Prática de Shadowing: Australian Political System & Voting Explained | Learn Australian English - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo
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Liz, I got a letter in the mail last week saying I had to go and vote.
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I did not know this was mandatory.
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I panicked.
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I didn't even know who to vote for.
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I walked in, got the paper, and genuinely had no idea what I was doing.
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Jack, you just described the experience of thousands of new Australians at their very first election.
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And the thing is, in Australia, not voting can get you fined.
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A fine for not voting.
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That's right.
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A fine for not voting.
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Australia is one of very few countries in the world where voting is compulsory, legally required.
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And if you are applying for Australian citizenship, or if you simply want to understand the country you are living in, this episode is essential.
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We are going to break down the entire Australian political system in plain English.
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No jargon.
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No confusion.
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And we will explain the voting system that confuses almost every new voter, including Australian-born ones.
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We will get to that in segment three.
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So stay tuned.
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Hi everyone, I'm Liz and welcome to Learn Australian English, the podcast where we teach you real Australian English through real Australian topics.
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I'm Jack.
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Today, Australian Politics and Voting.
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Now, we know what you might be thinking.
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Politics?
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Really?
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But here is the thing.
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Understanding Australia's political system is not just about being a good citizen.
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If you are applying for Australian citizenship, you will be tested on this.
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And even if you are not, this knowledge will help you follow the news, understand your rights, and participate confidently in Australian life.
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We will also teach you the vocabulary that comes with all of this.
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So by the end of this episode, you will be able to talk about Australian politics comfortably,
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confidently and in completely natural Australian English.
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Let's start with the foundation.
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What type of country is Australia politically?
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Australia is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.
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Let's break those two terms down.
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A constitutional monarchy means Australia has a monarch, currently King Charles III, as the head of state.
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The head of state is the symbolic leader of the country.
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However, the king does not govern Australia day to day.
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That role belongs to elected Australian leaders.
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The king is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the national level and by governors in each state.
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The Governor General has important constitutional powers, but by convention does not interfere in day-to-day politics.
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And a parliamentary democracy means Australians elect members of Parliament, or MPs, to represent them and make laws.
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The leader of the country is the Prime Minister, the head of the elected Now, Australia has three levels of government.
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Federal, state and territory and local.
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The federal government handles national issues.
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Defence, immigration, foreign affairs and national economic policy.
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State and territory governments handle things like hospitals, schools and roads within their borders.
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and local councils manage your immediate area, rubbish collection, parks, local planning.
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So when Australians say the government, it is important to know which level they mean.
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The federal government sits in Canberra, Australia's capital city, in the Parliament House.
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Now we get to the part that most people find genuinely fascinating.
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How Australia actually makes its laws.
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And there is one fact coming up that surprises almost everyone.
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Stay with us.
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It is worth knowing.
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The Federal Parliament has two chambers, two houses.
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This is called a bicameral parliament.
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Bi means two, so two chambers.
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The two houses are the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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The House of Representatives is sometimes called the lower house.
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It has 150 members, each representing a specific area, called an electorate or seat.
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The political party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives forms the government, and their leader becomes the Prime Minister.
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The Senate is called the Upper House.
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It has 76 Senators, 12 from each State and 2 from each Mainland Territory.
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The Senate acts as a House of Review.
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It checks and reviews laws passed by the House of Representatives.
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This system of checks means no single group can push a law through without proper scrutiny.
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And here is the fact I promised.
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The leader of the country, the Prime Minister, is not directly elected by the Australian public.
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Australians vote for their local Member of Parliament.
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And the party that wins majority forms the government.
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The leader of that party becomes Prime Minister.
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So technically you vote for a party, not a Prime Minister.
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This is a crucial distinction, and it explains why Australia can have multiple Prime Ministers in a short period.
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If a party votes internally to change its leader, a new Prime Minister can take office without a general election.
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Australia had six Prime Ministers in ten years at one point.
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That is quite a ride.
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It really was.
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The opposition is the major party that did not win government.
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They form the Shadow Cabinet and hold the government accountable.
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Their leader is called the Leader of the Opposition.
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OK?
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We promised you the voting system that confuses almost everyone.
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Here it is.
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First, the big one.
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Voting in Australia is compulsory.
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That means it is legally required.
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Every Australian citizen aged 18 and over must be enrolled to vote, registered on the electoral role and must attend a polling place on election day.
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If you do not vote without a valid reason, you can be fined.
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Compulsory voting makes Australia quite unusual.
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Only about 20 countries in the world have it.
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The fine for not voting is relatively small, but the principle is significant.
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Australia believes civic participation is a shared responsibility.
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Voting is not just a right here.
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It is a a civic duty.
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Elections are held on Saturdays, always a Saturday, at polling places such as local schools, community halls and town halls.
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You take your name off the electoral roll, receive your ballot papers, go into a private polling booth, mark your vote and place it in the ballot box.
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The process is very well organised and usually quite quick.
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And here is a uniquely Australian election day tradition, the democracy sausage.
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Community groups set up sausage sizzles outside polling places on election day.
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You vote, then you buy a snag in bread.
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It has become a beloved national tradition.
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And there is even a website that tracks which polling places have the best sausage sizzle.
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Only in Australia.
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Only in Australia.
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Now, the voting system itself.
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Australia uses preferential voting, also called ranked choice voting.
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Instead of just choosing one candidate, you number all the candidates in order of your preference.
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Number one is your first choice.
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Number two is your second choice, and so on.
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Your vote goes to your first choice first.
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But if your first choice candidate does not win enough votes, Your vote then transfers to your second choice.
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This continues until one candidate has a majority.
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This means your vote is never truly wasted.
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Even if your favourite candidate does not win, your preference still counts.
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The Australian Electoral Commission – or the AEC – runs all federal elections
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and publishes guides in multiple languages to help voters understand the system.
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Australia's major parties are the Australian Labor Party , known as Labor, and the Liberal Party,
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which often governs in coalition with the National Party.
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There are also minor parties, including the Australian Greens and various independent candidates.
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One important note, the Liberal Party of Australia is actually the Conservative Party, not Liberal in the American sense.
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In Australia, Liberal refers to economic liberalism, free market principles, not social progressivism.
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The Labour Party is the centre-left party, historically linked to the union movement.
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Australia's democratic values include the rule of law, meaning everyone is equal under the law,
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freedom of speech, the right to express your opinions openly,
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freedom of religion, the right to practise any religion or none at all, and the separation of powers.
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The Legislature makes laws, the Executive implements them, and the Judiciary interprets them independently.
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Before we wrap up, for anyone preparing for the Australian Citizenship Test,
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the key facts, Australia is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.
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head of state is King Charles III, represented by the Governor-General.
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The Prime Minister leads the elected government.
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There are three levels of government.
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The Federal Parliament has two chambers.
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Voting is compulsory from age 18.
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Australia uses preferential voting.
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And Australia's core values are the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equality under the law.
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The test is 20 multiple choice questions.
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You need 15 correct, 75% to pass.
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Five questions of these 20 questions are about Australian values, which you must get all correct to pass.
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And for everyone else, knowing this material makes you a more informed, more confident participant in Australian life.
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That is worth something regardless of your citizenship status.
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Are you preparing for the Australian citizenship test?
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Or did something in this episode surprise you?
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Tell us in the comments.
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And if this episode helped you, please like and subscribe.
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Good luck with the citizenship test.
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See you next time.
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Vocabulário e dicas de fala para esta lição
Esta aula de conversação de nível B2 usa o vídeo “Australian Political System & Voting Explained”. As palavras que mais se repetem: Australian, Australia, voting, vote, Prime. Este vídeo tem 147 frases e 1519 palavras para praticar shadowing. A fala dura 11:35. O falante mantém um ritmo estável de cerca de 131 palavras por minuto, confortável para o shadowing. 86% das palavras estão entre as 3.000 mais comuns do inglês; vale a pena estudar o restante antes de começar.
Vocabulário principal deste vídeo
As 15 palavras mais avançadas do vídeo, com pronúncia e significado:
| Palavra | Pronúncia | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| citizenship substantivo | /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/ | cidadania |
| elect verbo | /ɪˈlɛkt/ | eleger |
| compulsory adjetivo | /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/ | obrigatório |
| monarchy substantivo | /ˈmɑnɚki/ | monarquia |
| sausage substantivo | /ˈsɔsɪd͡ʒ/ | salsicha, linguiça |
| electoral adjetivo | /ɪˈlɛk.tɚ.əl/ | eleitoral |
| parliamentary adjetivo | /ˌpɑɹləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/ | parlamentar |
| confidently advérbio | /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/ | confiantemente, com confiança |
| preferential adjetivo | /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/ | preferencial |
| sizzle verbo | /ˈsɪzəl/ | chiar |
| govern verbo | /ˈɡʌv.ən/ | governar |
| confuse verbo | /kənˈfjuːz/ | confundir |
| civic adjetivo | /ˈsɪvɪk/ | cívico |
| ballot substantivo | /ˈbælət/ | votação |
| voter substantivo | /ˈvoʊtɚ/ | votante, eleitor |
Phrasal verbs que você vai ouvir
| Palavra | Pronúncia | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| set up verbo | /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ | preparar |
Frases que vale a pena repetir
Frases curtas e completas do vídeo que você pode usar na conversa do dia a dia:
- I didn't even know who to vote for.
- Let's start with the foundation.
- Let's break those two terms down.
Gramática neste vídeo
As estruturas que o falante mais usa, com as palavras exatas do vídeo:
| Estrutura | No vídeo |
|---|---|
| Frases condicionais if + oração, will/would + verbo — uma condição e seu resultado | if you are not, this knowledge will help |
| Voz passiva be + particípio passado — o foco está no que acontece, não em quem faz | will be tested · is represented · is called |
Pronúncia para ficar de olho
O falante usa 3 contrações e formas reduzidas, como I'm, didn't. Diga-as na forma curta, do jeito que você ouve.
- Os sons de “sh” e “zh”: citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, preferential /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/, rubbish /ˈɹʌbɪʃ/, publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/, distinction /dɪˈstɪŋkʃən/
- Palavras longas — acerte a sílaba tônica: citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, compulsory /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/, electoral /ɪˈlɛk.tɚ.əl/, parliamentary /ˌpɑɹləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/
Sons difíceis para falantes de português:
- Consoante final — sem acrescentar um “i” depois: citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, elect /ɪˈlɛkt/, civic /ˈsɪvɪk/, ballot /ˈbælət/, fascinate /ˈfæsɪneɪt/
- /l/ final — a língua toca o céu da boca, não vira “u”: electoral /ɪˈlɛk.tɚ.əl/, preferential /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/, sizzle /ˈsɪzəl/, bicameral /bʌɪˈkaməɹəl/, enroll /ɪnˈɹəʊl/
Como praticar com este vídeo
- Ouça o vídeo inteiro uma vez sem falar e anote as palavras que você não conhece.
- Faça shadowing frase por frase na velocidade normal, repetindo cada uma até o seu ritmo ficar igual ao do falante.
- Grave a sua voz e compare com o original, prestando atenção a palavras como citizenship, elect, compulsory.
O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.