Shadowing Pack: Hotel Check-In and Late Checkout (General American) 1. PACK SUMMARY Situation: Checking in at a hotel and asking for a late checkout Level: A2 Accent: General American English Word count: 55 words (“412” is read as “four twelve”) Estimated speaking time: About 25 seconds (at 130 words per minute) 2. CLEAN SCRIPT Clerk: Hi there. Checking in? You (Lin): Yes. I have a reservation. Clerk: Great. What’s the name? You (Lin): Lin. Wei Lin. Clerk: Got it. Can I see your ID? You (Lin): Sure. Here you go. Clerk: Thanks. You’re in room 412. You (Lin): Can I get a late checkout? Clerk: Sure. Checkout is at eleven. How about one o’clock? You (Lin): That’s perfect. Thank you! Clerk: Enjoy your stay. 3. TRANSLATION 前台： 你好。是来办入住吗？ 你（林）： 是的。我有预订。 前台： 好的。请问叫什么名字？ 你（林）： 林。林伟。 前台： 好的。可以看一下您的证件吗？ 你（林）： 好的。给您。 前台： 谢谢。您的房间是412。 你（林）： 我可以延迟退房吗？ 前台： 可以。退房时间是十一点。一点怎么样？ 你（林）： 太好了。谢谢你！ 前台： 祝您入住愉快。 4. SHADOWING SCRIPT Clerk: hi THERE. / CHECKing‿IN? ↗ You (Lin): YES. / i HAVE‿a reserVAtion. ↘ Clerk: GREAT. / what’s the NAME? ↘ You (Lin): LIN. / wei LIN. ↘ Clerk: GOT‿it. / can‿i SEE your‿i-D? ↗ You (Lin): SURE. / here‿you GO. ↘ Clerk: THANKS. / you’re‿in ROOM / four TWELVE. ↘ You (Lin): can‿i GET‿a LATE CHECKout? ↗ Clerk: SURE. / CHECKout‿is‿at eLEVen. / how‿aBOUT ONE‿o’CLOCK? ↗ You (Lin): that’s PERfect. / THANK‿you! ↘ Clerk: enJOY‿your STAY. ↘ 5. SOUND NOTES Phrase from the script What happens How it sounds Why it matters in this accent Got it Flap T GAH-dit In American English, a T between two vowels becomes a quick, soft tap like a light “d”. British speakers usually say a clear T or a glottal stop (“go’it”). The vowel in “got” is an open “ah” with unrounded lips. British English uses a rounded “o” here. Can I see your ID? Weak form of “can”, R linking, and intonation choice kuh-nai SEE yer-eye-DEE ↗ “Can” shrinks to “kuh(n)” because it is not stressed. The R in “your” is pronounced and joins onto “ID”. A rise sounds friendly and is common at a front desk. A fall is also possible and sounds more routine and businesslike. You’re in room Linking R (rhotic accent) yer-in ROOM American English pronounces every written R, so the R in “you’re” is always heard and runs straight into “in”. In British English, the R in “you’re” is silent before a consonant. get a late checkout Flap T, then a stopped T GEH-duh LAY(t) CHECK-out The T in “get a” sits between vowels, so it becomes a flap. The T in “late” comes before a consonant, so Americans close the tongue for T but don’t release a puff of air. Don’t add a vowel after it (“lay-tuh”). Checkout is at eleven Flap T and consonant-to-vowel linking CHECK-ow-di-zat ih-LEV-un “Out is” becomes “ow-diz” with a flap. “Is at” becomes “i-zat”. American speakers join these words smoothly into one stream instead of pausing between them. How about one o’clock? Linking and intonation choice how-uh-BOUT WUH-nuh-CLOCK ↗ The script marks a rise, which makes it sound like an open offer. A fall is also common and sounds more like a fixed suggestion. “Clock” has the open American “ah” vowel, not the rounded British “o”. Here you go Weak form of “you” and the GA “o” vowel heer-yuh-GOH “You” weakens to “yuh”. “Here” keeps a full R at the end. “Go” ends with an “oh-oo” glide and rounded lips. The British version starts from a more central, “uh”-like vowel. Thank you N changes to NG before K THANG-kyoo The tongue is already moving back to make the K, so the N becomes the “ng” sound. This is normal in all native speech, and it makes the phrase sound smooth. 6. WATCH-OUT SOUNDS 1. “Thanks” (the TH sound /θ/) Usual mistake: Saying “sanks” or “fanks”, because Mandarin has no TH sound. Tip: Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your upper and lower front teeth. Then blow air out over it with no voice. Keep your lower lip away from your teeth. 2. “have” (the V sound /v/) Usual mistake: Saying “haw” (a W sound) or “haf” (an F sound), because Mandarin has no V sound. Tip: Rest your upper front teeth lightly on your lower lip. Then push air out with your voice on. Don’t round your lips. 3. “room” (the American R sound /r/) Usual mistake: Using the buzzing Mandarin “r” from 日 (rì), or saying an L sound (“loom”). Tip: Round your lips slightly and raise your tongue tip toward the roof of your mouth without touching it. Let the air flow smoothly, with no buzzing friction. 7. DAILY PRACTICE PLAN Daily steps (10 minutes): Listen only: 1 minute Read along silently: 2 minutes Mumble shadowing: 2 minutes Full shadowing: 3 minutes Record and compare: 2 minutes 5-day plan: Day 1: Focus on stress. Make the CAPITAL syllables louder and longer, and keep the small words short. Day 2: Focus on linking and flap T: “Got‿it”, “get‿a”, “Checkout‿is‿at”. Day 3: Focus on intonation. Rise on “Checking in?”, “ID?”, “checkout?” and “o’clock?”. Fall on all the other lines. Day 4: Focus on the three watch-out sounds: “Thanks”, “have”, “room”. Also practice the R in “you’re”, “here” and “perfect”. Day 5: Shadow the full recording at normal speed. Then mute your voice for the clerk’s lines and say only Lin’s lines in the gaps, like a real conversation. 8. SELF-CHECK In “Thanks”, do you hear a soft “th” at the start, not a sharp “s” or “f”? In “Got it”, does the T sound like a quick, light “d” (“GAH-dit”)? Does your voice go up at the end of “Can I get a late checkout?” In “late checkout”, do you go straight from “late” into “checkout” with no extra vowel (“lay-tuh”)? In “I have a reservation”, do you hear a buzzing V at the end of “have”, not “haw” or “haf”?