Understanding fast speech

Follow natives at full speed, and ask for clarity without losing face. Lesson 36 of 58: Fluency, CEFR B2.

Why natives are hard to follow

• Native speech at full speed links words, drops sounds, reduces small words to schwa, and is full of idioms and half-sentences. You know the words; you just do not recognise them in their spoken form. The cure is exposure to real speech, a little at a time, with the words in front of you.
• I’m gonna hafta go. (I’m going to have to go)
• Whaddaya think? (What do you think?)
• Didja getta chance? (Did you get a chance?)

How to practise: shadowing

• Shadowing: play one sentence of real speech, pause, and repeat it at the same speed with the same rhythm and tune, two or three times, then move on. Five minutes a day does more than an hour of passive listening, because it trains your ear and your mouth together.
• Play. Pause. Repeat. Repeat. Next.
• Tip: Use subtitles in English, not your own language: you want to connect the sound to the English words.

Asking for clarity without losing face

• Asking is a sign of a good listener, not a weak speaker. Be specific about what you missed: “Sorry, did you say fifteen or fifty?” “Sorry, I missed the last part.” “Could you say the name again?” Or check by summarising: “So, if I understood correctly, you need it by Monday?”
• Sorry, I didn’t quite catch the last part.
• So, just to check: you need it by Monday?
• Could you slow down a little? I want to get this right.

Lines to have ready

• Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. (Polite and common)
• Just to check: …? (Confirming)
• So what you’re saying is… (Summarising)
• Could you spell that? (Names and terms)
• Sorry, what does … mean? (An unknown word)

Your turn to speak

• Choose two minutes of a podcast, interview or show in English. Shadow it sentence by sentence: listen, pause, repeat twice at the same speed. Then summarise what you heard in four sentences.
• I shadowed at least ten sentences
• I matched the speed and rhythm, not just the words
• I summarised the content

Related

• Lesson 35: Regrets and speculation
• Lesson 37: Register: formal, neutral, casual
• The whole English course

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