How to understand FAST English

EMA MasterClass 3 — Invisible Sounds: them, him, he, her, and, for

⚠️ Your browser doesn't seem to support spoken audio. Please open this lesson in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari.

🎙️ Female voice:

🎙️ Male voice:

Speed: 1.00x

🎙️ This lesson plays real recorded audio from the audio/ folder when available, and only uses your browser's voice as a backup. The Practice drills have their own Slow / Normal / Fast buttons — this slider is for everything else.

Sounding robotic? Fix it in under a minute.

This lesson uses your device's own built-in voices. The default ones are fine, but every browser and OS also ships much more natural "premium" or "neural" voices — you just have to switch to them once.

🍎 Mac (Safari or Chrome)

Open System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content
Click System Voice → Manage Voices…
Under English (United States), download a Premium or Enhanced voice — try Ava (female) and Tom or Evan (male)
Reload this page — they'll appear in the dropdowns above

🪟 Windows / any OS

Open this lesson in Microsoft Edge — it includes very natural online neural voices by default
In the dropdowns above, look for names with "Online (Natural)" — e.g. Aria (female) or Guy (male)
Chrome users: look for "Google US English"

💡 This lesson automatically tries to pick the best voice available on your device — but once you download premium voices, re-select them manually from the dropdowns to make sure they're being used.

Phase 1 · Presentation (10 min)

Some sounds disappear. On purpose.

Listen to both versions below. They mean exactly the same thing — but a native speaker almost never pronounces every letter.

Coach note: Play both versions live before revealing this screen. Ask: "Same sentence — so what changed?" Let students notice the missing sounds themselves.

Every Sound

/kɔl ðɛm təˈnaɪt/

Call them tonight.

Natural Speech

/kɔl əm təˈnaɪt/

Call 'em tonight.

💡 Big idea: Today we're hunting four invisible sounds — the TH in them, the H in him / he / her, the D in and, and the vowel in for. They don't vanish randomly — they follow a pattern, and once your ear catches the pattern, real English stops sounding so fast.

The Invisible Sound Map

Four Sounds That Disappear

Don't think of these as "mistakes" or "lazy speech." Treat each reduced form as its own new sound — click 🔊 to hear it inside a real sentence.

Sound 1 them → 'em (the TH goes invisible)

'emCall 'em tonight./əm/

'emI saw 'em yesterday./əm/

'emGive 'em a chance./əm/

'emTell 'em I said hi./əm/

'emDid you invite 'em?/əm/

Sound 2 him / he / her (the H goes invisible)

'im (him)Ask 'im for help./ɪm/

'im (him)I told 'im already./ɪm/

'e (he)Does 'e live here?/i/

'e (he)Is 'e coming?/i/

'er (her)Ask 'er tomorrow./ɚ/

'er (her)Tell 'er the truth./ɚ/

Sound 3 and → 'n (the D — and often the vowel — goes invisible)

'nSalt 'n pepper./ən/

'nYou 'n me./ən/

'nCome 'n see./ən/

'nMom 'n dad./ən/

Sound 4 for → fer (the vowel shrinks to a quick schwa)

ferThis is fer you./fɚ/

ferWait fer me./fɚ/

ferThanks fer calling./fɚ/

ferSave it fer later./fɚ/

Coach note: Never say "this is incorrect grammar" or name the sounds with technical terms. Teach each reduced form as a new chunk of sound — the same way you'd teach any new word — by meaning and by ear, not by rule.

Phase 2 · Practice (20 min)

Listen & Repeat — Slow, Normal, Fast

For every sentence, press Slow first and repeat. Then Normal. Then Fast — the speed real conversation actually moves at. Say it out loud every time.

Coach note: Drill chorally first (whole group repeats together), then cold-call individual students. Don't correct on the first try — let them attempt Fast at least once before giving feedback.

Exercise · Fast Dictation

Type Exactly What You Hear

Press play — the audio is at natural, fast speed. Type what you hear, invisible sounds and all. Use "Slow replay" only if you get stuck.

Coach note: Let students struggle for 10–15 seconds before offering the slow replay. That struggle is where the ear actually trains itself.

Exercise · Full or Fast?

Which Version Did You Hear?

Press play — the audio will randomly say either the Full Form or the Fast/Reduced Form. Choose which one you actually heard.

10 rounds Score: 0 / 10

Exercise · Choose the Chunk

Decode the Reduction

Listen to the fast, natural version and pick the sentence that matches. The last two rounds combine more than one invisible sound — a real challenge!

8 rounds Score: 0 / 8

Phase 3 · Production (10 min)

Fluency Sprint — 30 Seconds

Pick a card. Talk for 30 seconds without stopping. Try to naturally reduce your target sound at least twice — don't force it, just let it happen the way it does in the examples.

Coach note: Classic Fluency Sprint rules apply — the student talks without stopping, you don't interrupt, feedback comes only at the end. Praise first, then gently point out 1–2 moments where the invisible sound could disappear more naturally.

0:30

Select a card above, then start the timer when the student begins talking.

Roleplay

A Real Phone Call, Full of Invisible Sounds

Listen first without reading. Only reveal the transcript once you've listened at least twice — then practice it out loud in pairs, swapping roles.

Coach note: After the pair practice, ask each pair to perform one line for the group at fast, natural speed — celebrate every attempt at a disappearing sound, even an imperfect one.

Closing & Feedback

What Changed Today

them → 'em — the TH goes invisible after a verb.
him / he / her → 'im / 'e / 'er — the H goes invisible mid-sentence.
and → 'n — the D (and often the vowel) goes invisible between two words.
for → fer — the vowel shrinks to a quick, light schwa.
Full or Fast quiz score today: 0 / 10
Choose the Chunk score today: 0 / 8

Which invisible sound surprised you the most today? Jot it down:

🎯 This Week's Challenge

Watch one short video or listen to one song in English this week. Write down 5 moments where you hear them, him, he, her, and, or for disappear. Bring them to the next class.

MasterClass 3 — Invisible Sounds