Shadowing Practice: Listening part two (Hotel management and high staff turnover) @ieltslisteningpro.24 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Part 2.
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75 sentences
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Part 2.
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You will hear a training manager giving a talk to a
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group of senior staff from a hotel chain about the problem of high staff turnover.
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First you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.
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As many of you here today have worked in the hotel industry for some time,
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I'm sure you have experienced the problem of high staff turnover in your hotels.
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Every hotel relies on having loyal and experienced members of staff who make sure that everything runs smoothly.
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If staff are constantly changing,
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it can make life difficult for everyone.
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But why do staff leave frequently in many hotels?
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Of course, many hotel jobs,
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such as cleaning, are low-skilled and are not well-paid.
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A lot of managers think it's this and the long hours that are the main causes of high staff turnover.
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But what they don't realise is that it's the lack of training in many hotel jobs which is a huge factor.
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So what kind of problems does a high turnover of staff cause?
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Well, having to recruit new staff all the time can be very time-consuming,
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and managers may have to cover some duties while waiting for new staff to arrive.
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This means they don't have time to think about less immediate problems,
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such as how to improve their service.
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When staff leave, it can also severely affect the colleagues they leave behind.
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It has a negative effect on remaining staff,
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who may start to feel that they too should be thinking about leaving.
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So what can be done to change this situation?
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Firstly, managers should stop making basic errors which leave their staff feeling upset and resentful.
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When organising shifts, for example,
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make sure you never give certain staff preferential treatment.
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All staff should be given some choice about when they work,
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and everyone should have to work some evening and weekend shifts.
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If you treat staff fairly,
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they'll be more likely to step in and help when extra staff are needed.
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Keeping staff happy has other tangible benefits for the business.
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Take the Dunwich Hotel as an example.
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It had been experiencing a problem with staff complaints and in order to deal with this,
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invested in staff training and improved staff conditions.
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Not only did the level of complaints fall,
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but they also noticed a significant increase in the amount each customer spent during their stay.
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They have now introduced a customer loyalty scheme,
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which is going really well.
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Before you hear the rest of the talk,
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you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.
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Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.
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Now I'd like to look at some ways you can reduce staff turnover in your hotels,
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and I'll do this by giving some examples of hotels where I've done some training recently.
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The Sun Club received feedback which showed that staff thought managers didn't value their opinions.
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They weren't made to feel they were partners who were contributing to the success of the business as a whole.
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This situation has changed.
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Junior staff, at all levels,
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are regularly invited to meetings where their ideas are welcomed.
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A year ago, the Portland recognised the need to invest in staff retention.
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Their first step was to introduce a scheme for recognising talent amongst their employees.
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The hope is that organising training for individuals with management potential will encourage them to stay with the business.
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At Blue Water, managers decided to recognise 50 high achievers from across the company's huge hotel chain.
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As a reward, they're sent on an all-expenses-paid trip abroad every year.
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Fun is an important element in the trips,
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but there's also the opportunity to learn something useful.
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This year's trip included a visit to a brewery,
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where staff learned about the new beer that would be served in the hotel.
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Pentlow Hotels identified that retention of junior reception staff was an issue.
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In order to encourage them to see that working in a hotel could be worthwhile and rewarding with good prospects,
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they introduced a management programme.
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These staff were given additional responsibilities and a chance to work in various roles in the hotel.
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Green Planet wanted to be seen as a caring employer.
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To make life easier for staff,
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many of whom had childcare responsibilities,
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the hotel began issuing vouchers to help cover the cost of childcare.
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Louise Marsh, at the Amesbury,
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has one of the best staff retention rates in the business.
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Since she joined the company,
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she's made a huge effort to achieve this by creating a cooperative and supportive environment.
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For her, the staff are part of a large family where everyone is valued.
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OK, now I'd like to move on to the next slide.
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That is the end of part two.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers to part two.
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Thank you.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Practicing your speaking skills using this video on hotel management and high staff turnover can provide significant benefits. The context of the talk—a training manager addressing senior hotel staff—offers valuable insights into the hospitality industry. This real-world scenario is ideal for expanding your vocabulary, understanding industry-specific jargon, and developing your ability to articulate thoughts clearly and confidently in English.

Furthermore, you can enhance your IELTS speaking practice by shadowing the speaker. By mimicking the speech patterns, intonation, and pacing of the training manager, you will not only improve your fluency but also gain insight into how to present complex ideas effectively. This approach aligns perfectly with the shadowing technique, allowing you to practice speaking in an engaging and contextually rich environment.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The transcript showcases several key structures that are beneficial for English learners:

  • Present Simple Tense: The speaker often uses the present simple to describe ongoing issues and solutions, e.g., “Every hotel relies on having loyal and experienced members of staff.” This helps convey facts and general truths.
  • Modal Verbs: Phrases like “should stop” and “can be” indicate advice and potential, critical for discussing suggestions and possibilities regarding staff management.
  • Passive Voice: “Staff thought managers didn’t value their opinions” employs the passive construction, which is useful for highlighting actions without focusing on the actor, an important aspect of formal English writing.
  • First Conditional: “If you treat staff fairly, they’ll be more likely to…” works as a useful structure for discussing cause and effect—crucial for logical argumentation in speaking.

Utilizing these structures in your conversations will help enhance your overall communication skills and confidence in English.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Pronouncing certain words and phrases accurately can be challenging, particularly when it comes to industry terminology. Here are a few pronunciation tips based on the video:

  • Turnover: The term "turnover" can be tricky, as the /ˈtɜrnˌoʊvər/ pronunciation needs to flow smoothly within sentences.
  • Preferential: This word can be mispronounced due to its length; focus on breaking it down into syllables: /ˌprɛf.əˈrɛn.ʃəl/.
  • Complaints: Ensure you stress the second syllable (/kəmˈpleɪnts/) to avoid confusion, especially in fast-paced conversations.

Engaging with these pronunciation challenges through shadow speech and repetition will greatly improve your English pronunciation and overall speaking fluency.

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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