10 ENGLISH TONGUE TWISTERS to improve your speaking skills

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on 10 English Tongue

Twisters. So, tongue twisters are a great way to help you practice your pronunciation

and to improve your speaking confidence. They are used by actors, singers, politicians,

anyone involved in public speaking. But it doesn't only have to be for someone who is at a podium

giving a public speech, although if you have to give a presentation at work or do a job interview,

they can be very useful to warm you up before you do that. But they are just a good and fun way

to help you practice your English. And, again, we're going to look at 10 of them.

And before I start, if you enjoy this video, make sure to subscribe to my channel on YouTube,

like the video, share it with your friends, laugh together as you try to say all of these

weird and fun tongue twisters. So, the first one, we're going to get started right away.

This is a little simple, I hope. It is "specific pacific".

I'm going to say that slowly one more time, and you can repeat it after me.

"Specific pacific".

So, this is helping you with your "sp" and "ps" sound, so you're not mixing up your "sp" with

your "ps" sounds. So, the goal of this tongue twister, you should be trying to say it like

three times fast, and the majority of the ones in this video are this way. So, I'm going to try it,

I'm going to do my best. And first, I'm going to start slow, and I'll see if I can get fast.

"Specific pacific", "specific pacific", "specific pacific", "specific pacific", "specific pacific",

"specific pacific". Sorry, I spat a little bit at the end. See, that one is tough. But I think I

did a pretty good job. So, let's try it one more time. It's your turn. Three times fast.

"Specific pacific", "specific pacific", "specific pacific", "specific pacific".

Close? Not bad, right? Okay, let's move on to the next one. "Fresh fried fish".

One more time. "Fresh fried fish". So, here you're practicing your "f" and your "fr" sounds,

and "f" sounds. So, one more time, three times fast, I'm going to speed it up. "Fresh fried

fish", "fresh fried fish", "fresh fried fish", "fresh fried fish", "fresh fried fish". Not bad,

not bad. Actually, I'm proud of myself there. So, let's see if you can do it. So,

repeat after me, I'm going to say it fast. "Fresh fried fish",

"fresh fried fish",

"fresh fried fish", "fresh fried fish", "fresh fried fish". Okay, that third one is always the

difficult one. So, again, hey, I'm an English teacher, but I also have a tongue and a mouth,

just like anybody else, and I can struggle with these as well, and have fun with them. Okay,

so let's look at the next one. Next, we have "friendly fleas and fireflies", "friendly fleas

and fireflies". So, repeat after me, "friendly fleas and fireflies". Okay, and this one really

helps people with, like, their "r" and "l" sounds. So, you have "friendly fleas", "fireflies". So,

you have the "l", "r" going back and forth. So, we're going to try this one more time.

Repeat after me, "friendly fleas and fireflies".

Okay, now I'm going to embarrass myself by trying to say this one three times fast.

"Friendly fleas and fireflies", "friendly fleas and fireflies", "friendly fleas and fireflies".

Ah, not bad. Okay, that was good. I feel confident. I practiced a little bit in my car,

actually, before making this video, so I feel good. I feel good. All right,

let's continue with the next one. "Rubber baby buggy bumpers", "rubber baby buggy bumpers".

So, this one is a classic from elementary school for many English speakers. So,

try... Repeat after me. We'll do slow at first. "Rubber baby buggy bumpers".

This one is not too bad. A lot of children use this one. So, let's try it three times fast now.

"Rubber baby buggy bumpers", "rubber baby buggy bumpers", "rubber baby buggy bumpers".

Wait, wait, wait. Okay, you ready? Okay, three, two, one, your turn. Go.

"Rubber baby buggy bumpers". Not bad? How do you feel? Okay, good. You got your B and your R's

going there. It's a lot of fun. Use that one with your kids. Let's continue to the next one.

"A proper copper coffee pot", "a proper copper coffee pot".

This one is actually quite challenging, even for me, if I don't slow down. So,

one more time. Repeat after me. "A proper copper coffee pot".

Good. And you'll notice, again, I live in Canada, so I'm using the Canadian/American

pronunciation. If you are doing this one in British English, it would be closer to...

Well, I might... Do I want to embarrass myself? "A proper copper coffee pot",

like similar to that. So, I'm just going to speak the way I speak, which is,

"A proper copper coffee pot". Let's try it three times fast. I'm not confident,

but let's give it a try. "A proper copper coffee pot", "a proper copper coffee pot",

"a proper copper coffee pot". Yes, not bad. Okay. All right, your turn. Three times fast.

Three times fast. "A proper copper coffee pot", three, two, one, go.

I was just doing it in my head, and I know I got tongue-tied while I was trying to do it,

like, quietly. All right, let's continue with the next one.

"She seized a sneeze", "She seized a sneeze".

Repeat after me, your turn. "She seized a sneeze".

Good. So, I guess she captured the sneeze before it, you know, before she sneezed. So,

"She seized a sneeze". So, here you have "sh" and "s", similar to "She sells seashells by the

seashore", which is another all-time classic and which you can listen to in my other Tongue

Twisters video. Yes, so, "She seized a sneeze". I think I can do this one. I feel good about this

one. So, three times fast. Here we go. "She seized a sneeze", "She seized a sneeze", "She

seized a sneeze". I think I was overconfident. "She seized a sneeze", "She seized a sneeze",

"She seized a sneeze". If you can't do it super fast, like, I clearly cannot with consistent

accuracy, it's okay. Slow it down. Repeat after me one more time. "She seized a sneeze".

Okay, not bad. We both feel embarrassed now, so let's go to the next one.

"Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". Repeat.

"Cooks cook cupcakes quickly".

Okay, so you have your "k" and "q", so you have "cooks cook cupcakes quickly". It's not too bad,

but I think once you try doing it quickly, like, "The cook's cooking the cupcakes quickly",

it can become a little challenging. So, let's give it a go. Let's try this one out.

"La la la la". Yes, I'm ready. "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly".

"Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". That's what it was, right? "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly".

Let me check my notes. "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". Yeah, that's the one. All right,

now it's your turn. Just, if you laugh, it's okay. So, one more time. I'm going to say it

fast, and I want you to repeat after me. "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". Three, two, one, go.

Not bad. Once you get into the rhythm, right, like, "Cooks cook cupcakes quickly". "Cooks cook

cupcakes quickly". It's kind of like a hip-hop song. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You

get it. All right, next one. "Eat it if it's easy". "Eat it if it's easy".

"Eat it if it's easy". Repeat after me. "Eat it if it's easy".

So, this one is quite useful if you have trouble with the "e" and "i" sounds in English. So,

"eat it if it's easy". So, you have the "e" at the beginning and in the final two vowel sounds. So,

"eat" and "easy". You have one on one side, one on the other, but in the middle,

you have "i", "i", "i". Actually, three "i's". So, one more time. "Eat it if it's easy".

Okay. So, I'm going to try this one three times fast. "Eat it if it's easy". "Eat it if it's easy".

"Eat it if it's easy". It sounds like a weird word, like, altogether in one. That one has a

lot of linking, so "eat it". So, let's try that. "Eat it if it's". "If it's easy". "If it's easy"

sounds like a cool word, actually. Okay. So, your turn. Just say it two times fast this time. So,

"Eat it if it's easy". Three, two, one, go. Okay. Not bad. Again, if you struggle with the "e",

"i" sound, it takes time. It's like me with the French "r". "Restaurant", "restaurant". It's kind

of like that. So, yeah. If you have the "e", "i" struggles, it gets better with time. Just

keep practicing, and a sentence like this is a great way to do it. Let's go on to the next one.

Okay. Let's see if I remember this one. "Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not".

"Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not". And I remember. Okay, good. So, repeat after me. First,

we'll do it in two parts. "Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not".

Okay. I'm going to try it three times fast. "Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not". "Ned Nott

was shot, but Sam Shott was not". "Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not". If I do the hard

"t"s, it sounds a little better, but it sounds more posh, I think. So, let me try that one more

time. I'm going to put my hand up like this, as if I'm sipping tea. "Ned Nott was shot, but Sam

shot was not". "Ned Nott was shot, but Ned Nott was shot". I messed up. Maybe you can do a better

job than I can at that one. So, try it one more time. "Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not".

"Ned Nott was shot, but Sam Shott was not". And let me know if it's easier with, like, the hard

"t" at the end, or if you do, like, the unreleased "t" in English. Like, "Ned Nott was shot". When

I do it that way, I find it more difficult than "Ned Nott was shot". That sounds a little easier

to me. And I want to do this when I say it, because I feel like drinking tea. Okay, we have

one more left, so let's do it. "I had a tough, thorough thought, though". "I had a tough,

thorough thought, though". Mm-hmm, it's true. So, let's practice this one. Repeat after me. I'll

slow it down, because we have a lot of "th" and a lot of spelling stuff that's happening, but

the pronunciation is inconsistent. "I had a tough, thorough thought, though". Mm-hmm. Okay, not bad.

So, I'm going to try this one three times fast. "I had a tough, thorough thought, though". "I had

a tough, thorough thought, though". "I had a tough, thorough thought, though". Yeah, that's not bad.

Okay, let's slow it down one more time, because I know with "thought", "though", "tough",

the pronunciation is different, even though the spelling is kind of similar in a lot of the words.

So, it's "I had a tough", I know it's "t-o-u-g-h", but it sounds like "t-u-f-f",

"tough", like "difficult". So, one more time. "I had a tough, thorough thought, though,

thorough". So, "thorough" means "complete" or "whole". So, one more time. We'll just do this

one one time. You guys have been wonderful, fantastic. I do not want to torture you right

at the very end. Let's take a deep breath. This is as much for me as it is for you. Okay.

"I had a tough, thorough shot". No, "thought", not "shot". That was Ned's shot with the Sam

Nott, something like that. Okay, one more time. "I had a tough, thorough thought, though".

Perfect. Okay, everyone. I really hope you enjoyed this video. Tongue twisters. These

are a fantastic way, like I said, to practice your pronunciation, to have fun when you're speaking,

to develop your enunciation skills, which can help you not only in public speaking situations where

you are the only person speaking in front of a group of people, or if you're an actor,

but in your everyday conversations. I already feel like I'm speaking a lot clearer after

doing these practices. So, if you feel that way, too, wonderful, fantastic. I'm happy to hear it.

And you do not have to do a quiz for this video because it's purely a pronunciation video,

which makes my job easier, too, because I don't have to write the quiz. Yay. But go back to the

beginning of this video, watch this again, repeat the tongue twisters, and check out the links in

the resources that are attached. Check out the resources in the description of the video. See,

now I'm all mixed up after all that talking and tongue twisting. I hope you feel okay, though.

This has been going on way too long. "I had a tough, thorough thought, though". Yeah. Thank

you so much for being with me. Good luck with all of your studies. I wish you nothing but success,

and I'm done. Bye.