List of Reduction Sentences for ESL

"Reductions" are those reduced forms of words that native English speakers use when speaking. They are a major reason that non-native speakers say that American English is so difficult to understand, or that we talk too fast.

I try to help help my students become familiar with common reductions. I have a list I found online called, "WEINSTEIN'S (1982) HIGH-FREQUENCY REDUCED FORMS." Even though it's from 1982, it's still the same way native American English speakers speak. In addition to the list that we go over, I also write some sentences in this "nonsense" language (how American English is really spoken) and ask them to tell me how they would be said in Standard American English. Here's a list of sentences I use for one of my exercises.

Yer gonna wanna give ‘er ‘er medicine before ya leave.

Didja wanna hava glassa wine with dinner? (this is also useful for teaching the concept of "distancing" by using a past tense for a present situation)

I dunno.

I hafta go-ta work tomorrow.

Willya go-ta the store fer me?

Whatcher name?

Whadja do last night?

Whaddaya doin’?

Whacha doin’?

Does ‘e love ‘er?

Teaching ESL students about reductions particularly helps them in improving their listening skills.

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Contractions and ESL Speakers

Many of my private ESL students are advanced level ESL speakers. Many come to me because they want to sound more like a native English speaker. Together, we work on many ways to improve their American English pronunciation and reduce their native accents. We look at intonation, pronunciation of words and of individual sounds, we look at voiced and unvoiced sounds, etc.

We also look at reductions and contractions. Most advanced ESL students are very familiar with contractions. They've been taught about them many times. However, very few of my students use contractions. As a matter of fact, when they are reading aloud to me, they will even take apart a contraction. "I'll" becomes "I will" when they are reading. So it is often very difficult for ESL speakers to consistently use contractions.

And yet, the use of contractions during speaking is one of the best ways to move toward sound more "native." With a lot of practice and reinforcement, non-native English speakers can move towards sounding more native by using this one technique.

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Speaking Slowly to ESL Students

ESL teachers go round and round about the issue of talking slowly to ESL students. Some teachers think you should speak slowly and some don’t think you should slow down your speaking at all. I lean more towards the speaking-at-a-normal-pace side of the issue.

With advanced ESL or EFL students, I think it is especially important for teachers to speak at a normal rate. When ESL learners are out in the real world, native-English speakers usually don’t slow down their speaking. So if I’m able to get my English language learners used to fast speaking, then I believe it benefits them when they are outside of class. I also make a point of teaching them the many reductions that native speakers use, so that they can figure out what the heck we are saying.

For my beginning level students, I do tend to slow down my speaking more often, especially when I am explaining some English point. I tend to speak quicker when we are “just talking.” Of course, if the ESL student just can’t understand what I’m saying after a couple of tries, I will slow down my speaking.

I tend to think that ESL teachers and tutors who always speak slowly and clearly to their students are actually doing a disservice to their students. ESL learners need to be prepared for how the “real world” (of native-English speakers) speaks. I think it’s helpful for them if they are able to practice their listening skills in a safe classroom or tutoring session.

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Reductions in English

Many non-native English speakers think Americans speak really fast. While this may be true for some people, what tends to happen more is that native speakers use contractions (e.g., I did not = I didn’t) and reductions (e.g., I’m going to = I’m gonna).

Contractions are usually taught when English language learners study English as a foreign language in their home countries, although most non-native English speakers need more practice in this area. However, reductions are seldom taught, with the exception of “gonna” and “wanna.” Most of my students, especially Korean students, are good at using these two reductions, but not others.

Other common reductions used by native English speakers are “shoulda,” “coulda,” and “woulda.” There are a couple of steps to get to these reductions. First, the student must be taught to use the contraction “should’ve,” for example. After the student is comfortable with this contraction, you can introduce the reduction “shoulda.” You don’t really need to teach it step-by-step, but I’ve found that a lot of students are uncomfortable with what they think is improper English. It sometimes takes a little convincing that contractions and even most reductions are correct and are used by, even, educated people.

Another reduction I heard once is a big jump, even for me! I’ve heard some people turn “I am going to” into “I’m’n’a.” I don’t even know how to write that out!

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