Shadowing Practice: What do accountants actually do? - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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If I know anything, it's that accountants are boring, irrelevant losers.
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If I know anything, it's that accountants are boring, irrelevant losers.
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I've never met one I enjoyed talking to.
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And now that I think about it, I've never talked to one. Period.
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However, I do keep abreast of business news, and lately I've noticed an increasing number of reports that the accounting industry is in crisis because nobody wants to be an accountant anymore, which doesn't seem like a crisis to me.
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I don't give a (fooey) about accountants.
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But it did get me wondering is there more to these losers than meets the eye?
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Let's find out.
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Accounting is defined by Investopedia as the process of recording financial transactions pertaining to a business.
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Now, apparently accountants work in all sorts of organizations across the public and private sectors doing scintillating stuff like auditing, filing taxes, bookkeeping, forensic analysis, payroll services, expense tracking, corporate oversight.
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Good God, the most high falutin young folks gun for jobs at the so-called big four firms Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young and KPMG.
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Lately, though, it seems like accounting reputation is more or less at the bottom of the toilet.
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Don't go into accounting.
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Don't become a CPA.
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If you're going to get a degree in accounting, don't.
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I quit before accounting after only working there for ten months.
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Burned out. I'm working too hard.
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A lot of journal entries.
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So if you get an accounting degree, are you going to inevitably turn into a loser?
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That's a pretty fair question.
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In the last 15 years, the number of students graduating with an accounting degree has been on a steady downward trend.
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Meanwhile, the number of grads who then sit for the CPA exam has also declined.
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By the way, CPA stands for Certified Poontang Agent.
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Just kidding.
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It stands for Certified Public Accountant, and it's the degree you get when you pass the exam to become a licensed accountant.
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Business would be pretty much a farce without the accountants and the auditors, who are keeping the record straight and making sure that what you see as financial reports is accurate, complete, relevant and reliable.
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Steven Kachelmeier is the department chair.
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What's widely considered to be the best accounting school in the country, UT Austin.
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Hook em, Accountants used to be viewed as dinosaurs in a bricks and mortar era were not that highly respected.
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And then came about 40 or 50 scandals and frauds.
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Enron. Worldcom.
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We could go on and on and on.
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And all of a sudden people realized, hey, you know, there might be a reason why we need these accountability guys.
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So it seems like accounting provides a reassuring level of stability, not just for the economy at large, but also as a career that doesn't go bye bye every time there's a recession.
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You know, it's tragic.
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It seems as though a lot of people have truly forgotten how vital these fiscal first responders really are.
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Fortunately, my appreciation for accounting has never wavered.
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Not once. Yeah, the shortage is real.
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The pipeline challenge is real.
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It seems to be industry wide.
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Well, large companies are struggling.
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The smaller ones are struggling.
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The public sector is struggling.
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Interesting you say that, Courtney, because while the wife and I were checking the Bureau of Labor Statistics over a snifter of cognac last night, we did notice that there are 200,000 fewer accountants working today than there were five years ago.
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The impact of which can be seen in companies financial statements.
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Companies have been filing their financial statements late because they don't have enough accounting staff.
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There's also been an increase in misstatements in recent years, and there's also been a rise in audit deficiencies.
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There are reasons for that besides the accounting shortage, but it's certainly a contributing factor.
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Hi everybody. It's me, Dan Toomey.
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And today I want to really quickly talk to you about something that I take very seriously.
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Online security.
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Now, obviously as a sexual symbol, people are always trying to get my data, steal my personal information, use my identity, yada, yada, yada, all that stuff.
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And that's why I use Surfshark's VPN.
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let's just pull up their website and check out some of these features. Great.
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So again, privacy and security.
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Perhaps my biggest priority.
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Surfshark protects me 24/7 wherever I go online, keeping my info and data out of data breaches, blocking unauthorized attempts to access my webcam, blocking cookie popups, and so on and so forth.
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Look at all of this.
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You can change your IP address to be in any country, so you can always access the stuff you want to watch, even if it's blocked where you are.
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So if you care about privacy like I do, then I insist you check out Surfshark.
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There's no risk to trying it, and right now they're offering a 30 day money back guarantee.
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Plus, if you go to surfshark.com slash.
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Good work, you get four extra months.
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This is serious stuff, folks.
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Think about it.
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One cause of the shortage is the fact that many accountants are goddamn old people.
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According to the American Institute of CPAs, about half of their members are over the age of 50.
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And for any 20 year olds out there, being 50 years old is like being 10,000 years old.
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Another cost is that in comparison to other types of professions, that business major types can line up after graduation.
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Accounting doesn't pay that well.
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Most starting pay rates for CPAs tend to be somewhere between 40 and 80 G's, depending on where you work, which isn't as much as the pledge master who likes paddling.
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You too much now makes a Goldman.
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If a business undergraduate student at a good business school like Texas can get something knocking on the door if not exceeding a six figure salary straight out of the gate.
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In finance or high tech, it's hard to say.
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Well, why don't you take this 70,000 offer in accounting instead?
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And by the way, you're going to have to take this badass exam called the CPA exam to become certified.
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Indeed. Accountant school ain't nothing to fuck with.
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Students not only have to complete five years of school to get 150 credit hours, as opposed to four years for most degrees, but they also have to complete the rigorous certified poontang agent exam.
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And once you've done that, well, you'll be looking down the barrel of a pretty intense workload, especially during something called busy season when everyone's looking to complete their audits, tax filings, compliance deadlines, and all that jazz.
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There has definitely been some noise in the system around the counting profession and working way too much.
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There's too many hours.
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I'm overworked.
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I just don't want to do this anymore.
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I'm on the wheel.
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I got to get out of the rat race.
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All of those things.
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Now, there are calls from across the industry to make it a little easier to get your accounting license.
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These include reducing the number of credit hours down to four years of schooling, while emphasizing work experience, something that this state called Ohio has already done.
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Others believe that the shortage provides a wake up call for big business to cough up the moolah and raise accounting salaries to our friends in the business community.
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If they want more of us accounting guys and they want more people to say, hey, that matters for me, they need to up the ante a little bit.
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We need to up the ante.
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We need to sex it up a bit.
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There you go, yeah But none of these new proposals address perhaps the most impactful element that's pushing kids away from accounting, which I've been subtly hinting at.
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We all think it's lame as hell.
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Historically, accountants haven't been marketers.
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We don't do a great job of marketing ourselves.
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It's not the coolest thing The image of accountants tend to be you know, sitting behind their spreadsheets with green visor on and smoking a cigarette with a desk with a lamp not being so much extroverted of having good communication skills, etc.
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there aren't like movies where, like, Leonardo DiCaprio is like a cool accountant.
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Very few movies that talk about accountants and what they do.
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I hear accountant and I think of Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters, the the the nerdy little guy with the squeaky voice you might be auditing, you know, one thing or another, but is that necessarily sexy?
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Is any of this really sexy amongst the swath of accountants that the Good Work investigative news team spoke to for this report, 100% of them cited accounting reputation as the primary reason why their industry is bleeding recruits.
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And it's clear that for society to revive the accounting profession, what's needed is a complete makeover of the industry princess diary style.
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Because in the course of this lengthy investigation, I must admit that my heart for accounting has grown by ten Grinches plus two.
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I've been able to work for organizations that did charitable work that was important for me.
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I was able to be at a college helping other people get educated all again because I was an accountant.
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Accounting ends up being one of those few professions where whatever area you're interested in, there's a place for you.
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If you're an accountant, if there's a shortage of accountants, the SEC, the IRS and most external stakeholders will not be able to trust the numbers anymore, which could cause essentially a financial ruin for many people.
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You know, you want to be paid, like a business professional, but do work that benefits society.
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Being a cop, because it is as close as I've come to blending, a broader benefit to society with a business degree.
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Now, this isn't to say that there haven't been a few valiant attempts to rehab accounting’s image before.
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From Ben Affleck playing an autistic action hero in The Accountant to the financial attainment thriller Green Shades.
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By our very own Greg D Adams, CPA.
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Green Shades is a darkly humorous international crime thriller where your protagonist, Dex McCord, is an account or in this case, actually, it's an auditor who sends his friend to India to do a simple audit.
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And when his friend comes back to Australia, his body is found washed up on the northern beaches of Sydney.
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And when McCord goes to a funeral, he starts to unravel the facts that, hey, this was not a surfing accident.
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Like the police said.
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This was a reason that he was murdered.
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But be careful.
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I have to warn you, Green Shades has a little bit of, violence in there.
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Some sexual tension and some accounting equations.
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Now, I am pleased to report we have some good news on the accounting sucks front.
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This past year's enrollment numbers are promising and might hint at an easing of the shortage.
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Nonetheless, my sources say we are far from out of the woods, and I do think it may very well be time for more extreme measures.
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There is a negative stereotypes that's just undeniable about the word accounting, and I almost wish sometimes I could just change the name.
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Let's freak-diddly do it, Steve.
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Audit monsters.
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Math rambos Number nymphs tax masters.
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I mean, come on, this is easy.
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There are dozens of better options than what you have right now.
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And while we're at it, instead of Ben Affleck, why don't we cast someone else who would be more believable as an unsocial dweeb who's unrealistically good at firing guns?
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Do this, and I promise you'd get more accountants in the door.
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It's for the good of the industry, but more importantly, the good of the business world, for good work and for accountants everywhere.
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I'm Dan Toomey.
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There's a lot of adventures that go on with our protagonist, and including some sticky situations that he gets caught in.
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And one in particular where he even has to jump off a cliff to escape bullets for you meet a woman named Kendall Cove.
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She was an accountant.
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And then on the side she worked at a surf shop.
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So then she became a dive instructor and started her own company.
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But she had a basic financial knowledge as an accountant to expand that business.
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And of course, of course, with Dex McCord during his adventures.
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On that note, Greg, are we going to see a Green Shae$ 2 any time soon?
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You may you know, this first book took me a long time to write, but, it seems to be flowing better for as I'm thinking of Green Shade$ 2
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video titled "What do accountants actually do?" provides a unique opportunity for English learners to improve their speaking skills in a captivating and relevant context. By engaging with the content, learners can explore the world of accounting, a profession often misunderstood and stereotyped. Using this as a foundation, learners can practice IELTS speaking skills by articulating complex ideas and expressing opinions about various professions.
Moreover, discussing topics related to accounting allows learners to enhance their vocabulary and fluency in a professional context. As they listen and shadow the speaker, they’ll also build confidence in their speaking abilities, helping to prepare them for real-world conversations and interviews.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The transcript presents several notable grammatical structures and expressions that learners can incorporate into their own speaking:
- Conditional sentences: The use of "if" in expressions like "if you're going to get a degree in accounting" is a great way to form hypothetical situations, which is essential for IELTS speaking practice.
- Colloquial expressions: Phrases like "don't give a (fooey) about accountants" can help learners adopt a more natural and conversational tone in English.
- Present perfect tense: The phrase "have been on a steady downward trend" illustrates how this tense can provide insights into ongoing situations, making it useful for discussing trends and changes in society.
- Informal comparisons: The analogy used when comparing accounting to "dinosaurs in a bricks and mortar era" emphasizes creative language that can engage listeners and convey deeper meanings.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As English learners practice speaking, they may encounter several pronunciation challenges throughout the video:
- Accountants: The word "accountants" can be tricky due to its syllable division. Make sure to emphasize both "ac-count-ants" clearly.
- Audit: This term can be mispronounced. Focus on pronouncing it as "AW-dit," emphasizing the first syllable.
- Recognizable vs. reliable: These adjectives contain similar patterns. Practicing them in context will help learners differentiate their sounds: "rec-og-niz-able" vs. "re-li-a-ble."
By engaging in shadowspeak and shadow speaking with this video, English learners can significantly improve their English pronunciation and overall fluency. Focusing on key grammar structures and pronunciation traps will enhance their ability to communicate effectively in both academic and casual settings.
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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