COMPREHENSION LESSON

YES, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS!

In this lesson, we will shed light on the difficulties English learners face when
listening to native speakers. By exploring the underlying reasons behind
these challenges, you will receive practical tips to enhance your
comprehension skills and bridge the communication gap so you can have
clearer, more confident interactions.

Spoken English is Different from Textbook/School

English
The first point you need to understand is that spoken English is often
different from the English you learn in school, which we’ll refer to as
‘textbook English’. Now, this isn’t always true, of course, but I am talking
about casual, everyday English you’d use in your daily conversations.

When I speak in my YouTube videos, I speak at a slower pace, I carefully

choose my words, and I make sure my register is suitable for English learners.
I want you to be able to understand each word I say, but most native
speakers you meet on the street will not have this same mindset.

Here are some examples of how spoken English and textbook English might
differ from a grammar standpoint.

There are certain tenses and grammatical structures that are far more
commonly used in written English than they are in spoken English, like —
Passive Voice
The passive voice is a grammatical construction used to emphasise the
action or object rather than the subject or doer. It is often preferred in
academic writing, formal reports and professional documents.

Example:
The decision was made by the committee.

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Prepositions at the end of a sentence

You may have been taught that you shouldn’t end sentences with
prepositions; well, I’m here to tell you that native speakers do it all time.

It might be confusing to hear a random preposition at the end of a sentence,

but trust me, it is very common, like in these examples:

Who are you going with?

It honestly sounds way too proper to say:
With whom are you going?

She didn't know who to give the gift to.

Rather than the textbook English version:
She didn’t know to whom to give the gift.

Bending the grammatical rules

I also want to point out that we tend to bend other rules a bit when speaking;
for example, you might hear someone say:

"I haven't got any money." Which is common in spoken British English.
While in school, you’re most likely taught to say, “I don’t have any money.”

Another example of this is in the expression:

"Can't believe it!" where we drop the subject and utilise the contraction of
'cannot'.

You’re obviously taught in school always to include a subject, like “I cannot

believe it!” but that doesn’t always happen in conversation.

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Native Speakers Don’t Articulate: Connected Speech

One of the things I’m sure you will pick up on while listening to British
content or in conversations with your LanguaTalk tutor and native English-
speaking friends is that we love to squish our words together and get
information out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

This is known as connected speech, which refers to the way words are linked
together in natural, fluent speech. There are several key aspects of connected
speech you need to be aware of. I am not going to go too deep into this right
now, but I want you to be aware of certain features you will definitely hear in
spoken British English:
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Elision
Elision is the omission, or leaving out, of certain sounds in speech, often to
make pronunciation more efficient and fluid. In British English, the most
common example is the dropping of the final /t/ sound in words like 'not',
'but', and 'what'.

For example—
I don't know may be pronounced as I don' know.

Assimilation
Assimilation occurs when a sound changes to become more like a
neighbouring sound. In British English, this often happens with the /t/ and
/d/ sounds when followed by a /j/ sound.

/t/ + /j/ often sounds like /ʧ/ = got you → go-chew

/d/ + /j/ often sounds like /ʤ/ = would you → woo-jew

Intrusive 'r'
In British English, an /r/ sound is sometimes inserted between two vowel
sounds to make the transition smoother. This is particularly common in non-
rhotic accents, such as Received Pronunciation (RP).

For example—
law and order may be pronounced as law-r-and order

Linking 'r'
Similar to the intrusive /r/, the linking /r/ occurs when a word ending in 'r'
is followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound. In non-rhotic accents,
the 'r' is pronounced to connect the two words.

For example—
far away may be pronounced as fa-raway

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Weak forms
In connected speech, certain words are often pronounced with a reduced or
weak form. This is particularly common with function words, such as
prepositions, articles and auxiliary verbs.

For example—
to may be pronounced as /tə/ and and as /ən/.

Contractions and Unique Language Features

Next, we need to talk about contractions. I feel like contractions go hand-in-
hand with connected speech. Contractions, as I’ve talked about in a previous
video, refer to the shortening of words by combining two or more words
together. This process involves omitting certain letters and replacing them
with an apostrophe (').

In spoken English, native speakers pretty much always use contractions. For
example:

We don’t say: I am from England.

We say: I’m from England.

Uncontracted Contracted Pronunciation

I am I'm /aɪm/

/hiːz/
He is He’s /his/
/ɪz/

/ʃiːz/
She is She’s
/ʃiz/

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/jʊə(r)/
You are You’re
/jɔː(r)/

We are We’re /wɪə(r)/

They are They're /ðeə(r)/

/ʃiːz/
She has She’s
/ʃiz/

/hiːz/
He has He’s
/his/

It has It’s /ɪts/

I have I’ve /aɪv/

You have You’ve /juːv/

/wiːv/
We have We’ve
/wiv/

I had I'd /aɪd/

You had You'd /juːd/

She had She'd /ʃiːd/

He had He'd /hiːd/

/wiːd/
We had We'd
/wid/

They had They'd /ðeɪd/

I would I'd /aɪd/

You would You'd /juːd/

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He would He'd /hiːd/

She would She’d /ʃiːd/

It would It’d /ˈɪtəd/

/wiːd/
We would We'd
/wid/

They would They'd /ðeɪd/

I will I'll /aɪl/

You will You'll /juːl/

He will He'll /hiːl/

She will She'll /ʃiːl/

It will It'll /ˈɪtl/

/wiːl/
We will We'll
/wil/

They will They'll /ðeɪl/

Informal Contractions
Now, contractions aren’t usually used in formal writing, and they are more
commonly used in spoken English. But native speakers like to take it a step
further. We also use informal contractions, which combine two or more
words into shorter words, but they are quite informal and used in very casual
conversations, like in this sentence —

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I hafta go to the shops if you wanna come.

Rather than:
I have to go to the shops if you want to come.

These kinds of informal contractions are extremely popular and tend to

cause a lot of confusion for English learners, so the more familiar you
become with them, the quicker your listening skills will improve. Here are
some very common informal contractions:
used to = usta
kind of = kinda
lots of = lotsa
could have = coulda
I would have = Ida
she would have = sheeda
how + did/ do + you = how’dja
what + did / do + you = what’dja

Idioms and Slang

Finally, we need to talk about slang and idioms. As English learners, I am sure
you were taught to speak in a very direct form of English to say exactly what
you mean, but, unfortunately, native speakers don’t often speak in such a
way.

We tend to use a lot of slang and idioms because it adds colour and
character to what we are trying to say. I’m sure you do the same in your
native language.

Slang and idioms are often used to express ideas or emotions in a more
creative and nuanced way than standard, direct English, but this also tends
to make it challenging for English learners to understand. So, here are some
common slang terms that you will most likely encounter in daily
conversation.

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grub: food, particularly pub food.

lurgy: an unspecified mild illness or feeling unwell
dab hand: skilled or proficient at something
fit: attractive, in addition to being physically fit
merry or tipsy: slightly drunk, while "wasted" or "pissed" signifies being
heavily intoxicated
knackered: extremely tired
chuffed: very happy or pleased
gutted: feeling disappointed or upset
ear bashing: angry criticism or scolding
hacked off: annoyed or angry
rank: having a disgusting taste or smell
dodgy: something or someone suspicious, dishonest or potentially
dangerous
naff: something unsophisticated or tacky
skint: having no money
minted or loaded: very rich
faffing around or fannying around: wasting time or being indecisive
taking the piss (two meanings): mocking someone or something and
doing or saying something unreasonable

Additionally, here are some fun idioms for you to get started:

every cloud has a silver lining: encourages finding something positive in

a difficult or challenging situation
blessing in disguise: something that initially seems unfortunate but turns
out to be beneficial
spill the beans: revealing a secret or sharing confidential information
under the weather: feeling unwell or being in a slightly ill or low-energy
state
to cost an arm and a leg: to refer to something being very expensive or
costly
jump on the bandwagon: join or adopt a popular trend or follow
something that is currently fashionable or widely accepted

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QUIZ!
Choose the correct answer for each question.
1) What is the main difference between spoken English and textbook English?

a. spoken English is always formal

b. textbook English is more casual
c. spoken English is often more casual and less structured

2) What is connected speech?

a. a formal way of speaking

b. the way words are linked together
c. a type of slang

3) What is elision?

a. the addition of sounds in speech

b. the omission of certain sounds in speech
c. the repetition of sounds in speech

4) What is an example of assimilation in British English?

a. "could you" pronounced as "coo-jew"

b. "law and order" pronounced as "law-r-and order"
c. "far away" pronounced as "fa-raway"

5) Which of the following is an example of an informal contraction?

a. I'm sure he'll call you any minute now.

b. I hafta pick up milk on the way home.
c. I am new to the area.

6) I was ________ after paying my bills, so I had to wear a ________ outfit to the event, but I
still managed to have a good time.

a. mint; shredded
b. skint; naff
c. dodgy; minted

7) What does the idiom 'every cloud has a silver lining' mean?

a. there is always something positive in a difficult situation

b. clouds are always beautiful
c. silver is valuable

8) I've been feeling ________ lately, so I decided to take a day off and rest at home.

a. under the blue

b. under the weather
c. blue and sick
The End!
1) c 2) b 3) b 4) a 5) b 6) b 7) a 8) b

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