Long Listening · Section 5

Seminar

At the beginning of every listening practice seminar, we always review the four essential elements of English listening comprehension.

Level: A2 · 446 sentences

Transcript

At the beginning of every listening practice seminar,
we always review the four essential elements of English listening comprehension.
Those elements are stress, reduced speech, linking, and phoneme distinction.
So If you want to improve your listening skills in English,
you need to improve in these four areas. Okay.
So let me show you an example of each one.
All right. I'm going to show you an example sentence.
My parents make an effort. Okay.
So first, let's look at the stress in this sentence.
In English, stress refers to how long
and loud we say each syllable or word, right?
So if a word or a syllable is stressed,
we say it longer and louder.
So listen as I say this sentence
and try to identify the stress. You ready?
My parents make an effort. My parents make an effort.
Listen again and watch my hand.
My parents make an effort. My parents make an effort.
You hear the stress. We have stress in this word.
My parents in this word make and in this word effort.
However, these two words do not receive stress.
So we don't say them very loudly
or we don't say them for a long time. Right.
Listen again. My parents make an effort.
So that is an example of stress.
Reduced speech is what happens when the words that are unstressed become reduced.
They become shorter. and faster and their pronunciation changes.
We have one example of that in this sentence.
This word right here, an, is not pronounced an.
It's reduced. This word is unstressed, so it's reduced.
It sounds kind of like this word, in, in.
Listen again. My parents make an effort. Make an effort.
Make an effort. Do you hear that word?
It sounds like in, right? Make an effort.
We don't say make an effort.
No native speaker says that. We say make an effort.
Make an effort. Right? That's an example of reduced speech.
You have to expect that when you're listening. Next, we have linking.
Linking is what happens when we have a word
that ends with a consonant sound
and the next word starts with a vowel sound.
For example, here we have a word that ends with a consonant sound.
K, right? Make. The E is silent, right?
Make. The next word starts with a vowel sound. In. In.
So what happens? The consonant from the end of this word goes
to the vowel at the beginning of the next word.
So we don't say make in effort. We say make in effort.
We carry the consonant to the next vowel, not make in,
make in, make in effort, make in effort, make in effort.
Here we have the same thing.
The N, the consonant, goes to the next vowel.
Inneford, neford. The N goes to the next vowel.
That is linking. Lastly, phoneme distinction.
A phoneme is a sound. A sound is a phoneme.
So when I say phoneme distinction, I mean
that you need to be able to distinguish between different sounds.
So for example, in the word parents,
we have this sound air, right?
Most students when they're at a beginner level
or maybe an intermediate level, they pronounce this word as parents par, right?
Like the word hard.
They see a R and they say are parents.
That's not correct. Native speakers do not say parents.
We say parents air like this word air.
So if you're expecting to hear this sound par parents,
you're not going to understand this word
when we say it with the correct sound air parents.
Right. So that's an example of phoneme distinction.
So these are the four essential elements that you need to improve
if you want to improve your listening skills.
So now we're going to look at a target paragraph.
I'm going to write a paragraph here
and we're going to analyze that paragraph for these four elements.
to see why it's difficult for you
to understand the paragraph when you hear it, okay?
But before I write our paragraph on the board,
I'm gonna read it first and we'll see how much you can understand.
You ready? Only adults enjoy espresso and other types of coffee.
I'll see if we have any
so that you can taste it, but you won't like it.
I tasted it at the age of four
and it was an utter disaster.
All right, how was that? Did you understand it?
That's okay if you didn't.
That's why we're here to practice your listening.
So I'm going to say it one more time
and this time you can read it.
Ready? Only adults enjoy espresso and other types of coffee.
I'll see if we have any
so that you can taste it, but you won't like it.
I tasted it at the age of four
and it was an utter disaster. Okay.
How was that? Was that a little bit easier?
Maybe a little bit, right?
Well, Now we're going to analyze this paragraph for those four essential elements
that we talked about to see why it's difficult for you
to understand these sentences when a native speaker says them.
So let's get started looking at it phrase by phrase.
So firstly, the first two words only adults, only adults.
So notice here in this second word where the stress is. Listen again.
Adults, adults. It's obviously in the second syllable, right?
Adults, adults. So this first syllable here,
this A at the beginning, is not pronounced normally. It's reduced.
because it's unstressed. So instead of saying adults, we say adults.
This sound is what we call the schwa sound.
This is the most important sound in English
because it's the most common vowel sound.
Listen again. For example, when we have the word
about, about, or the word occur, occur.
Do you hear that schwa sound? About, occur, adults.
This sound happens when a syllable is unstressed and reduced.
It doesn't matter which vowel we have.
A, O, E, I, U. It doesn't matter.
Any vowel can become the schwa sound when it's unstressed.
So you need to be careful when you're listening
because many students of mine, when I say this word,
adults, they say to me, what's dolts?
What does dolts mean? And I say, no, not dolts.
That sound is said so fast that they can't hear it.
They think I'm saying but I'm not.
I'm saying That's why it's very important
to identify this schwa sound when you're listening. So only adults.
Only adults. We don't say we say
Same thing with this next word here.
With this word, which syllable is stressed? Enjoy. Enjoy.
The second syllable, right? The first syllable is unstressed, and it's reduced.
We don't say enjoy. We say enjoy. I enjoyed it.
It sounds more like in, not n, right? Enjoy.
Enjoy it's very very fast right it's reduced Okay,
so adults enjoy and the next word
espresso We don't say espresso we say espresso
That same schwa sound right espresso espresso
because this syllable is unstressed and reduced Right.
So all three of those words have the same pattern.
Adults enjoy espresso. Only adults enjoy espresso.
If you listen to a native speaker and you hear that phrase,
you might only hear the second syllable. Adults enjoy espresso.
Right. So you have to be really careful
and listen for that schwa sound.
Okay. So next we have an other.
So when a native speaker speaks English,
they almost never stress this word.
The word and is usually not stressed, right?
It becomes unstressed and reduced.
So we say it kind of like this in, right?
Only adults enjoy espresso another, another, another.
We don't say and other because this word is not stressed. Another.
Another. So it becomes the schwa sound reduced. Another. Another.
Right? We don't try to make this sound as native speakers.
It comes out naturally
because it helps us get the right stress on the next word.
Another. If we say and other, you can't hear where the stress is.
And in English, the stress is the most important element of the pronunciation system.
So we always want to get the correct stress.
That's why the schwa sound occurs so much,
because we reduce the unstressed syllables and unstressed words.
Another, you need to be careful.
because this sounds like this word, another.
It's pronounced the same way, another, another.
So if you're not aware of this,
when I say this phrase, you might hear this word, right?
So you gotta be careful. You have to remember that this word
and is always reduced, another, another, okay?
So only adults only adults enjoy espresso
and other types of coffee types of coffee other types of coffee.
So when native speakers say this phrase at normal speed,
they don't say types of coffee, right?
The stress is only on these two words
types of coffee types of coffee types of coffee.
You hear that? This word is unstressed, right?
And in certain phrases, when the word of is unstressed,
it just becomes the schwa sound.
It just becomes, uh, or kind of like the word, uh, right?
Listen again. Types of coffee. Types of.
We don't even say the F. Types of coffee, right?
If we say this phrase, Right here.
This would be said cup of coffee.
We don't say cup of coffee.
We say cup of coffee. I want a cup of coffee.
Different types of coffee. You hear that?
The word of becomes reduced to the schwa sound. Types of.
Cup of. And notice our linking here.
Right? The ending S goes to the beginning vowel. Right? Type sa.
Type sa. So the sa becomes, or the s goes
to the next word and it becomes sa. Type sa. Type sa.
Ka pa. Ka pa. We don't say ka pa. Ka pa. Type sa.
Type sa. You hear that? That's linking.
Okay, and other types of coffee.
Let's go ahead with the next sentence.
So next we have this contraction, all.
This contraction is not pronounced aisle.
No native speaker says this. Listen again as I say it. I'll see.
I'll see. I'll see. It becomes this sound, all, all. I'll see.
I'll go. I'll do. I'll try. You hear that?
We don't say I'll.
We say all because these contractions are not stressed.
They're unstressed and reduced. Right. So we don't say I'll see.
We say I'll see. I'll see. I'll do. I'll try. It's unstressed.
Right. You need to be careful because
when we say this word, it sounds like this word.
So if you're not expecting that, you're going to think
that I'm saying this word, all, all, like A-L-L.
But no, I'm saying I'll, right?
I don't say that at normal speed.
I say all, I'll see, okay?
I'll see if we have any.
I'll see if we have any.
Let's look at this next part.
If we have any. I'll see if we have any.
First, Let's look at the stress.
I'll see if we have any.
I'll see if we have any.
So see and have are stressed, right?
So that means the other words have the possibility
to be unstressed and reduced. See if we.
These words are pronounced relatively the same way you would think.
I'll see if we. I'll see if we.
See if we have any. But what happens with this word here?
We don't pronounce it as any, right?
It kind of becomes like this, any, any.
So listen again. Have any, have any.
I'll see if we have any.
This A becomes reduced, right? Any, not any, any.
The schwa sound, any, have any.
So sometimes when I say this phrase,
My students think I'm saying this word or this contraction. Haven't.
I say haven't. They think I'm saying haven't. Listen to the difference. Haven't.
Haven't. You need to be careful
because they sound similar except for this last Y. Haven't.
Haven't. You need to expect this word to be reduced.
We don't say any day. We say any day.
I can go any day, any, any.
It sounds much faster, right? So at the end of this word,
it becomes even faster and we say have any, have any.
I'll see if we have any, have any, right?
You got to be careful with that because it
kind of sounds like this contraction, right?
So I'll see if we have any
so that you can taste it, so that you can taste it.
So that you can taste it.
All right. So that you can taste it.
This phrase or this group of words is pronounced very fast.
Right. So let's look at why that happens.
First, let's look at the stress so that you can taste it,
so that you can taste it, so that you can taste it.
Right. We have a little stress here and we have stress here
so that you can taste it, so that you can taste it.
So the other words can become reduced possibly, right?
This word is fine. So, but what happens with this word?
We don't say that so that it becomes reduced to that.
I know that he's here.
I don't say, I know that he's here.
I know that he's here. I know that you're mad.
I know that you're mad.
We don't stress this word in this structure.
If you say that, you are indicating something.
That light, that clock, that wall.
But here, we're not doing that.
We're introducing other information. So this word is not stressed.
We don't say
so that you can so that so that you can notice here
that the word can is also not pronounced can. Right.
It's pronounced can. Right. This is very important because can and can't
are pronounced very differently in our sentences. Right?
I don't say, I can go. I say, I can go.
Can is not stressed in our sentences. We say, I can. I can.
I can. He can. You can. We can. We can go.
He can go. I can go. You hear that?
However, this word right here, can't, is stressed.
So, I can't go. He can't go. We can't go.
Big difference, right? I can go. I can't go.
Big difference. So don't expect to hear native speakers say can.
We don't say that. We say can. He can. I can.
You can. So that you can go.
I forgot to mention this right here.
What happens when a word ends with a T?
And the next words is you, your, you'll, yours. Listen again.
So that you. So that you can go.
So that you can do. So that you can see.
So that you can taste. That you.
I know what you did. What do we have?
A CH sound. This is reduction, right? That you.
So that you can. That you can.
We don't say that you can. That you.
That you can. This happens all the time in English. Okay.
I know the chew. I know what chew. What chew. The chew.
Okay. So that you can taste it.
Notice here that this combination of words
might sound a little bit like this for some students. Taste it. Tasted.
The difference is that here we have a T sound and it's just it.
It. Like this. There's no vocal cord activation here.
There is tasted. I'm activating my vocal cords here. I'm not.
So listen again. Taste it. Tasted.
Do you hear that vocal cord activation?
Tasted. So be careful because here later we're going
to see the other word tasted.
Right. Okay, so that you can taste it.
So that you can taste it.
Let's go ahead with our next phrase here.
But you won't like it. But you.
We just saw this. When a word ends with a T,
and the next word is you,
your, yours, y'all, etc., this becomes a CH.
So it becomes like this. But you. But you.
We don't say but you. We say, but you, right?
But you won't like it, but you'll have to wait,
but you're not going to see it.
But you, but you're, but you'll, right?
So make sure you expect to hear that, right?
Don't expect to hear that you, but you.
Really notice when you listen to native speakers
that we combine these letters to make a CH, but you.
Really notice that when you're listening, okay?
All right, but you won't like it. You won't like it.
All right? This is fairly easy to understand, I think,
but I just want to point out the linking. Like it. Like it.
All right? So the K is the final sound here.
It's a consonant. Like. And the next word starts with a vowel. Right?
Like it. Like it. So here, we don't say like it.
We say like it.
So some students, they might think I'm saying liked
because they think that this word is pronounced like it
and they'll think like it, like it.
No, this word is not pronounced like it.
It's liked, liked. This phrase is like it, like it.
You hear that? All right. But you won't like it.
Let's move on here. I tasted it. All right.
Remember, I showed you that we don't pronounce these two the same way,
even though it might sound like that for you.
This is tasted. And this is tasted.
No vocal cords there, right? It's silent.
So taste it, tasted, right? I tasted it.
Here we have the next word, it.
So the final consonant goes to the next vowel. Tasted it. Tasted it.
Tasted it. Tasted it. Right?
That might be a little weird for you
to hear, but that's how we say it. Tasted it. Tasted it.
I tasted it. I tasted it at the age of four.
So here, this next word is also reduced.
Right? I tasted it at the age of four.
I tasted it the age of four. Right.
So this word has stress. This word has stress.
And this word has stress.
But the other words don't have that same stress.
So they can be reduced. This is a good example of that.
This word is pronounced exactly like this word.
So I tasted it at the age. At the age.
Right. If I say this phrase right here.
I don't say at the mall.
I say at the mall. I'm at the mall.
He's at the mall. The A becomes reduced, right?
Because of the schwa sound, right?
At the mall. I tasted it at the age.
Tasted it, it, it, it. Same thing practically, right?
At the mall. At the age. So this word is stressed.
This word is not right at the mall at the age.
I tasted it at the age of four, the age of four.
So let's look at this next phrase here.
The age of four of four.
So notice that here we have the number right for the age of four.
Right. However, when it comes to this word right here,
We do not stress this word.
So some students, they might get confused with the difference between four and four.
There should be no confusion because this word is stressed. Four.
I have four brothers. I have four dogs.
This word is not stressed. So this, let me write this phrase.
This is, oops, wrong word. This is for you.
I don't say this is for you.
No, we don't say for. This is for, for.
This is for you. This is for me.
This is for him. It's pronounced like this. For, for.
It's reduced. It's said very fast, right?
So you need to identify the difference in those sounds. For, right?
For versus for. For, for. I'm four years old.
This is for you.
So you should never get confused between those words, okay?
They're different phonemes, all right?
So I tasted it at the age of four.
At the age of four. And it was an utter disaster.
So here we have, and it was.
Remember with the word and, did we see that?
Yeah, up here. The word and becomes reduced, right?
And it was, and it was.
We don't say and it was.
And it, and it, and it was. We have linking here.
The N goes to the next vowel, init.
We don't say in it, init, init.
So it sounds like we're saying this phrase, right?
Be careful because you shouldn't understand
or you shouldn't interpret it as this phrase if we say this phrase.
And it was. And it was.
We're not saying in it. We're saying and it.
And it was an utter disaster. Was in.
Notice here we also reduce the word and to in.
And it was in. It was in. And we have linking.
Right? The final consonant goes to the beginning vowel, was-in, was-in.
And it was-in, was-in. So this word, sorry, this word, this word,
and this word are all pronounced the same in English.
In, in, in, same, right?
And it was-in, it was-in, and it was-in,
and it was an utter disaster. So we're almost done here.
Let me just show you this last phrase, an utter disaster.
So, an utter, an utter disaster. Utter just means complete.
It was a complete disaster, a total disaster.
So here, I want to point out first the linking,
the final N with the beginning vowel, an utter, an utter, right?
And notice that this word might be misinterpreted
and you might think I'm saying this word, another. An utter, another.
Many students might think I'm saying another disaster, but I'm not.
Listen again. An utter disaster. What's the difference?
We have a different phoneme here, okay?
This is d, d, a d sound.
Utter, water, bottle, utter, d, d.
This that voiced th sound the vibrated th
like the these this right be careful
because if you're a speaker of a certain language
maybe you don't have both of these sounds in your language
and you hear them the same way
but they're not the same sound utter
other notice my tongue utter other Other. Other. Right?
A different phoneme. An utter disaster. An utter disaster.
Okay, so we finished analyzing our target paragraph here.
So just to review, let's say it one more time and let's see
if it sounds a little bit easier for you to understand.
You ready? Only adults enjoy espresso and other types of coffee.
I'll see if we have any
so that you can taste it, but you won't like it.
I tasted it at the age of four
and it was an utter disaster. How was that?
Was that a little bit easier this time?
It might still be hard for you and that's okay.
The point of these seminars is not for you
to understand the paragraph perfectly, right?
I'm trying to help you identify those four essential elements,
the stress, the reduced speech, the linking,
and the phoneme distinction when you're listening.
So, I want you to take those elements,
those patterns, and apply them to your own listening practice.
Really listen for the stress.
Listen for the reduced speech, for the linking, and the different phonemes, right?
For example, when you hear this word now,
you shouldn't expect to hear And you should expect in.
Same with this one. In. In orange. In apple.
You should expect to hear that correct reduced sound.
So that's just one example.
You can take many examples from this paragraph.