シャドーイング練習: Top 10 Walrus Facts | Animal Fun Facts | WWF - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

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With its impressive tusks, wrinkly skin and majestic whiskers, the walrus is one of the Arctic's most iconic species.
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Here are 10 facts everyone should know about these fascinating creatures.
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Fact 1.
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They're very big.
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Male Pacific walrus can reach 3.6 metres long and weigh up to 1.8 tonnes.
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The thick layer of fat under their skin, known as blubber, helps them to stay warm in the harsh conditions of their arctic home.
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Fact 2.
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Walrus are extremely sociable animals.
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When on land or on ice, they gather together in tightly packed groups, which can include hundreds or even thousands of individuals.
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Fact 3.
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They can sing.
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During the breeding season, from December to March, male walrus erupt into song.
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They produce a variety of wonderful vocalisations.
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These can include barks, clicks, grunts and bellows.
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A bout of continuous singing can even last up to two and a half days.
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Fact 4.
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Both male and female walrus have large tusks.
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Walrus use their impressive tusks to keep open breathing holes in the ice, to fight with other walrus and to defend themselves against predators.
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They're also used to help haul themselves out of the sea and onto the ice.
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Walrus tusks are actually modified canines which never stop growing and can reach up to 1 metre in length.
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Fact 5.
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Walrus have very sensitive whiskers.
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Another distinguishing feature of the walrus is the many whiskers they have covering their snouts.
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These whiskers are very sensitive and help them to snuffle around on the sea floor finding food such as mollusks.
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Fact 6.
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They depend on sea ice.
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Walrus generally prefer to haul out on snow covered ice floes rather than on land.
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They use the sea ice as a platform for resting, for breeding, for giving birth and nursing their young, as well as for shelter from rough seas and from predators.
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Fact 7.
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Their skin can change colour.
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A walrus skin which can be around four centimeters thick around their head and their neck is generally a cinnamon brown colour.
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However on a very warm day their skin can change to a rosy pink colour in the sun
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and after a long swim in the icy cold water their skin can go to a cool white.
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Fact 8.
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Mothers are very protective.
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The bond between a walrus mother and its calf is one of the strongest bonds in all mammals.
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The pair can stay together for up to three years.
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Walrus mothers are extremely protective and will pick them up with their flippers
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and dive into the water when they come under threat.
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Fact 9.
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They're affected by noise and disturbances.
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During their mass gatherings, walruses can be easily spooked, such as when they hear noise from human activities.
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This can lead to stampedes as startled walruses head for the water.
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This can be deadly, especially for young calves.
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As shipping, tourism, industry and noise increases in the Arctic walruses are at greater risk of disturbance and also stampedes.
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Fact 10.
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Climate change is their greatest threat.
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With sea ice melting due to climate change more walrus are being forced to rest on land.
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This is bringing them further from their feeding grounds and leading to more life threatening stampedes.
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We need to learn more about walrus to secure their future in the wild but accessing remote locations is challenging and costly.
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We are working on a citizen science project that will use images from satellites to monitor walrus populations across the arctic.
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For the first time ever we're aiming to do it at a global scale for the whole walrus population.
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This will help scientists to better understand how walrus are responding to declining sea ice and how best to protect them.
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We hope you enjoyed this video about walrus.
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Let us know in the comments which other animals you'd like to hear facts about
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北極のアイコン、セイウチの魅力的な事実

YouTubeで英語学習をする際、動物に関するビデオはとても良い教材です。セイウチについてのこのビデオは、英語の発音を良くするだけでなく、面白い知識も得られます。例えば、「セイウチは大きな牙を持ち、仲良く群れを作り、歌も歌います」という内容は、リアルな英語表現を学ぶのに最適です。

役立つフレーズとコロケーション

  • thick layer of fat：厚い脂肪層。「セイウチは厚い脂肪層で寒さをしのぎます」と使います。
  • sociable animals：社交的な動物。「セイウチはとても社交的な動物で、何百頭も集まります」。
  • sensitive whiskers：敏感なひげ。「セイウチの敏感なひげは海底の食物を見つけるのに役立ちます」。
  • mass gatherings：大規模な集まり。「セイウチの大規模な集まりは人間の騒音で驚かされることがあります」。

あなたのshadow speechチャレンジ

英語スピーキング練習のために、「shadowspeak」を試してみましょう。ビデオを10秒ずつ止めながら、発音やイントネーションを真似て繰り返します。特に「They can sing. During the breeding season, from December to March, male walrus erupt into song.」の部分は、リズムを感じながら話すことが重要です。この練習で、自然な英語の流れを身につけることができます。

このビデオを使って、楽しみながら英語を上達させましょう。セイウチの面白い事実を覚えながら、shadow speechの技術も磨くことができるのです。

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。