Shadowing Practice: A Few Good Men – Courtroom Scene - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
Do you have any other questions for me, Counselor?
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Lieutenant Cathy.
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Lieutenant, do you have anything further for this witness?
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Thanks, Danny.
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I love Washington.
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Excuse me.
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I need to dismiss you.
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I beg your pardon?
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I'm not through with my examination.
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Sit down.
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Colonel.
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What's that?
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I'd appreciate if he would dress me as Colonel or Sir.
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I believe I've earned it.
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Defense counsel will address the witness as colonel or sir.
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I don't know what the hell kind of unit you're running here.
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And the witness will address this court as judge or your honor.
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I'm quite certain I've earned it.
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Take your seat, colonel.
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What do you want to discuss now?
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My favorite color?
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Colonel, the 6 a.m flight was the first one off the base?
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Yes.
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There wasn't a flight that left seven hours earlier and landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 a.m.?
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Lieutenant, I think we've covered this, haven't we?
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Your Honor, these are the Tower Chief's logs for both Guantanamo Bay and Andrews Air Force Base.
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Guantanamo log lists no flight that left at 11 p.m., and the Andrews log lists no flight that landed at 2 a.m.
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I'd like to admit them as defense exhibits Alfa and Bravo.
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I don't understand.
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You're admitting evidence of a flight that never existed.
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Well, we believe it did, sir.
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Defense will be calling Airman Cecil O'Malley and Airman Anthony Rodriguez.
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They were working the ground crew at Andrews at 2 a.m on the 7th.
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Your Honor, these men weren't on the list.
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Rebuttal witnesses, Your Honor, are called specifically to refute testimony offered under direct examination.
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I'll allow the witnesses.
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This is ridiculous.
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Colonel, a moment ago, check the tower logs, for Christ's sake.
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We'll get to the airmen in just a minute, sir.
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A moment ago, you said that you ordered Lieutenant Kendrick to tell his men that Santiago wasn't to be touched.
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That's right.
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And Lieutenant Kendrick was clear on what you wanted?
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Crystal.
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Any chance Lieutenant Kendrick ignored the order?
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Ignored the order?
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Any chance he forgot about it?
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No. Any chance Lieutenant Kendrick left your office and said, the old man is wrong?
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No. When Lieutenant Kendrick spoke to the platoon and ordered them not to touch Santiago, any chance they ignored him?
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You ever served in an infantry unit, son?
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No, sir.
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Ever served in a forward area?
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No, sir.
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Ever put your life in another man's hands?
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asked him to put his life in yours?
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No, sir.
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We follow orders, son.
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We follow orders or people die.
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It's that simple.
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Are we clear?
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Yes, sir.
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Are we clear?
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Crystal.
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Colonel, I have just one more question before I call Airman O'Malley and Airman Rodriguez.
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if you gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched, and your orders are always followed,
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then why would Santiago be in danger?
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Why would it be necessary to transfer him off the base?
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Santiago was a substandard Marine.
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He was being transferred...
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Not what you said.
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You said he was being transferred because he was in grave danger.
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That's correct.
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You said he was in danger.
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I said grave danger.
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You said is there any other...
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I recall what I said.
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I can have the court reporter read back to you.
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I know what I said.
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I don't have to have it read back to me like I'm...
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Why the two orders?
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Colonel?
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Sometimes men take matters into their own hands.
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No, sir.
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You made it clear just a moment ago that your men never take matters in their own hands.
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Your men follow orders or people die.
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So Santiago shouldn't have been in any danger at all, should he have, Colonel?
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You snotty little bastard.
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Your Honor, I'd like to ask for a recess.
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I'd like an answer to the question, Judge.
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The court will wait for an answer.
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If Lieutenant Kendrick gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched, then why did he have to be transferred?
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Colonel, Lieutenant Kendrick ordered the code red, didn't he?
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Because that's what you told Lieutenant Kendrick to do.
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Object!
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And when it went bad, you cut these guys loose!
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Your Honor, you had mortgages inside a phone you transported!
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Your Honor, you doctored the logbook!
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There it can't be!
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Consider yourself in contempt!
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Colonel Joseph, did you order the Code Ray?
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You don't have to answer that question.
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I'll answer the question.
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You want answers?
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I think I'm entitled to it.
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You want answers!
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I want the truth!
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You can't handle the truth!
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Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.
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Who's gonna do it?
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You, you, Lieutenant Weinberg, I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom.
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You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines.
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You have that luxury.
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You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives, and my existence,
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while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
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You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties.
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You want me on that wall.
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You need me on that wall.
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We use words like honor, code, loyalty.
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We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something.
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You use them as a punchline.
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I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises
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and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.
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I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way.
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Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post.
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Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
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Did you order the code red?
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I did the job.
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Did you order the code red?
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You're goddamn right I did!
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Please, of course.
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Please, the court, I suggest the members be dismissed so that we can move to an immediate Article 39A session.
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The witness has rights.
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Captain Ross.
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Jack?
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The members of the court will retire to an ante room until further instructed.
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All rise.
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What the hell is this?
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Colonel, what's going on?
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I did my job.
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I do it again.
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I'm gonna get on a plane and go on back to my base.
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You're not going anywhere, Colonel.
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MPs, guard the colonel.
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Yes, sir.
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Captain Ross.
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What the hell is this?
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Colonel Jessup, you have the right to remain silent.
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I'm being charged with a crime?
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Is that what this is?
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I'm being charged with a crime?
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...to consult with a lawyer prior to any further questioning.
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This is funny.
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That's what this is.
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This is...
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I'm gonna rip the eyes out of your head and piss at your dead skull!
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You fucked with the wrong Marine!
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Colonel Jessup, do you understand these rights as I've just read them to you?
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You fucking people.
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You have no idea how to defend a nation.
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All you did was weaken a country today, Caffey.
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That's all you did.
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You put people's lives in danger.
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Sweet dreams, son.
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Don't call me son.
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I'm a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy.
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And you're under arrest, you son of a bitch.
166
The witness is excused.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “A Few Good Men – Courtroom Scene”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: colonel, Lieutenant, sir, Kendrick, Santiago. This video has 166 sentences and 1229 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:36. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 41 of its 166 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dismiss verb | /dɪsˈmɪs/ | To discharge; to end the employment or service of. |
| airman noun | /ˈɛɹ.mən/ | A pilot of an aircraft. |
| fathom verb | /ˈfæðəm/ | To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound. |
| grotesque adjective | /ɡɹoʊˈtɛsk/ | Distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal, especially in a hideous way. |
| inclination noun | /ˌɪn.klɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ | A physical tilt or bend. |
| incomprehensible adjective | /ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/ | Impossible or very difficult to understand. |
| instruct verb | /ɪnˈstɹʌkt/ | To teach by giving instructions. |
| logbook noun | /ˈlɑɡ.bʊk/ | A book in which measurements of a ship's position are recorded, along with other salient details of the voyage, such as weather, resupply occasions, the crew's… |
| rebuttal noun | /ɹiˈbʌt.əl/ | The act of contradicting something by making a contrary argument, or presenting contrary evidence. |
| refute verb | /ɹɪˈfjuːt/ | To prove (something) to be false or incorrect. |
| snotty adjective | Running or dirtied with mucus. | |
| substandard adjective | /ˌsʌbˈstændɚd/ | Of inferior quality; not meeting the minimum quality requirements. |
| weaken verb | /ˈwikən/ | To make weaker or less strong. |
| platoon noun | /pləˈtuːn/ | A unit of thirty to forty soldiers typically commanded by a lieutenant and forming part of a company. |
| recess noun | /ˈɹiˌsɛs/ | A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Lieutenant, do you have anything further for this witness?
- What do you want to discuss now?
- Lieutenant, I think we've covered this, haven't we?
- Ever put your life in another man's hands?
- I'm being charged with a crime?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are called · be touched · being transferred |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've earned · we've covered · I've just read |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 46 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: inclination /ˌɪn.klɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, incomprehensible /ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/, testimony /ˈtɛstɪmoʊni/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like dismiss, airman, fathom.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.