reductions 2

EMA MasterClass 2 — Contractions: Hear the Shortcut

⚠️ 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

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 · Warm-Up (5 min)

Same idea. Different sound.

Listen to both versions below. They mean exactly the same thing — but spoken English almost never uses the long version.

Coach note: Play both versions live for the group before revealing this screen. Ask: "Is this the same sentence?" Let the surprise land before explaining anything.

Full Form

I am going to call you later.

Natural / Contracted

I'm gonna call you later.

💡 Big idea: The problem isn't your vocabulary. Native speakers compress whole ideas into a single sound-block — and your ear needs to learn that block as if it were a brand-new word.

Phase 2 · Input (10 min)

The Contraction Map

Don't think of these as "short versions" of other words. Treat each one as new vocabulary — click 🔊 to hear it inside a real sentence.

Family 1 Intention / Future

gonnaI'm gonna be late.

wannaDo you wanna come with us?

gottaI've gotta run.

haftaWe hafta talk about this.

Family 2 Glued to the Pronoun

'llI'll call you tomorrow.

'veI've never seen that movie.

'reThey're coming to the party.

'dI'd love to help.

Family 3 Negatives

don'tI don't know what to do.

didn'tShe didn't call me back.

won'tThat won't work.

isn'tThat isn't fair.

Family 4 Weak Function Words

and → 'nfish 'n chips

them → 'emCall 'em later.

to → "tuh"I want to go.

for → "fer"This is for you.

Coach note: Never explain the grammar rule behind these forms. Teach "wanna" the same way you'd teach any new chunk — by meaning and sound, not by decomposition.

Phase 3 · Controlled Practice (10 min)

Fast Dictation

Press play, listen at natural speed, and type exactly what you hear — contractions and all. Use "Slow replay" only if you get stuck.

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

Phase 4 · Free Practice (10 min)

Long Form or Contracted? You Decide.

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

10 rounds Score: 0 / 10

Bonus · Real Dialogue

A Real Conversation, Full of Contractions

Listen first without reading. Only reveal the transcript once you've listened at least twice.

Coach note: Ask students to summarize the conversation in their own words before showing the transcript — this rewards catching the gist over catching every word.

Phase 5 · Closing & Feedback (5 min)

What Changed Today

Contractions are new vocabulary, not "shortened grammar."
Four families: Intention (gonna/wanna/gotta/hafta), Pronoun-glued ('ll/'ve/'re/'d), Negatives (don't/didn't/won't/isn't), Weak function words (and/them/to/for).
Your quiz score today: 0 / 10

Which contraction "blew your mind" today? Jot it down:

🎯 This Week's Challenge

Watch one short video in English this week and write down 5 contractions you hear. Bring them to the next class.

MasterClass 2 — Contractions: Hear the Shortcut