Shadowing Practice: How The US Stole The Panama Canal, Mapped - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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There's this one lake in Central America that if you look closely enough, you're gonna see the tops of trees in the lake.
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And these are not islands, these are hilltops.
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This all used to be a dense jungle, not a lake.
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But then they built dams and all sorts of infrastructure to flood this forest, all in the name of solving a centuries-old puzzle,
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which was how do we make it faster and easier to travel between here and here,
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even in spite of the fact that you have two massive continents blocking any waterway.
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But there was hope.
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If you look down here at this one thin stretch of land, here it's only 80 kilometers across,
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and it looks so easy to just cut a waterway into it.
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No. Turns out that puzzle was not easy.
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This little 80 kilometer strip of land proved to be really hard to cut through.
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But as long as international trade continued to grow, there continued to be great powers looking for new waterways to shorten their routes and to increase their power.
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For whoever controls the water has the power.
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And these great powers always focused on this narrow stretch of land, from the Spanish in the 14th century to the Scottish in the 15th.
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But then the most earnest and serious attempt was in 1880, when this guy, a French engineer,
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Ferdinand de Lesseps, shows up and is like, hey, I got this.
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He had just completed another big world-changing canal over here.
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He was feeling very confident and he's like, yep, I'm your guy.
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Let's build another canal.
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It'll be easy.
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We'll just dig down to sea level
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and reroute the river like we did in Egypt for the Suez Canal and it'll be great and I'll be famous.
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Listen, de la Sep, Egypt is a flat desert and Panama is not.
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These mountains that you want to dig through are well above sea level.
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So if you want to dig down to sea level to make a flat canal, it's not going to be easy.
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Meanwhile, another French engineer comes to de la Sep and he's like, dude, this isn't going to work.
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It's way too much digging.
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Instead of bringing the mountains down to sea level, what you need to do is bring the sea up to the mountains.
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And in a moment of collaborative creativity, Delicep admits that he was wrong and begins construction based on the new plans.
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And then he promotes this guy as the head of engineer and says, great idea.
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No, Delicep was like, bring the ocean up to the mountains.
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That sounds stupid.
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Screw you, I'm the famous one.
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The canal is going to be at sea level, just like we did with the Suez Canal.
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So the French start digging.
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Well, actually it wasn't the French.
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It was a ton of poorly paid migrant workers who were doing the digging hacking away at the jungle with machetes, and then digging by hand with pickaxes in sweltering heat,
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knee-deep in sitting water, which is heaven for, you guessed it, disease-infested mosquitoes, which is terrible news.
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But luckily, de Lesseps, the engineer, was always there in the trenches with his workers, wielding a pickaxe alongside his people.
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Yeah, no, of course he wasn't.
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He was just hanging out in France, only visiting Panama twice over the course of seven years to just like check in on the project.
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And what he realized when he showed up seven years into this digging is that things were going horribly.
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People were dying like 40 or 50 a day.
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All in all, 20,000 workers died trying to dig this canal.
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Thousands died from disease and accidents and we will never know their names.
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And it's not just that people are dying, it's that the digging isn't working either.
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They would do a bunch of digging one day
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and then the next day the rain would bring in all of the mud that they just dug back into the canal.
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So Delicep shows up, realizes this is happening, is like, this is not working.
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Is there another way to dig this canal?
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And then he has a flashback to seven years earlier.
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Bring the sea up to the mountains.
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And he's like, oh yeah, that was actually a really good idea.
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My bad, we actually are gonna do that other plan instead.
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But no, it was too late.
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The investors were done.
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They had lost way too much money.
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20,000 people were dead.
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Malaria and yellow fever were rampant.
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This was a failed project.
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So the company that owned all of this work had to abandon it and leave it unfinished in 1889.
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Everyone gave up and left, except for one of the top engineers on the project, this guy.
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I'm just gonna call him Philippe because after researching him for many days, I now feel like I'm on a first name basis with him.
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And by the way, he becomes a giant part of the story starting now.
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So Philippe was this French engineer and businessman and he was obsessed with the canal.
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He also had a huge financial stake in the project.
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And where some investors would say, darn, too bad, we invested in a bad bet, let's move on.
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Philippe was like, no, I will do whatever it takes to make sure that this is not a failure.
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And what happens next is one of the most insane things I have ever researched in my entire life.
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So buckle up.
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The wind of change is blowing half a gale in the Panama Canal zone.
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Okay, so let's get some context really quick.
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It's like 1900 at this point.
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The US is really starting to like get a handle on this whole imperialism thing that they've been doing.
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They just fabricated a war with Spain, which led them to conquer the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
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They had just overthrown Hawaii's government.
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They annexed Wake Island and American Samoa.
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They're like, dude, this overseas empire thing is kind of working out for us.
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The president at the time was Teddy Roosevelt, who we've seen in previous episodes.
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And Teddy is looking around this region that the US is increasingly taking over.
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And he sees an opportunity to dramatically increase the naval power
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of the United States they could just unite the Atlantic and the Pacific.
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It's time to build a canal, says Teddy.
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So of course they looked somewhere in Central America.
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And the original plan that the US wanted to pursue was to build a canal not in Panama, but here in Nicaragua.
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It wasn't the shortest stretch of land in this area, but there was a huge lake here which would cut down on the digging, and it just made a lot of sense.
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So they started doing surveys and making plans to build a canal in Nicaragua.
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Meanwhile, Philippe, the Frenchman, is still down here at his failed project, and he's seeing the U.S become interested in the canal,
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and he's like, this is my moment of vindication.
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So he goes to the U.S.
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Congress, and he's like, hey guys, I know you're looking at Nicaragua, you've been doing all this site planning and surveys and stuff, but guess what?
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Right next to this proposed site for your canal, there are volcanoes.
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Big, scary, belching volcanoes and one of them just erupted around here, sort of next to your site.
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Nicaragua even had a postage stamp that featured one of these nearby volcanoes erupting.
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So the Frenchman goes around to the US senators and distributes this postage stamp and says, look, scary volcanoes in Nicaragua,
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don't build your canal here or they'll be destroyed by lava or something.
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And guess what?
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It totally worked.
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The US Senate got cold feet about their Nicaragua canal plan, And they're like, we're not gonna do this anymore.
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Let's find another place to build it.
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And Philippe is like, oh my gosh, I can't believe that just worked.
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Stamps with volcanoes.
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He's like all giddy and he's like, hmm, I wonder where there would be a good place to build a canal.
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Oh, wait a minute.
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Why not Panama?
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We, the French, already did a ton of work to get you started.
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Why don't you just pick up where we left off?
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We'll sell you all of our gear, all of our stuff.
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It'll be a great deal.
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And the US is like, but isn't Panama a part of Colombia?
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And yes, indeed, at the time, Panama was actually a part of Colombia, it was not an independent country.
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So the United States Congress is like, okay, listen, Felipe, we will buy you out of your canal project that you clearly failed on,
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but we will only do it if we can get approval from Colombia, who literally owns this land.
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And Felipe is secretly like, ugh, there's no way that Colombia is going to go for this.
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They're gonna reject the plan, and then the US is gonna back out, and I'm gonna lose all my money, and I have to make this happen.
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Felipe was very serious about this canal.
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So this is where Philippe starts to get really conniving to pull out all the stops to get the canal built.
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So he goes to the people who live in the region of Colombia called Panama.
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And he says, hey guys, I know you've sort of been wanting to be independent from Colombia for a long time.
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Bogota is so far away, they don't care about you.
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You could be your own country.
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What if I, a French engineer, could guarantee your independence without a bloody war?
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Just leave the details to me.
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Make me your ambassador and I will make this happen.
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And the Panamanians are like, but dude, you're French.
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And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, but you're Colombian.
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So why don't we team up in the name of creating Panama, a new country?
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And they were like, okay, fine, Philippe.
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You're our representative, our ambassador now.
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Just give us the signal when we should rise up for our independence.
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But you promised to make sure that Colombia is not gonna come in and quell our uprising.
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And Philippe's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll take care of it.
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Now let's get back to the Panama Canal.
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So Philippe is now the ambassador of the Panamanians who are not a country yet, but he's still hoping that maybe the Colombians will approve the plan.
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Felipe sort of has this in his back pocket, this deal that he just made with the Panamanians.
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He doesn't know if he has to use it yet.
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But back to the Americans having to ask Colombia for approval to build their canal.
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Sure enough, they show up and Colombia's like, no, go home.
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You guys are way too aggressive around here lately.
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We're not interested.
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No canal.
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See you later.
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So the US goes to Felipe and they say, sorry, bro.
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The deal is off.
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Colombia said no. We said we'd only do this if Colombia said yes.
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After all, Panama is a part of Colombia and Philippe is like, wait, hold on.
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I have a plan for this.
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I've been talking to the Panamanians and they want to break away from Colombia and they made me their ambassador.
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I've even written them a new constitution and designed them a new flag.
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Wait, Philippe, are you a graphic designer?
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No, but I designed them a flag anyway.
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We can still make this canal thing happen.
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All I need you guys to do is show up with your navy to make sure
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that the Panamanians can rise up for independence without Colombia coming to shut it all down.
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And the U.S.
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Congress is like, dude, you're nuts.
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See you later.
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But out of nowhere, the president at the time shows up and is like, did somebody say stage a theatrical revolution to take over more land and increase American power?
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Teddy was back on the scene.
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Teddy loves this kind of stuff.
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He loves the sort of like backroom deals.
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let's like not ask for permission, let's ask for forgiveness.
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This is like Teddy Roosevelt's like sweet spot.
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So Philippe has all of his ducks in a row.
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He's got Teddy Roosevelt on his side.
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He has Panamanians who just gave him approval to be their ambassador and he's like, let's do this.
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So in November, 1903, Philippe gives the nod to the Panamanians to rise up, to take over and declare themselves independent.
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And at the same time, he signals to Teddy Roosevelt to send in their big gunboats, to sit off the coast of Panama,
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to block Colombia from sending in reinforcements to put down this revolution by the Panamanians.
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And so Colombia's like, oh, fine, take it.
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F you, America.
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You guys played real dirty there, okay?
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You know that?
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That was not cool.
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So just as Felipe orchestrated, Panama declares independence, and Felipe is the ambassador.
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The US is the first to recognize them as a new country.
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And Teddy Roosevelt's like, that was thrilling.
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Now what, Felipe?
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So Felipe is like, let's make a deal, America.
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I'm the official representative of Panama now, as per my agreement with the Panamanians, so let's write a treaty on behalf of Panama.
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So he travels to the United States
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and starts working on a treaty between the United States
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and Panama that would give the USA rights and sovereignty over this strip of land to build a canal.
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I mean, this series of events is insane.
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France fails to build a canal, so one French dude, an engineer, tries to redeem the whole thing by convincing the US to change the location of their canal
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and then creates a revolution and convinces the US to help back that revolution so that he,
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a Frenchman, can be the ambassador of the newly created country of Panama and make a deal with the US.
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Whoa, Philippe.
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He was like the one-man band lobbyist who somehow finagled this whole situation.
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So Philippe and the Secretary of State of the United States draw up this treaty.
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It gives the US total control over this strip of land for them to build their canal.
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No Panamanians were in the room when they drafted this treaty.
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They gave no approval of this.
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This treaty was between the US and Panama, but really it was between the US and Philippe the French engineer.
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So now the US military shows up to Panama to like claim this land that they now see as theirs.
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And the Panamanians are like, dude, WTF, what are you doing here?
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And the US is like, oh, you signed a treaty with us, giving us all this land.
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And Panama's like, no, we didn't.
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And then they're like, oh wait, light bulb, Philippe.
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That's why he wanted to be our ambassador.
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I get it, man, we got played by Philippe, and they totally did.
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So now the US is setting up shop in Panama to start digging their canal.
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The US picked up right where the French left off, using effectively the same route that the French had dug during their seven years of misery.
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And speaking of misery, the US was able to learn from the French's mistakes.
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They started using railways to truck out all the dirt so that the mud wouldn't slide back into the canal.
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And they learned how to drain the puddles of water so that it wasn't like a haven for disease-infected mosquitoes.
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And most importantly, they didn't try the crackpot idea of trying to dig a canal all the way down to sea level.
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They went with the much better idea of digging the canal up high, 26 meters above sea level, and using clever engineering to get ships up to that level.
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Like I said, said that one French engineer.
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And de la Cep was like, no one asked you, get out of here.
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So after 10 years of construction and a visit by Teddy Roosevelt, who staged this amazing photo shoot of him wearing a Panamanian hat, sitting on one of the machines,
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all to boost morale to get this project done.
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After all of that, the US completed this dream of slicing a water route through this 80-kilometer stretch of land.
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Philippe, at this point, is back in France, probably exhausted from all of his scheming, but ultimately very pleased that he was able to pull it off.
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So the canal is done, and here's how it works.
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Remember that the land looks like this.
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You have the Pacific and Atlantic oceans here at sea level, and then the interior of the land being about 26 meters above sea level.
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So first they built a dam on this river to create this giant lake
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so that they have loads of water to work with.
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That's why we see those trees sticking up from the water, or why these hilltops turned into islands.
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Then they built these brilliant inventions called locks.
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The boat enters here at sea level.
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They enter into this chamber where there is a gate that is holding the water from the high up lake back.
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It's locked.
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But once the boat is in this holding chamber, they let the water from higher up come down, making the boat flow up.
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It takes about eight minutes for the boat to rise.
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Then they move into the next chamber where they do this again and again until by the end of it, the boat has been lifted up 26 meters above sea level.
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They then traverse the rest of this canal going through the artificial lake
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and snaking through until they get to the other side, where now they need to get down to sea level.
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And they go through the same process, but in reverse.
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They finally make it down to sea level, and they can exit onto, now, a different ocean than when they started.
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It's honestly an engineering marvel, and it reshaped the global economic landscape, making it easier and safer to move goods and people around the world.
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And yeah, the US was very serious about controlling this little strip of land, this choke point that they had built.
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If you look at a map from the early or mid 1900s, you're gonna see that the Panama Canal Zone was always marked as a sovereign part of the US.
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Controlling a choke point like this gives you a strong strategic advantage, and the US knew that.
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But the world would finally decide
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that big powers shouldn't actually be able to swoop in and take over whatever land they want.
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The wind of change is blowing half a gale in the Panama Canal Zone.
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Americans had to defend themselves as students
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and other rioters demanded an end of the 61-year-old Canal Zone Treaty with the United States.
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And the Panamanians in the 1960s finally had enough.
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And they're like, yeah, this land is actually ours.
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So in the 60s and 70s, the Panamanians rose up in protest against this U.S occupation of the canal.
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And through a series of treaties, they finally got it back.
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Officially, on the last day of the millennium, December 31st, 1999, they signed the last treaty that returned sovereignty to Panama.
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And then Jimmy Carter gave a speech in Spanish. In este...
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Este ocasión.
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I mean, he tried, like, really hard.
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And I guess that matters.
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So today, the Panama Canal belongs to Panamanians.
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It still uses the innovative technology from 100 years ago that allows this canal to be built 26 meters above sea level.
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But for all of the engineering innovation that's present here, to me, the more incredible part of this story is how this one Frenchman orchestrated all of this.
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He played all the geopolitical forces at the time just right.
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He used Panamanians thirst for independence and the Americans thirst for imperialism
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and ocean power all to make his dream of this canal happen.
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Oh, and to secure his financial return on the project.
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What a wild story.
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Thanks for watching.
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Thank you.
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Understanding the Story Behind the Panama Canal: A Rich Resource for English Learners
The video dives into the dramatic history of the Panama Canal, blending geography, politics, and human struggle. It’s a goldmine for English learners—packed with vivid descriptions, conversational phrases, and storytelling flow that makes practicing speaking engaging. Whether you’re prepping for IELTS speaking practice or just want to sound more natural, this content helps you master real-world language use.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication from the Video
- "in the name of" – Use this to explain motivations: "We cleaned up the park in the name of community pride."
- "proved to be" – Describe outcomes: "The new recipe proved to be a hit at the party."
- "hanging out" – Talk about casual activities: "I’m hanging out with friends this weekend."
- "all in all" – Summarize: "All in all, the trip was tiring but worth it."
- "check in on" – Mean to monitor: "I need to check in on my neighbor’s cat while she’s away."
Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide to Master This Video
Shadowing (or shadow speak) is a powerful way to improve pronunciation and fluency. Here’s how to use this video:
- Listen once – Focus on the story to grasp context. Notice the speaker’s rhythm.
- Break it into 10-second clips – Pause, then repeat aloud immediately. Mimic tone and stress (e.g., "No. Turns out that puzzle was not easy").
- Focus on tricky sounds – Words like "infrastructure" or "mosquitoes" have complex syllables. Slow down, then speed up to match the speaker.
- Record yourself – Compare to the video. Did you catch the rising intonation in questions like "Is there another way?"
- Practice daily for 10 minutes – Consistency beats length. Use this technique to boost english pronunciation and confidence fast.
This video isn’t just about history—it’s a tool to transform your speaking. With shadowspeaks and the shadowing technique, you’ll turn stories into skills. Start today, and watch your English flow more naturally!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | they've been doing · you've been doing · I've been talking |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were done · was obsessed · be destroyed |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have ever researched · we've seen · I've even written |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | water, which is · people who live · information, which is |
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.