A lot of students tell me that they struggle to understand native speakers on TV, movies,
YouTube, TikTok, and everywhere outside of the classroom.
Does that sound like you?
Well, if it does, don't worry because I have the solution today.
You're going to test your listening skills and improve your listening skills as well
so you can feel comfortable understanding native speakers.
Welcome back to JForrest English.
Of course.
I'm Jennifer.
Now let's get started.
Here are your instructions for the entire lesson.
1st, I'm going to say a sentence three times,
and you need to write down exactly what you hear word for word in the comments.
Next, I'm going to explain exactly what I said, and I'll explain the pronunciation
changes that take place in fast English, and I'll explain the expressions that I used as well.
Are you ready?
Here we go.
Looks like we're back to square one.
Looks like we're back to square 1.
Looks like we're back to square one.
I said.
Looks like we're back to square one.
Did you get that one?
Let's talk about the pronunciation changes.
Notice the contraction were were.
This is we are as a contraction were Now notice how unstressed my pronunciation is.
It sounds like were not.
We're were.
This is how native speakers say it at a natural pace.
We're back we're back.
We're back we're back to this sounds like TA in real English.
TA.
We're back TA.
We're back to square one.
Now what does this mean to be back to square one?
Well, square one on a board game is the beginning of a board game.
So when you're back to square one, it means you're back to the beginning.
And you're back to the beginning, the start, because you tried something and it didn't work.
So you had a failed attempt and you have to try again.
Looks like we're back to square one.
It looks like we have to start again from the
beginning because our first attempt failed our next listening exercise.
I'll say it three times.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy, I said.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
First, let's talk about don't know at a natural pace.
This sounds like don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know, don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know if we can notice here.
We can trust when can is the auxiliary verb, so it's not the main verb.
We reduce this to kin, kin, and it's very unstressed sound.
I don't know if we can, if we can trust, if we can trust and notice you hear trust more
because it's the main verb and can, which sounds like kin, is very short.
Kin can trust, can trust.
I don't know if we can trust her.
Now here, we can get rid of that H sound and it just sounds like, uh, trust her.
But then you combine it to the word before.
Trust her, trust her, trust her.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's This is a contraction for she is she's pretty wishy washy.
What does wishy washy mean to be wishy washy?
This is when you have no clear or consistent ideas or decisions.
We generally use this as an adjective to describe someone who changes their mind,
changes the decision that they make frequently.
So that's why you don't know if you can trust her because she says she's going to come to your party
or help you move, but because she's wishy washy, tomorrow she might change her mind and say, oh,
actually I'm not coming to the party or I'm not going to help you move.
But then maybe the next day she changes her mind again and she does come to your party.
She's wishy washy.
I don't know if I can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
Our next listening exercise, I'll say it three times.
You got to give him props.
He's a real trooper.
You got to give him props.
He's a real trooper.
You got to give him props.
He's a real trooper, I said.
You got to give him props.
He's a real trooper You got to got to sounds like gotta you gotta you gotta give him.
Same thing we saw with her.
Get rid of the age and it will sound like M.
But you can combine it to the word before Give em, give em, give em.
You gotta give em props.
He's this is a contraction.
He is.
He's a real trooper.
Now what does this mean to give someone prompts.
This is when you give someone respect, credit, or recognition.
So let's say a Co worker of yours gets a really big client.
Well if you want to give your Co worker credit or recognition, you could say,
oh, we got to give him props and then you can celebrate his big achievement.
Let's talk about he's a real trooper.
When you describe someone as a trooper, to be a trooper,
this is someone who perseveres through hardship or difficulty.
So they persevere.
They keep going, they don't give up, they don't quit, they persevere.
And This is why you've got to give them props.
Because he didn't quit, even though it was difficult.
Because he's a real trooper.
Our next listening exercise, I'll say it three times.
Our successes and failures were writ large.
I said.
Our successes and failures were writ large.
Notice hour.
I did not pronounce this as hour.
I said RRA very reduced sound R our successes, our successes, our successes and failures here.
And when and comes between 2 nouns or even 2 verbs,
we reduce it to are successes and successes and failures.
Coffee and tea.
Successes and failures are successes and failures were writ.
Did you spell this starting with AR or with AW?
The West is silent, just like in the word right?
The West is silent, but in spelling it's there.
In pronunciation, it isn't writ large.
What does writ large mean?
This is an adjective that simply means to be very obvious.
So our successes and failures were very obvious.
Why is that?
Perhaps we work for a public company, and when we fail, the general public knows we failed.
But also, when we succeed, the general public knows we succeeded.
Because our successes and failures are writ large.
They're very obvious.
Are you ready for your last listening exercise?
I'll say it three times.
With a few twinks, it'll be good to go.
With a few tweaks, it'll be good to go, I said.
With a few tweaks, it'll be good to go.
Did you hear that contraction?
It'll it will sounds like it'll it'll it's a very soft sound.
It's easy to miss that.
Will it'll it'll it'll be, It'll be.
But without it, the sentence wouldn't be grammatically correct.
If I said it be that isn't correct, it will be.
It'll be it'll, it'll, it'll be good to go.
Just like we saw before, 2 is a reduced sound, an unstressed sound.
To good to go.
To To go.
To go.
Good to go.
What does this mean?
With a few tweaks.
Tweaks are changes.
Small changes.
So let's say you're writing a report and your boss or Co worker wants you
to remove this section and add this information.
That would be a tweak, A tweak.
You need to make a small change, a tweak with a few tweaks, with a few changes.
It'll be good to go.
When something is good to go, good to go, it means it's ready.
And we use this in two contexts, Ready to leave or ready to start doing something.
So let's say you and your friend are going to the movies.
Your friend could text you and say good to go.
Are you ready to leave?
And in this case it could be Are you ready to leave your house to meet me at the movies?
Good to go, good to go.
We use this a lot as native speakers.
In this context it'll it'll be good to go.
Something can also be good to go in the context of it's ready to start doing something.
For example, the new website will be good to go on Monday,
which means the new website will be ready, ready to start doing something,
ready to start receiving visitors, ready to be available to the public.
The new website will be good to go on Monday.
Now, the new website as a subject is it so if you already know you're
talking about the website, you can say it'll, it'll be good to go.
Now let's do an imitation exercise so you can practice
these natural pronunciation changes and practice these new expressions.
I'll say each sentence again three times in a row, and I want you to imitate my pronunciation.
Try to say just like me, Get all those pronunciation changes.
And I want you to say this out loud so you can do this as many times as you'd like to practice.
Looks like we're back to square 1.
Looks like we're back to square one.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
I don't know if we can trust her.
She's pretty wishy washy.
You got to give him prompts.
He's a real trooper.
You got to give him prompts.
He's a real trooper.
You got to give him prompts.
He's a real trooper.
Our successes and failures were writ large.
With a few twinks.
It'll be good to go.
With a few twinks.
It'll be good to go.
With a few twinks.
It'll be good to go.
Did you like this lesson?
Would you like me to make more lessons like this, testing your listening skills?
Well if you do, then put more, more,
more in the comments so I know you want more lessons just like this.
And you can get this free speaking guide where I share 6 tips on how
to speak English fluently and confidently.
You can click here to download it or look for the link in the description.
And why don't you get started with your next lesson right now?