Day 5

The Explore Section

“Welcome to the Explore Section, the section that most agree is the most difficult part of the course. I’m going to show you exactly what you need to do, so you have nothing to worry about. This part of your everyday reps takes the most active thought and participation but the goal here is to fix stubborn grammar and pronunciation mistakes…”

Step 4 – Youglish Hunting

How to Explore Youglish

Directions: In the previous section, “Analyze Your Response”, you identified one or two words and phrases you would like to improve.  Search these above words and phrases on Youglish. Pick two sentences for each of the words or phrases you need to improve and write them down below. Shadow the speaker’s delivery on Youglish (think of other phrases if you can not find it on Youglish).

For example (pronunciation): “this is why”

Example 1: This is why I call motivated reasoning “soldier mindset”. – link
Example 2: This is why it’s so painful when we experience disconnection. – link   

For example (grammar): “telling the difference between ‘he’ and ‘she’”

Example 1: Now one of the things he talked about in your TEDx talk… – link
Example 2: It might be awkward if he or she is in the room… – link

Do you like going to parties?

After you repeat the same pronunciation and grammar point, move on to the next section where you will practice using it.

Do you like going to parties?

***Listen back to the examples on Youglish and try to match their pronunciation of the word or phrase you are struggling with.

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Step 5 – Sentence Building

Sentence Building

Directions: Reading is easy but speaking in the moment is a challenge. Think of ways to combine the spoken grammar or pronunciation you are having trouble articulating in a new sentence.

Start simple. Let’s imagine that your problem is subject-verb agreement, for example, you might say, “He like dogs”, instead of the phrase “He likes dogs”.

Step 1: Write the sentence on a piece of paper and then turn it over. Say it. (He likes dogs.)

Step 2: Now, expand on the simple sentence. (My older brother likes dogs.)

Step 3: Write it down, turn the paper over and say it aloud.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have 1-2 sentences that include more than 15 words.

Some people believe that dogs are man’s best friend. I never liked dogs, but my older brother loves dogs because they are cute.

***Bonus Step: Say the sentence aloud (without reading), and time yourself. Continue to re-record until you can utter the same sentence two seconds faster than the original recording.

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Step 6 – Answer Again

Directions: Now that you have identified a few of your spoken errors, it’s time to practice responding again. Focus on fixing the “mistakes” you made in the original response. 

The goal is to improve on your weaknesses, NOT respond to the question perfectly. 

Do you like going to parties?

Provide a response between 30-60 seconds.
Recording is optional.

You want to focus instead on your weaknesses and overall feeling about your progress.

Step 7 – Identifying Thought Groups

What Are Thought Groups?

Sometimes referred to as chunking, thought groups are utilized by native speakers to organize information into comprehensible chunks that the listener can easily understand.

Below, you will see a transcript of a North American’s response to this same question. Pause after each sentence and try to identify just 1 or 2 thought groups per sentence.

For this exercise, only 1-2 instances of thought groups have been identified in each sentence. We have NOT identified every single thought group. The goal is NOT to be 100% correct all the time (and that would be really boring!). The goal is to for you to get used to the typical North American speech patterns. Over time, you will acquire a sense of the speech music of North American English and speak in the same manner without even thinking about it.

***This exercise has been designed for you to guess the answers first. However, if after practicing for a few weeks you find this task dull or easy, then you can skip it and simply shadow. No matter how you decide to practice, be sure to stop after each sentence and shadow, paying careful attention to pausing between thought groups.

Listen to the audio at the link below.

Do you like going to parties?

Step 8 – Identify the Stress

What Is Stress?

In English, when we talk about stress, we mean the words and phrases that are expressed stronger than others within a given clause or sentence. When you speak, you will put more stress on words that are important. Stress is crucial to help the listener understand the intent of your message.

For this exercise, only 1-2 instances of stress have been identified in each sentence. We have NOT identified every single stressed word and syllable. The goal is NOT to be 100% correct all the time (and that would be really boring!). The goal is to for you to get used to the typical North American speech patterns. Over time, you will acquire a sense of the speech music of North American English and speak in the same manner without even thinking about it.

***This exercise has been designed for you to guess the answers first. However, if after practicing for a few weeks you find this task dull or easy, then you can skip it and simply shadow. No matter how you decide to practice, be sure to stop after each sentence and shadow, paying careful attention to stressing the right words.

Listen to the audio at the link below.

Do you like going to parties?

Step 9 – Identify Reduced Sounds

What Are Reduced Sounds?

Americans tend to speak a bit faster when compared to the British. We bring words together and reduce sounds. This is particularly true for articles (a, an, the), prepositions (on, in, at), and conjunctions (and, or, but). Unless these words are crucial to understanding the message of a sentence — as we discussed in the stress section — they are usually reduced and pronounced together with their surrounding words.

For this exercise, only 1-2 instances of connections have been identified in each sentence. We have NOT identified every single connected word and phrase. The goal is NOT to be 100% correct all the time (and that would be really boring!). The goal is to for you to get used to the typical North American speech patterns. Over time, you will acquire a sense of the speech music of North American English and speak in the same manner without even thinking about it.

***This exercise has been designed for you to guess the answers first. However, if after practicing for a few weeks you find this task dull or easy, then you can skip it and simply shadow. No matter how you decide to practice, be sure to stop after each sentence and shadow, paying careful attention to the connected words and phrases.

Listen to the audio at the link below.

Do you like going to parties?

Step 10 – Identify Intonation

What Is Intonation?

Intonation is a change in the pitch of your voice. Like in stress, you change intonation to signify a shift in mood or attitude. Intonation often happens at the end of a sentence. A downward intonation implies certainty while an upward intonation implies curiosity. Most of the time, you will end sentences with a downward intonation, and when you see a comma in the middle sentence, your intonation will be upward.

For this exercise, only 1-2 instances of connections have been identified in each sentence. We have NOT identified every single point of intonation. The goal is NOT to be 100% correct all the time (and that would be really boring!). The goal is to for you to get used to the typical North American speech patterns. Over time, you will acquire a sense of the speech music of North American English and speak in the same manner without even thinking about it.

***This exercise has been designed for you to guess the answers first. However, if after practicing for a few weeks you find this task dull or easy, then you can skip it and simply shadow. No matter how you decide to practice, be sure to stop after each sentence and shadow, paying careful attention to intonation patterns.

Listen to the audio at the link below.

Do you like going to parties?

Step 11 – Shadow a North American’s Response

What Is Shadowing?

Listen to this response to the same question by a North American speaker. Stop every sentence or two and repeat what he or she said. Be sure to try and match the same stress, rhythm, and flow of the speaker.

DO NOT WORRY if you are struggling to speak the same way, that’s why you are here. Just do your best and note down any weaknesses you notice.

Listen to the audio at the link below.

Do you like going to parties?

Three Ways to Practice

“You started shadowing, you’re probably getting excited that these are the types of things that you wanted to practice, you wanted to dissect a little bit about how a North American speaks. Right now, we’re going to talk about three different ways for you to practice analyzing thought groups, stress, reduced sounds, and intonation…”

The Right Answer Is Overrated

“The correct answer is overrated. What do I mean by that? When we obsess over getting the correct answers, like we do in school, we forget about getting used to the moments in which we have to speak. That’s why I say the correct answer is overrated…”

Step 12 – Re-record

Now that you have thought about this question A LOT more, try to answer it again.
When you are ready, begin to speak.

Be sure to keep in mind the “weaknesses” you mentioned in the beginning and some of the speaking patterns you learned while analyzing the model response.

Do you like going to parties?

Take 15 seconds to plan and then record your response.

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Step 13 – Reflect on Your Progress

Reflect Again… Seriously

Every class ends with a couple of short reflective questions that will take just two minutes to answer. Take the time to complete it in order to get the most important points from this lesson to stick in your memory.

1. What are two things you learned about your pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, or overall manner of speaking?

2. Write down one sentence you want to say “perfectly”.

3. Write down one specific word, phrase or sentence you still need to work on.

And that’s it, you are done for the day!

See you tomorrow 😉

Answer Key

Do you like going to parties?

I do / like going to parties. Whether it’s a small gathering, / a barbeque, / or just a group of friends and family getting together for drinks or board games, / I always enjoy attending parties. Last weekend, I was tired / and had a headache but I still went to our family barbeque / because I really wanted to see everyone / and just enjoy the nice weather. Parties are the best way to see lots of people in one outing / and have a good time. So yeah, / I really do enjoy going to parties / and I want to go out to more, actually.

Extra Resources

• Syllable Stress Guide
• Reduced Sounds in American English
• IPA Guide for TST Prep Students
• Spoken Grammar Activities
• Disappearing Syllables
• Nationality and Pronunciation Guide
• Extra Shadowing Practice