Podcast: Akihiro's Journey: Finding the Beat
Hello and welcome to English Listening Practice! I'm Les Perras, and for over twenty years I've been helping students improve their English listening skills. Today, we're starting a new series called "Akihiro's Listening Journey."
This series follows Akihiro, a young Japanese IT professional who struggles with English listening. In Each episode, he discovers a new technique that helps him understand spoken English better. Today's episode is about finding the rhythm in English speech.
Many learners from syllable-timed languages like Japanese, Spanish, or French find English rhythm challenging because English is stress-timed. Let's join Akihiro as he makes this important discovery!
Chapter One: Finding the Beat
Akihiro glanced around the conference table as his team discussed their project timeline. Six months into his job at Global Tech Solutions, he still struggled to follow many conversations. The words seemed to blur together like drops of water in a flowing stream.
"We need to finalize the report by Friday."
At least, that's what Akihiro thought he said. The sentence sounded more like "Weneedtofinalizetherepordbyfridy" to his ears.
"Can you complete your section by then?"
Akihiro felt his stomach tighten. Which report? This Friday or next Friday? He wasn't even sure what he was agreeing to, but everyone was waiting for his answer.
"I will do my best."
He replied with a small bow of his head.
Tanaka-san, the senior Japanese team member, gave him a knowing look from across the table. She had been in America for ten years and spoke English fluently. Akihiro wondered if she had once struggled the same way.
After the meeting, Akihiro returned to his desk feeling frustrated. In his technical skills, he excelled. But these simple conversations made him feel like a child. Why was listening so difficult?
During lunch break, Akihiro sat alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, replaying the morning meeting in his mind. At the next table, Sarah from marketing was practicing a presentation. Something caught his attention - as she spoke, she tapped her pen against her notebook in an uneven pattern.
"TAP THIS is TAP WHY our TAP CUStomers TAP NEED this TAP FEAture."
The tapping didn't match every word. Instead, it seemed to highlight certain parts of each word or phrase. Curious, Akihiro watched more closely.
Back at his desk, he quickly searched "English rhythm" on his phone. His eyes widened as he read:
"Unlike Japanese, where each syllable gets roughly equal time, English is a stress-timed language. Some syllables are stressed - longer, louder, higher in pitch - while others are reduced - shorter, quieter, often with an unclear vowel sound."
"Could this be why English sounds so different from Japanese?"
In Japan, his English teachers had never mentioned this fundamental difference.
Akihiro opened the meeting summary email on his computer. There it was: "We need to finalize the report by Friday."
He tried clapping softly as he said it aloud:
"we CLAP NEED to CLAP FINal-ize the reCLAP PORT by CLAP FRIday."
The rhythm felt strange, unnatural to his Japanese-trained ear. But he tried again, this time exaggerating the stressed syllables:
"we NEED to FINalize the rePORT by FRIday."
Akihiro remembered that his team recorded meetings for reference. He found today's recording and played Mr. Wilson's sentence again. This time, focusing on the stressed syllables, he could hear distinct words emerging from what had seemed like a single blur of sound.
"It's like finding the beat in music!"
The next morning, Mr. Wilson stopped by Akihiro's desk.
"Akihiro, about that report we discussed yesterday. Do you think you can—"
"We need to finalize the report by Friday," Akihiro said, completing the sentence in his mind, focusing on the rhythm. This time, he clearly heard each word.
"Yes, I can complete my section by Thursday afternoon. I have already started working on the data analysis."
"Great! Your English listening has really improved recently."
Akihiro smiled. If only Mr. Wilson knew that just yesterday, he had barely understood the same sentence.
As Mr. Wilson walked away, Akihiro opened a new document on his computer. At the top, he typed:
"Listen for the STRONG-weak-STRONG-weak pattern in English."
"Japanese: every syllable equal (ta-ke-shi, ku-ro-sa-wa) English: only stressed syllables strong (COMputer, toMORrow)"
During the afternoon meeting, Akihiro found himself hearing more words clearly than before. The rhythm of English was beginning to make sense. It was like finding the beat in a strange new song – once you hear it, you can't unhear it.
That evening, as Akihiro rode the train home, he practiced with advertisements he saw: "BEST price GUARanteed," "CALL us TOday."
One small discovery, but it felt like opening a door that had been locked for years.
He smiled to himself. Tomorrow would be easier than today.
And that's how Akihiro discovered his first listening technique: finding the rhythm in English speech!
To practice this yourself, try these simple steps:
- Listen for stressed syllables - they're longer, louder, and higher in pitch
- Notice the pattern of strong-weak-strong-weak in English
- Practice clapping or tapping the rhythm of sentences
- Remember that important words usually receive stress
Join us next time when Akihiro discovers another powerful technique: breaking sentences into manageable chunks!
Thanks for listening to English Listening Practice. Don't forget to subscribe and practice what you've learned today!