Natural English is all about understanding how English is REALLY spoken.
Try this tongue-twister.
See how quickly you can say it!
Another important feature of English is Idiom, such as the one below
I feel as hungry as a horse
or
I could eat a horse !
He's as fit as a fiddle !
Connected Speech
Many students of English still find it difficult to understand native-speakers, because they 'speak too fast' .
These are some of the reasons why it is difficult to understand native speakers :-
** CATENATION
here the end of one word joins the beginning of the next. For example ' IS HE BUSY' becomes 'IS-E BUSY?' or 'THIS ORANGE' becomes 'THISORANGE'
** INTRUSION
This is where when 2 words are spoken quickly, a second sound appears.
For example:- 'DO IT' when spoken quickly becomes 'DO WIT' . To make pronunciation easier a W sound appears in natural speech. In the same way, GO OUT becomes GOWOUT
** ELLISION
This is where a sound disappears. For example 'NEXT DOOR' becomes NEXDOOR, where the T tends to disappear in natural speech. Another example ' MOST COMMON' becomes MOS-COMMON.
** ASSIMILATION
This is where two sounds blend together to form a new sound. For example, DON'T YOU becomes DONCHOU, where the T and the Y sound together become a 'CH' sound. In the same way 'DID YOU?' becomes DI-JU, where the D and the Y sound combine to become a 'J' sound.
