speech.
- Let's go through them now.
- That's very strange, isn't it?
- Shall we put everything that we've learnt into a sentence?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has asked · has just passed · he's been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is split · are divided · are connected |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who want · Eton, which are · messing, which means |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, doesn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: throat /ˈθɹoʊt/, thoroughly /ˈθʌɹ.ə.li/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, throaty /ˈθɹəʊti/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, indication /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/, astonish /əˈstɑnɪʃ/, intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, indication /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/, enunciate /ɪˈnʌnsiˌeɪt/
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 accent, chamber, vocabulary.
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.