Shadowing Practice: Learn English - Greetings in English, how to Answer the Question "How are you?" - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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English Class 101.
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English Class 101.
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Welcome to EnglishClass101.com's English in 3 Minutes,
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the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn English.
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Hi!
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How's it going?
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I'm Alisha.
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Nice to meet you!
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In this series, we're going to learn some easy ways to ask and answer common questions in English.
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It's really useful, and it only takes three minutes.
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In this lesson, you're going to learn new,
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more common ways to ask and answer the question, How are you? in English.
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You've probably learned, How are you? and I'm fine in textbooks before,
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but in the United States people will usually ask this question and answer it in a different way.
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First, let's review.
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If someone says, How are you?
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You can say, I'm fine.
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I'm fine.
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Here are some other ways to answer.
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Pretty good.
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This means about the same thing as, I'm fine.
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Pretty good.
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We also have, not bad.
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You can use this if you are feeling just okay or so-so.
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Not bad.
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Let's look at our question again.
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How are you?
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This is the most well-known way of asking how someone is.
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You could use it when you want to be polite.
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But now, let's look at some different ways to ask how someone is.
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These ways are more casual and much more common.
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First, hey, how's it going?
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Hey, how's it going?
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You can answer this in many ways.
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If you're feeling good, you can say, good.
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Good.
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Pretty good.
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Pretty good.
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Not bad.
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Not bad.
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Once more, good, pretty good, not bad.
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Here's a tip.
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Even though these answers mean the same thing as I'm fine,
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you can't answer how's it going with I'm fine.
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It will sound a bit strange.
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If you're not feeling good,
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you can say not Not so good.
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Not so good.
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Not great.
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Not great.
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Or, not so well.
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Not so well.
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Be careful.
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If you say one of these,
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the other person will usually ask, why?
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What's wrong?
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To be polite.
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Then, you will have to explain.
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Another casual, but very common version of,
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how are you is, what's up?
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What's up?
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To reply, use a cheerful voice as you say,
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not much, not much, or nothing much, nothing much.
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This means you're free and able to chat.
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Since, what's up, is just another way of saying hello,
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you can also reply with hey or hi.
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Now it's time for Alicia's advice.
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A lot of the time,
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when we ask questions that mean,
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how are you, in English,
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we're not actually asking about the other person's health,
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we're only asking to be polite.
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You should think of these questions as another way of saying,
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hello, a way for the conversation to get started,
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instead of actual, literal questions.
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In fact, when someone asks you,
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what's up, you don't even have to answer.
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Just say, what's up, in reply.
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Do you know the difference between,
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what do you do, and what are you doing?
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It's a little tricky, but we'll explain it simply in the next English in 3 Minutes lesson.
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See you next time!

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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

Engaging with this video provides you with a valuable opportunity for English speaking practice. Learning greetings and responses like “How are you?” is crucial for social interactions in English-speaking environments. The ability to respond naturally and confidently can significantly enhance your communication skills. This video not only teaches you different responses but also demonstrates how to use them in casual conversations, making it easier for you to connect with native speakers.

Additionally, practicing these exchanges allows you to experience real-life scenarios where these phrases are used. Utilizing the shadowing technique—where you imitate the speaker’s pronunciation and intonation—can further strengthen your conversational skills. As you shadow, your brain creates neural pathways, allowing you to recall greetings effortlessly in spontaneous situations.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In this video, several key structures are emphasized that English learners can apply in daily conversations:

  • “How are you?” - This is the standard form of greeting and can be used in both formal and informal situations.
  • “I’m fine.” / “Pretty good.” / “Not bad.” - These expressions serve as common responses that reflect your emotional state. Using variations allows you to convey nuances in how you feel beyond just saying "I'm fine."
  • “Hey, how’s it going?” - This phrase is more casual than “How are you?” and is frequently used among friends or acquaintances. Your choice between these two expressions can indicate the level of familiarity you have with the person you’re speaking to.
  • “Not so good.” / “Not great.” - These responses provide you with negative alternatives, which are equally important in ensuring authentic communication.

Employing these structures will not only improve your sentence variety but also help you to sound more fluent. Make sure to practice them repetitively through a shadowing app or in your English-speaking practice sessions.

Common Pronunciation Traps

While practicing these phrases, you may encounter a few pronunciation challenges:

  • Words like “going” can be tricky. Ensure you pronounce the 'g' clearly to distinguish it from “go.”
  • In “pretty good,” the 't' is often softened in casual speech, which may lead to it sounding like “pritty good.” Pay attention to maintaining clarity.
  • Another aspect to focus on is the intonation in questions. In “How are you?”, the pitch typically rises at the end to indicate a question. Conversely, in statements like “I’m fine,” the pitch usually remains flat.

By concentrating on these pronunciation pitfalls and utilizing the shadowspeak technique, you can significantly improve your English pronunciation and enhance your confidence when speaking.

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.

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