Shadowing Practice: Lovely British English for Your Daily Life!๐ŸŒน Spoken English ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง | British Accent (Modern R.P) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hi there everyone!
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Hi there everyone!
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Welcome back to English with Catherine.
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Hello if you're new as well, hi.
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This is where you will find videos about daily natural English, the real friendly kind, pronunciation tips of course for a lovely British accent, and quite a lot about British culture and etiquette.
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Disclaimer, I'm very pregnant right now and if I look kind of slow, woozy, and maybe even a little but drunk, obviously I'm not drunk, pregnancy sort of slows you down a bit.
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Today's video everyone is actually about daily natural English.
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English that you can't really learn from a textbook.
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Learning and mastering English is not just about saying very simple things like hello how are you.
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Daily life is full of situations where you need to communicate reactions to things, expressing enthusiasm and encouraging others.
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As usual I need to remind you to watch to the end of the video because this week I have a kind of fun fact about the UK.
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Not so much a fact more just a bit of information.
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I'm sure you're gonna like it.
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This is also my first time filming on my own without Tom's assistance.
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Fingers crossed I finish with a video at the end of this.
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Wish me luck.
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Number one being friendly in daily life.
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If you are a friendly, lovely person, and this comes across very, very well in your native language, you probably want to come across that way when you speak in English as well, right?
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You don't really want a completely separate personality when you speak in English.
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Maybe you do, and that's up to you.
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In order to be described as affable, which means very friendly, you can be encouraging.
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That's so interesting.
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Oh, tell me more.
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This is something to say as a kind of feedback response when they're telling you something.
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Instead of just staying silent, which by the way is something we hate in British culture, you can give positive feedback as they're talking to encourage them to keep going and to continue.
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Oh, please go on.
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Oh, tell me more.
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The more encouragement you show, the better the other person will feel, honestly.
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Do you need a hand?
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Do you need a hand?
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This is a really native, natural way to ask if someone needs help.
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We also use if you ever.
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If you ever need a hand with anything, don't hesitate to ask.
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Maybe you don't need help right now, but in the future, if you ever do, don't be afraid to reach out.
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It's a lovely way to come across as friendly, warm and helpful.
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and affable.
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Number two, expressing joy.
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I love to just remark on my surroundings.
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If you are quite a vocal person when it comes to expressing joy, you're going to want to know how to do that in English.
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Just look at that apple tree.
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Just look at that apple tree.
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Isn't it amazing?
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Here we have just look at something and we have isn't it something.
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This is a way of directing the attention of whoever you're speaking to, to look at whatever you're talking about and to just enjoy the moment at the same time.
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We currently have a beautiful apple tree in the garden that is laden, great word, with apples.
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They're ready to pick actually.
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Any plant that looks quite full of whatever it's growing that's ready to be picked or harvested, we can say it's laden with something.
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This apple tree gives me a lot of joy.
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I can also say I get a lot out of something.
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I get a lot out of looking at that tree with my cup of tea.
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That means I receive a lot of joy from that activity.
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That's a way of expressing joy.
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Number three, wishing someone happy birthday.
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This one's a little bit different, I know, to the other two.
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It's important to know how to do it according to the country that you're in.
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We used to say many happy returns, but that's certainly quite outdated now.
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You won't hear that really used by young people especially.
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What we tend to say is, oh happy birthday!
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Do you have any plans for it?
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We follow up happy birthday with a question.
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It flows into other things.
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Oh happy birthday!
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Anything planned for later on?
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Any exciting plans?
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Doing anything fun?
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It's a way to encourage conversation.
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They're probably quite excited to tell you so they now have an opportunity to do so.
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Not that in British culture we ever really talk about age.
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We should do but we don't.
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If you want to say the age that you are about to be when it's your birthday, we say I'm turning 24 for example.
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Or next week I'm turning 32.
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We use turning to refer to the process of becoming a year older.
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I'm turning a hundred next month and I'm awaiting my letter from the king.
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The last one is about storytelling.
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Sometimes you want to tell a story in conversation.
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This is one of the most advanced level things to be able to do.
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You'll never guess what happened to me the other day.
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If you want to add some time to it, the other day means some time in the past, quite recently.
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This is a way of setting up a story.
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But of course, then the pressure is on for it to be a good, exciting thing that you're going to tell them.
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Not just that you had a very good cup of tea, although that is sometimes worth telling someone about.
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You'll never guess what happened to me the other day.
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I saw a chicken crossing the road.
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I saw a cat get rescued from a tree incredibly heroically by my neighbour.
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If you are the person that is being told the story, you can show enthusiasm and encouragement by saying, What happened next?
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Oh my gosh, you've got me on the edge of my seat.
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You've got me on the edge of my seat.
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That means you're waiting for what happened next.
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You're gripped by their story, even if the story is maybe a bit boring.
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That's just a really nice way to show that you're still listening and you're trying to be interested in it.
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Those are just a few examples.
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There will be plenty more videos like this one in the future.
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Okay everyone, if you're still here, it's the information of the week.
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It's about potatoes!
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Potatoes, everyone.
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Okay, do you have any idea how much of a big deal potatoes are?
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We love them so much.
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I'm surprised there isn't a potato religion, or at least some sort of potato shrine somewhere for us to all go and worship them.
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There should be.
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We eat potatoes throughout the day for each and every meal.
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This is a bit American, but we have hash browns as part of a full English breakfast.
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There is a dish called a jacket potato.
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You get a potato and you fill it with something and that is the meal.
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We're celebrating the potato in a big way there.
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On a Sunday we have a Sunday roast which is your choice of meat, vegetables and roast potatoes and the roast potatoes are kind of as important as the meat.
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Fish and chips is our national dish.
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We serve the chips with salt and vinegar.
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Most British dishes will come with a side of mashed potato.
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Oh and don't forget the nation's favourite snack which is of course the humble packet of crisps.
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We call them crisps in Britain which is one of the hardest words to say even for natives.
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And my last point, we are all kind of aspiring potatoes.
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They're under the ground, they're nice and cozy, they are in the dark.
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English people love autumnal and winter weather really if we're being honest.
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A lot of us would choose the potato as our spirit vegetable because it represents us
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it represents our natural habitat and what we like whereas in hotter countries like Spain and Italy they
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would probably choose the tomato so you know it's a lot deeper than just enjoying a chip there's a whole relationship
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there guys there's a whole ideology behind potatoes and Britain so if you want to feel more British eat more potatoes and start appreciating them like you've never done before.
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Everyone that's the end of the video.
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I hope you have a lovely week.
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I'm thanking you from the bottom of my heart for watching my video especially if you're still watching it now.
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I hope you found it useful.
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Let me know in the comments as usual if you did and I'll see you very soon again.
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Bye!

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will embark on a journey to enhance your spoken English with a charming British flair. As you engage with the content, you will practice essential communication skills that go beyond standard textbook phrases. The key focus will be on fostering friendliness, expressing joy, and naturally engaging in daily conversations. These skills are vital for IELTS speaking practice and will help you develop a lovely British accent while becoming more affable and approachable in your interactions.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Affable: Being friendly and approachable.
  • Do you need a hand? A casual way to offer help.
  • If you ever need a hand: A phrase to indicate willingness to assist in the future.
  • Isn't it amazing? A joyful way to express awe about something.
  • Laden: Full and ready to be picked, often used for fruit-bearing plants.
  • I get a lot out of... Expressing that you gain joy or satisfaction from an activity.
  • Oh, please go on: Encouraging someone to continue speaking.

Practice Tips

To make the most out of this lesson, consider using a shadowing app to practice your pronunciation and intonation. Listen closely to Catherine's natural pacing and tone as she speaks. The emphasis on enthusiastic expression is crucial in British English and will help you improve your English pronunciation. As you shadow, pay attention to the warmth and friendliness in her voice; emulate this to sound more inviting in your conversations. Start with a slower section of the video, repeating phrases aloud to mimic Catherineโ€™s style, and gradually increase your speed as you get comfortable.

Joining online discussions or practicing with a partner can enhance your shadowing experience. When practicing phrases like โ€œDo you need a hand?โ€ or โ€œIsnโ€™t it amazing?โ€, try to integrate them into daily conversations with friends or language partners. Not only will this help you remember these phrases, but it will also bolster your confidence for IELTS speaking practice. The goal is to feel comfortable and natural when expressing joy or support in English.

Remember, with consistent practice using shadow speak techniques and focusing on affectionate language, youโ€™ll not only learn to communicate effectivelyโ€”weโ€™re sure youโ€™ll soon be part of lovely English conversations!

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 โ€” like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1โ€“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 โ€” making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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