Shadowing Practice: Understanding Indian English at Work | Real Office Phrases Explained 🇮🇳 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hi there, this is Sanjay and I welcome you all to this English Learning YouTube channel, English Everyday.

Today's session is going to be really very special for you

because in this session we are going to talk about Indian English at work.

So many of you people are still facing the issues like when you deal with the Indian colleagues, you face the issue.

Sometimes they speak faster, sometimes you listen to some different kind of phrases.

In this video I am going to cover each and every element.

So after watching this video you are going to be the perfect person to deal with an Indian guy.

Indian guy.

Have you ever heard that the Indian people would say, please wait for 2 minutes and you have to wait for 20 minutes.

So this is something like the cultural English.

So what happens, how Indian people react, everything we are going to cover in this video.

So stay tuned and let me begin with the class now.

And here we will be talking about the decoding Indian English here to work.

How when you deal with the Indian people while you work, you are hiring manageries from India or many situations, you have a con call, you have an interview and there are many other situations where Indian people,

you deal with the Indian guy and you face the issue.

So this is actually the solution for the video.

So here let's go and we begin with this session.

So start with the basic greeting.

I mean what happens when you deal with the Indian guy and you go with the greeting sentences.

So you say like how are you?

The Indian people would say.

How they say?

They say like everything is fine, all okay.

So everything is fine, all okay.

This is the Indian version of how are you?

So when somebody asks Indian people like, how are you?

Generally it happens like in overseas people would start talking about the detailed answer like, yes, it's really nice, I'm doing well, my family is fine.

But in India they say everything is fine, all okay.

The way they ask the question is, everything is fine?

This is in the form of question.

I mean, the facial expression becomes like that, all okay.

It means, is everything okay?

So it so happens.

So generally people respond like, yes, everything is fine.

Yes, all okay.

You don't need to go like I'm straight out.

I'm having a burden of work and I need to go with a different kind of situation.

So it so happens.

It is just because the cultural activity in India, Indian English is more likely to be the cultural English where Indian people, they follow certain culture.

It doesn't mean Indian English is wrong, but yes, Indian English is somewhat different than the other languages we have.

Let's go for the next slide and how it goes we understand like.

The first of all we talk about the shortened professional titles.

So what happens in India, people generally they have abbreviations like a short form of the things like MD, managing director, they have HOD,

head of department, VP, voice president.

Sometimes you might have heard the word like in charge which doesn't have any kind of title.

I mean in charge is the one who is the person who is looking after something for a certain period of time.

You can say like Mr. Ritesh is the in charge for this AI project

which is going to finish by 20th of May

which means Mr. Rakesh or Mr. Ritesh is for a certain period of time.

He is only working and this is the title for the in charge.

Here it is.

The person currently responsible for a task or a department not a formal title but carries real authority.

So it so happens in India, like people, they create in charge.

Sometimes Mr. Rakesh is in charge.

Sometimes you find the other person gets the charge for the in charge.

So in charge is like a person who has been given the authority to deal with a certain kind of project.

So this is something like the abbreviation.

You may find like a HOD, they say MD, VP.

Along with this, you find some of the words like a colony.

You know, what is colony?

Colony is a residential place, like a couple of families are living together and they have given a certain name called colony.

So if sometimes an Indian person says, I live in that colony.

So colony meaning group of houses, group of families that are living together.

Plots were sold to those people and they are living together.

So this is like a residential neighborhood or housing complex.

I live in sector 5 colony.

So sector 5 colony is perfectly normal, professional, small town.

So you don't need to get confused.

This is like an Indian term.

Maybe it is not very...

Now, the next word is passing out.

I mean, I just feel like laughing.

People would say, I am passing out.

So pass out means to fend, to die.

So next time when Indian person says, I am passing out.

So it doesn't mean like he has been fend, it means he has been graduated.

So in India, when people get graduated, they say, I passed out.

I passed out my college degree I passed out my

so passed out means they have done certain educated education you know development

so that we call like a passed out

so what is the tip for you

when it is doubt let context define the title ask I mean

when you find like a in charge you you somebody says Mr. Rakesh

or Mr. Rahul is the in charge so you may go

and ask the proper title you can ask like oh he's the in charge right now

but what exactly his profile is

so you may find like the person is a project coordinator

or he's like a managing director

or maybe he is a project manager product manager any title it

but by the time the person is like an in charge

and this is what you need to understand let's now go

for the next one like a wait wait wait wait wait wait wait what does it mean wait

so sometimes you find people would say the words two times.

Wait, wait, go, go, go.

Or sometimes they say, like here we have three different situations.

Wait, wait.

So wait, wait, it doesn't mean like you have to wait.

It means stop immediately.

Do not proceed.

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This is urgent.

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I mean, you find Indian person, he says to you, please, wait, wait, wait.

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It means something that is very urgent.

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You need to stop doing that and now focus on another thing.

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And this is why they pronounce the word two times.

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Wait, wait.

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So this is something like a telltale.

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So speak, please speak now.

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I am completely ready to hear what you want to say. So telltale.

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I mean the people say telltale.

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It means they're very keen to hear.

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They're very excited to hear.

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They're giving their hundred percent and this is why they say like a telltale.

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The next word we have is a go-go.

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So like go-go.

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I mean in Indian movies there is a villain called go-go but here it doesn't mean like that.

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It's go, go.

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So please leave or proceed quickly, not to waste the time.

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So when somebody says like, go, go, generally in English, we say once like, please go ahead and do that.

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But say, go, go.

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It means it's really super urgent.

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Go ahead and finish this.

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So this is like a kind of phrases Indian people say, and you must know the logic for this one.

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So what can be the golden hack for you people?

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Here it is written, repetition, like a high priority.

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The moment you hear a double verb, double verb, listen this, treat it as like an urgent action signal, not a slutter or a mislead.

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So next time when you listen to like a go, go, wait, wait.

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So it is like something which is urgent basis you need to start working on.

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Okay.

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So that's something I have taken out for you.

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Now the negative question and the positive answer.

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Now this is really very interesting.

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What happens?

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I mean an Indian guy, he doesn't finish the project over the time and the person asks like, finish the project?

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They don't say like, did you finish the project or have you finished the project?

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They generally ask like this.

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The expression should be the questions.

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They say, finish the project?

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And you say, yes, I did not finish the project.

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The original grammar is, no, I did not finish it.

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But Indian people say, yes, I did not finish it.

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So this is like a change in the grammatical portion.

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Why it happens in many Indian colleagues, yes means what you said is correct.

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I mean, they're asking the questions.

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For example, if I ask you the question, have you finished your lunch?

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And if you haven't finished, you would say, no, I haven't finished it yet.

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But Indian people would say, yes, I did not finish it.

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They don't say, no, no, I did not finish it.

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They say, yes, I did not finish it.

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So this is a logical thing.

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I mean, it happens because Indian people, they want to say that what you are saying is correct getting my point?

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are you getting it? if you are getting it please write down in the comment yes you understood this

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ok so now here we have it's a very small line

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and this is what the example we have given here

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so you don't need to worry about it like

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when somebody sometimes you listen to Indian people they say yes I did not

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you know finish the project yet or yes I did not send an email to

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that person it means it is not like a negative

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or they are making grammatical mistake it is a cultural thing where Indian people they want to confirm that yes, what you are saying is correct.

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Now, let's we talk about the soften command.

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In India, it is not like they directly say like, go and do that.

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I want that.

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Finish it.

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They want to be more polite.

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And this is the culture of India.

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Indian culture says we need to be polite.

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You know that like in India, people, they just bow down their hands and they say Namaskar.

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So why they?

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Because India is a country where people are really very polite and the politeness makes India become much greater places.

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So here we say, sometimes you hear like, I was thinking that maybe we could.

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Or a small suggestion, perhaps you should.

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It might be good at.

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So what exactly it means, it means please do this.

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This is a direct instruction.

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So, I mean, there is no direct instructions.

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They like do that.

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They say in a different way, in a polite way.

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Here we have the three sentences.

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Let me repeat one more time if you are not able to see that.

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I was thinking that maybe we could change this or maybe small suggestion.

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Perhaps you should change this one or they can say it might be good if you use Java instead of using Python.

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So it means they are giving direct instruction to change that in a polite way.

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So in India, I mean insulting direct communication can be aggressive.

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I mean if they say direct something, so it's like in the form of aggression and they don't want that.

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This is why what they do, they generally make it soften.

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So what can be the strategy?

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You know, treat, I was thinking as a polite rapper, sound a film instruction.

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Now confirm your understanding.

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If in case you don't understand that, you may go ahead and ask again like, Oh, what do you want to say?

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Should I go ahead or not?

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So this is something you have to understand.

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Now let's go for the next slide.

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And understanding the Indian time phrase.

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This is really very important.

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And that actually happens in India.

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What happens?

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In India, if you listen like just 5 minutes, just 5 minutes, it doesn't mean 5 minutes.

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It's more than 25 minutes.

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Could you really realistically mean 30 to 20 minutes, a polite way of saying I will be there soon.

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So when you say I will be there soon, like the person is at home and you say, Oh, Rohan, when will you reach to the office?

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And Rohan would say, just 5 minutes.

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it means he has started working now.

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He has started from his house.

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So it will take more than 30 minutes but the person would say just 5 minutes.

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So next time when you say 2 minutes, 2 seconds, 5 minutes it means it is going to take a long time.

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Now the next V is reaching in 2 minutes.

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This is also very common.

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People would say reaching in 2 minutes.

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So I have just left my house.

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Actual time arrival unknown.

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Nobody knows when the person is going to come but here he says just two minutes.

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Have you finished, Rohan, have you emailed that file to Mr. George?

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Just two minutes.

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So it doesn't mean like it will take one hour, two hour, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, but the person would say just two minutes.

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All right.

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So the next one is by EOD.

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EOD means end of the day.

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Here it says usually means the very last minute of the working day or sometimes the next day morning.

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So in the morning meeting, generally people would say, I want this project or this assignment to be finished by EOD.

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That's end of the day or the last moment before you leave the office.

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So EOD is really very common.

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You may find it in the messages, in the emails or even in the verbal communication.

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So that is something.

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And how it means, I mean, how you have to take, This is not dishonesty, it reflects as optimism.

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I mean the person is optimistic.

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He doesn't want to make you feel that he is taking time or he is getting late.

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It is not like he is dishonest or he is saying wrong thing.

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It is a culture in India.

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In India it happens.

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It happened only in India.

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There is a song like that.

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Okay, now let's go and we talk about the ABC enumeration habit.

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So this is again a very common habit in India.

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they have a sequential talk when they are going to describe about something.

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Like when you ask, Rohan, how was the day?

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And please give me the report for the project you have done.

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Then he would say, first, I would like to say that I talked to Mr. Kevin

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and he has given me the deadline and I have to finish it by today.

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Second, I had a meeting with the manager from so-and-so company

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and he said that they are going to dispatch our product maybe by the 20th of May.

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And the last point, so first, second and last, this is how they go.

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Indian love structuring spoken communication with explicit numbering.

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First point is, second point is, the last point, the habit comes from a strong tradition of structured,

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academic and formal communication whereby clarity of sequence is valued above all.

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So how it help you?

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What you have to do?

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Use the markers as note-taking clues.

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Along with this, focus always on the last point.

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Because the last point is the main point you are going to listen.

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The remaining two points are just only the sequential, the structured guide they are going to describe.

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So, I mean, you can organize accordingly.

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And now we are moving towards the last slide.

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Now, this is again very important.

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Actually, basically, oh, I am talking about the Indian English.

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In India, people say actually, basically.

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So in every, I mean most of the time people would say, have you finished your project?

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Actually I have, basically I want to say actually, so actually and basically.

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These are the two situations, like two of the most frequently used words in Indian professional English and two of the least meaningful.

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So they don't have any meaning, they only want to say actually and basically.

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So I got a joke in my brain.

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what happens like since I live in a village

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and in my village there is a boy his name is Rahul he went to Mumbai, Mumbai is one of the biggest cities in India

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so he went there for the job

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and he did a job there for maybe one year

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and after that he came back to the village

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and we met with Rahul so Rahul we started asking like Rahul how was your experience

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and Rahul started saying like blah blah blah actually blah blah blah blah actually blah blah blah

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so what happened you know we have nominated him like actually now his name is actually who is Rahul?

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Rahul is actually

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so Rahul's name has been changed into actually this much of

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frequency the intensity of actually the word has been used in India so actually

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and basically these are the two words people use actually the

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report is ready basically what I want to say is or actually so actually, actually, basically the issue is the timeline.

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Right?

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So what you have to do?

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You have to ignore basically and actually and listen to the main content.

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You don't need to focus on that one.

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Just focus on the main material that has been delivered.

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So that is the one.

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Now, the final formula for the success is be patient.

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Sometimes you may feel like, oh, how to do, what to do.

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So you have to feel patient.

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And if you are If you are impatient sometimes, you can message me on my channel.

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I am always ready to help you because I am the person in India.

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I am the only person in India who can guide you for the bodh accent, whether it is American accent or Indian accent.

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I know all the sound, all the kind of strategies that Indian people use, the jaw line, the different sounds, the T sound, B sound,

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P sound, strong sound, retroflex sound.

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So every sound I have studied and I have created the, even though now I have created the course even.

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So the course is also available if you want.

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You want to get the course.

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So the course is for the 10 lectures.

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You can, you know, get it.

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Here we have like a, I will guide you.

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You can message me.

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You can write down in the comment.

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I will give you the link and you can get into the course even.

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So decoding is not like clarity of time.

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So next time, like when person say, I'm coming in 5 minutes, 20 minutes or just now.

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So you can ask for the clock time.

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You can say, could you please tell me the clock time like a 2 p.m., 3 p.m

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so maybe that will work and you will be on the time

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and you will be able to finish the work over the time

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so this is what you can do

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and since i as i said like indian english is not

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a wrong english it is like a traditional thing the cultural activity

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if you come back to india i mean if you come to india

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if you live here

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if you live with the indian people you would really feel

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very happy people are really very polite we respect all the you know kind of things

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but yes since we are born and brought up in such kind of situations where the academic sequences, the kind of teachers we had,

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the kind of upbringing we had, this is why we are.

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So don't take it so seriously, but just you can just go out.

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I mean, you have to try and understand what we try to say.

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And as I'm here for you to help you out, I will be definitely guiding you with more words, more vocabulary, more kind of concepts, finding it out, writing it down,

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and describing you in the form of presentation as I have done today.

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Alright, so that's all and I hope you have liked the video and if you really liked, so please write down the comment.

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No people now, people don't write down the comment and you know that actually make me feel demoralized.

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I want to be motivated and this is what I want your comment.

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So if you are watching this video until end and if you really liked it, if you really like my communication the way I have described you, the difference between Indian English and American English,

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so please write down the comment and say your experience.

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So thank you so much for giving your time.

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I will see you in the next video and have a happy time.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 321 sentences and 3560 words to shadow. The speech runs for 18:37. The speaker talks fast, about 191 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

colony /ˈkɔl.ə.ni/ (noun) — A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area.
polite /pəˈlaɪt/ (adjective) — Well-mannered, civilized.
urgent /ˈɜː.d͡ʒənt/ (adjective) — Requiring immediate attention.
instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/ (noun) — The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.
phrase /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ (noun) — A short written or spoken expression.
slide /ˈslaɪ̯d/ (noun) — An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again.
habit /ˈhæb.ɪt/ (noun) — An action performed on a regular basis.
accent /ækˈsɛnt/ (noun) — 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…
formal /ˈfɔɹməl/ (adjective) — In accordance with established forms.
clock /klɑk/ (noun) — A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day.
confirm /kənˈfɝm/ (verb) — To strengthen; to make firm or resolute.
sequence /ˈsiː.kwəns/ (noun) — A set of things next to each other in a set order; a series.
residential /ˌrɛzɪˈdɛnʃəl/ (adjective) — Of or pertaining to a place of personal residence or to a location for such places.
suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/ (noun) — Something suggested (with subsequent adposition being for)
proceed /pɹəˈsid/ (verb) — To move, pass, or go forward or onward; to advance; to carry on.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

pass out (verb) — To faint; to become unconscious.
talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
deal with (verb) — To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject.
go ahead /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ (verb) — To proceed with; to begin.
live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
live together (verb) — To cohabit and have sexual relations while not being married.
write down (verb) — To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something.
go for (verb) — To try for, to attempt to reach.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 31 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, doesn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/, residential /ˌrɛzɪˈdɛnʃəl/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, facial /ˈfeɪ.ʃəl/
Long words — get the stress right: residential /ˌrɛzɪˈdɛnʃəl/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, intensity /ɪnˈtɛnsɪti/, accordingly /əˈkɔɹ.dɪŋ.li/, optimistic /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like colony, polite, urgent.

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 you haven't finished, you would say
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	Have you ever heard · has been given · have given
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	has been given · were sold · has been graduated
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	one who is · person who has · something which is

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →