Shadowing Practice: Speaking English: How to Gain CONFIDENCE! - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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When you're speaking English, if people are constantly saying, What?
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When you're speaking English, if people are constantly saying, What?
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Huh?
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What'd you say?
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Could you repeat that?
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I didn't understand you.
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Or they look confused when you're speaking,
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then I know that you're probably not feeling very confident in your English speaking skills.
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So the question is, how much of your native language shows up in the way you speak English?
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I teach intermediate to advanced non-native speakers of English,
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how to sound more natural speaking American English. And
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so much of it has to do with finding a totally
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different voice than the voice they use to speak their own native language.
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Scan this QR code or go to RachelsEnglish.com slash free to get my free course,
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The Top Three Ways to Master the American Accent.
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It will blow your mind.
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It will give you totally new ideas on how to get the sound you've always wanted.
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The American accent is not about fitting the sounds of American English into your native language.
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It's about developing a completely different way of speaking from the bottom up,
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the way a baby learns a language.
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For you, what's the biggest thing standing between you and the way you want to speak English?
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What's the gap?
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That's a question I put out on my YouTube channel a while back,
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and today I want to feature Patinya and show her
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and all of you one pretty simple trick that solves one of the big issues in developing the American accent.
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Hello, my name is Patinya.
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My friend called me Tiki.
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I am from Thailand and my native language is Thai.
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My biggest problem in English is like my native language is they don't have a connected speech.
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So when I speak English it's not connected.
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She's exactly right.
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If I was working with her in a live class,
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which is something I do once a month with my students in Rachel's English Academy,
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that's probably the first thing I would have chosen to work on with her.
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Each of her words is separate.
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That's not what we want in an American accent.
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That's not what we want in an American accent.
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That's not what we want in an American accent.
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Do you hear that smooth connecting?
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In this video, you'll see me working with students in Rachel's English Academy.
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Rachel's English Academy is absolutely hands down the best place to improve your American accent and English speaking skills.
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Over 50,000 students from all over the world,
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in every profession you can think of,
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and of nearly every native language out there,
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have fundamentally changed the way they speak English and enjoyed the life that opened up for them.
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If you're curious about becoming one of my students,
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scan this QR code or visit rachelsenglishacademy.com.
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I'm accepting new students right now and I would love to have you as a student.
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Sometimes when I speak it's cut cut cut cut like a dump.
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That's not what we want in an American accent.
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Very different from each word being choppy and having a feeling of separateness from the rest of the sentence.
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I call that choppy speech and it's the exact opposite of the smooth speech that sounds natural in American English.
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There are a couple of different ways to work on this,
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and today we'll focus on the one that gets the quickest results.
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This is linking consonant to vowel.
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That would be one word ends in a consonant,
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and the next word begins with a vowel.
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For example, in a.
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In a minute.
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In a day.
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In a while.
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In a week.
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In a month.
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The trick is you think of the consonant beginning the second word.
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So that would be in na.
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Na.
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Na.
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Now link them together. In Inna.
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Link them slowly, really focusing on that N.
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Do this out loud with me.
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Inna.
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Na.
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Na.
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Inna.
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Inna.
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Inna.
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It's like one two-syllable word, not two one-syllable words.
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In a minute.
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In a rush.
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In a sec.
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In a while.
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Now you do it and repeat each part with me again.
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In a, na, na, na.
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In a, in a, in a, in a, in a.
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Repeat out loud.
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In a day, in a day.
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In a while, in a while. In a sec.
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In a sec.
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In a week.
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In a week.
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I'm Rachel, and I've been helping non-native speakers of English with their English-speaking skills for over 20 years.
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My background is in opera singing,
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and my passion and my speciality is helping you get the American accent that you've always wanted.
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Your speaking skills shouldn't be holding you back from your dreams.
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Scan this QR code
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or follow the link in the video description to get my cheat sheet for the sounds of American English.
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It's a great reference guide for the mouth positions of all of the sounds and it's yours free.
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Now, let's do a phrase where there are two consonant to vowel links in a row.
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Work as a.
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We have an ending K linking into as.
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And now in this sentence,
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we're actually going to pronounce AS like IS.
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This is called a reduction,
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changing or dropping a sound,
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but that's a topic for another video.
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Let's stay focused on linking consonant to vowel.
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The ending K of WORK links into AS and it becomes cuz, cuz, cuz.
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Like K sound, is, cuz, cuz. WERE, cuz.
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Now here we can't hold out the linking consonant.
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When we were working on in-uh,
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we could hold out that N.
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That's a sound that can be as long as you have breath.
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In-uh.
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But the K sound is not that way.
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K, k, k.
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It's made with a stop of air and a release,
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so there's no holding it out.
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Work-as, ks.
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Work-as.
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Work-as.
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So we're going to take it off of were and we're going to attach it to is. Were.
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Cause.
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Work is.
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Work is.
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Now do it with no break,
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but keep that K connected.
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Work is.
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Work is.
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Repeat out loud after me.
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Work is.
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Work is.
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Now the ending Z of as links into the article uh, z, z.
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Were, kuh, z.
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Linking ending consonant to beginning vowel.
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Do that with me.
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Work-a-z.
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Work-a-z.
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Work-a-z.
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Work-a-z.
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Work-a-z.
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Work-a-z.
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That smoothness that we get through the linking is what we're always after in American English,
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not choppy, separated words.
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Work as a.
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Work as a.
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Work as a.
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The phrase work as a,
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I work as a, is a phrase that I got from working with a student in Rachel's English Academy.
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Before this, she'd been too careful.
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Her words were overpronounced, a little separated.
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So we worked together using something called the play it say it method
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which is what all the audio training in my courses is
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based on the idea is you don't think you just repeat over
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and over with the native speaker and your body starts to hear it differently and make little adjustments to match better
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here's a clip from
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that class now we're gonna do play it say it i'm
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gonna say it you repeat it i say it you repeat
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it a lot of times in a row I work as
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a work as a I work as a I work as
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a work as I work as a I work as a
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I work as a I work as a I work as
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a I work as a I work as a I work
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as a I work as a I work as a I
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work as I work as a I work as a yeah okay good I started to like
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that in the middle it seemed like you maybe your mind like you were doing an awesome job,
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very purely imitating.
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Then I felt like something in your mind said,
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oh my gosh, I need to think about my W.
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And then the word work felt a little bit long.
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Did I get it?
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Was that what it was?
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I heard that and it made your imitation less good, which is surprising.
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You know, we think, well,
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we know our problems, so let's think about our problems and figure it out.
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But I actually think knowing our problems,
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like you probably got that feedback from Laura or from another teacher.
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Knowing our problems shows us where to work.
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And you know, you watch the video and you learn,
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but it really shouldn't be part of what we do when we're practicing like the play it,
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say it method.
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At that point, we don't really want to think about what we think our problems are
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and what we need to focus on.
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At that point, we just do the play it, say it.
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And honestly, that takes care of things.
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The more purely you can imitate,
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the more you'll be able to relax and match the qualities of the linking we want to hear.
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I work as a life coach.
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But my husband and I work as a team.
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I work as a recruiter.
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And I work as a janitor.
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I work as a social worker with addicts at an Austin hospital.
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Beauty parlor where I work as a shampoo technician.
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I work as a decorator.
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Yeah, I work as a mechanic.
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Here's another example.
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American English.
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American English.
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We want to take the N in American and attach it to the beginning vowel of English.
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Nnnnglish.
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Do that with me.
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Nnnnglish.
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Nnnnglish.
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American English.
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It helps to do it really slowly so you can feel
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that link and get comfortable with that before you start speeding it up.
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American English.
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American English.
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American English.
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Here, I'm working with a student whose native language is Vietnamese.
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So I said American-ing.
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I took the N and I linked it right into the vowel and you wanted to put a break.
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American English.
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We don't need breaks between words.
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We don't want breaks between words.
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Can you take the N and connect it with the continuous sound?
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American English.
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English.
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Yes, American English.
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Yes, there we go.
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That's a link.
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And that's what we want all the time.
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Now let's take a few more phrases and I want you to practice out loud.
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See if linking this way feels natural or totally unnatural.
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The goal is to link all your words together
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and have it feel so natural that you don't even have to think about it.
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That's the kind of habit you can build with the audio training in Rachel's English Academy.
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Let's get started.
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All alone.
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All alone.
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All alone.
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Aska.
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Aska.
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Aska. at 8
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bad idea big eyes
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close it far away
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give each
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Up above.
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What I.
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How's it feeling?
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Thank you so much for studying with me,
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and don't forget to subscribe with notifications on.
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If you know anyone who could use help with linking,
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please send them this video,
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and keep your learning going now with this video.
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That's it.
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Thanks so much for using Rachel's English.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice speaking English with a focus on gaining confidence and improving your pronunciation. The aim is to help you sound more natural while speaking American English, addressing common challenges that non-native speakers face. You will engage in shadowing exercises that emphasize smooth connected speech, a crucial aspect of fluent English. By the end of this lesson, you should feel more equipped to express yourself clearly and confidently, taking significant steps toward mastering the American accent.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Connected speech - The way in which words are pronounced in a flowing manner, making them sound more natural in conversation.
- Confidence - The feeling of assurance in your abilities, especially when speaking in a foreign language.
- Developing a voice - Finding and practicing a unique speaking style that works well for you.
- American accent - The specific pronunciation and intonation patterns used by native English speakers in the United States.
- Separate words - A common issue for non-native speakers where each word is pronounced distinctly instead of blending them together.
- Improve English pronunciation - The focus of this practice session, aiming to help learners articulate sounds more accurately.
Practice Tips
To effectively practice and improve your English speaking skills, consider the following tips tailored for this lesson:
- Shadowing Technique: Listen carefully to the video and repeat phrases immediately after hearing them. This method, known as shadowspeak, helps you mimic the intonation and rhythm of native speakers, which is crucial for developing a natural-sounding accent.
- Focus on Speed: Pay attention to the speed at which the speaker delivers the sentences. Start by slowing down the playback if necessary and gradually increase the speed as you become more confident in your pronunciation.
- Practice with Peers: Join a community of learners where you can practice speaking English together. This will not only boost your confidence but also provide valuable feedback on your pronunciation.
- Daily Sessions: Dedicate a few minutes each day to practice speaking English using this technique, focusing on connected speech to improve your fluency.
- Record Yourself: Recording your voice while practicing can provide insight into areas where you might need improvement, helping you track your progress in mastering the American accent.
By incorporating these strategies into your routine, you can effectively enhance your English speaking practice and become more fluent in a short amount of time. Don't hesitate to learn English with YouTube as a part of your study plan!
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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