Shadowing Practice: BTS ARMY: Inside the World's Most Powerful Fandom | MTV News - Learn English Speaking with Video
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South Korean boy band BTS have achieved unprecedented global success this year two consecutive number one albums on the Billboard charts, a sold -out world tour,
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and a historic stadium show at New York City's Citi Field with over 40 ,000 fans in attendance.
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But what makes BTS so special?
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And why have they accomplished what no other Korean artists have before?
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Their meteoric rise has often been attributed to their significant reach on social media, thanks in part to their extremely dedicated and organized fanbase, called ARMY.
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It's safe to say that ARMY are the most powerful fandom in the world, but they're also the most diverse.
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It's not uncommon to find fans of different genders, ethnicities, and ages at a BTS concert or fan meetup.
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And the thing that brings them together?
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Their complete devotion to seven men from South Korea and their unique message.
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BTS made their debut in 2013 with the radical, socially conscious album "Too Cool for School." The lead single "No
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More Dream" was dedicated to all of the youngsters without dreams for their future, a theme they've revisited in songs like "Dope" and "Paradise."
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But it was 2015's "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life" that solidified BTS as a voice for their generation, tackling taboos like anxiety, depression,
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and generational divides, subjects not often talked about in K -pop.
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What BTS really try to say is this is how we deal with our life.
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This is how we try to experience our joy and our hope.
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Like they never tell us to do anything.
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It's never didactic.
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But by being open themselves, they invite us to do the same thing.
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to open up about their feelings and hardships that brings fans closer to BTS, to the point where they feel like they know them.
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Streaming platforms like Korea's VLIVE give ARMY intimate access to the members as they do mundane things like eating
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and sitting in their hotel room after a performance.
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BTS also have several ongoing shows, like Run BTS and Bon Voyage, that invite fans to laugh along with them as they do random challenges and travel the globe.
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Better yet, every single episode is available to stream.
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And that's only a fraction of the content available at fans' fingertips.
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Largely due to fan translators, who translate this content from Korean to other languages for free on their own time.
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"Sign me." I don't translate for BTS, they understand everything they're saying, but there are millions of fans out there who care about the message they have to deliver,
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but need translations for it.
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And hearing people respond back immediately through social media, you get a sense that you're doing something for community
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and you do something for people to take a new step to get a little bit more courage.
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On Tumblr, the internet's go -to destination for fandom communities, BTS is currently the #1 artist tag.
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BTS was still number one, but they were also bigger than Beyonce.
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They were bigger than Ariana Grande.
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They were bigger than all of these huge acts
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that you would think not being part of this community would blow them out of the water.
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I absolutely noticed BTS fans.
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Take what BTS has given them, all the wonderful things that they've brought into their lives, and kind of pay that forward.
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you adopt turtles, you adopt koalas in their name, and it's always done in the name of BTS or ARMY.
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And One in an ARMY is a great example of that.
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On the day of BTS' historic Citi Field concert, volunteers from One in an ARMY, a fan -driven global charity initiative,
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were collecting canned goods and blankets just across the street to give to local organizations, City Harvest, and Coalition for the Homeless.
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We're doing this as a thank you to New York for being so hospitable to BTS and to the Army.
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We are dedicated fans, we are loyal fans, but we also wanted to show that we are so good will in each Army.
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Once you get one person involved, It's like a chain reaction to everybody else.
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Even if we only do a small thing, That can be a big thing for somebody else.
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We want to make them proud.
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We really do.
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For ARMY, these simple acts of kindness bring them closer to BTS and to each other.
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Purple Ribbon Army, another fan -led initiative, was also outside Citi Field handing out Purple Ribbon wristbands.
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They serve as reminders to concertgoers to be respectful to their fellow armies.
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Purple is a significant color for BTS, inspired by member V's favorite face.
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I talk with you.
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It started off as an airport project where we would use a ribbon to barricade the ARMYs
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and other fans that wanted to see them so that the boys can travel through the airport without getting hurt.
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And it also ensured the safety of other ARMY members as well.
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At Citi Field, BTS fans from around the world came together to celebrate a
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group they say has changed their lives in a multitude of meaningful ways.
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BTS has changed my life because I just met a bunch of random people online and now they're my closest friends.
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They give so much to us.
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They help empower us so much.
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I started listening to BTS last summer and I was infatuated with the choreography.
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I just decided that I wanted to try the dance.
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And now, like two years later, I'm obsessed with them.
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I'm a teenager and I struggle with a lot of emotional stuff, like personal problems.
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Music nowadays, it's cool, it's good.
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But there's nothing like BTS.
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It directly talks to a teenager.
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Depression anxiety, social problems, all that I suffer with, I deal with.
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Every day at my high school, during lunch period or gym, I would go upstairs to this empty room and I would dance there for 45 minutes to an hour every single day.
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To me, their music is everything.
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It came at a point in my life when I didn't know who I was as a person, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.
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But to have these, you know, these boys just come out and be like, hey, it's okay, you'll figure it out.
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Don't worry about it.
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Just do you and do the best that you can.
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It was really, really great.
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Through their music and philanthropy, BTS asked their fans to look inward, to take their message and reflect.
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To know that just because you don't love yourself today, doesn't mean you can't love yourself tomorrow.
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In doing so, BTS aren't just breaking records, they're creating a movement.
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We call each other family, you know?
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To me, it represents a, you know, the kind of world that I want to live in.
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Context & Background
The video titled "BTS ARMY: Inside the World's Most Powerful Fandom" by MTV News offers a fascinating glimpse into the remarkable rise of the South Korean boy band BTS and their incredibly dedicated fanbase, known as ARMY. The narrator highlights the unique characteristics of BTS, emphasizing their impactful music and connection with fans. By breaking taboos around mental health and encouraging authenticity, BTS has built a diverse community that reflects various backgrounds and ages. This context provides an excellent foundation for understanding everyday English phrases used by fans and the significance of their expressions during interactions related to BTS.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "Can I get a little bit of hope?" - A relatable request reflecting a desire for positivity and support.
- "We're doing this as a thank you." - A phrase that embodies gratitude and community spirit.
- "We want to make them proud." - A motivational expression of dedication towards a cause or group.
- "It’s all about bringing us together." - Emphasizes unity and connection amongst fans.
- "Once you get one person involved, it's like a chain reaction." - A metaphor illustrating how enthusiasm can spread within a community.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively use the content from this video for your English speaking practice, especially if you're preparing for the IELTS speaking test, follow this structured shadowing guide:
- Watch and Listen: Begin by watching the video without subtitles. Listen for intonation and pronunciation.
- Segmenting: Break down the video into smaller clips. Focus on one phrase or sentence at a time. For example, "Can I get a little bit of hope?"
- Repeat and Mimic: Play the clip and repeat what you hear immediately after the speaker. Pay attention to the rhythm and emotion in their voice.
- Practice in Context: Incorporate the phrases you've learned into your daily conversations or write sentences that relate to your life. This reinforces what you’ve learned through shadow speak.
- Connect with Others: Engage with fellow English learners or BTS fans to practice speaking. Share meanings and contexts of phrases like "We're doing this as a thank you."
Using the techniques outlined above, you can enhance your English speaking practice and further develop your skills with shadowspeak. Engage actively with content that resonates with you, and see improvements in your fluency and comfort in speaking.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have achieved · have they accomplished · has often been attributed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been attributed · was infatuated |
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.