Do you struggle to understand native speakers?
Maybe you can understand your teacher in the classroom.
You can understand me right now.
But when you're watching a movie or TV or you're out in the real world, talking to your
co-workers, you struggle to understand them.
Does that ever happen to you?
Well, don't worry, because I'm going to share.
Six.
Simpler ways to understand, native, speakers easily, and these tips work, welcome back
to JForrest
English, of course, I'm Jennifer.
Now, let's get started.
What do you mean?
She can't make it.
Did you hear what I just said?
What do you mean?
She can't make it.
I
said,
what do you mean?
She can't make it, but, of course, I didn't say it like that.
I said, what do you mean?
She can't make it notice how I said, what do you?
What do you?
What do you mean?
This is called connected speech and native speakers.
Love, connecting their speech.
But of course, this makes it difficult for you to understand us.
So, let me share the most common connected phrases that you need to know the first one,
of course, whattya wadiya.
What do you mean?
What are you doing?
What do you want?
How do you know she can't make it?
Did you catch this one?
How do you, how do you how?
How do
you, how do you know what you doing this weekend?
Did you get this one?
What are you becomes?
What you, what you what you, what you doing this weekend?
So make it your goal to learn these connected phrases but for now, focus on the top three,
you need to know.
What do you how do you?
And what you, how about this one?
How are you going to get to the mall?
How are you?
That's a connected phrase.
How are you?
How are you gonna now?
This is a reduction.
We take two words going to and we reduce it into one gonna.
These are informal, they're very casual, but they're frequently used in spoken English.
I got to go.
I'm sure you know, this one got to sounds like
Gotta I gotta go give me a break.
Gimme gimme, gimme a Break.
Give me sounds like gimme.
I don't know, I don't know.
I don't know as a reduction, I don't know.
I want to go to the movies.
Want to becomes wanna start with these and pay attention and keep adding more reductions
to your speech.
Each will be there at 5:00.
We'll be there at five.
We will be there at 5:00, we'll be there.
We'll we'll this is a contraction.
We take two separate words and we form one word.
The thing you need to know about contractions is that they are grammatically correct.
You can use them in your spoken English and your writing.
And although they do sound more.
Casual.
They are grammatically.
Correct.
I would never say it is.
It is a hot day.
I would say it's a hot day.
It's,
it's it's a hot day, I would not say she is my friend.
I would say she's my friend, she's my
friend
now because of this students might not get the verb because it's in a contraction, you
must learn contractions.
If you want to understand native speakers, let's start with the
Most common it is it's
there
is there's I have I've you are your should not shouldn't will not won't start with these
and keep adding contractions to your speech.
It will help you understand.
Native speakers.
Let's try that listening exercise from the beginning.
Again.
What do you mean?
You can't make it?
It.
What do you mean?
You can't make it?
I'm sure you already understand this, a lot more because you now understand the connected
speech.
But did you also know I said, make it, make it.
Now, if you looked at each individual sound, it
sounds like may hit.
So you might be thinking May
the month of May April, May and kit like a Kit Kat.
Bar, I don't understand.
This is linking, linking is when we take a sound from one word, and we put that sound
on the next word.
We do this in English to help us connect our speech and smooth our pronunciation.
So we can speak without pauses, make it notice, there's that on make, but it forces me to
Take a pause, make it.
So to get rid of that pause, I take that and I put it on the next word, make it may kit.
Let's try another listening exercise, you shouldn't walk alone at night.
Now I used a contraction should not be comes, shouldn't you shouldn't and then I said walk
alone.
But again there's that sound
So I take that k sound, and I put it on the next word and it becomes, wha cologne, but
cologne sounds a lot like a men's perfume which we call cologne for women is perfume.
But for men, it's cologne.
So this can cause confusion because you might think I just said, cologne, meaning men's
perfume but this is part of Walk Alone.
Walk Alone walk
Alone with linking the best way to get comfortable with linking is to study native speakers.
So, instead of listening to an entire 30-minute episode, just listen to one sentence on YouTube
or on TV and pause and listen to that sentence many many times and really get comfortable
with how those sounds are pronounced together.
And really get comfortable with how those sounds are pronounced at a natural pace.
Let's try a listening exercise.
I got a lot of merch.
I got a lot of merch here.
I used a reduction.
A lot of is pronounced A. Lotta a lot of.
Now, what is merge?
Maybe you understood the sound you understood?
I said Marie.
Merch.
But you have no idea what that means.
That's because native speakers.
We shorten words all the time for no reason.
This is very casual and informal but it's done in both a professional and social context.
So, merge is short for merchandise.
If you work in a company that's buys and sells products, most likely your co-workers will
say merge and you might not understand what they mean.
I mean that's a Fab dress Fab is short for fabulous.
I have to take my cat to the vet.
That is short for veterinarian.
Are we meeting at HQ HQ is an acronym for headquarters, which is the head office, the
main office of a company but pretty much everyone calls it HQ.
So when you're studying native speakers, listen for the shortened words,
And just make a list of them and keep adding the most common ones to your speech.
Let's try another listening, exercise.
You got to cut it out, you gotta cut it out.
I used a reduction, got to gotta, you gotta cut it out, cut it out, cut it, cut it out
now, maybe you heard the what and you're thinking, hmmm, what does Jennifer have to cut out?
Does she have to cut something out?
But no, because this is an idiom.
So, to understand, native speakers, you have to learn phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions
because we use them all the time.
Take a look at this article from Forbes Magazine.
Now, everything I have underlined is either a phrasal verb, an idiom or an expression
and they don't have literal meanings.
So maybe you understood the word cut.
But that doesn't help you understand my message because it doesn't have a literal meaning.
Now, there are hundreds and hundreds of phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions, but don't worry
because I have many video tutorials on my channel already, so make it your goal to add
one, one a day.
One phrasal verb, idiom or expression a day and that will be 365 in one year.
And by expanding your vocabulary, with these
Phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions.
It will really help you understand, native speakers.
So, now you know exactly what you need to do to understand native speakers.
So, which are you going to focus on first, which do you have the most difficult time
with?
And if it's number, six, phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions.
I want to tell you about the finally fluent Academy.
This is my premium training program, where we study native English speakers on TV.
Movies and YouTube so you can improve your listening skills.
A fast English.
Expand your vocabulary.
Learn Advanced grammar.
Learn correct pronunciation all at the same time.
So you can look for the link in the description for more information on how to join.
And before you go, make sure you download your free speaking guide to speak English,
fluently and confidently.
In six.
Easy steps, you can click here to download it or look for the link in the description
and you can get started with your next lesson, right?
Now.