Shadowing Practice: F-15 Pilot Breaks Down Iran's SECRET Missile Bunkers - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
333 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
having such kind of intimate knowledge and experience with
2
that procedure now watching it unfold firsthand how well does
3
that line up and what has surprised you and
4
and not surprised you yeah well i think there was a there's a big part of me
5
that has the fomo right like i studied this i wish i was there
6
but then i step outside of my own ego
7
and my own desires of like what does ryan want
8
and i'm like oh maybe my place was to kind of share with the American people what this adversary is
9
that we're actually going up against and how hard of a challenge this is for our warfighters.
10
They're totally capable and able to do it, but this is a real problem.
11
They've gotten to the point where they're really strong.
12
I started to see that
13
when I was teaching it was how much of their shadow fleet and shadow orientation for their economy propped up the IRGC.
14
I was like, why is there so much of a shadow infrastructure to pump money into the IRGC?
15
And why are they getting 60, 70 % of the revenue going right to these top guys?
16
I don't get it.
17
And so I think that it just was kind of like it's the mind of the Ayatollah being represented in the military.
18
The military hardware they have is all built for proxy warfare, if you really think about it.
19
I mean, we took out their massive military systems, Blue Water Navy, surface air missile systems for the most part uh some of their headquarters buildings command
20
and control nodes pretty much in the first couple weeks right
21
but their whole system was built for proxy warfare and
22
so what i was most kind of taken aback by was
23
how resilient their systems are to once the war starts like
24
it's like they kind of know they see the writing on the wall
25
that their whole their main military force is going to be crushed
26
and so then they immediately have second third fourth fifth sixth uh ways of fighting back right
27
and a lot of it's dispersed ballistic missile bunkers you know
28
if people come to my live streams you can see
29
that like we'll go on a live stream
30
and we'll just look across one little chunk of the country
31
and there'll be five different uh areas where there's 50 plus
32
ballistic missile bunkers where they just pull out a missile launch it
33
and go back in and i started to see too how like north korea
34
and iran the the tactics iran was kind of taking from
35
north korea north korea seemed to kind of have perfected it with triple a
36
and so it was really cool to be able to take the different war plans
37
and kind of war game them against each other like okay
38
how are these people going to learn from each other
39
because you know birds of a feather flock together right and
40
so in north korea they have AAA pieces that pull out of a hill and they can launch at Seoul.
41
Estimates are 500 ,000 people would be dead in the first 72 hours in that conflict, right?
42
Because they're going to launch so much artillery at Seoul and it's right there.
43
So Iran's version of that is the ballistic missiles where they have done the same exact technique, but not as many pieces, not as many AAA pieces as North Korea,
44
but their ballistic missiles are doing the same thing, at least in their minds.
45
That's what they hope for is to hit their neighbors hard enough, hit our bases hard enough that everybody just backs off
46
and this was light this was a light
47
and it wasn't nothing right we still see them launching ballistic missiles
48
but their goal their stated goal is 10 000 plus ballistic
49
missiles people can back me up on the exact numbers i
50
i want to say they started the conflict with like 2 000 something like
51
that but their goal is 10 000 and 100 000 plus drones
52
but the numbers i saw was they started with 2 000 ballistic missiles and maybe close to 50 000 drones.
53
Yeah.
54
From what you planned and kind of what was anticipated versus what's actually happening, does that line up pretty well?
55
Or are there some things, I mean, I know you mentioned their resiliency surprised you, but was that not anticipated in the planning?
56
Like, I guess from
57
somebody in your position or the higher up who's going to be putting
58
that package on the president or Joint Chief's desk and saying, here's what day one, two, five, six months looks like.
59
Do you think that it was predicted accurately, or are we pretty surprised where things are at right now?
60
I think it was predicted pretty accurately, but I think there were surprises in certain places.
61
So the Section 2 or whatever of that O plan is the proxy warfare phase.
62
So Section 1, you know, here's the force on force.
63
Section 2 is like way thicker, and it's this.
64
So I think the plan that was put on the president's desk was like, POTUS, this is going to wind down in like three to four weeks for the main military force.
65
But then this is going to kick up and hockey stick when it comes to the proxy warfare.
66
But maybe POTUS at that point was like, well, we're going to make a deal with them anyways.
67
So, you know, but then it turns out the IRGC is fully embedded like a mafia.
68
Right.
69
And so maybe that was a little more surprising where a lot of their front facing.
70
And I even kind of felt this with seeing a lot of their front -facing leaders.
71
They're convincing.
72
They're relatively good at gaslighting, right, where they seem like normal politicians.
73
But they're all IRGC guys that are all skilled in IOs, information operations.
74
So maybe that the - So politicians.
75
Yeah, I guess you're right.
76
Yeah, I guess we nailed it.
77
But yeah, I think that might have been maybe the inability to negotiate with them maybe didn't get communicated as well.
78
Maybe it did.
79
I don't know but i think the proxy warfare was definitely communicated
80
but the one thing i would say is what's changed for me
81
when i was in to now was the drones
82
because there were drones right as we studied their plans
83
but a lot of it was more fast attack boats
84
that would be remote control uh they would be more of
85
a fast attack boat drone focus where they would launch 500
86
or whatever of these fast attack boats with explosives
87
and try to take out the carrier uh so
88
that was kind of the main thing
89
that i saw with some drone stuff definitely ballistic missiles was a part of it
90
but also at the time the ballistic missiles that
91
that we studied weren't as accurate because they weren't i don't know
92
if we were understanding at the time
93
that they were going to get some advanced technology from russia
94
and china with electro -optical seekers and different things like that
95
and so i think just like the enemy always does right the enemy has a vote they're going to adapt and
96
so that's what i think they've done over the last five
97
ten years is get more accurate with their ballistic missiles and their drones, and they've taken money that's been given to them for decades,
98
and they've just consistently increased their military capability.
99
So this can has been kicked down the road so long
100
that now you're fighting a much more resilient Iran proxy warfare -wise than I think we would have
101
if this would have been done 10, 15 years ago.
102
Yeah.
103
Yeah, I don't doubt that.
104
I'm curious if there's anything
105
that you learned about the IRGC in the planning phase of your career that maybe the public still doesn't know?
106
Yeah, I've talked about it quite a bit on the channel, but I think the big thing is they are using a information operation
107
that is straight out of the book called Rules for Radicals.
108
And so there's a book out there called Rules for Radicals written by Alinsky.
109
And the whole focus of that was actually the left, the political left in the United States used that in the 70s
110
and it's basically a way to triangulate a group of people against a specific threat for your own gain
111
and so you can see it especially being used by people like AOC
112
or Gavin Newsom
113
or a lot of people on the left who will say
114
we're all against Trump we're anti -Trump we hate Trump right
115
because that's all they have to say they don't talk about any achievements that's being done by the Democratic Party
116
because they're using that book, which is specifically meant to triangulate people against a certain person.
117
And the book specifically says, don't triangulate against a large group of people, triangulate against one or two, and don't triangulate against a whole system.
118
So you basically find something that people are interested in, you create an enemy, and then you tell them why that enemy is keeping them down.
119
And you just do that over and over and over again. And
120
so that's what the the left in the united states had
121
done for a long time the right uses it now too by the way
122
so it's a bipartisan thing in certain ways
123
because the only way to fight against
124
that is using the same tactic against itself it's
125
so powerful it's such a powerful thing it's like this this weird cheat code of the human mind
126
which is unfortunate
127
but it's been used by both political parties started with the
128
left now the right's having to use it as well
129
and then the irgc uses it against the west as well
130
that's why they call america the great satan they call israel the little Satan,
131
because they're using the same playbook to try to triangulate the world against a specific thing.
132
And then when you see the IRGC being interviewed, they've even come out and said, this is right out of the book as well.
133
They'll say, we're not against the American people with just the leaders.
134
Yeah.
135
Okay.
136
Great.
137
Yeah.
138
I'm sure if we were walking through the streets of Tehran, you'd just be like, oh yeah, yeah.
139
Americans.
140
Great.
141
So again, it's an information operation.
142
And so I see the left kind of being a little bit swooned by the IRGC
143
and that whole tactic because it's the same tactic and playbook
144
that they've actually been using themselves
145
so it works yeah yeah do you have any idea how much of the planning
146
that you did would have actually been used or implemented or
147
or how does that work like because obviously the plans are already
148
made how much are you augmenting or adding to them in
149
that planning phase i think the way
150
that my planning would have been done would have been more on the tactical level
151
because at the time i was just very focused on that tactical application of the F -15E.
152
So we got really good at strafing boats and I found a lot of different tactics to strafe boats.
153
And I did a lot of research with people from three -letter agencies to determine, you know, what exactly are these boats going to do?
154
Tell me exactly the maneuver.
155
I want to see, and how far does a diesel bass boat...
156
turn if he goes full full right wheel like i want to know all those things
157
so i basically went to like the the gnats asked details of
158
that uh and
159
and the different styles of boats they have like all all
160
different classes you know 15 different classes of boats i want
161
to know exactly how fast they are uh are they going
162
to see me up above them are they going to try
163
to stop what are they going to try to do and
164
so that's the kind of stuff that i more put into the plan
165
is there been a i guess an understanding
166
or was there an understanding then maybe anticipation is a better word for the assistance
167
that china specifically china and
168
or maybe even russia has given iran as far as intelligence drones technology etc was
169
that anticipated or is
170
that kind of a surprise i think i think it was
171
always kind of an option you know i think we always have seen you know iran uh i actually thought
172
that they would have more russian systems than they do to be honest with you
173
so they've i don't know if it's a pride thing
174
but they have they do have the ability to indigenously build surface -to -air missiles rockets
175
and things like that
176
so i'm actually surprised there's not more russian equipment i suspect
177
the ukraine thing probably has a lot to do with
178
that there you go is it i mean russia is
179
so strapped with that is that they have far far less to contribute maybe yeah
180
and they have a little operation going through the Caspian right
181
both ways where you know actually Iran will send small arms
182
I don't know Iran sending small arms to Russia Russia's sending explosive packs for drones to Iran
183
so they have a little shadow network there in the Caspian as well yeah
184
so are you aware of how much help China has given I mean I've seen a lot of reports
185
that aren't maybe particularly definitive But certain aerial imagery, satellite imagery and stuff of, you know, what what was anticipated
186
that Iran would have versus what China has given them in disparity of how much better the Chinese intelligence is.
187
Does any of that ring true or strike a chord with any of the work you did?
188
Yeah, I think the thing that we saw with China is, again, China is really good at building cameras, listening devices.
189
I mean, look what they do to their own population.
190
Right.
191
So they've just taken that and magnified it.
192
Again, like I talked about earlier, no limits on the Chinese military.
193
They're like, oh, sweet, we can build a thousand megapixel camera
194
and put it on a fighter jet and test it right now.
195
And it's gonna be able to see everybody's home that we fly over and it's gonna absorb all that information.
196
We don't care, cool.
197
The US military might have some things where you can't even, if you're coming in to land at a base, you can't even have your targeting pod on because of privacy issues and all kinds of things,
198
which I love, it's good.
199
But again, China is going to just go to the max level when it comes to any type of capability, especially intelligence, surveillance or reconnaissance.
200
That's what they're good at.
201
I mean, there's a reason why, you know, they're like the Huawei phones, right, that we aren't allowed to have in the US or government officials can't have them.
202
Definitely.
203
So I think the thing that was going on with China
204
that is hard to counter is even if Xi and Trump have a good relationship and, you know, they're face to face like, hey, we're not going to share any information.
205
uh they're shadow companies that are operating all over the place and again
206
if they have access to a they've bought off a general in the plaf people's liberation army air force
207
and they're able to get some sort of new technology to iran
208
and that general is going to make 100 million dollars dude they're going to do it every time right
209
because corruption is going to rule a lot more
210
when it comes to china
211
so i i think there could be some things going on behind the scenes
212
But as far as like the hard military power being transferred to China, I don't, from China to Iran, I don't see that being a factor.
213
Where do you see it?
214
Or I guess before you explain or predict where you see it going, how do you think it's going now?
215
I think it's going longer than everybody would have hoped.
216
I'm not surprised that it's taken this long.
217
I mean, I could say here an armchair admiral the thing all day long, right?
218
because I'm sitting in my nice comfy studio on YouTube and enjoying the freedoms that everybody's out there fighting for.
219
So I think there's, there could have been some better messaging perhaps early on.
220
I remember releasing a video, uh, in, I think it was March or April.
221
And I was like, I think we need to get ready for six to 10 months of, of this.
222
And someone, someone that was close to me was like, dude, you shouldn't say that.
223
Like people, people aren't going to think you're credible.
224
Like they're not going to think you're credible because that's way too long.
225
And I was just thinking, no, I think we need a lot of time to see if some sort of a change could happen on the ground.
226
Because if we're not going to do an invasion, which I don't know, I'm curious your thoughts too, maybe an invasion is the way to go,
227
but not the US, not US troops on the ground.
228
Is that even possible?
229
Is that feasible?
230
When you look at what happened with Japan, the reason why they surrendered, people think it's a nuclear bomb.
231
I don't think it's just a nuclear bomb.
232
I think it was a nuclear bombs
233
and the credible threat of an invasion right off their coast
234
so they're seeing the nuclear bombs hit
235
and then they're seeing these fleets of naval vessels packed with american infantrymen ready to invade you know so i think
236
that to me i was always curious early on
237
if the regime is going to fall can the people be armed who's going to be on the ground even
238
when we took out hitler we own the air
239
but we own the ground too and
240
that the hitler regime had nowhere to go uh so this regime right now has a lot of places to go.
241
So I think that's why the president's doing the off -ramps thing.
242
So I did think the off -ramps were going to be the end of it.
243
That's just my thought.
244
I was like, well, IRGC lost a lot here.
245
The off -ramps will be the end of it.
246
And that would have been, what, a five -month conflict at that point if they took the off -ramps.
247
And so I was even a little bit surprised that the IRGC didn't just try to fully protect themselves, not the IRGC specifically, but the mullahs,
248
the people that weren't maybe as radical as some of the top leaders in the IRGC, we're able to get some sort of a deal brokered
249
and wrap the thing up in five months
250
and i think that's that's what i originally predicted
251
and now i think we're just seeing
252
that this regime is is way more cancerous than we ever
253
thought yeah i uh i mean i first learned about you
254
right around the time kind of the the air campaign started i remember watching uh one of your early videos
255
and just thinking like pass is super entertaining
256
and just was uh really impressed with the job
257
that you did i love love your content i've watched a
258
ton of it um it's such a i think a useful
259
position and perspective you have between your flying experience your planning experience
260
and and and the window of time
261
that you spent doing it being pretty relevant and
262
and relative to what's going on now with the iran conflict being
263
so overwhelmingly air dominant and almost entirely you know airstrike
264
or air campaign focused um is there anything that surprised you from
265
that kind of specific aspect of the actual air campaign standpoint
266
and uh is do you have any kind of ballpark percentage
267
on what airframes have been used in the campaign percentage wise hmm yeah
268
so i think something that's surprising me now is there's not strikes happening at places like pickaxe mountain yeah
269
and who knows maybe they just just happened i mean it's a fast movement ball game uh
270
but i think early on they they well 2025 they targeted a lot of the nuclear infrastructure
271
and then after that the campaign focused more on on other things and now it's shifted to the straight of Hormuz.
272
But yeah, I think while we're, the one thing that's surprising to me is if we're in there doing all these operations, tag Pickaxe Mountain, make sure they can't use it, you know?
273
But I think that, so that was a little surprising to me and that, who knows, that could happen at any moment.
274
I think the sheer number of sorties was surprising to me.
275
The numbers I saw was like 13 ,000 sorties between the U .S and Israel.
276
So, I mean, just the repetition of that and the folks
277
that are getting those jets launched you know the people blasting the jets off the carriers the the bases
278
that are right there getting shot at with missiles
279
like the the ops tempo is insane so i think that's something
280
that you just can't understate how amazing that is
281
and i i think everybody out there should know how hard
282
that is to do for the people on the ground getting
283
the jets airborne 13 000 flights i mean we're talking refueling
284
them maintaining them loading weapons you know all those things are just hats off to everybody doing
285
that do you know how many aircraft would contribute to those 13 000 like what is
286
that average per aircraft wow yeah that's a that's a good question i think there were
287
so the the publicly released numbers
288
that i saw was somewhere around 200 to 300 fighter aircraft i'd say it's on the higher end of
289
that to do that and then uh that probably
290
that number probably includes drones but remember drone operators are sitting in there operating
291
that drone as well you know they're operating it from creature air force base
292
or wherever so i'm asserting i'm sure it includes drones
293
but again the workhorse jets are the ones
294
that are flying most of the mission
295
so f -15es f -16s a -10s these fourth generation fighters
296
that you know maybe they're not the sexiest thing on the block now with the f -22
297
and the f -35 but they get the job done right
298
if you got a if you got a phillips head screw you need a phillips head screwdriver
299
and that's what these jets are yeah yeah the uh Is
300
that something that that level of sorties in the op plan stuff, is that something that you would get
301
that far in the weeds on where you would anticipate this many sorties per month
302
or in this phase you would anticipate X number of sorties to accomplish phase one or whatever?
303
Is it that detailed?
304
Yeah, I think it is, but it's broken down by squadron, like roughly.
305
Like, hey, this is how much your squadron is going to have to be ready to go.
306
And so this many rotations, the jets are going to need to fly this many times a day.
307
and this is the battle rhythm that we're going to consistently get
308
and then everything else is built from that right so they're like okay with that battle rhythm
309
We're going to need this many WIZOs, this many fighter pilots, this many bombs, because we assume we're going to drop this many.
310
I mean, the planning is just completely dialed in all the way down to, like, the last 20 -millimeter bullet that you're going to bring.
311
Yeah, wow.
312
Yeah.
313
You mentioned A -10s, F -15s, F -16s.
314
I'm sure F -18s on the Navy side is a huge component.
315
Far more of a percentage of the sorties flown by those aircraft than the fifth -gen stuff, the F -22, F -35.
316
I would think so, yeah.
317
Yeah, just because there's more of them, there's sheer numbers, right?
318
And, yeah, thanks for catching the F -18.
319
My F -18 bros are going to give me a hard time for that one.
320
Yeah, the Super Hornet's amazing.
321
But, yeah, I think the big thing is a lot of these stealth jets are incredible for what they do.
322
But even to make them stealthy, you have to put everything inside of them.
323
So it means a little less weapons load out.
324
Now, the F -35, probably not as concerned about being stealth right now, but still maneuverability -wise, controllability -wise,
325
i've never really seen bombs hung on the outside of the f -35 i'm sure it can be done
326
but maybe more of like an air -to -air missile loadout would be on those
327
so if you want to go in
328
and pummel targets you got to find a big truck of a jet
329
which is f -15e primarily that's the number one number two would be probably the super hornet
330
and the f -16 right around about the same and
331
And then obviously the A10 is kind of in a class of its own, right?
332
Built for a little bit different of a purpose.
333
Yeah.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B23
206 sentences
Iran War Explained Like You're 5
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B26
243 sentences
Single Engine Static Fire? Huh. | SpaceX Starbase
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B2278 sentences
The SECRET WEAPON UK Just Used Against Protesters | Palestine Action Co-Founder EXPOSES All
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C14
287 sentences
Flying the Air Force's $320M Supersonic B-1 Bomber
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B22
267 sentences
At North Korea’s Border
American AccentIELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C13
149 sentences
Can Humanity Stop A Planet-Killing Asteroid?
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
C13
246 sentences
The CIA's new tech doesn't make sense
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B29
27 sentences
"أنت فاشل".. سيناتور ديمقراطي يهاجم وزير الحرب الأمريكي
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepDaily Conversation
B21
243 sentences
When M1 Abrams Fought T-72s
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B25
582 sentences
“You Support A Country That Hates Us!” - Patrick Bet-David In HEATED DEBATE With Reza Aslan
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B23
143 sentences
Prince Reza Pahlavi on Fox News with Martha MacCallum | 22 September 2026
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
B23
274 sentences
“They Control Many Things” - Did the Jewish Lobby or the CIA Cause The Fall of Iran?
IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “F-15 Pilot Breaks Down Iran's SECRET Missile Bunkers”. This video has 333 sentences and 4242 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:26. The speaker talks fast, about 198 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| missile noun | /ˈmɪs.aɪl/ | Any object used as a weapon by being thrown or fired through the air, such as stone, arrow or bullet. |
| drone noun | /dɹoʊn/ | A male hymenopteran (ant, bee, hornet, or wasp), whose sole primary function is to mate with the queen. |
| ballistic adjective | /bəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Of or relating to ballistics. |
| sortie noun | /ˈsɔɹti/ | An attack made by troops from a besieged position; a sally. |
| triangulate verb | /tɹaɪˈæŋɡjəleɪt/ | To locate by means of triangulation. |
| proxy noun | /ˈpɹɑk.si/ | An agent or substitute authorized to act for another person. |
| anticipate verb | /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/ | To act before (someone), especially to prevent an action. |
| warfare noun | /ˈwɔɹfɛɹ/ | The waging of war or armed conflict against an enemy. |
| predict verb | /pɹɪˈdɪkt/ | To make a prediction: to forecast, foretell, or estimate a future event on the basis of knowledge and reasoning; to prophesy a future event on the basis of… |
| tactic noun | /ˈtæktɪk/ | A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end. |
| credible adjective | /ˈkɹɛdəbl̩/ | Believable or plausible. |
| pickaxe noun | /ˈpɪkˌæks/ | A heavy iron tool with a wooden handle; one end of the head is pointed, the other has a chisel edge. |
| playbook noun | /ˈpleɪ.bʊk/ | A book containing the text of a play or plays. |
| resilient adjective | /ɹɪˈzɪl.jənt/ | Returning quickly to original shape after force is applied; elastic. (of objects or substances) |
| satin noun | /ˈsæt.ɪn/ | A cloth woven from silk, nylon or polyester with a glossy surface and a dull back. (The same weaving technique applied to cotton produces cloth termed sateen). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| take out verb | To remove. | |
| line up verb | /laɪnˈʌp/ | To align; to put in alignment; to put in correct adjustment for smooth running. |
| back off verb | To move backwards away from something. | |
| break down verb | To stop functioning. | |
| buy off verb | To pay off, convince to refrain etc. by corrupt payment or other service. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| do over verb | /ˈduˌoʊvɚ/ | To cover with; to smear or spread on to. |
| fight back verb | /faɪt bæk/ | To defend oneself by fighting. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Where do you see it?
- I'm not surprised that it's taken this long.
- I don't think it's just a nuclear bomb.
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 | has surprised · They've gotten · have perfected |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being represented · was built · be crushed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 105 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, we're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: stealth /stɛlθ/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/, feather /ˈfɛðə/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sheer /ʃɪɚ/, anticipation /ænˌtɪs.əˈpeɪ.ʃən/, liberation /ˌlɪbəˈɹeɪʃən/, negotiate /nəˈɡəʊ.ʃi.eɪt/, orientation /ˌɔː.ɹi.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: triangulate /tɹaɪˈæŋɡjəleɪt/, anticipate /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, accurately /ˈæk.jə.ɹɪt.li/, capability /ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/, adversary /ˈæd.vəɹˌsɛɹi/
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 missile, drone, ballistic.
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.