シャドーイング練習: How Is Your Phone Changing You? - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

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Of the 7 billion people on Earth, roughly 6 billion own a cell phone, which is pretty shocking given that only 4.5 billion have access to a working toilet.
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So how are these popular gadgets changing your body and brain?
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If you're looking down at your phone right now, your spine angle is equivalent to that of an 8 year old child sitting on your neck,
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which is fairly significant considering people spend an average of 4.7 hours a day looking at their phone.
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This, combined with the length of time spent in front of computers, has led to an increase in the prevalence of myopia or nearsightedness in North America.
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In the 1970s, about one quarter of the population had myopia, where today nearly half do, and in some parts of Asia,
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80-90% of the population is now nearsighted.
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And it can be hard to put your phone down.
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Take for example the game Candy Crush.
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As you play the game, you achieve small goals, causing your brain to be rewarded with little bursts of dopamine.
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and eventually you're rewarded in the game with new content.
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This novelty also gives little bursts of dopamine and together create what is known as a compulsion loop,
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which just happens to be the same loop responsible for the behaviors associated with nicotine or cocaine.
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Our brains are hardwired to make us novelty seeking, and this is why apps on our phones are designed to constantly provide us with new content, making them hard to put down.
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As a result, 93% of young people aged 18-29 report using their smartphone as a tool to avoid boredom,
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as opposed to other activities like reading a book or engaging with people around them.
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This has created a new term, gnomophobia, the fear or anxiety of being without your phone.
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We also see a change in brain patterns.
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Alpha rhythms are commonly associated with wakeful relaxation, like when your mind wanders off, whereas gamma waves are associated with conscious attentiveness.
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And experiments have shown that when a cell phone is transmitting, say during a phone call, the power of these alpha waves is significantly boosted,
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meaning phone transmissions can literally change the way your brain functions.
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Your smartphone can also disrupt your sleep.
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The screen emits a blue light which has been shown to alter our circadian rhythms, diminishing the time spent in deep sleep, which is linked to the development of diabetes, cancer and obesity.
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Studies have shown that people who read on their smartphone at night have a harder time falling asleep and produce less melatonin, a hormone responsible for the regulation of sleep-wake cycles.
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Harvard Medical School advises the last 2-3 hours before bed be technology free, so pick up a book before bed instead.
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Of course, smartphones also completely change our ability to access information, most notably in poor and minority populations.
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7% of Americans are entirely dependent on smartphones for their access to the internet.
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A 2014 study found that the majority of smartphone owners use their phone for online banking, to look up medical information, and searching for jobs.
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So while phones are in no way exclusively bad, and have been part of a positive change in the world, there's no denying that they are changing us.
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But many successful people have now decided to take smartphone vacations in order to increase productivity.
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In our new ASAP Thought video, we break down the top 6 reasons you should take a smartphone vacation and how it could benefit your life right now.
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And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

この動画で英語学習する理由

「How Is Your Phone Changing You?」という動画は、日常的なトピックであるスマートフォンの影響について科学的なデータや具体的な例を交えて説明しています。これを使って英語スピーキング練習をすると、論理的な話し方や説明的な表現を身につけることができます。特にIELTSスピーキング対策にも役立ちます。また、shadowspeak（シャドースピーク）の練習に最適で、ネイティブスピーカーのリズムやイントネーションを真似ることで、自然な発音と流暢さが向上します。

文脈の中の文法と表現

動画にはいくつかの重要な表現があります。まず、「Of the 7 billion people on Earth, roughly 6 billion own a cell phone」のように、「Of + 名詞」で範囲を指定して比較する構造が使われています。これはデータを説明する際によく使われるので、覚えておきましょう。次に、「which is pretty shocking given that...」の「given that」は「～を考えると」という意味で、理由を述べる際に便利です。さらに、「This, combined with the length of time...」の「combined with」は「～と組み合わせて」という意味で、複数の要因をつなげるのに使われます。これらの表現を使うと、話がより論理的になります。

発音の注意点

動画の中で発音が難しい単語がいくつかあります。例えば、「myopia」は「近視」という意味で、/maɪˈoʊpiə/と発音します。「dopamine」は「ドーパミン」で、/ˈdoʊpəmiːn/です。また、「circadian rhythms」は「概日リズム」で、/sɜːrˈkeɪdiən ˈrɪðəmz/と発音します。これらの単語は発音が独特なので、shadow speakの練習をする際には注意して繰り返し発音してみましょう。また、「as opposed to」のようなフレーズも、イントネーションを抑えて発音することで、より自然に聞こえます。

この動画を使って英語学習をすることで、スピーキング能力だけでなく、科学的なトピックについての知識も増やすことができます。IELTSスピーキング対策や日常の英語スピーキング練習にぜひ活用してみてください。

シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由

シャドーイング（Shadowing）は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的：ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影（shadow）」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。