Shadowing Practice: VOA Learning English Technology Report #1 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
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This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
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Smartphones, tablet computers, and e-readers have become a part of everyday life for many people.
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They have also led to an explosion in the number of mobile applications.
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There is an app for just about anything you can think of of,
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and more and more apps are being created every day.
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Robert DeNazi is a Hollywood movie producer.
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He is perhaps best well known as the executive producer of Flight Plan,
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the 2005 movie starring actress Jodie Foster.
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His most recent claim to fame is as co-developer of a new app called VoiceCal.
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It is a mobile calendar app that uses voice recognition software.
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Users are able to enter appointments into their iPhone calendar without having to type in the information.
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He said although he has a mobile phone,
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he had to stop what he was doing to put things in his calendar.
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In his words, it got to the point where I just wasn't using the calendar on my iPhone,
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and neither was anybody else that I knew.
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Robert DeNazi decided there had to be a better way.
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So he teamed up with a friend who is a developer.
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The two used voice recognition software from a company called Nuance to build VoiceCal.
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He says when you use VoiceCal,
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you can say any event you want to put into your calendar and it will appear there.
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If you have two or more events to add to the calendar,
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you separate them by using the word also.
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Mr. DeNazi says all of this can be done hands-free.
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In settings, you can make it fully automatic,
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so I don't have to touch anything, he says.
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Robert DeNazi says there is a great need for an app like VoiceCal among busy businessmen like himself.
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He hopes the app will be successful over the long term.
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He says, in the movie business,
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you can do all the advertising in the world,
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and that can get you a great opening weekend.
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But if the movie's not good, it will die off.
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So really, what supports a film,
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just like what supports an app, is word of mouth.
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Matt Kozlov is the head of a startup technology company called Moonshark in Los Angeles, California.
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The company makes game apps for mobile devices.
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It's an exploding marketplace right now, he says.
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There are hundreds of millions of devices out there right now that we can reach.
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Jennifer Lopez is helping Moonshark with a finger breakdancing game called DancePad.
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The company is also working with film director John Woo on
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an action game expected to be released at the end of this year.
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For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villareal.
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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
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Member countries of the International Criminal Court met in June in Kampala, Uganda.
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They were there to examine the court's progress for the first time.
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Observers, human rights activists, and civil society groups also attended the two-week review conference.
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A treaty called the Rome Statute established the court in The Hague in the Netherlands in 2002.
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The court can try people for genocide,
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war crimes, and crimes against humanity when their own countries are unwilling or unable to.
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The court was also given the right to try crimes of aggression,
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although it never has.
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This is partly because ICC members could not agree on how to define aggression.
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In Kampala, they agreed on a compromise resolution.
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It defines the crime in terms of acts by a political
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or military leader against another state in violation of the United Nations Charter.
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Invasions, attacks, and blockades could all be tried as acts of aggression.
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So could letting another country use a state's territory for aggressive acts against a third state state.
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The United Nations Security Council has the lead responsibility for deciding that an act of aggression has taken place.
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But if the Council takes no action within six months,
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the court might still be able to carry out an investigation.
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pointed out that the agreement does not permit the court to punish aggression by non-member countries or their nationals.
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Also, members could refuse to accept the court's right to try crimes of aggression.
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ICC countries also agree to delay any action by the court on aggression until they re-examine the issue in seven years.
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The International Criminal Court has yet to complete its first case involving any crime.
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Eleven cases are currently before the court.
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They include the case against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
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He is the first head of state to be charged by the ICC while in office.
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Two years ago, the court found him guilty of war crimes in Darfur.
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Last year, it ordered his arrest.
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But Sudan rejects the ruling.
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The ICC Review Conference took place even as the president was just sworn in for a new term.
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111 countries are parties to the Rome Statute.
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The United States is not among them,
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but took part in Kampala as an observer.
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Other countries that have not joined the court include China and Russia.
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And that's the VOA Special English Development Group.
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This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
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A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage.
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Foods can go bad if they get too warm.
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But for many of the world's poor,
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finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult.
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Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity.
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spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses.
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Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they cannot sell quickly.
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But in 1995, a teacher in northern Nigeria named Mohamed Baaba found a solution.
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He developed the Pot in Pot Conservation Cooling System.
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It uses two round containers made of clay.
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A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one.
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The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand.
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The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables, or drinks.
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A wet cloth covers the whole cooling system.
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Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation process.
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Water in the sand between the two pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot where drier outside air is moving.
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The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees.
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This cools the inner pot and and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria.
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Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks.
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People throughout Nigeria began using the invention,
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and it became popular with farmers in other African countries.
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Mohamed Baaba personally financed the first 5,000 pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby.
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In 2000, the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him with the Rolex Award for Enterprise.
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This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being.
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A committee considers projects in science and medicine
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technology exploration and discovery the environment
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and cultural history winners receive financial assistance to help developed
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and extend their projects the awards are given every two years the next awards will be presented in late
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2012. Last year, Rolex launched the Young Laureates program for the younger generation.
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For VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn Prasuti.
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We have more programs at voaspecialenglish.com where people can read,
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listen, and learn English with texts, MP3s, and activities.
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We also offer English lessons at the VOA Learning English page on Facebook.
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From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
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High-tech companies are developing the next generation of products that will help us drive cars,
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do our shopping, and even care for our children.
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The technology company Intel recently held a demonstration of some of its new devices in San Francisco.
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One device measured how alert a driver was.
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Sensors connected to the driver's head measured brain activity.
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Cameras placed on the car's dashboard measured eye movement.
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Justin Ratner works at Intel Labs.
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He says the devices measure how much of the brain is occupied while the person is driving.
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Devices like these, he says, will make driving safer.
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Another experimental intel technology links cars electronically to help prevent crashes.
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When the driver of the car in front signals a turn or slows down,
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an alert message is sent to the car in back.
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There was also a demonstration of a virtual computer.
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The computer was projected onto the table from a controller hidden in a flower pot.
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Sensors read the movements of the user's hands,
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so there was no need for a mouse or other handheld device.
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This technology could be used in everyday situations.
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At a market, sensors and computer chips placed in products could help shoppers find the items they want to buy.
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For example, the technology could help them avoid foods that could cause an allergic reaction.
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Cameras and sensors are already available to help parents watch their children.
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In the future, other equipment will monitor a baby's health and mood.
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And security systems are being improved and simplified with face recognition software instead of complicated passwords.
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For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal.
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This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
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Sony officials held a news conference in early May in Tokyo.
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They apologized for the theft of personal information from millions of users of the company's online services.
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targeted Sony's PlayStation Network, Sony Online Entertainment, and Curiosity Music Systems.
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In all, Sony says information may have been stolen from more than 100 million accounts.
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The data includes information like names,
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addresses, phone numbers, and birthdates.
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In some cases, even credit and debit card numbers may have been stolen.
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The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the cyber attacks.
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Sony shut down its PlayStation network on April 20th.
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The company is being criticized for not telling its users about the stolen information until a week later.
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Sony has also been criticized for not making its accounts more secure by encrypting the data.
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Sony officials say they have now taken steps to improve security.
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Peter Warren is chairman of the Cybersecurity Research Institute in London.
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His group studies technology crimes and their effects on our computer-dependent world.
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Mr. Warren points out that what happened at Sony is not rare.
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We've seen a number of very large companies that have suffered some tremendously embarrassing losses of data.
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The problem, he says, is that there is far more interest in developing technology than in keeping it safe.
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As he puts it, lots
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and lots of people are being allowed to connect a lot of technology up before it's really been particularly well tested.
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Peter Warren also points out that many people have a false sense of security online.
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On the Internet, he says,
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they seem to be so blindly trusting of anybody and of any website,
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no matter how suspicious it may look.
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His message to users is simple.
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Try to be more careful on websites.
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He says, the internet is just like any other street,
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and there are some twists and turns that can take you into some very, very unsavory places.
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For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal.
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To read and listen to more technology news and for English teaching activities, go to voaspecialenglish.com.
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You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook at VOA Learning English.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing speaking through this VOA Learning English Technology Report video is highly beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, it provides real-world context, showcasing how technology, such as mobile applications, impacts daily life. By engaging with this content, learners not only enhance their speaking skills but also familiarize themselves with contemporary topics that are relevant to many conversations today. The video’s narration allows English learners to immerse themselves in the language, encouraging shadowing, a technique where students repeat what they hear for improved pronunciation and fluency. Furthermore, this learning method aligns perfectly with IELTS speaking practice, as it helps learners articulate thoughts clearly and confidently in familiar situations.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker uses several significant grammatical structures that English learners can adopt in their conversations:
- Present Perfect Tense: The phrase "have become a part of everyday life" illustrates how the present perfect is used to show a connection between the past and the present, which is crucial in conversational English.
- Modal Verbs: The use of "can" in "there is an app for just about anything you can think of" highlights capability, demonstrating how modal verbs help express ability and possibility.
- Reported Speech: The speaker describes Robert DeNazi's thoughts with phrases like "he says" which is essential for relaying information from others, a common feature in both casual and formal discussions.
- Infinitive Phrases: The statement "to build VoiceCal" shows how infinitives can function as nouns, providing clarity and purpose in sentences.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While listening to the video, learners may encounter several pronunciation challenges:
- Words like "recognition" and "calendar": These terms can be tricky due to their syllable structure. Breaking them down into smaller parts can help improve pronunciation accuracy.
- The phrase "hands-free": The articulation of “hands-free” may confuse some learners, as it blends two separate words. Practicing this phrase in context reinforces correct pronunciation as well as fluency.
- Colloquial expressions: Phrases such as “there has to be a better way” may require extra attention to grasp the natural rhythm and flow of spoken English, particularly when shadowing.
Incorporating these aspects into your practice by using shadowspeak can significantly enhance your spoken English skills. Try using a shadowing app with this video to master the language nuances presented, enriching your overall English learning experience.
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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