Shadowing Practice: Understand Native English Speakers: 10 Tips! - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Today I'm going to show you why it's difficult to understand native English speakers
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and what you can do about it so that you can understand them, them, us, much more easily.
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Hello it's Keith from the Keith Speaking Academy here to help you become a more confident speaker of English
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and today to help you understand native English speakers and fast spoken English.
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Have you noticed that you can understand me in my videos
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but when you listen to two or three native English speakers in a real conversation
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or in a film you get lost and you're thinking sometimes is that even English?
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Well in this video I'm going to show you all the reasons you can't understand native English speakers
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or at least why it's difficult and what you can do about it.
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And this is going to help you understand fast spoken natural English a lot lot more.
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Whether you're learning English for fun,
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for school or for preparing for exams like IELTS this is going be more than useful you ready let's do it
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right native english speakers swallow or eat the words it's true you hear a native english speaker
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wanna come what wanna come oh do you want to come
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yeah wanna come do you we eat the words it's true The thing is,
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many students expect spoken English to be the same as written English.
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And it's not.
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Spoken English is very different from written English.
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If you don't believe me, check out this seminal book, Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.
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This is not a 10 page PDF, right?
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Look.
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It's huge!
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Spoken English is different from written English.
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Now, most people don't know that.
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Now, you do know that.
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You see, when we speak in English, words change their sounds when we speak in at least six different ways.
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And I'm going to show you those six different ways in a moment.
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students of English usually listen for words like written words native English speakers listen for sounds
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and then make the meaning from the sounds that's the difference let me show you those six ways
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that words change their sound
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and I'll also show you with an example how you can use this information to really understand fast spoken English.
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Okay.
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Now, this took me three months to learn when I was training to be a teacher.
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You're going to get this in three minutes.
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Okay.
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Let's do it.
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Okay.
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One, contractions.
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That is, that's.
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So, you're expecting to hear that is, but you actually hear that's i am i'm number two linking
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for example a good idea you're expecting to hear actually you
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hear a good idea idea a good idea linking of words
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number three dropping the first word you may expect to hear um i don't like
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that but you might hear don't like that
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first word disappears you're expecting that or that's a good idea but you hear it's a good idea
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it's a good idea that disappears number four weak forms
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so many prepositions in english have a weak form
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and a strong form for th to ta can can not a preposition but can can so for example we'll get
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For me is actually for me.
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To go is actually to go.
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And also, I can swim.
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I can swim.
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I can swim.
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Number five is elision.
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And this is where one sound in a word disappears.
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For example, next week.
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In reality, you hear next week.
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The T sound.
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It's not there.
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Next week.
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Next week.
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I must go.
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Written.
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I must go.
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The T goes.
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I must go.
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I must go.
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Okay.
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I don't know.
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I don't know.
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I don't know.
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Sometimes even don't know.
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The I also disappears, right?
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Don't know.
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Number six, assimilation.
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So when two words come together, that sound in the middle often changes.
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Common example is that.
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That friend becomes that friend.
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That, the T is no longer plosive.
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It's that. That friend. That book. That pen.
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So those are six very common changes that happen to words when we speak.
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So, let's look at a practical example, okay?
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You might hear a conversation with native English speakers a bit like this.
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It's a good idea.
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I'm up for that.
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We can go next week.
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Want to bring that friend of yours?
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Uh, don't know.
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Maybe.
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And you may not understand it because you're expecting to hear this.
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That is a good idea.
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I'm up for that.
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We can go next week.
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Do you want to bring that friend of yours?
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I don't know.
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Maybe.
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But spoken English is not the same as written English, right?
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We've seen six ways the sounds change.
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Listen again and see if you can notice those changes and hear the sounds and the meaning.
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I'll do it first slowly with pauses and then quickly.
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Okay, ready?
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First one.
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It's a good idea.
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I'm up for that.
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We can go next week.
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Want to bring that friend of yours?
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Don't know.
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Maybe. And more quickly.
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It's a good idea.
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I'm up for that.
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We can go next week.
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Want to bring that friend of yours?
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Don't know.
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Maybe.
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So, can you start to see and notice and hear some of these changes?
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So, my first big tip for you, right, is to get familiar with these six differences.
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Pronunciation features.
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If you're studying for IELTS, these are key pronunciation features the examiner is listening for, okay?
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What you need to do, I would say, is as you're listening to English, start to notice linking, contractions, assimilation, all of these things.
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Just start to notice them, okay?
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Now that you know about them, they'll become more obvious, okay?
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Another tip is also use context to help you.
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I mean, if you've got three mates in a pub, there's no context, But if you're watching a film, use the context and the setting to help you construct meaning.
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And focus on the stressed words.
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It's the stressed words that carry the meaning.
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And as native English speakers, this is what we listen to, the stressed words.
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Because as you know, we swallow lots of other words.
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Okay, that's number one.
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Let's move on.
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Right, number two.
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What the hell are they talking about?
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So there you are.
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You're in the pub with your mates, your British friends, John and Sarah.
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And you're listening to the conversation.
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And it's like Wimbledon, tennis.
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What the hell are they talking about?
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And the thing is, right, you may not be familiar with predictable conversation structures and turn-taking.
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There's a difference between watching a teacher, like on YouTube or in a classroom,
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one person, and listening to a conversation with several people.
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The thing is, you need to know the typical conversation structures.
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in English because they may be different from your own language or your own country.
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For example, in Spain, it's quite different from being in Britain, the conversation structures.
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So let's take an example.
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We're in the pub with John and Sarah.
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Actually, I'm going to call them A and B.
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Conversation structure.
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A asks for an opinion.
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What do you think about banning social media?
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B gives an opinion.
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I think it's a good idea.
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We should ban it.
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And asks for A's opinion.
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What's your take?
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A will comment on that opinion, often hedging politely.
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Well, I know what you mean, but, and then give their own opinion.
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I reckon we shouldn't ban it because otherwise they end up finding a way around it or going on the dark web.
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Next, B will often connect a personal experience to that topic.
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Yeah, that's true.
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I've got a mate and his parents banned his phone
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and in the end he found a way around it and he was on the dark web and all of that.
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So this structure is a typical conversation structure that you get, at least in Britain, especially amongst friends.
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So my tip is to become familiar with these different kinds of conversation structures.
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And how do you do that?
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Well, you can't do that listening to me or listening to your teacher.
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You've got to listen to conversations.
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The perfect way is the TV, the internet, Netflix.
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Watch programs where there are conversations, right?
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So not the news, for example.
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reality TV shows, soap operas.
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In Britain, we've got, I don't know, Crossroads, Coronation Street, EastEnders.
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There's lots of them.
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Soap operas are great.
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Or your classic drama shows, the classic Friends from the US is a great one,
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where you're experiencing natural spoken conversation structures.
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Even if it's a simple ABA or ABAB, just getting familiar with those is going to help you understand natural spoken English.
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Let's move on.
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Right, next.
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Native speakers, they speak so fast.
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Not quite true.
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I'm sorry, it's not true.
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Some native speakers speak quickly, some speak more slowly.
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It's all relative.
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It's that you're not used to listening to fast English, so you think it's fast.
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It's not.
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Naturally, I speak quite slowly.
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For you, I speak even more slowly so you understand me.
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But it's about getting used to the speed.
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That's all it is.
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So the thing is, as a student at school, in the classroom, With your learning materials, everything is slowed down.
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Everything's made easy so you can learn.
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And that's great.
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Learning materials are great.
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But you must also, also use authentic English materials.
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Start listening to films, series, podcasts from day one.
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Don't wait till you're intermediate.
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Big mistake.
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So many people do that.
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And then it's difficult.
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Listen to the real English from day one, A1 level, beginner.
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Even if you're just getting used to the melody, doesn't matter if you understand nothing.
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It's getting used to the sounds, remember?
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It's not the written word, it's the sounds you need. So that's really important.
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You know, when I started learning Chinese, even before I went to China,
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I was listening and watching films without subtitles in Chinese for a month.
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I didn't understand a word.
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Well, very little.
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Now and again, there was the, oh, ni hao, pang yu, and some words.
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And that was great.
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But I was getting the melody and the intonation.
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And it was a big investment, but a huge payoff.
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It is so, so worthwhile doing and will help you understand fast native speakers.
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All right, let's move on.
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Next one.
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Oh, by the way, if you're enjoying this, do give me a like, subscribe to the channel.
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It helps a lot.
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And if you want to review all of this, there's a PDF you can download from the link in the description.
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let's get into the next point of why you can't understand native speakers and what to do about it.
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Oh, those native English speakers have a strange accent.
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Let's not call it strange.
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It's an unfamiliar accent.
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And there are so many of them.
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And unfamiliar accents can confuse you.
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It's often the vowel sounds that change.
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Like in the south of England, they will have a bath.
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In Manchester, we have a bath.
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Bath, bath.
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In England, you may say, oh, it's a nice house.
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In Scotland, oh, nice house.
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Again, south England, let's go now.
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Over in Ireland, let's go now.
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And then England, hot.
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America, hot.
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and again america has lots of different accents east coast west coast miss mid-country new york accents there are
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so many accents and the challenge for students is as they're learning they normally have one teacher
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and often at school it's a local teacher with a local
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accent not a native english accent that's fine local teachers are fantastic and brilliant And in addition to that sound,
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you need also to be listening to other accents, right?
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For the vowels, for the intonation, for the melody, which is different.
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Simple tip, simple answer, Netflix or Prime or Amazon or Apple or Disney.
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Just listen to all the different accents you can get used to, right?
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Even if you're not understanding everything, get used to the sounds and how they're different.
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You don't need to learn to speak with an American or British accent at all.
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It's not about accent, but understanding, yes.
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Let's move on.
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What does he really mean?
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He says this, but does he really mean this?
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Pragmatics.
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Pragmatics is all about what you mean may not be the same as what you say, right?
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For example, if I say, oh, it's cold in here, maybe what I really mean is shut the window. But I'm being polite.
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This area of pragmatics can be very different between your language and English.
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Even amongst British Americans, Australians, we have different pragmatics, whereas what we say may carry a different meaning.
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It's almost the hidden meaning behind the words.
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So sometimes it's hard to understand native speakers.
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Even though you understand the words, you may not understand the meaning behind the words.
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A few examples, right?
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For example, a British person says about a film, that's interesting.
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Now, an American may think that I liked the film.
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But the British person who says, oh, that's interesting, probably means it was terrible.
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It's a different way of using the word.
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If we say in a meeting context, an American might say, I'll think about it.
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and it probably means they will think about it.
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But if a British person says, I'll think about it, it means they are not going to think about it.
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Forget it.
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It's over.
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It's not going to happen, right?
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Another classic one about British and American differences of pragmatics.
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British people use the expression not bad a lot.
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That restaurant's not bad, right?
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That restaurant's not bad.
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The intonation can change it a bit.
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But often for a British person, that means it's quite good.
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We like the restaurant.
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It's not bad, that restaurant.
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But an American may hear that and think, I didn't like the restaurant.
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Because they might say, it was amazing.
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We never say that in British English.
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Well, we do, but we like to say, it's not bad.
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Meaning, I like it.
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It's good.
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OK, so the pragmatics can be difficult to understand the real meaning of English, of native English speakers.
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So my tip for you here, first of all, be aware of pragmatics.
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Be aware of the different meaning.
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And it can depend on the intonation, the situation, cultural references, the relationship between the people,
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especially the power dynamics in that relationship.
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My second tip is try and, again, expose yourself to natural spoken English in situations.
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This is one reason why I don't like students learning lists of words or learning a list of phrase, because outside of the context,
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it may have a different meaning.
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It's really good and powerful to learn your English in context, in situations situations.
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Watching films, clips, whether it's podcasts, chat shows, getting your language,
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discovering new language from the situation can help you get to grips with pragmatics.
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All right, let's move on.
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Right, idiomatic language.
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And this is where sometimes you hear something and you think, What does that mean?
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That doesn't make sense.
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Idiomatic language includes idioms.
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A lot of phrasal verbs are idiomatic, where the single words have a meaning,
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but the meaning of the whole phrase is different from the individual words.
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For example, somebody says, he spilled the beans.
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It's like, oh dear, I hope he's all right.
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Was it a mess?
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No, he didn't spill any beans it means he told a
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secret right he let the cat out of the bag
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but he doesn't have a cat no it means he told
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a secret he let the cat out of the bag oh these are idioms
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and it's even more challenging or fun because american idioms are sometimes different from british idioms right um
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you can imagine a British person, an American person, and the British person says, oh, my boss lost his rag.
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And the American says, oh, where did he lose it?
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No, no, no, he didn't lose anything.
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He lost his rag.
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He got angry.
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He got very angry.
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Oh, like he lost his temper.
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Yeah, lost his temper, got angry.
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Different idioms, right?
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Lose your rag, lose your temper.
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I remember once working with an American and I said one day we should go for lunch together.
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And he said, oh, I'll take a rain check.
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And I said, no, I don't think it's going to rain tomorrow.
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We'll be fine.
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And he kind of looked embarrassed and went, no, no, well, maybe not tomorrow.
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Maybe at a later date.
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To take a rain check is an American idiom, meaning to kind of politely decline an offer or postpone it.
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And I didn't know that at the time.
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But that's the fun bit is you pick up these idioms as you learn, learn and more.
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So my tip for you here is it's a bit like walking across a field
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and you're picking a flower and you pick a flower and you carry on walking and you pick another flower.
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When you get home, you have a big bunch of flowers.
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I'm not sure if green activists will like the metaphor, but it's the same with learning idioms.
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On your learning journey, as you're going through learning, pick up an idiom here, here, make a note, build them up over time, right?
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That's the best way to do it through conversations.
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Again, listening to natural spoken conversations with native English speakers or through films and series.
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Pick them up one by one.
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If you like, you can go and study my 150 idioms course.
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If you like, I can use my platform to blatantly advertise to you.
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There you go.
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Key thing is just build them up over time and it will help you understand real spoken English from native English speakers.
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All right, let's move on.
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So, did you watch Love Island last night?
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Love Island is a reality TV show, probably in many countries around the world.
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My sister loves it, right?
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I honestly can't bear it.
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I don't watch it.
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However, often in conversations, native English speakers will make reference to TV shows,
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pop songs, advertisements, even humor, jokes.
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It's cultural references.
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And these cultural references, if you don't know them, you can't follow the conversation, okay?
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So cultural references are not just about country or nation, it's age as well.
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You get a lot more references to music, maybe from teenagers, younger people than older people.
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But these cultural references can be an integral part of communication with native English speakers and not only communication, but bonding as well, I guess,
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right, that you understand me.
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So I don't think this is hugely important unless you're living in a country like England,
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Scotland, Australia, Canada, where it probably is important to get familiar with the local culture,
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including pop culture, jokes, learning what jokes are, references that are happening through the culture,
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whether it's music, art, etc. Okay, so yeah, if you're in a particular country,
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I think it's worth investing time exposing yourself to the local culture.
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And then you're more likely to pick up these cultural references,
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which are often used in conversations Monday morning in the office around the water cooler.
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But again, I don't think it's hugely important unless you're living in a native English speaking country.
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Now, somewhat connected to this is my next point.
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I guess connected to this is also slang.
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Slang is kind of the informal language used by certain groups of people or identities or people in a certain region.
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So you may have, you know, Scottish slang or teenager slang.
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Again, I don't think it's that important really to learn it.
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unless you're living in a particular place or you're surrounded by a particular group of people.
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But even then, you see, I mean, imagine that you really like watching American teenager high school series.
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You're naturally going to pick up the slang they use anyway from watching that.
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So I don't think it's that important.
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And slang changes over time.
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I mean, I know words in Britain like, you know, it's sick, right?
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Meaning it's really good.
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Or mate, meaning friend.
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Or I'm skint, meaning I'm broke.
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But slang changes over time.
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And the youth in Britain today use words that I don't understand because I don't mix in that environment.
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So is it important?
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Not that important.
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I wouldn't worry too much about it but you'll be aware
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that slang exists and maybe that's sometimes why you cannot understand certain native English speakers.
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I'm going to move on now to the last one which will really open your eyes.
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Should I use subtitles?
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It's a good question and a very controversial one, right?
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When I was a young man, old man, growing up, we never saw subtitles.
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Very rarely.
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Not on the TV.
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If you watched a French film, maybe.
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Nowadays, subtitles are everywhere.
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On Netflix, social media, everywhere you look, subtitles or captions.
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And I get it.
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The idea is to be inclusive.
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It helps more people access the content.
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Absolutely.
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Although on social media, I'm not sure that's the motivation.
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I think a lot of content creators realise people scroll with the sound off
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and then captions were needed because people are reading.
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But it is inclusive.
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However, as a language learner, captions, subtitles destroy your listening skills.
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They're great if your objective is to learn some vocabulary.
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Fine.
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But if you want to develop listening skills, turn off the subtitles.
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They will destroy your listening skills.
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And what's more, they encourage you to focus on the written word instead of the sound.
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So you've got your subtitles, right, saying that is a good idea and you hear it's a good idea.
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You go, that's not what he said.
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Of course not.
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The written word is different from the sound.
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It's a good idea.
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I'm up for that.
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Do you remember at the beginning of the video?
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Right.
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So if you want to develop your listening skills, turn off the subtitles.
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Finally, this ability to understand fast English,
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native English speakers doesn't come from study.
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Study, like this video, is a good first step.
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And if you want to study this more and review, there is a PDF you can download to help you review and study.
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But to actually get good at this and to understand native English speakers, you need to practice.
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And it takes time.
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It takes years and years of experience to develop this ability.
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So I encourage you to practice, but also adjust your expectation.
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Don't expect to be fluent in three months or a year.
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Takes a long time.
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Just to give you an idea, in my 20s, I moved to live in Spain and work in Spain.
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It took me about three years to get really good and confident in Spanish.
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Not fluent, but very, very close.
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three years I was working in English
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but I lived with Spanish people I had about five hours a day over three years with Spanish practice
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and study my daughter
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when we came back to Spain later she was about 10
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years old it took her two years to get fluent in Spanish
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and that was nine hours a day at school for two years.
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Now, if you're studying one hour a day, how long will it take you to become fluent?
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You can do the maths, but my message is it takes a long time.
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It's experience with the language.
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The great news is it's great fun.
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It's challenging, but it's fun.
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And if you're enjoying the journey, you're going to learn so much more.
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How exciting, right?
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Languages, great fun.
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So if you want to review today's lesson, check out the PDF.
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If you want to take your learning a step further and not only improve listening skills,
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but actually develop your speaking skills so you can speak natural spoken English better and better, whether it's for everyday life or for IELTS,
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come and check out my online courses.
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You can improve grammar, fluency, idioms you can learn, preparation for IELTS speaking.
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It's all there.
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The links are down below.
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Check them out.
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And if they're right for you, I would love to see you on the courses.
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In the meantime, thank you so much for watching me today.
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It's been great fun for me.
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I hope you've enjoyed it, learned something useful, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
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Take care.
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Bye-bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Understand Native English Speakers: 10 Tips!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: english, word, native, speaker, conversation. This video has 451 sentences and 4112 words to shadow. The speech runs for 31:08. The speaker talks at a steady 132 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| accent noun | /ækˈsɛnt/ | A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to… |
| idiom noun | /ˈɪdiəm/ | A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people. |
| subtitle noun | /ˈsʌbtaɪtəl/ | A heading below or after a title. |
| pragmatic adjective | /pɹæɡˈmætɪk/ | Practical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory. |
| sling noun | /ˈslɪŋ/ | An instrument for throwing stones or other missiles, consisting of a short strap with two strings fastened to its ends, or with a string fastened to one end… |
| intonation noun | /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/ | The rise and fall of the voice in speaking. |
| fluent adjective | /ˈfluənt/ | That flows; flowing, liquid. |
| disappear verb | /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ | To vanish. |
| idiomatic adjective | /ˌɪd.iː.əˈmat.ɪk/ | Pertaining or conforming to idiom, the natural mode of expression of a language. |
| caption noun | /ˈkæp.ʃən/ | The descriptive heading or title, of a document or part thereof. |
| temper noun | /ˈtɛmpɚ/ | A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting. |
| melody noun | /ˈmɛl.ə.di/ | A sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase. |
| teenager noun | /ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/ | A person between thirteen and nineteen years old (inclusive). |
| assimilation noun | /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃən/ | The act of assimilating or the state of being assimilated. |
| contraction noun | /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/ | An act of incurring debt; also (generally), an act of acquiring something (generally negative). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| turn off verb | To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.). | |
| come together verb | /ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/ | To assemble; to congregate; to combine. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You're going to get this in three minutes.
- Do you want to bring that friend of yours?
- We've seen six ways the sounds change.
- What do you think about banning social media?
- Do you remember at the beginning of the video?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if a British person says, I'll think · if green activists will like · if they're right for you, I would love |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is slowed · is shut · were needed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | melody, which is · person who says · one which will |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | We've seen · you've enjoyed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 114 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, caption /ˈkæp.ʃən/, assimilation /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃən/, contraction /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃən/, idiomatic /ˌɪd.iː.əˈmat.ɪk/, assimilation /əˌsɪməˈleɪʃən/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like accent, idiom, subtitle.
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.