How To Understand FAST Spoken English

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Let me guess. You can understand English  speakers perfectly well when they talk   at this speed. However, when ..... It's  harder to understand them. Let me help.  [Music] Good morning, good afternoon and good  evening. Welcome to Smashing English! Before   we start this video, be sure to subscribe  because we make new videos all the time,   and I don't want you to miss any. So, with  that said, let's get on with the video.  Okay, let's really learn how to understand  English native speakers, I have some tips   that will help you. Okay, tip number one. I bet  you can understand this person. "People often   ask me why I'm so interested in the mental health  of children and young people, and the answer is   quite simple. Because I think that every child  should have the best possible start in life."   And I'm pretty sure you will find it much harder  to understand this person. "I know other girls   in relationships let these things slide, and  you know, let their boyfriends text every Tom,   Dick and Harry." Let's try another example.  Can you understand this person? "The goal, the   objective of economic policy should be collective  well-being. How happy and healthy a population is,   not just how wealthy a population is." I'm just  guessing, but I think you can understand that   person pretty well. But what about this person?  "That thing, I've not been able to sit back and   enjoy it because you're always on the move  to the next thing, and on the move, the next   thing. I think that's why, during lockdown, I  really struggled as well, because it was like,   on to the next thing, and there is no next thing  now because we're all in Covid." Much harder?   Let's figure out why. I gave you four examples  there. Two of them were quite easy to understand,   and two of them were more of a challenge. Okay, so  the two examples that were easier to understand,   they were talking in a public setting. They had  something that was prepared. They had a script   or a speech written, and they were presenting to  a large group of people. The other two examples   featured much younger speakers using a dialect  that maybe you are not familiar with. They were   speaking in a setting where nothing was planned,  nothing was prepared, and they were just talking   to one, maybe two people in quite an intimate  setting. So, my first tip is diversify your   listening practice. Stop watching TED Talks.  Stop watching members of the royal family. TED   Talks are great. I love TED Talks, but they are  presenting. They have written a script. They have   planned and practiced what they are going to say,  and they want a large group of people to be able   to understand them. So, of course, you'll be able  to understand them. That's their main goal. So,   when you are doing English listening practice,  make it your mission to find things that are   unscripted. Reality shows, podcasts, chat  shows. Diversify the listening practice,   because then your ear is like a muscle. Your ear  will become so flexible, so adaptable. Your ear   will be ready to listen to any voice, any dialect.  So, when you talk to someone, it's like you've   done the hard work. This conversation is easy. I  can understand you. Moving on to my next tip. Keep   watching for an in-depth analysis of the sounds  that make English speakers so hard to understand.  My next tip involves a strategy that humans have  been using since the dawn of time to understand   each other, and that is talking to another human  being. So, I want to recommend a resource that   I myself have used for the last three and a  half years. Without a doubt, one of the best   and most effective ways to improve your English  listening quickly is by actually speaking to an   English native. It's authentic, it's real, and it  works. So, as most of you know, I teach and learn   on iTalki. ITalki is an online learning platform  that offers one-to-one customised language lessons   in over 150 languages. Although, just guessing,  you're probably going to go there for English   lessons. But hey, I'm just assuming. There's  absolutely no subscription involved. You just   pay for the lessons you want, 30 minutes,  45 minutes, an hour, an hour and a half,   whatever suits you, boo. And the prices start at  only five dollars, which is amazing. Like I said,   I teach English on italki, and I have done  for over three years, so clearly, I'm a fan.   Aussi, j'apprends le Français sur iTalki. And it's great because I'm able to choose   from a huge variety of teachers. They are  different ages. They have different accents,   different speech patterns, different specialties.  So, if you're struggling with a particular accent,   find a teacher on iTalki with that accent, and  you will notice how quickly that accent becomes   less and less confusing because you are actually  interacting with it. When you actually engage   with a human who is using their authentic accent,  pace, and speech patterns, it's so much easier to   decipher what they're actually talking about. And  luckily for you, I have an excellent offer. Use   the link in the description to start browsing  for a teacher that suits you, and if you buy   ten dollars worth of iTalki credits, you can get  another five dollars for free using my exclusive   promo code. You are welcome. But go quickly  because this amazing deal is only available   to the first 50 users that get it. So go, go, go,  go. Okay, tip number three. Let's talk about the   practicalities here, because I truly think that  this, this is the main reason why understanding   fast English is so hard, and it's all because of  linking. It's because of those annoying linking   sounds that everybody does. So let me talk you  through some of the most common linking sounds and   how to understand them. I believe that the best  way to understand something is to be able to do   it yourself. So, learn these linking sounds like  you are going to do them. Try to make them with   your own mouth. Try to actually do them because if  you understand the mechanics of how you make the   linking sounds, it will sound a lot less alien  when you hear someone else doing those linking   sounds. Okay, so let's look at this sentence here.  I actually saw a dog in his window on Tuesday. I   actually saw a dog in his window on Tuesday. Now,  can you see how that could be quite confusing   if I say that really quickly? I actually saw a  dog on his window on Tuesday. It's crazy talk,   crazy talk. And it's because it's like I'm saying  one big word. There are no gaps in the middle.   It's just one long word. So, let's talk through  the linking sounds. So, the first one we've got,   "I actually." Now, no one says, "I actually."  They don't put a gap in the middle. What we do,   definitely in a lot of accents in the UK,  definitely in standard English, most of these   links are based on standard English, but a lot of  them are international. Lots of different dialects   use these linking sounds. So, when you've got an  I actually, how are we going to link that? So,   what we're going to put in the middle  is we're going to put a "y" sound. So,   it becomes "I actually." Why do we say "Y"? Let me  tell you. So, this is a vowel-to-vowel link. Okay,   so we've got an "I" and then we've got an "ah." "I  - ah." All right? So there's two vowel sounds, so   we have to create a link because they don't really  link together without putting something in there.   "I" ends wide. Because when we do "i," it's like  we're ending on a smile. And this is the same for   "a" and "e." So, when you've got this wide vowel,  smiley vowel, let's call them smiley vowels,   then to get to the next word, if it starts with a  vowel, you have to put a "yuh" because it's easy   to. Because our mouth is already wide, and when  we do "yuh," it's a wide sound as well. "I" smile   "yuh." "Actually." "Yuh." And you just release  it. "I actually." "I actually," Like that. Okay,   moving on to the next linking sound in this  sentence. "I actually saw a dog." Hold on a   second. I definitely just did an "r" sound. "I  actually saw a dog." I can't see an "r" there.   Can you? Am I? I can't see an "r." But I said  an "r," and that is because we have the feature   called an intrusive "r." Now, if you are only  concerned with understanding American speakers,   don't worry about the intrusive "r." But if you  want to understand a lot of people from Britain,   you need to understand what the intrusive "r" is.  So, the intrusive "r" is when we insert an "r"   to link to the next word, even though there's not  an "r" that is written there. We just put one in,   and this can be extremely confusing when  you're listening to fast English because you've   definitely heard an "r." Hold on, there was an  "r" there. What's going on? But there isn't. We've   just put one in to help with linking. So, let's  look at the example. "I actually saw a." So, the   reason why we're doing an "r" here is because we  have the "or" sound of "saw" and then an "a." We   have another open vowel sound. "Saw a." So, if we  didn't have the linking "r," the intrusive "r," it   would sound odd. It would sound like "I actually  saw. A." We would have to put a gap in there,   but we don't like putting gaps in when we speak.  It's annoying. So, actually, "saw" feels like it   should rhyme with "door," right? It's the same  sound. "Saw," "door." Look at the word "door."   There's an "r" on the end. Okay, so actually, this  sound feels like it ends in an "r." The word "saw"   kind of sounds like it ends in an "r," and that  is why we are using the "r" sound. In a lot of   UK dialects if you have a word that could end in  an "r," it sounds the same as a word that ends in   an "r" followed by a vowel, we're probably going  to put an intrusive "r" in there. For example,   my name is Laura. Laura. It ends on a schwa,  but what other words end in a schwa in English?   We have mother, father, water, better. Oh, look,  R, R, R, R, R. So, that schwa sound sometimes is   spelled like "er." So, if I have to link my name  to something else that's a vowel, I have to put   an "r" in there. So, I say, "Laura is." "Laura is  great." So, push yourself. Try to do the intrusive   "r." Try to make that sound. Get familiar with  it. Get comfortable with it. Learn how it works.   Imagine you are an actor learning an accent for a  role or something, and if you can do it, you will   definitely understand it when you hear it. So,  now we have this. Okay, "I actually saw a dog."   "In." Now, the next link is a little bit easier  because we have a hard consonant, "dog," and   then a vowel. When you've got that hard consonant  followed by a vowel, just push the two together   like it's one word. So, instead of saying,  "dog. in," you're going to say, "dog in." So,   it's like the second part of that sound is "gin."  You've put the "g" in front of the next word. It's   one sound. "I actually saw a dog in." Now, the  next linking sound is kind of UK-specific as well,   because a lot of the time in the UK, we will drop  our "h's." You will hear this in parts of London,   places like Liverpool, Birmingham. Sometimes, we  just don't like the "h." So, for example, here,   instead of saying, "in his," we're probably going  to say, "in is." "In is." "In is." We've taken   away that "h" completely, and we've made it into  one word. "I actually saw a dog in his." We just   smush everything together. Everything's just  connected. "I actually saw a dog in his window   on Tuesday." Didn't stop once. So, how can you  practice this? How can you learn how to do this?   I have one very simple technique for you. I want  you to say a sentence like a song. When you listen   to singers, everything is connected. Everything  goes like this. It doesn't stop. It just goes   like this. There are no gaps in there. So, if we  sang this sentence, "I actually saw a dog in his   window on Tuesday," it doesn't have to be a tune,  or anything. It can be straight. "I actually saw   a dog in his window on Tuesday." Make it one  continuous sound. Don't stop the sound. So,   practice speaking in songs. So, read a book,  but sing it. That's my best advice for you.   Sing. Connect things together. You've got to  become best friends with linking sounds if you   want to understand fast English. Okay, moving on  to my next tip. If you want to understand fast   spoken English, especially with speakers from the  UK, you have to be prepared for the schwa. Okay,   the schwa is everywhere. It's the most common  vowel sound in British English. It happens all   the time, and if you're listening to someone  speaking, it might just sound like you're   hearing the same sound over and over again,  and it can be very hard to differentiate. Okay,   so that was a schwa, but it's an "o." That was  a schwa, but it's an "a." That's all over the   place. Okay, so if you are not familiar,  a schwa sounds like this: uh, uh, uh, uh.  It's not a very cheery sound. It's not  very happy. It's pretty miserable. Uh,   Uh, Uh, Uh, Staying alive, staying alive. It's  just neutral. Nothing happens with the mouth,   nothing happens with the tongue. "Uh." In  a standard English dialect, this sentence   would sound a little something like this. "I was  a doctor for two years, a teacher for four years,   and then an administrator because I love change."  Did you hear that 'uh' all the way through? And   a schwa doesn't have to be one letter. A schwa  isn't always an "a" or an "e." It's very hard to   spot because they just happen all the time. So,  for example, on a word like "doctor," "teacher,"   these "er" or "or" ending words, that will be a  schwa. So, "doctor," "teacher," "administrator,"   that will be a schwa. Also, the word "for," a lot  of the time, we don't complete that sound. We just   go "fuh" A doctor for two years, a teacher for  seven years. We're not even completing the word.   We're just saying "fuh." Also, the word "was"  can become "was." "Was." "Was." "W-u-z." "I was   a doctor." "I was a doctor for two years." "I was  a doctor for two years, a teacher for seven years,   and an administrator." "An administrator."  The schwa just takes over. So, you have to   be prepared to hear it, and you have to know when  to do it and how to do it. So, do some research,   practice. Become, like I said, like an actor  who's learning an accent. Become fascinated by the   sounds. If you are not interested in the sounds  that English speakers are making, you'll never   understand them when they speak quickly because  you're not curious about the sounds. Okay, moving   on to my next tip. So, my next piece of advice  for you is stop listening for sentences. Stop   waiting for the sentence to have a nice end. Stop  waiting for the thought to be completed. We don't   speak in sentences. Listen to your own native  language or listen to how you speak with people.   It's very rare that we have clean sentences that  have a lovely beginning, middle, and an end. It's   not the same as writing. We get distracted. We  say the start of a sentence, and then we forget,   and then we say something else. So, if you have a  target dialect that you are trying to understand,   let's say you really want to understand, um, Irish  English. You're moving to Dublin, and you want to   understand the Irish dialect, and you want to  know how to understand fast Irish speakers,   then learn what their hesitation sound is.  Because some people go, "Uh." Some people go,   "Eh." Some people go, "Mm." Some people go mmm.  Figure out what that sound is." Because you don't   want the hesitation sound to confuse you, and try  to follow physical cues. If you can pay attention   to the person's face and their gestures, try  to follow their thoughts. Don't just listen   to the words they are saying, because most of our  communication comes from non-verbal communication.   So, if I'm talking to you, but I stop, and  maybe I move on to this thought, you can tell   that I stopped this thought and I moved on to this  thought just by paying attention to my features.   So, if you watch podcasts, that's really great.  You know, a lot of podcasts, they have videos now,   so you can watch the person who is speaking  and try to follow their train of thought,   because we never talk in sentences. It's very  rare. So, this is another reason why I don't   want you to watch anything scripted, because  when it's scripted, ah, beginning, middle,   end, beginning, middle, end. But that's  not how we speak in everyday life. Okay,   moving on. Sometimes it's not that your English  listening is really bad. It's that the person you   are listening to is using new words that you've  not heard before, or they are taking words that   you think you know, but they've changed it. So let's talk about contractions, because we   love contractions. English native speakers do it  all the time, and I think these might be some of   the things that confuse you. So, for example, the  one that everyone knows: "gonna." Okay, instead of   "going to," we say "gonna." "I'm gonna love this  film tonight. I really think I'm gonna love it."  What about "wanna?" Instead of "want to," we say  "wanna." "I don't wanna go." "I don't wanna go."   This one you might not know, "Tryna," instead  of "trying to." "I'm tryna to find my keys."  What about "gimme?" "Gimme," "give me that."  "Hey, give me that." "Dunno" instead of "don't   know." "I don't know." "I don't know." "Is not"  becomes "ain't." "Ain't." "I ain't going." This   one you might not know, "Lemme" instead of "let  me." "Lemme." "Lemme see." "Hey, lemme see."  "Init," instead of "isn't it." It's  like a clarification that we use a   lot in the UK. So "it's Tuesday, init?"  "Kinda," instead of "kind of." Again,   we're turning that "of" into a schwa. So it's  not "kind of," it's "kinda." "I'm kinda hungry."  And "dya," instead of "do you." People say, "Dya  want that?" "Dya want to go to the cinema?" "Dya   want to go to the cinema?" "Dya want to go to the  cinema?" You've got to learn these contractions.   You've got to be familiar with them because they  happen a lot, and I don't want that to confuse   you when people are talking in fast English. So in conclusion, if you want to understand fast   English from native speakers, you need to learn  the sounds that they are making. If possible,   you should be able to do their accent.  You should be able to mimic their linking   sounds. You should know what a schwa is. You  should be able to recognise what a schwa is.   You should know the difference between "dad"  and "dead." You should know the difference   in those vowel sounds. So you've got to  become fascinated by sounds, consonants,   and vowels. Get involved. Do your research, and  you will notice a huge difference, I promise you.  Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed  this video, please give it a like. If you would   like to follow us on Instagram, you can do so  there also. Make sure to check out iTalki and my   exclusive promo code down below. Thank you so much  for watching, and I'll see you next time, tata!
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Channel: Smashing English! Free and Fun English Lessons!
Views: 2,092,935
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Keywords: learn english, english, english language, quick, fast, native, like a, how to, what, phrasal verbs, all, use, them, phrases, idioms, british, uk, accent, dialect, catchphrases, sound like, more, like, pronounce, ed, verbs, past tense, learn English with Lucy, engvid, papateachme, papa teach me, grammar, spelling, correctly, correct, British accent, simple past, pronunciation, easy, words, hard, present perfect, continuous, when, how, make, structure, past simple, progressive., questions, lucy, papa, simple, woman, girls
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Length: 21min 29sec (1289 seconds)
Published: Sun Oct 08 2023
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