👄 Let me out! Pronunciation Shadowing

0:00 Are you embarrassed about your pronunciation?

0:03 Are you worried you sound a bit robotic?

0:07 Don't worry.

0:08 In this lesson, we're going to practice shadowing:

0:11 a powerful way to improve your fluency, pronunciation, and listening.

0:18 You'll do this by listening to a short story about how I got trapped in a lift,

0:25 and how I escaped again.

0:28 This is a shadowing lesson,

0:30 which means you'll listen carefully and repeat what I say,

0:35 almost at the same time.

0:37 Like an echo.

0:40 Here's how.

0:41 It was my first day at work and I was the last one to finish.

0:47 Click here to find out more about

0:50 shadowing and why it's useful for your speaking, listening, and pronunciation.

0:55 Right.

0:55 Let's start the story.

1:01 It was my first day at work, and I was the last one to finish.

1:06 I'd just got in the lift when I noticed there weren't any buttons.

1:12 Before I could react, the doors slammed shut.

1:17 I desperately tried to open them again, but they wouldn't budge.

1:22 Let's have a look at the pronunciation in more detail.

1:26 First day at work.

1:28 Can you hear a sound at the end of 'first' in this phrase?

1:32 Listen again.

1:34 First day at work.

1:36 First day at work.

1:38 There isn't one.

1:40 Look at the letters on either side of that 't'.

1:43 We have an 's' and a 'd', which are pronounced /s/ and /d/.

1:48 These are both consonant sounds.

1:51 When a 't' is between two consonant sounds, we don't pronounce it.

1:57 Let's call this a 'consonant sandwich'.

2:00 We have consonant sandwiches in other phrases too.

2:03 Repeat after me.

2:06 First day at work.

2:12 I'd just got in the lift.

2:19 Wouldn't budge.

2:25 Last one.

2:31 Let's continue with the story.

2:34 After a while, the lights began to dim.

2:39 I desperately banged on the doors, but there was no one around.

2:44 A few hours had passed and it was almost ten o'clock.

2:49 I was at a complete loss.

2:52 I've highlighted the 't' in 'it' and 'at' in these phrases.

2:56 Listen carefully.

2:58 What sound can you hear?

3:00 It was almost ten o'clock.

3:03 I was at a complete loss.

3:05 Instead of a /t/ sound, it's a glottal stop,

3:09 which is the sound you can hear in the middle of this phrase.

3:15 Uh-oh!

3:17 We make it by suddenly blocking the air in our throat and then releasing it.

3:23 So instead of 'it', I make the vowel sound/ɪ/, but I cut it short in my throat.

3:30 This is very common with short words that end with 't'.

3:35 We also have another example with 'at'.

3:39 These sound very similar, so let's practice them both.

3:47 Got that?

3:49 Let's finish the story.

3:51 "Why won't you open?" I shouted in despair.

3:55 "Opening doors", replied a robotic-sounding voice.

4:00 The doors wooshed open.

4:02 I grabbed my things and ran out as fast as I could.

4:07 As I glanced behind me, a sign above the doors caught my eye.

4:11 It read: "voice-activated lift".

4:15 Listen again to the 'e-d' endings in these words.

4:19 Is the pronunciation the same, or different?

4:23 Shouted.

4:25 Wooshed.

4:27 Grabbed.

4:29 We have three different ways to pronounce 'e-d'.

4:34 /ɪd/.

4:36 /t/.

4:38 /d/.

4:40 Let's start with 'shouted'.

4:42 When a verb ends with a 'd' or a 't' like 'shout' or 'need',

4:47 the '-ed' ending is pronounced as /ɪd/.

4:51 So we say: 'shouted', 'started', 'needed'.

4:58 Those last two weren't in the story: they were just examples.

5:02 But how about 'wooshed'?

5:05 If a verb ends with an unvoiced consonant sound,

5:08 meaning you can't feel a vibration in your throat,

5:13 so sounds like/ʃ/ or /s/ We pronounce the 'ed' ending as a /t/,

5:23 so we say 'wooshed', 'glanced', passed'.

5:27 And lastly we have 'grabbed'.

5:32 If a verb ends with a voiced consonant,

5:35 meaning we can feel a vibration in our throat when we say it,

5:39 like /b/ and/ŋ/, the '-ed' is pronounced as /d/.

5:45 This also applies to vowel sounds like the /aɪ/ in 'reply'.

5:51 Repeat after me.

5:53 Replied.

5:55 Grabbed.

5:57 Banged.

6:00 With all of that in mind, It's time to shadow the entire story again.

6:06 Let's see if you can improve your pronunciation.

6:12 It was my first day at work and I was the last one to finish.

6:18 I'd just got in the lift when I noticed there weren't any buttons.

6:24 Before I could react, the doors slammed shut.

6:29 I desperately tried to open them again, but they wouldn't budge.

6:34 After a while, the lights began to dim.

6:39 I desperately banged on the doors, but there was no one around.

6:45 A few hours had passed and it was almost ten o'clock.

6:49 I was at a complete loss.

6:53 "Why won't you open?" I shouted in despair.

6:57 "Opening doors", replied a robotic-sounding voice.

7:02 The doors wooshed open.

7:04 I grabbed my things and ran out as fast as I could.

7:09 As I glanced behind me, a sign above the doors caught my eye.

7:13 It read 'voice-activated lift'.

7:17 How was that for you?

7:19 Was your pronunciation better the second time?

7:22 Remember, you can download a free audio file of this story by clicking here.

7:27 And if you want more information

7:30 on the pronunciation of '-ed' endings, click here.

7:33 Have you ever been stuck somewhere?

7:36 How did you get out?

7:38 Let us know in the comments- and see you in the next video!

7:43 Bye bye!