Shadowing Practice: Pronunciation Analysis of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Speaking English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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why we are here today to be sure
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why we are here today to be sure
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that seven tips to sound more like a native speaker with
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the Saudi Prince hey guys this is Jeff a fluent American
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and we are analyzing Prince Mohammed's speech let's get right into it
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so the very first thing we're gonna mention is word stress
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you want to make sure you're stressing the right syllable listen to this again
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and see if you can identify which words are being mistressed.
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More than 80 years of alignments and big interest politically, economically, and security.
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Politically, economically, security.
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In fact every single one of these words when he says it has actually the stress on the wrong syllable.
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So always make sure that you're stressing the right syllable in words.
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Even if people understand you,
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you still want to make you're stressing the right word if the goal is to sound natural.
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See if you can identify the mistressed word as well here.
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Again, ally, ally.
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So based off of all these words that we've seen,
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the correct stresses would be these.
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Ally, politically, economically, security.
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Don't forget, subscribe to the channel.
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A lot of of our next points have to do with vowel sounds.
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For instance listen to this.
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Again job.
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Job.
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Should be a little bit wider.
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Ah ah raising your mouth.
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Notice you can see back into my throat and that's a key component of the ah sound.
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Your tongue is down so make sure you're making
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that ah sound wide enough in American English ah ja job
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you know one key to sounding natural is making sure
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that those vowel sounds are super super clear English is paying
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more attention to vowel sounds than the consonant sounds for instance
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listen to this more than 80 years of aliments you want to hold
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that vowel sound longer years years compare that to how he originally said it more than 80 So again,
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just make that a little bit longer.
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Years.
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You can also hear it in this sentence as well.
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To tackle 200 billion US dollar of opportunity.
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And again, the longer vowel now would be tackled, tackled.
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Compare that to how he said it. To tackle.
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Another sound that can be tricky has to do with numbers.
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To tackle 200 billion US dollar of opportunity in the next four years.
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Yin, billion, billion.
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Compare that to how he says it.
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So again when you're dealing with words like million,
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billion, trillion, that last part is almost like adding a Y sound at the start.
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So it's like y-y-en, y-en.
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Hey, looking for daily pronunciation feedback in practice?
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Be sure to look into our Telegram group.
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You can find more information at patreon.com.
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Continuing with vowel sounds, you also want to pay attention to long vowels that link with the letter L, like here.
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You've talked to them, Mr. President, about the military deals.
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The implementation in it is more than 30%.
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Deals, deals, linking to eel, eel.
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So when you have a long vowel,
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in this case it's the long i
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and it's linking with the letter l it's going to break
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into two parts like eel eel deals deals it's not deals
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it's more deals deals today mr president about the military deals another issue with vowels in addition to making sure
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that you're holding them long enough it's also making sure
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that your mouth is wide enough like in this situation to be sure that we've tickles all the opportunities and...
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Sure, sure.
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Oh, not just a little wider er er sure sure you
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see this in a couple of other words too more opportunities
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and that's why we are here today today today holding
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that a sound longer there's a tendency for a lot of
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students to kind of shut the mouth a little bit too soon
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and you want to make sure you're holding it wide enough for
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that a sound especially at the ends of words like in
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why we are here today today today our last quick note
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has more to do with intonation patterns make sure not to overuse them whether it's the falling
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or the rising intonation make sure they're not using it too
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much we have the oldest ally first of america in the
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middle east right i think this is a good situation where
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a falling intonation with sounded more natural in the Middle East in the Middle East knows
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that fall similarly so it's a cause for a lot of jobs in Saudi Arabia directly directly
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directly
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so it's a directly more directly falling there is a lot
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of things could be tackled in the close future future future so it's a future more future falling again.
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Have another person whose English you'd like to see analyzed?
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Let me know in the comments.

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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

Engaging with the speech of prominent figures like Prince Mohammed Bin Salman can significantly enhance your speaking skills. This video provides an excellent opportunity to improve English pronunciation through careful analysis of word stress and vowel sounds. By mimicking his delivery, you can discover how to sound more natural when speaking English. Moreover, this context is particularly beneficial for non-native speakers aiming for fluency, as it combines political discourse with essential language skills.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In the analysis, several key grammatical structures and expressions are highlighted:

  • Use of Vowel Sounds: The emphasis on vowel clarity is crucial. For example, the pronunciation of "job" should emphasize the wider "ah" sound.
  • Word Stress: Each word in the phrases such as "politically" and "economically" requires correct syllable stress to sound native.
  • Handling Numerical Expressions: Words like "billion" and "trillion" need to be pronounced correctly with an added "Y" sound, which can be a common challenge.
  • Long Vowel Connections: Attention to long vowels linked with the letter "L" (as seen in words like "tackled") can enhance fluidity in speech.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you watch the video, pay close attention to specific pronunciation pitfalls:

  • Mistressed Words: The tendency to stress the wrong syllable, as seen in words like "ally," can lead to misunderstandings, even if the overall message is clear.
  • Vowel Length: The difference between holding vowel sounds longer, such as in "years," can affect your comprehensibility. Practice making vowel sounds clearer and longer for better communication.
  • Numerical Clarity: When dealing with numerical language, focus on the articulation of the ending sounds, as this can greatly impact the listener's understanding.

Utilizing a shadowing app or engaging in activities like shadow speak can be especially helpful. By practicing these elements, you can effectively prepare for IELTS speaking practice or simply improve your daily conversations in English. Recording your speech and comparing it to the video can further accelerate your learning process.

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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