Native speakers speak too fast. How can I practice catching what they say?
Many students think the speed is the problem. It's often actually not understanding connected speech that is the problem.
If native speakers said each word separately, it would be very easy to understand them. But this is not the way native speakers talk.
Understanding the rules of connected speech will help you understand why sounds disappear, sounds change, and new sounds appear. We have a Pronunciation course* that will teach you these rules.
After you understand the rules of connected speech, you need to practice connecting the sounds your ears hear the words the speakers are saying.
A good way to do this is to watch a video with subtitles (eg. TedTalks) and adjust the speed. This will make it easier to keep up with the speaker and will give your brain more time to connect the sounds to the words.
*If you don't have the Pronunciation course but would like to find out more, please contact us.
