How to Understand FAST Spoken English

Can you understand this clip? On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success. And what about this one? So I go in, this is like, I'm on Estirant Live, I guess, or something. I don't remember really when it was. And what about this one? The point is, when you are the speaker, you are the captain for that journey, and how you show up really matters. Okay, one more for you guys. You got a whole lot of nerve to come say and ask me where I'm going. I come and go as I please. I don't answer my father. I ain't gonna answer no man neither. I bet these clips were easy to understand. But with these ones, you had trouble. So why does it happen? Why can't we understand native speakers, especially when they talk fast? Let's break it down. You understood clips one and three because they were public speeches. And such speeches are made to be clear. Clear pronunciation, pauses, nice structured sentences. But clips two and four were spontaneous, natural, the way natives speak in real life. In this video, we'll learn five tricks. And once you master them, you'll finally open the door to the magical world of understanding native speakers. Spoiler, slowing the video down isn't the answer. So get comfy, grab some tea, and let's get started. And we'll start with the first trick, linking sounds. This is one of the main reasons natives sometimes sound like aliens. They're just really good at linking, blending words together. And once you start doing it too, everything becomes so much easier to understand. Let's break down the main types of linking with examples. And we'll start with double consonants. Sometimes two same consonants at the end of one word and the start of the next blend together. Let's look at some examples. Pushing becomes stop pushing, stop pushing. Big game becomes big game, big game. And take care becomes take care, take care. Take care. Best time becomes best time, best time. But it's not always the same consonant. Sometimes different consonants merge or the first one drops. So most people becomes most people, most people. And fast runner becomes fast runner, fast runner. And old man sounds like old man, old man. All right, moving on to the next one. Consonant plus vowel. It is the most common linking. Here a word ending in a consonant blends straight into vowel at the start of the next word. It's super common. And let's look at some examples. Pick it, pick it. Turn on, turn on. Make it, make it. In a minute, in a minute. And finally, vowel plus vowel. When one word ends in a vowel and the next one starts with a vowel, speakers often add tiny sounds to link them smoothly. For example, go out sounds like go out, go out, go out. Do it sounds like do it. Again with a W. Do it, just do it, man. Fly over sounds like fly over, fly over, fly over. She asked sounds like she asked, she asked. And go in, go in, go in. Go on, go in. And the most important, I am, I am, I am. Two apples, two apples, two apples. Do you hear this tiny W sound? A word W. But you may ask, Julia, how to practice linking? My advice, use phrasal verbs. Linking sounds the most natural with them. Let's look at some examples. Take it off, take it off, take it off. Put it on, put it on, put it on. Put out, put out, put out. Go away, go away, go away. Check it out, my favorite one. It becomes check it out, check it out. And break it down, break it down, break it down. And guys, you may start with separate chunks like at all, at all, at all. Or give up, give up, give up. And then move on to sentences. For example, I have no idea what he said. I have no idea what he said. Or take it off and put it on the table. Oh my God, such a long sentence. Take it off and put it on the table. Sounds like a robot. Instead, try to say it like take it off and put it on the table. Take it off and put it on the table. Yes, shadowing after a speaker is pure magic for your ears. I have a separate video on how to practice speaking with shadowing. Definitely check it out. In the meanwhile, write down your favorite linkings in the notebook and do a daily mini workout. Just like with real exercise. A little, but regularly, and you'll see real results. All right, let's move on. And trick number two, diversify your listening practice. To understand different types of speech, you need to listen to different kinds of English. How will you suddenly understand movies in their original if the only thing you listen to is educational videos on YouTube? I get it, you want to stay in your comfort zone. If you want to understand real English, you need to go beyond it. Here's a ready-made plan. Start with 6-minute English from BBC Learning English and then add 2-3 minutes of your favorite show, podcast, movie, interview. Listen consistently and combine slow educational content with fast speech. Get your ear flexible. I also have a video on the best YouTube channels to learn English. Definitely check it out. And guys, don't forget to choose material you actually enjoy. All right, trick number three, learn common contractions. Natives simplify speech. How do you speak your own language? You don't pronounce every word clearly. English works the same. We think natives talk fast, but in reality, they use contractions, reduce sounds, and drop syllables. Let's go through the most common contractions. Let, me, lemme, lemme, give, me, gimme. Kind of, kinda, kinda, sort, off, sorta, sorta, out, off, outta, get outta here, outta, have to, hafta, hafta, do you, dare, dare, like, dunno here, what are you, whatcha, whatcha doing here, whatcha, and trying to, tryna, tryna, don't know, dunno, Now let's level up and try them in sentences. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go. Guys, don't forget to repeat after me. Lemme see, lemme see, lemme see, I'm kinda tired, I'm kinda tired, I'm kinda tired. Practice them regularly and trust me, your brain will get used to it. By the way, I have even more of this in my video, How to Speak Fast and Understand Natives, where you'll find 20 minutes of practice and 10 amazing tips. So, after this video, go check it out. Okay, tip number four, be ready for chaos. Don't expect native speakers to talk in textbook perfect sentences. They interrupt themselves, interrupt each other, change their thoughts mid-sentence, talk fast with no pauses, and of course, they use slang, fillers, contractions. And guys, it's normal, at first it feels uncomfortable, and that's exactly how it should be. You need to be like water, adaptive and flexible. For example, you're talking about weekend plans, and your brain is already tuned into certain words and grammar. Then suddenly, the other person remembers some story from work and starts telling it with a ton of details. Don't panic, relax, stay present. My advice, focus on the main idea, not every single word. Even if you miss a few details, your brain will gradually catch more and more. And finally, trick number five, use slang and fillers. These days, knowing slang is almost as important as knowing the basics of grammar. Words like sick, and I don't mean feeling ill, slay, vibe, they're everywhere. So, I definitely recommend getting comfortable with slang. Here are some common examples with alternatives you can use. She looks good. She's got aura. I'm going to sleep. I'm a slump. He's charming. He's got reese. I like vibe more. Such an ugly word. I want to get some coffee. I want to grab some coffee. It's not important. It's not a big deal. Let's relax. Let's chill or relax. Take it easy. This party is amazing. This party is sick. This party is sick for a party. All right, I'm too old for this. Use fillers. Let's get down to fillers. Fillers give your brain a second to think and make your speech sound casual. Some examples are, um, um, like, you know, I mean. Again, let's look at some examples. I was, like, walking to the store and, you know, I ran into an old friend. Old friend. He's, um, not really sure what to do next. I was going to call her. I mean, if she's free, maybe we can meet. Again, guys, pause, rewind the video and practice saying them out loud with me. And please don't overdo it. A few fillers here and there make your speech natural, but too many can make it messy. And that's it for today. Start practicing these tips, and I promise your English will sound way more natural in no time. Pick one or two to focus on at first and slowly add the others. Keep listening, keep speaking, and don't forget to have fun with it. Thank you, guys, for being with me today. Don't forget to like, subscribe to my channel, and I'll see you in the next video.