Shadowing Practice: Sound More Like A Native Speaker in English (4 Easy Fixes) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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The English you learnt at school may not sound very natural.
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The English you learnt at school may not sound very natural.
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In this video, I'm going to give you four tips to make you sound much more like a native speaker.
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Hello, it's Keith from the Keith Speaking Academy
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and the YouTube channel English Speaking Success here today to help you sound more natural,
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more like a native English speaker.
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OK, so today I'm going to show you four things that 80% of students don't get right.
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And these are the basics.
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OK, so if you fix them,
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you're well on the way to sounding much more natural and like a native speaker.
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A warning, this may seem too easy for you.
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It's not.
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Trust me.
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Okay.
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Look carefully and listen carefully and you're going to learn something new.
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This is ideal, whether you're A1,
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B1 or C1, it's going to help you right across the levels.
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Another warning is I'm going to use some strange pronunciation techniques, maybe.
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Be patient, trust me and just go with the flow.
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See what happens.
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Are you ready?
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Let's begin.
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Right.
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Number one.
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This is a.
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And when you're at school,
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you learn this is a.
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This.
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There are two animals, right?
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There's the snake that goes ssss.
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And there's the bee that goes zzz.
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This is the snake.
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This, this, is, is the B,
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is, is the B, is,
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is, is, is, the A is A,
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is, this is, this is, this is.
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Do you know this in English?
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Scissors, right?
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I guess because plural, because there's two.
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are scissors.
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Imagine it's singular, scissor.
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The scissor.
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Now say the scissor pen.
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The scissor pen.
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The scissor book.
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It's exactly the same sound.
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But your brain is going a bit mad,
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going the scissor pen, because it's forcing you to really listen to the sound.
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The scissor pen.
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This is a pen.
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It's the same.
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So this is the key.
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Really, really focus on listening to sounds rather than words.
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And this is from A1 to B1 to C1 because we use this.
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It's the most, probably the most common chunk in the English language.
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This is a book.
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This is a house.
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This is a beautiful house.
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This is a wonderful home you have.
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Oh, this is a great place for a picnic.
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This is a great idea.
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Oh, God, this is a hard question.
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Right.
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So get this right and you'll start sounding much more natural in English.
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Let's move on.
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And just a note, in the negative,
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this snake, s isn't, b isn't.
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So in the negative, this isn't a.
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Okay.
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This isn't a.
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And link it.
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This isn't a.
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This isn't a.
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This isn't a book.
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You know the word season,
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season, like spring, autumn, summer.
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Change season to si-zon, si-zon,
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si-zon, si-zon, si-zon-ta, si-zon-ta, this isn't a.
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Again, I'm driving you crazy,
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forcing you to focus on the sound with different words.
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The season, ta.
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The season, ta.
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This isn't a.
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This isn't a book.
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This isn't a book.
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This isn't a.
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Phone.
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Bam.
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Okay, good.
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Let's move on.
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Okay, number two.
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Are there any?
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That's okay, but not very natural.
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are usually becomes a, a,
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there any, the renny, the r,
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the r, renny, the renny,
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are there any people here?
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Are there any cars on the street?
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Are there any apples in the shop?
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Are there any themes that are standing out to you?
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Are there any distinct colours?
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Are there any distinct styles?
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The renny.
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The renny is interesting because there's a medicine in England called renny,
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the renny, the renny.
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Are there any?
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Are there any?
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And that's it.
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Are there any people here yet?
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And the answer also has the link there are, there are.
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There are lots of people.
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There are two people.
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There are.
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There are.
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There are.
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That's it.
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There are lots of people.
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OK.
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The one situation where it's not a is when you say, yes, there are.
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And are is at the end, right?
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So you ask, are there any people?
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Yes, there are.
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Then you would use the full form.
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Yes, there are.
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There are lots of people.
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In the negative, we've got, there aren't any.
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So there are in the positive, but there aren't, aren't.
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A bit like your auntie Charlotte or your auntie Mary.
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They're aunt.
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And again, the R is there.
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They're aren't.
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Ra, ra, ra, ra.
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They're aunt.
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And you can link the T and the A.
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They're auntenny.
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Listen carefully and repeat with me.
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Any.
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Tenny.
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Auntenny.
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Rantenny.
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There aren't tenny.
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There aren't tenny.
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Because there aren't any.
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Brilliant.
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Let's move on.
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Next, I want to show you the invisible sounds that often appear with many question words.
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This is very common when a word ends in a vowel sound and the next word begins with a vowel.
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So see if you can hear the invisible sound.
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I'll say the phrase like a book and then I'll say it more naturally.
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Where are you?
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Now listen for the invisible sound.
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Where are you?
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It's the r.
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Where are you?
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Where are you?
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Most people don't even use or say the R.
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Change this, it'll make a huge difference.
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Where are you?
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Okay, listen to the next one.
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Who are you?
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Altogether, more naturally, who are you?
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Can you hear the invisible sound?
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W, W.
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Who are you?
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Who are you?
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Who are you?
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Most people say, who are you?
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Who are you?
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So who are you really?
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Who are you?
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Now you can hear it, right?
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Next one.
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How are you?
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More naturally, how are you?
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You get the invisible sound?
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How are you?
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It's the same, right?
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How are you?
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How are you?
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One more.
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Why are you here?
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More naturally.
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Why are you here?
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Can you hear the invisible sound why are yah yuh yuh
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it's the yuh why are you here why are you here why are you here it's very subtle
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but it's yuh it's there
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if you start noticing this listening to it hearing it you
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can start pronouncing it you're going to a sound a lot more natural.
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Next.
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Right, I'm going to look at losing sounds.
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One particular example where the sounds change and we lose a sound.
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Such a common phrase.
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Does he?
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So if we're asking questions about another person,
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you know, does he live in England?
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Does he, and this is the way we learn at school,
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however, the H or the H of he usually disappears in more natural English and it becomes does zee.
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The z, the s is the z, the b.
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Does zee.
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Look at this.
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Do zee.
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Do zee.
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Do zee.
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Right?
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Forget about the h.
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Does he?
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Does he?
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Does he live in England?
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Does he like potatoes?
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Right?
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So there we have it.
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Some unusual pronunciation techniques to help you sound more natural in English.
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Your action point today, number one,
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go back, listen and repeat these sounds again.
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Secondly, you can also shadow,
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which is repeating at the same time some of the phrases from this lesson that will really help you.
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Thirdly, as you start listening to English,
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see if you can notice more invisible sounds appearing or sounds disappearing as you listen to English.
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Hopefully, you'll start noticing this more and more.
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If you want to go a step further
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and really work at sounding much more natural with your pronunciation and intonation in English,
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you can check out my Fluent Grammar course.
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you can check that out in the description below.
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In the meantime, thank you so much for listening and watching me today.
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I hope you've learned something new and I can't wait to see you very,
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very soon, maybe in the next video.
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All the best now.
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Bye-bye.
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Thank you.

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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

Developing a fluent and natural English speaking style is crucial for effective communication. By following the tips shared in this video, learners of all levels—whether at A1, B1, or C1—can boost their confidence and sound more like native English speakers. These practical techniques are designed to correct common mistakes and enhance pronunciation, leading to clearer and more engaging conversations. When you practice speaking with this video, you not only learn about the nuances of English but also engage in effective English speaking practice that mimics real-life dialogue.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Throughout the video, Keith emphasizes several essential structures that can improve learners' fluency. Here are a few that are worth noting:

  • Basic Nouns and Articles: The proper use of singular and plural forms, like "scissors," is crucial. This can help learners understand how to articulate common objects correctly.
  • Demonstrative Pronouns: Expressions like “this” and “that” help clarify context, making communication more effective. For example, “This is a pen.”
  • Present Continuous Forms: Keith encourages learners to actively engage with sounds, which can improve their overall sentence fluency.

All of these elements contribute to a more native-like speech pattern, which is achievable through diligent practice. Utilizing a shadowing app can also reinforce these grammatical structures in real time, allowing you to mimic native speakers effectively.

Common Pronunciation Traps

One of the challenges for English learners is mastering pronunciation, particularly with tricky words. In the video, Keith highlights specific sounds that can lead to confusion:

  • “Scissors”: Learners often struggle with plural forms, so practicing the sound “ssss” and “zzzz” will help in saying it correctly.
  • Vowel Sounds: The difference between phrases like “this is” and “the scissor pen” may seem simple, but they require careful practice to pronounce naturally.
  • Intonation and Stress: The way you emphasize certain words can greatly change the meaning. Pay special attention to how Keith demonstrates this with his speaking techniques.

Incorporating these lessons into your practice, especially through a shadowing site, will allow you to overcome these common pitfalls effectively. By repeating after native speakers, you can improve your articulate clarity and build a more natural flow in conversation.

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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