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Master English FAST

Have you ever felt stupid for pronouncing something wrong?

Well, a couple of days ago I felt pretty stupid because I pronounced something CORRECTLY.

https://youtu.be/tHU7grkPb9s

The philosophical question here is, which is the correct pronunciation?

In one sense, saying the word using English accent and stress is clearly wrong — that’s just not how the word is pronounced in Japanese. But then again… I wasn’t in Japan.

I was in the Philippines.

When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do, right?

Technically, in this context, the correct pronunciation is actually the incorrect one. You can argue that it’s not… but ultimately, my pronouncing it correctly wasn’t understood making it incorrect.

The point is…

Context is everything when it comes to “correct” English

I go into this in detail in my book Master English FAST (you can read the first chapter for free if you like), to speak English really well, just knowing the language isn’t enough. You’ve got to know how to use your Englis flexibly depending on the context (and the culture) of the person you’re speaking too.

Anyway, hopefully that’s food for thought.

Best,
Julian Northbrook

P.S. A sure sign that someone isn’t very good at English is that they’ll correct people’s English, saying things like…

“Shouldn’t it be blah blah?”

Without understanding that… yes, context is EVERYTHING.

Read the first chapter of my book here.

In this video and the next few, I’m going to talk about the “Shadowing” technique.

Niloufar asks:

Hi Julian.

Shadowing is a really good method. But I have an idea. Don’t you think it’s better not to copy the voice of speaker simultaneously? I feel it’s better to copy it after the speaker in order to hear our own voice.

What do think?

First off, Shadowing isn’t a method. It’s an exercise. So what you’re asking is kind of like saying asking whether push-ups or bench presses are better. Or to use another example, whether plum tomatoes are better than cherry tomatoes in a salad.

The answer is…

It depends on what you want to do.

This video explains everything:

Shadowing is an extremely effective exercise. But it has to be part of a complete system. Just like you wouldn’t JUST do bench presses and expect to improve all areas of your fitness, you can’t JUST do shadowing and expect it to work.

Cheers,

Julian Northbrook
The Langauge Punk

P.S. If you’re not sure how to integrate shadowing into your overall English-learning routine, grab yourself a copy of my book, Master English FAST. I walk you through the English-mastery process, step by simple step. Click here to download the first chapter for free.