Shadowing Practice: Shadowing Practice: Connected Speech - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello and welcome back to my channel, or welcome if you're new here. My name is Claire and I am an English teacher and a native speaker from the United States.
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Hello and welcome back to my channel, or welcome if you're new here. My name is Claire and I am an English teacher and a native speaker from the United States.
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And today I'm going to lead you through a shadowing practice to help you with your English pronunciation, maybe even work on your accent if you want to, and your overall intonation and fluency of the language. So in today's video, we're going to focus on connected speech. And connected speech is what happens when native speakers don't pronounce every word separately. We link words together, we drop some sounds entirely, and sometimes we even change the sound that it usually takes if it's just the word on its own, but when it is combined with another word or another sound, we change the sound within that word entirely. And that's why when you listen to English, maybe you listen to podcasts or you watch movies in English or TV shows, that's why it might sound really fast and sometimes hard to understand or hard to catch what the people are saying, even if you are at an advanced level of English and you have studied all the grammar and you know the language really well, you might still find it difficult to understand some native speakers. And English is already pretty tricky and complicated with pronunciation because it is not a phonetic language, but then you throw in connected speech and the things that I'm going to be talking about today and it can be difficult to understand. So this video is going to help you both with your understanding, so your listening skills, and also of course your pronunciation of the language so that you can start to sound more natural, more proficient in the language, maybe even start to sound like an American native speaker if that's your goal. So for each feature of connected speech that we come across within this shadowing practice, I will of course point that out to you and we can practice those cases of connected speech together. Let's begin.
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English made easy with Claire.
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Okay, so first you're going to repeat after me.
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I was sitting in the park, drinking water, feeling a little bored and like I needed a change. Your turn.
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Let's say it again.
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Listen first.
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I was sitting in the park, drinking water, feeling a little bored and like I needed a change.
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Repeat after me.
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I thought maybe I'd take a trip into the city. Your turn.
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I thought maybe I'd take a trip into the city.
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Okay, so let's pause here after the first paragraph of our story to point out one of the most key features of connected speech in American English and that is the flap T. So when you find a T in the middle of a word, in the middle of two vowel sounds, and a lot of the times it shows up as a double T, we pronounce that T like a D.
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So instead of sitting, we say sitting.
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Sitting. And we don't say water, but water.
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Water. So you can hear that the T in the middle of that word sounds like it's a D.
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Little is pronounced little.
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Little. And the final word we have here with a flap T is city. So not city, but city.
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Okay, so hopefully that rule is simple enough. Pronounce those Ts in the middle of the words like a D, duh duh. So now let's shadow this section. You're going to say it with me. Say it at the same time as me and try to match my rhythm and intonation of the language. Here we go.
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I was sitting in the park, drinking water, feeling a little bored and like I needed a change.
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I thought maybe I'd take a trip into the city.
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All right, repeat after me again. So I made a plan the next day to go to the museum. Your turn.
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So I made a plan the next day to go to the museum.
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Repeat. I just wanted to do something different and I hadn't been there in years.
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I just wanted to do something different and I hadn't been there in years.
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So in this paragraph, we have the connected speech rule, we drop the T sound when a T is followed by a consonant. So in the first sentence we have next day.
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Next day. So we wouldn't say next day.
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That's too too many consonant sounds in a row. Almost anytime in English when you see three consonants in a row, you can probably guess that we're not going to be pronouncing all of them. It would take too much effort. We end up connecting the speech a little bit and to do that we drop the T sound in next.
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So it's not next day, but it becomes next day.
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Next day. You can think of it as there's no T at all. We also have this in just wanted.
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Just wanted. So we don't pronounce the T. We don't say just wanted, but just wanted.
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Just wanted. Okay, so let's practice this concept by saying the whole thing again. You're going to say it the same time as me. Here we go.
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So I made a plan the next day to go to the museum.
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I just wanted to do something different and I hadn't been there in years.
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Repeat. I called a few friends and asked if they wanted to come.
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I called a few friends and asked if they wanted to come.
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One of them was visiting their grandparents, but the others could join.
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One of them was visiting their grandparents, but the others could join.
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All right, so here I want to point out when we don't pronounce the D sound in words. So again, when we have three consonant sounds in a row and the middle one is a D, we don't pronounce the D. So take a look at the word friends.
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Friends. You can think of it as if we're saying friends.
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No D. Okay? Same with grandparents.
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Not grandparents, but grandparents.
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Grandparents. It would be the same for grandma or grandpa.
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We don't pronounce the D. All right, let's shadow this section together. So you're going to say it with me.
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I called a few friends and asked if they wanted to come.
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One of them was visiting their grandparents, but the others could join.
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All right, repeat after me first. I thought if I brought a backpack, I could pack it up with snacks and water. Your turn.
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And again, I thought if I brought a backpack, I could pack it up with snacks and water.
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I headed out early, ready for a good day.
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I headed out early, ready for a good day.
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Okay, here I'm going to point out the concept of linking.
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And that is when we link the consonant of the last word to the vowel of the next. So often when a word ends in a consonant and the next word starts with a vowel sound, we would link the consonant to that vowel. So, right at the start we have thought if I thought if I thought if I So, instead of thought if I, three separate words, we link those words together and it ends up sounding like we have thought if I Okay, so those would be the three words.
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thought if I thought if I thought if I. And that's so much easier to say than thought if I. Same with the phrase pack it up. pack it up pack it up We also have headed out early. headed out early headed out early So, you can start off saying it slow like that. And then when you speed it up, it sounds really natural. And in the very last phrase we can also link good day. Because in this case, the first word ends with the same consonant sound as the next word. So, when we have that, we don't need to pronounce it twice. We don't need to say good day. But, simply say it one time and more on the second word. So, good day.
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good day Okay, so linking is really important for connected speech in English and we have a lot of examples here in this paragraph. So, let's say it all together.
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You can repeat this one as many times as you need. Here we go.
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I thought if I brought a backpack, I could pack it up with snacks and water.
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I headed out early ready for a good day.
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Repeat after me. I texted my friends, "Leaving now. I'll meet you there." Your turn.
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I texted my friends, "Leaving now. I'll meet you there." We had a great time. And at one point, I turned to my friend and said "Don't you feel like this was exactly what we needed?" You go.
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Okay, let's repeat that one one more time. So, listen first. "We had a great time. And at one point, I turned to my friend and said 'Don't you feel like this was exactly what we needed?'" All right, so in this final paragraph we have a couple examples of assimilation.
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And there are several different cases in connected speech where we will see assimilation in English. For this video, I'm just going to point out one to you.
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And that is when a word ends with a T and is followed by a y sound, which is usually represented by the letter y in English. We change that middle sound between the words to a ch sound. So, my first example is meet you.
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So, not meet you or even meet you, but meet you. I'll meet you there. We also have don't you. So, not don't you, but don't you. Don't you feel like this was exactly what we needed? Don't you?
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So, assimilation is when two sounds next to each other are almost too different.
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So, it makes for a difficult transition between those sounds. So, in the case of meet you, it doesn't really gel well together. In connected speech, the sound becomes ch. So, there are several cases of assimilation that I can cover in a later video where we have two sounds next to each other and they create a new sound when combined. Okay, so let's shadow this final paragraph together. Here we go.
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I texted my friends, "Leaving now. I'll meet you there." We had a great time. And at one point, I turned to my friend and said "Don't you feel like this was exactly what we needed?" All right, so now's the time in the video where I read through this entire story and you can shadow along with me.
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So, repeat this part of the video as many times as necessary, as many times as it's helpful. Here we go.
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I was sitting in the park drinking water feeling a little bored and like I needed a change.
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I thought maybe I'd take a trip into the city.
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So, I made a plan the next day to go to the museum.
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I just wanted to do something different and I hadn't been there in years.
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I called a few friends and asked if they wanted to come.
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One of them was visiting their grandparents, but the others could join.
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I thought if I brought a backpack, I could pack it up with snacks and water.
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I headed out early ready for a good day.
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I texted my friends, "Leaving now. I'll meet you there." We had a great time. And at one point, I turned to my friend and said "Don't you feel like this was exactly what we needed?" All right, guys. So, thank you so much for making it to the end of this video.
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I hope it was helpful for you. Check out my other shadowing practices in my shadowing practice playlist if you did find it helpful. And if you want to support the work I do, be sure to click the join button below and consider becoming a member of my channel. I'll see you guys next time. Bye for now.
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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will engage in shadow speak to enhance your understanding of connected speech, an important aspect of natural English pronunciation. As you shadow the phrases provided in the video, you will focus on linking sounds, dropping certain consonants, and adopting the rhythm and intonation of native speakers. This practice will not only help you improve English pronunciation but also enable you to sound more fluent and comfortable when speaking. By repeating after the instructor, you'll actively participate in your learning process and gain confidence in your spoken English.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Sitting - Pronounced "sidding" (flap T)
  • Water - Pronounced "wahter" (flap T)
  • Next day - Dropped T sound (next day)
  • Friends - Pronounced "frenz" (dropped D)
  • Grandparents - Pronounced "granparents" (dropped D)
  • City - Pronounced "siddy" (flap T)
  • Different - Focusing on removal of T sound
  • Intonation - The rise and fall of your voice in speaking

Practice Tips

To get the most out of this shadow speech session, here are some essential practice tips:

  • Listen Carefully: Before you start shadowing, take a moment to listen to the instructor's pronunciation and intonation carefully. Notice how words are linked together in natural speech.
  • Practice Repetition: Repeat the phrases multiple times, trying to match the speed of the speaker. This will help you develop a more natural rhythm in your speech.
  • Focus on Connected Speech: Pay attention to how certain sounds, like T and D, are altered or dropped in everyday conversations. This aspect of learn English with YouTube is crucial to sounding like a native speaker.
  • Record Yourself: Consider recording your shadowing practice. Listening back can reveal areas for improvement and help you track your progress over time.
  • Stay Relaxed: Don't rush your practice; fluency comes with ease. Aim to be comfortable and confident while speaking, as this mindset will deepen your understanding and retention.

By incorporating these strategies into your shadowspeaks routine, you'll find yourself improving your English skills in no time!

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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