Shadowing English with Emma Watson

HeForShe campaign speech, United Nations (2014)United Nations · start from the beginning

• Video: HeForShe campaign speech, United Nations (2014), from the United Nations channel · watch it on YouTube
• Length: 13 min · 103 caption lines
• Speed: a typical line runs at about 130 words a minute by the caption timing
• Accent: British (the introduction in the UN video calls her a British actor). A label for the variety of English, not a promise about anyone’s voice.
• Practice lines: 11 on this page, each with the exact times of its caption line

Who is Emma Watson?

Emma Watson is a British actor, best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. In the video below she is the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, introducing the HeForShe campaign to the United Nations.

Why practise with Emma Watson?

It is a prepared speech, so the sentences are complete and the words are clear. The United Nations published it with human-written captions, so what you practise matches what is said, and there are 103 caption lines. A typical line runs at about 130 words a minute by the caption timing, which leaves room to say a line after her. The speech has stretches of applause, and the lines chosen below skip them. The second video is a relaxed Vogue video, for hearing the same speaker in an easy, everyday register.

Practice lines, with what to listen for

Each line is one caption line of the video, with its time. Press a line to open it in Sada, ready to record, then read the note under it before you listen.

HeForShe campaign speech, United Nations (2014) · United Nations

1. 1:08 Today, we are launching a campaign called HeForShe.

   An opening statement that ends on a name. Listen for where the stress falls, and whether the name gets a beat of its own.

2. 1:15 I am reaching out to you because we need your help.

   Short and direct. Listen for how “reaching out” and “need your help” are said, and whether “I am” at the start is said in full or as “I’m”.

3. 1:19 We want to end gender inequality, and to do this we need everyone involved.

   There is a comma in the middle. Listen for what the voice does at the comma, and whether “need everyone” runs together.

4. 1:28 This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN.

   Listen for “of its” and “kind at” running together, and for which word in “the first campaign” carries the most weight.

5. 2:41 I was confused being called "bossy".

   A memory from when she was eight. Listen for the stress on “confused” and “bossy”, and how quickly “being called” is said between them.

6. 3:58 Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?

   A question that starts with “Why”. Listen for where the voice goes at the end, then compare with the yes-or-no questions in the question intonation guide.

7. 4:05 I am from Britain and I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts.

   A long line that opens a run of sentences built the same way (“I think it is right that…”). Listen for which words she leans on in this one, then check whether the next lines repeat the pattern.

8. 10:50 "If not me, who?"

   The first of two short questions that come one after the other; the next line, “If not now, when?”, follows it in the same shape. Listen for where each one stops.

Inside Emma Watson’s Prada Backpack | In The Bag (Vogue) · Vogue

1. 0:05 Hi, I'm Emma Watson, and I'm headed to London.

   A friendly introduction. Listen for how the small words here compare with the ones in the UN speech.

2. 1:21 Even if it's a placebo, it's working on me.

   A thought said in passing. Listen for whether the energy changes in the second half (“it’s working on me”).

3. 4:25 I mean that, he's just the nicest man in the world.

   Listen for the “I mean” at the start: is it a full phrase or just a way into the sentence?

What to listen for

Three things to listen for in these lines. They are prompts for your ears, not claims about how anyone sounds.

• Pauses: Her longer sentences are broken by commas, as in “We want to end gender inequality, and to do this we need everyone involved.” Listen for what the voice does at each comma before you copy it.
• Linking: In “This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN”, listen for “of its” and “kind at” running together, then say the phrase without a gap.
• Stress: In “I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts”, listen for the words she leans on, mark them, and see whether the lines after it repeat the pattern.

Sada compares the words it recognises in your take, and their timing, with the caption line; it does not grade accent, pitch or individual sounds. How close a take sounds is for you to judge by ear, with the two playing side by side in Compare.

How to practise with Emma Watson

1. Open the first line under “Practice lines” and play it two or three times before you record.
2. Press Record and say the line after the speaker (Repeat mode) or along with them (Shadow mode), then open Compare and play your take beside the original.
3. Read the note for that line, listen to the original once more with it in mind, and go again until Sada shows every word as recognised.
4. Move to the next line. When a few lines feel easy, say them one after another as a short passage.
5. Come back to the same lines on another day: Sada shows your first take against your latest, so you can hear the change.

Keep going

• Learn English with Harry Potter
• Shadowing English with Taylor Swift
• Shadow the person you want to sound like: all the people and shows
• British accent practice
• Sentence stress: content and function words
• Question intonation: rising and falling
• English pronunciation for Arabic speakers: the common problems in order
• How to sound like a native speaker
• Shadow any other captioned YouTube video
• Famous talks to shadow

Sada is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Emma Watson، United Nations or Vogue; names identify the video only. The video plays in YouTube’s own player from its official channel, Sada keeps no copy of it, and the lines quoted are the short caption lines needed for practice.