Tongue Twisters… Do we really need ‘em?

Hey everyone, it's Hadar.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Today, we are going to talk about something that some people might

experience as very painful and tedious and annoying, and others might find it

fun, joyfully challenging and exciting.

That thing is tongue twisters.

I noticed that recently I've started uploading more and more tongue

twisters here and on my Instagram page.

Which by the way, if you're not following me there, then what are you waiting for?

I'm posting something interesting and educational every single day, almost.

So, come and follow me at @hadar.accentsway if you want to

learn more and you really want to establish our relationship.

I think it's time, no?

I mean, we're ready for it, you and me.

Let me know in the comments, if you're ready to take it to the next step.

Anyway, tongue twisters.

So, I personally love tongue twisters for many different reasons, but I know

that some people love it, just like I do.

And some people really hate it.

So in this video, I want to talk about why I think it could be beneficial.

But I also want to turn this into an opportunity to discuss your

responsibility as a learner, and your responsibility to know your boundaries

and what's right for you and what's not.

And to be okay with it.

Because, you know best, my friend, you know best.

So, this is what we're going to talk about too.

And an opportunity for me to collect all the tongue twister videos that

I've ever created - there are a lot of them - and to put them in one place.

And this is what I'm going to do as well on my webpage.

So I'm going to link to my webpage with all the tongue twister videos

that I have created thus far.

So you can see tongue twister videos from six years ago, too.

We're all evolving, what can I say?

We're all evolving.

By the way, if you're new to my channel and this is the first time you're

seeing me, then hello, nice to meet you.

My name is Hadar.

I'm a non-native speaker of English.

And I am here to help you gain confidence, gain clarity, and start

enjoying communicating in English every single day of your life.

So I have a ton of resources for you on my Instagram page and on my website.

So, all the links are going to be below this video.

And subscribe to the channel if you dig this video.

Anyway.

Tongue twisters, why I like him twisters so much.

First of all, I'm always up for a fun challenge, right?

When something is demanding in a way that is, you know, the

consequences are not that high, but it requires me to do something that

is out of the ordinary - I like it.

Right?

I think it's good.

I think in a safe environment, it's also fulfilling.

And I think that when you are able to accomplish something that is challenging

because tongue twisters are challenging for native and non-native speakers alike.

Right?

I don't think that we need to have that distinction that only native

speakers should do tongue twisters.

Because it's hard either way, right?

In our own native language, it's hard.

So, I think that a good challenge is always great, and feeling accomplished

after you achieve something is a good feeling to have, right?

Even if it's just a tongue twister.

And you can show off to your friends and say something like, [a tongue

twister in another language].

That was not in English, by the way.

Just saying.

Anyway.

So, a good challenge in, you know, English is good for you.

To be able to accomplish something that is very, you know, feasible, and you

can see that you were able to do it.

Another reason why I like it is because it organizes the sounds in

a way that regular speech does not.

Okay?

So yes, if we have speech exercises, that helps you organize your sounds.

But if you don't have access to it, tongue twisters are challenging

because there's always this distinction between very similar vowel

sounds or consonant sounds, right?

For example, 'Cheap Sheep Soup' - 'ch' - 'sh' - 's'.

Right?

Those three sounds could be challenging for some speakers or for all speakers.

And the organizing it in your head and making sure that your mouth is making

those sounds - that you're not just thinking them - is another advantage.

Right?

Which gets me to the next part.

Not only that it organizes the sounds in your head, it also helps you understand

if what you're doing with your mouth is aligned with what you're thinking.

Especially in English.

Where, you know, we can't take for granted what the mouth is doing

versus what the head is thinking.

Because sometimes the mouth is just going back to old habits, which is how we

pronounce things in our first language.

So this is why I think it's really important to look at short segments

of speech, organize the sounds in your head, understand the challenge, right?

What's tricky here - is it the vowels?

Is it the consonants?

Which consonants?

Do I even have those consonants in my native language?

If I do, what do I need to do differently?

And then to say it.

It also teaches you to be patient with yourself.

Because you cannot hear a tongue twister and do it quickly right away.

Most people cannot.

I mean, maybe you can, but most people cannot.

I definitely cannot look at a tongue twister and be like, "Let me do it right

away" in neither language that I speak.

So, it teaches you to be patient with yourself and to start slowly.

Which is something that you need to start doing when learning almost everything:

words, grammar rules, new sounds.

But because it's a tongue twister and it's a challenge, you give yourself

permission to actually do that.

And I think that's great - to start slowly and gradually start speeding up.

Which is by the way, the best way to learn tongue twisters: to organize the

sounds, to understand the challenge, to start really, really slowly; and

then gradually to go a little faster.

And when you go a little faster, you're teaching your mouth to pay attention

and to listen to you, to listen to your brain, right, not to do its own

thing and not to go back to old habits.

Right?

So you're actually practicing control and you're practicing being

consistent with your speech sounds.

Which is a great skill to have.

So yes, you may not use the phrase "cheap sheep soup" on your

day-to-day life, at least I hope so.

But when you do that, it would be a lot easier for you to tackle

similar challenging transitions or phrases when you're speaking.

So that's another reason why I absolutely love it.

Now, before I get to my final point, and that is your responsibility as a learner,

I just want to say that there will not be any tongue twisters in this video.

Because this is a strategy video - how to improve your learning process, how

to improve your communication abilities.

But if you want those tongue twisters, then I've prepared a list for you.

It's on my website, just click the link below.

Or right here, somewhere on the video.

I never know where to point.

And I'm sure you've seen videos of me pointing somewhere saying

you can download it here.

And then, you know, the button is all the way there.

So I'm just pointing here.

The last thing I want to talk about is your responsibility as a learner.

Because no matter what I'm saying here, and no matter what it is that

I'm thinking about tongue twisters and whether or not you believe me - if it's

not right for you, you should be very clear about your own strategy and about

the fact that this is not your thing.

Don't try to do it because I make videos about tongue twisters or someone else

makes videos about tongue twisters.

Don't try to do it because you think it's something that you need to do.

If you did test it and despise it and, you know, you start itching

every time you see a tongue twister video, you do not need to do it.

There are a hundred other ways in which you can improve.

Which, you know, a lot of those ways you can find on my channel.

There are so many different ways for you to improve and practice your

pronunciation and practice your perception and practice your listening skills.

And tongue twisters do not have to be a part of that.

Which again, like, I want you to know that you always need to check in with

yourself what works and what doesn't.

Because there isn't a 'one size fits all' when it comes to English learning.

And not everything that you hear or not every piece of advice that you

hear - even from someone that you respect, like your teacher or someone

that you follow - is right for you.

Right?

So, you know best.

Trust your intuition, trust your gut and listen to it.

Because if you force yourself to do something that does not feel right,

that makes you feel like a loser, that makes you feel like a failure

- which you know, that's definitely not the point - then don't do it.

Really, don't do it.

And you will advance and succeed anyway.

But just make sure to check in with yourself and ask yourself, "Am I

feeling this because it's hard and I don't want to challenge myself?

Or is it really something that does not click with me or is not aligned with

everything that I love or enjoy doing?"

Right?

So make sure it's not the challenge that scares you, right, or maybe a

few failed attempts, but that it's really something that you don't like.

Because if it's just the challenge that scares you, I would encourage

you to try it out anyway.

Now, if you're a member of the InFluency community - which is our free community

for non-native speakers from around the world to practice and connect - then

when I post this video, I'm going to do an interesting tongue twister challenge.

And that tongue twister challenge is not going to be an English

tongue twister challenge, but in your own native language.

So, I am going to invite you to make a video and post it with you teaching us

a tongue twister in your own language.

So if you're not a member of the InFluency community, I

highly encourage you to join us.

The link to join is also going to be in the description below.

And if you're listening to this on the podcast, because I also

have a podcast, then the link is going to be in the description.

All right.

So, thank you so much.

I hope that I've convinced you.

I've made a case for tongue twisters.

And if you still hate it, let me know in the comments below, or just

put an emoji that will represent how you feel about tongue twisters.

Have a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful rest of the day.

And I'll see you next week in the next video.

Bye.