Shadowing Practice: Breaking Down My Audition For Netflix's BOOTS - Learn English Speaking with Video

In 2023, I auditioned for the leading role of Cameron Cope in Netflix's dramedy Boots.

Miles Heiser ultimately ended up getting the role, and he very much so deserved it, did a phenomenal job, but I actually was in relatively serious contention for it,

even having a meeting with the showrunners themselves.

So now that the show has been released for the world to see, I'm going to break down my original audition tape,

along with why it was good enough to even get to this showrunner meeting to begin with.

I'm Tristan Spohn, a professional actor that you might have seen on Stranger Things, FBI, or Law & Order.

So let's start with the character description that I was given.

Alert and ready to people, please.

Cameron Cope heads to boot camp with the hopes that it might finally make him the man everyone expects him to be, but he has no idea what he's in for.

His best friend Ray warns him that his life could be ruined if the marines find out he's gay.

We're going to watch the two scenes that they had me audition with, and then afterwards, taking all of the notes that I give,

recreate them as if I was given the audition today.

So let's start with breaking down scene number one of my audition.

Are you sure you want to do this?

It'll be good for me, I think.

Everyone's always saying you gotta make a name for yourself and be a real man, but they never say how to do it.

So the Marines will be a good crash course for everything I never learned.

Yeah, it's just once they find something they don't like.

Not the best start, if I'm honest.

I feel as though at the very least, I'm not overdoing it.

And a lot of times we try to make the internal struggle so obvious.

And ultimately you dilute the impact of your eyes by getting busy with the rest of your face.

But I think we can see more of that internal struggle to believe that this is the right path for me.

They really go after you and trust me, they always find something.

You know they're going to ask, right?

Then I'll tell them.

Cancer Sun with an Aries rising.

Okay, so I'm gay.

Why do they need to know?

Because it's their policy.

No gays allowed.

Okay, so it's frowned upon.

No, Cameron.

It's illegal.

it's illegal to be gay in the military

i like that i actually am letting this realization hit me real time

and i like how light i'm taking it i'm not necessarily making every line

so intense and so precious i'm clearly having fun with it

and ultimately this is kind of a dramedy

so there are a lot of elements of comedy throughout

and the worst thing you can do in comedy is joke the joke

or not have fun with it because ultimately the more fun

that you have as an actor the more fun the audience in turn has

and i like that we're going to now see a complete shift as i realize

that there's more at stake than just oh people bullying me

in boot camp i'd go to jail i know it's messed up but

so you don't want me to go i didn't say that i just i want you to be prepared

but what am i supposed to just lie i mean why

not this section isn't as good i'm raising the stakes without

actually raising the stakes my character is kind of losing control

as i have the stiffest body in the entire world oh

you want me to go you want me to lie you can tell i'm getting worked up

but I'm a statue so it feels a little incongruent.

I as a whole needed to increase the pacing of this because it feels just a little too mellow.

I think I could have played with eye contact more

because the you don't want me to go you want me to lie

while I'm staring him straight down it feels less vulnerable

and I wish I was letting myself look away a little bit more so that I'm not just staring Ray down. But what?

Am I supposed to just lie?

I mean, why not?

If a kid at school asked you if you were gay, you'd say no, right?

Same thing.

Ray, if a kid at school finds out he's not going to court -martial me,

he's going to go tell Melissa Desant and all of her friends to go hang up posters saying Cameron for Homecoming Queen. Did that happen?

No. It feels very unforced, it also feels like I don't actually feel like the stakes

are real for myself a lot of actors just push too

far it's way easier to overdo this scene than to actually hit the nail on the head

so me not having a full mental breakdown

but actually just being a little shell -shocked is probably what led to me getting

that callback and i always tell actors i would rather it be less intense

but real than more intense

and forced before i try my best to recreate this audition with all the notes

that i'm giving Let's now check out the second scene that they had me audition with.

In this one, there's a little bit more going into play.

I'm having a conversation with myself where I'm oscillating between normal Cameron and inner Cameron.

Obviously, inner Cameron is finally vocalizing a lot of the struggles that he has.

Is this the life you want?

Beatings, Burns, and Bismarck?

Can you please just leave me alone?

The more you try to ignore me, the louder I'm gonna get.

You should know this by now.

What is it that you want me to do?

I had a slight difference between my voice, where regular Cameron, I raised the pitch of my voice a little bit.

I widened my eyes a little bit just to give a little bit more innocence.

And then inner Cameron has a little bit more bass

because as a whole inner cameron is the confident version

that normal cameron wishes he could be stop being this nice

meek everything is fine cameron develop some goddamn self -respect say

sayonara to this shit a big reason why ultimately i didn't

book the role is i just wasn't really able to nail

the flamboyant inner cameron side in the showrunner meeting they wanted to push it in a more traditionally effeminate way.

And me being a straight actor, I'm not about to go do something that has the risk of feeling offensive.

So I did a good job of finding my own version of confidence where obviously in this instance, it's Cameron's inability to accept his sexuality.

I shifted it into the very human struggle of not being able to accept ourselves

or think that we ourselves and are enough you know i grew up i was

that awkward kid that had lunch in the library i didn't really have a lot of friends

so i heavily heavily heavily connected to this scene even

if it wasn't necessarily in the way that the character connects

and as a whole this is your job as the actor

100

to take on perspectives outside of yours there are some actors

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that are very successful in just being themselves in every single role

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and look there's a lot of merit to that

103

but in my opinion becoming a character is of course channeling your authentic self

104

so that ultimately it's what makes your version different from everybody else

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while also letting the perspective of the character outside of your own perspective mold and shape you.

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Our place is out there somewhere.

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It has to be.

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Any place is better than this.

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that scene is one of my best audition scenes from the

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first frame i come in you can tell there's some type

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of darkness going on you can tell i'm going through something

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if you don't start strong you spend the rest of the audition trying to get there versus

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if you do start strong the rest of the audition can just unfold from

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that starting headspace this was an audition that led to me meeting the showrunners and being in serious contention.

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So this isn't going to be one of those audition redemptions where I'm taking this atrocious audition

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and turning it into something better.

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This is, of course, adding some tweaks, still honoring my original perspective.

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So I'm still not going to try to boost the effeminate version of inner Cameron because that's just not me.

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That will never be the version that I would be cast in.

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But I'm going to honor my original instincts with where I'm currently at.

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This is not any sort of comparison to, ooh, if I did this, I would have gotten it.

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It's purely self -growth.

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Okay, thank you, Vecna, for all of your help.

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He was my scene partner in the redemption scenes that I just finished filming.

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But before we show those improved versions, how would you like to not only work with me directly,

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but meet and perform in front of massive industry experts?

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Well, Well, that's exactly what members of my online acting community, The Acting Lab, get to do during the last three months of this year,

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where we're going to be hosting the biggest event of the group so far, as we're going into our special season of madness.

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With three casting competitions, one for - Each month, all of our students get to audition for the same group of parts before I sit down,

130

give all of my feedback on everyone's tapes before shortlisting the top students

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that I would like to call back into our final round

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where those students will then get the opportunity to perform in front of our special industry expert guest judges.

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This way you get a behind the scenes look into the casting process, seeing why certain decisions are actually made.

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We're bringing in people like casting directors, agents, writers, directors, and of course other working actors to give you as much

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insight as humanly possible into what you can do to stand

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out from the rest of the crowd submitting for the same audition tape,

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giving you a better chance to progress to showrunner meetings like I got to do with this Boots audition.

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That means you'll get three chances to perform in front of three massive industry experts, but just because you don't get shortlisted doesn't mean you don't participate.

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You still get to attend all of the calls, meet the guests, and ask them some of your own questions as well.

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So we're hosting a competition in October, November, and December of this year, 2025.

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So that's three different chances, and the sooner you join, the most you'll be able to take advantage of each one.

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And this competition is in addition to my online acting classes

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along with the chance to get video feedback from me on all of your materials at any time.

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So there's never been a better chance to join.

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The deadline for each competition is on the screen right now.

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So if you want to join for any or all of them, you know the final date to sign up by.

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Click the link below in the description or pinned comment or scan the QR code right on Mr. Vecna's beautiful face.

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And if you do join, I look forward to meeting you and helping you advance your own acting career.

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Okay, now let's have a look at the scenes that I just finished filming.

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You sure you want to do this?

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Yes, it'll be good for me, I think.

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I mean, everybody's always like, you got to make something of yourself, be a real man, but nobody ever shows you how

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so marines will be like a crash course in everything that i never learned yeah it's just

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once they find something they don't like they really go after

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you trust me they always find something you know they're gonna ask right then i'll tell them cancer sun with aries rising

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Okay, so I'm gay.

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I mean why do they have to know because that's their policy No gays allowed.

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Okay, so it's it's frowned upon No, Cameron, it's illegal.

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It's illegal to be gay in the military like like I Could go to jail I know it's messed up.

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So you don't, you don't, you don't think that I should go.

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I didn't say that.

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I just, I just want you to be prepared.

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Then what?

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I'm, I'm just supposed to lie to everybody.

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I mean, why not?

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If a kid at school asked if you were gay, you'd say no. Right.

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Same thing?

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Right.

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A kid at school is not going to court -martial me if he finds out.

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He'll just, you know, go to Melissa DeSant and all her friends and put up posters saying Cameron for homecoming queen.

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Did that happen?

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No. Okay, then, then, it's simple.

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You just gotta lock it up for a while.

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What do you mean, lock it up?

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What's this?

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Wilson Phillips?

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Hello, they're stunning.

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This is what I mean by lock it up.

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I did start the scene a little bit slow, but in many ways that shows how they're in the chill part of the conversation, just hanging out.

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But as we get to the parts of the scene where I'm getting pushback from my best friend, where I can tell he's actually not rooting for me the way

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that i thought he was i not only quicken my cues

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which shows the building of that tension i also am not afraid to overlap him

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and this is why it's important to incorporate all aspects of

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your performance it's incredibly important to have contrast in every single aspect of the performance

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so contrast and movement the speed in

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which you talk quickness of the cues little things that to add as many layers as possible.

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Let's go to scene two.

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Okay, is this actually the life that you want for yourself?

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Beatings, burns, Bismarck.

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Can you please just leave me alone?

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The more that you ignore me, the louder I'm gonna have to get.

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What is it that you want me to do?

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Okay, stop!

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Stop being this nice, meek, everything is fine Cameron!

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Develop some goddamn self -respect!

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In fact, say sayonara to this fucking shit.

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You know, our place is out there, somewhere, it has to be.

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Any place is better than this.

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as a whole i wouldn't necessarily say that this take is better

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because my original second take was already extremely strong i would

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just say there are some differences as a manner of approaching

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the exact same scene years later you don't want to approach

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the exact same scene in the exact same way years apart

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because it means you're not really meeting yourself where you're at

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and ultimately as an actor you need to combine where you're currently at with where the character is at.

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That's how you find the balance between authenticity and of course honoring the stakes that this character is currently in.

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Those are the recreated scenes so remember

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if you want to join the acting lab to take part

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in our season of madness then click the link in the description

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or the pinned comment if you'd like more details

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and of course you can also scan that QR code if you're on TV or laptop.

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And if you would like to see me break down some of the auditions that launched Celebrity Careers, then check that video right up there.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Breaking Down My Audition For Netflix's BOOTS”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: cameron, scene, audition. This video has 212 sentences and 2640 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:39. The speaker talks at a natural 158 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
audition noun	/ɑˈdɪʃən/	A performance, by an aspiring performer, to demonstrate suitability or talent.
showrunner noun	/ˈʃoʊˌɹʌnɚ/	The person in overall charge of the production of a television series.
stake noun	/steɪk/	A piece of wood or other material, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a marker or a support or stay.
recreate verb	/ˈɹɛk.ɹi.eɪt/	To give new life, energy or encouragement (to); to refresh, enliven.
dramedy noun	/ˈdɹɑmədi/	A genre of film or television that lies somewhere between drama and comedy.
frown verb	/ˈfɹaʊ̯n/	To have a frown on one's face.
meek adjective	/mik/	Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing.
overdo verb	/ˌoʊvɚˈdu/	To do too much; to exceed what is proper or true in doing; to carry too far.
sayonara	/ˌsaɪəˈnɑːɹə/	Goodbye, adios, adieu.
shortlist verb		To place something on a short list.
homecoming noun	/ˈhoʊmˌkʌmɪŋ/	The act or event of returning home.
contention noun	/kənˈtɛnʃən/	Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.
cue noun	/kju/	An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something.
redemption noun	/ɹɪˈdɛmpʃən/	The act of redeeming or something redeemed.
stare verb	/stɛɚ/	To look fixedly (at something).

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
break down verb	To stop functioning.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
mess up verb	To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.
grow up verb	To mature and become an adult.
hang up verb	To put up to hang.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Are you sure you want to do this?
Am I supposed to just lie?
Is this the life you want?
Can you please just leave me alone?
What is it that you want me to do?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if you were gay, you'd say · if I did this, I would have
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	has been released · was given · could be ruined

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 80 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: audition /ɑˈdɪʃən/, showrunner /ˈʃoʊˌɹʌnɚ/, contention /kənˈtɛnʃən/, redemption /ɹɪˈdɛmpʃən/, martial /ˈmɑɹʃəl/
Long words — get the stress right: incongruent /ɪnˈkɒn.ɡɹu.ənt/, authenticity /ɑθɛnˈtɪsɪti/, realization /ˌɹɪə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/, phenomenal /fɪˈnɒmɪnəl/, incorporate /ɪŋˈkɔɹ.pɚ.eɪt/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like audition, showrunner, stake.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?