Shadowing Practice: Learn ENGLISH with BTS — Interview with RM - Learn English Speaking with Video

How BTS learned English?

Oh, yeah.

We need to get some pronouns.

We didn't learn any English.

Jungkook is taking lessons.

Hobi is taking lessons.

Suga is taking lessons.

And you are taking no lessons.

Netflix.

I love that Jimin's answer was just Netflix.

You know, that can be effective for learning English.

But someone should really tell him about Learn English with TV series

so if you're in Korea and you have Jimin's contact send me the link

so today we're learning English with BTS specifically Kim Nam Joon

or RM who really is the only member of the band who has advanced English fluency what makes him

so inspiring is how he learned English largely through watching TV series

and movies just like many of you are doing right now

his journey from struggling with English to being fluent enough to

give a speech at the UN is absolutely mind -boggling In today's lesson, we'll explore three fascinating interviews where RM discusses his creative process,

the challenges of being a global artist, and his musical influences.

And if you want to speak English confidently and naturally, just like RM, then I want to help.

Hit that subscribe button and the bell down below

because every single week we bring you new lessons to help you understand fast -speaking natives without being lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles.

10 million English learners can't be wrong.

So I don't know if you're like me, but I love listening to music and I love getting to know the artists behind the music.

So I found this first clip that we're going to watch really fascinating

because RM actually explains his process for how he writes poems and rap.

Let's check it out.

Technically there would be two ways it could be started from a from a keyword like a flower words

or just a simple melody

but usually starts from a keyword like yo what are you

gonna what what do i gotta say what i what do i want to say

or there's a beautiful track and then you know the track calls the melodies

and and keywords but usually i i think i start with with the word

because it's always my major and my main part And I don't usually mumble or just freestyle.

For me, I'd rather build it like an architect, like, you know, from stone to stone, brick to bricks.

Man, RM's mastery of English is just awe -inspiring.

So before we get into learning all of those advanced expressions that you saw highlighted in blue, I want to give you a pro tip.

don't just watch this lesson

but actually experience it over on the real life english app let me give you four big reasons

so first off you get vocabulary flashcards and writing exercises

that use intelligent technology so that you remember expressions like mumble

and freestyle forever no more forgetting after just hours

or even minutes second you get the interactive transcript tap any word

that you don't know

and boom instant definition no more needing to pause to look

stuff up third it's an ad free distraction free experience

so it's a much more suitable environment for your learning not like here on youtube

and fourth you can practice your speaking

and discover other cultures in the global speak don't just take

my word for it see for yourself why the app already has over 2 million downloads

and tens of thousands of five star reviews simply tap the

link down in the description below to get access to the premium version of this lesson instantly

so as i was just saying technically the real life english

app is the most effective way to learn with these lessons

but what does

that mean anyway technically let's hear rm use it again technically there would be two ways

so this is a great way to introduce a precise

or detailed explanation it's like saying if we're being exact about it

or to be specific native speakers use this all the time

when we want to give you the complete picture like in this This other example from Modern Family.

What do you think RM means by keyword here?

A secret password?

The main idea that inspires the song?

The repeating part of the song?

Now, a keyword is the main word or central idea that everything else builds around.

For RM's popular song, Wildflower, the keyword was flower.

In other words, it's the core concept that inspires the whole song.

However, keyword can also be a word or phrase that you type into a search engine to find information online.

For example, if you're wanting to cook an Italian dish for your friends, you might use the keywords easy pasta recipe on Google.

Alright, then melody is the tune or musical line of a song, basically what you hum along to.

So, an alternative to the idea of a song coming from a word is being inspired by a great melody.

But usually it starts from a keyword, like, yo, what do I gotta say?

Here's a fun word.

yo is super casual slang that means hey it can also be used to get someone's attention

we can see rm's deep knowledge of american culture as he uses yo here in a very natural conversational way

or there's a beautiful track and then you know the track calls the melodies

and and keywords but speaking of music vocabulary a track can mean the backing music

or instrumental part of a song rm talks about how sometimes a beautiful track actually inspires the words

but usually i i think i start with with the word

because it's always my major and my main part

and i don't usually mumble or just just freestyle

when arm says it's his major he means it's his main focus

or specialty we use this a lot for university your major

is your primary area of study major can also be an adjective meaning something is great

or very important like rm is a major rapper we can

see it used in both ways in this example from the movie big hero six

so what's your major no no no i'm not a student

but i am a major science enthusiast because it's always my major

and my main part and i don't usually mumble

or just just freestyle maybe you have some friend who's difficult to understand

because they don't open their mouth enough

when they speak in other words they mumble to mumble means to speak on clearly

or quietly RM says he doesn't mumble

when he raps he speaks clearly although he might have meant

a different word here now here's a cool music term to freestyle means to improvise

or create something on the spot without preparation like Eminem does here

unlike Eminem RM prefers planning his lyrics rather than just making

them up as he goes check out this example we don't

100

write we feel the beat let it flow freestyle wait like make it up as we go

101

that seems hard is it good afternoon my name is barry i came to get down

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and my rhymes are scary for me i'd rather build it

103

like like an architect like uh you know from from stone to stone brick to bricks wow what a beautiful metaphor for.

104

RM means he builds his songs carefully and methodically, like constructing a building.

105

Each word is placed thoughtfully, just like each brick in a wall.

106

So in the next clip we'll watch, RM opens up to famous producer Pharrell about the challenges of being BTS's leader and spokesperson.

107

Let's watch.

108

K -pop is like it's like a mix it's like the mix of American pop music all the visuals

109

and the careers and and social medias and stuff it's really intense

110

and really hectic it was 10 years really intense as a team

111

and um I actually was in charge like almost all of the interviews

112

and um you know representing the team like in front of the other members

113

that was my that was my stuff i guess role yeah

114

so um i think i got really um um i don't

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know like no i gotta i gotta stop i gotta stop

116

this for a for a bit i gotta shut it down

117

k -pop is like it's like a mix it's like the mix of american pop music all the visuals

118

and the careers and and social medias and stuff it's really intense

119

and really hectic there's a nice slang here

120

which is commonly used in music and dance circles choreos comes from choreographies which means planned dance routines performed with music

121

for k -pop groups like bts and blackpink choreography is a huge part of the performance

122

next arm describes k -pop as hectic that means it's very busy full of activity and chaotic

123

if your job is hectic you might often feel disorganized

124

and stressed it was 10 years really intense as a team similarly to hectic

125

when something is intense it's very strong extreme

126

or demanding rm describes both k -pop

127

and his 10 -year journey with bts as intense it required everything from him

128

and learning english often feels hectic

129

and intense doesn't it well one of our goals with the

130

real life english app is to make it feel a bit less hectic for you with features like our vocabulary flashcards.

131

So let me show you firsthand how those flashcards work.

132

I'm going to pop open our recent lesson with Lisa from Blackpink.

133

You're going to see how amazing these are for adding new expressions to your long -term memory.

134

Okay, so normally you would watch the lesson, obviously, before you would start studying with it, but we're going to just skip that.

135

I'm going to activate the vocabulary flashcards so I can show them to you.

136

So let's start a practice.

137

And you have some different options here.

138

You can choose how many words you want to practice right now.

139

If you only have a few minutes, you can do less.

140

If you have a longer study session available for you, you can do more.

141

You can do also flash cards only or flashcards and the writing exercises or just the writing exercises.

142

But let's try just flashcards so we can highlight

143

that feature all right so here we see an image

144

and we see a definition so a person who lives in a particular area

145

or is from that place hmm

146

and i would we obviously would have just watched the lesson

147

so we think hmm which word did i learn or

148

which expression did i learn that could be

149

that a person who lives in a particular area or is from

150

that place and then once you've thought of your answer or if you can't think of it you press show answer

151

but of course you could click show example

152

if you need a little bit more context to help you to remember it

153

so as a look she knew the hidden spots at tourist miss believe that's a local let's see all right

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so i was right as a local she knew all the hidden spots tourists miss

155

so i would click yes right do you remember right click yes

156

because i remembered it all right this next one to date someone to spend time with someone romantically

157

and i could show the example I used to you can see

158

that there's three words here in college but we're just friends now

159

um let's say that hmm that's a hard one I can't I can't think of what

160

that is okay so to go out with someone uh

161

so I didn't remember that at all so I'm going to hit no

162

so you can see that one the first one

163

that I remembered probably won't be shown to me again for a long time

164

because it's already in my brain but the one

165

that I didn't know it will be shown to me again even in just minutes

166

because I need to review that one

167

and then we have at the place where a movie tv show commercial

168

or video is being filmed I got to visit my cousins on the maybe something of

169

that new Netflix series hmm I kind of remember that one

170

but I'm not quite sure let's see show answer on the set I was close right

171

so I'm gonna say it's sort of I've almost got

172

that one but I need to see it again all right

173

and then we have this one

174

that I can believe missed before come back right to date

175

someone to spend time with someone romantically maybe i'll look at this other example we a couple times

176

but it didn't really work out hmm i think it was go out with someone to go out with someone

177

so i was right this time so i said yes

178

so i've made more progress with that one

179

so maybe it'll be a day before i see that one again

180

so that i can review it and continue adding it to my long -term memory

181

and then this one we're seeing again like remembered it's on the set right

182

so say yes i learned maybe it'll be a couple days before that one can start out stronger all right Right?

183

So it's as simple as that.

184

Just took a few minutes

185

and already I've helped to move these new expressions from my short term memory to my long term memory.

186

So try it for yourself and get access to the flashcards for the BTS lesson for free.

187

And never forget all these advanced expressions by tapping the link down description below from your phone now.

188

I actually was in charge, like almost all of the interviews and, um, you know, representing the time, like in front of the other members.

189

To be in charge means to be responsible for or lead something.

190

For example, if you're frustrated with an employee at a shop, you might ask to speak to whoever's in charge.

191

RM was in charge of English interviews, meaning it was his job to handle them.

192

They're dead.

193

CO and Nexo are dead.

194

Who's in charge?

195

Who's next, full senior?

196

You are.

197

I actually was in charge of almost all of the interviews and representing the team in front of the other members.

198

And then representing someone means speaking or acting on their behalf.

199

For example, in our lessons and podcasts, I'm representing our company, RealLife English.

200

Yo, you want to improve your speaking, right?

201

Well, let's practice with some connected speech.

202

That's how native speakers cut, reduce, and connect our words together in fluent speech.

203

RM has a pretty masterful use of connected speech.

204

Let's check it out here.

205

So, um, I think I got really, um, um, I don't know, like, no, I gotta, I gotta stop, I gotta stop this for a bit.

206

I gotta shut it down.

207

First of all, natives often drop auxiliary verbs in natural speech.

208

So, RM dropped the have here.

209

You might be familiar with how got and to often morph into gotta

210

but in american english that's not all we have an american t here

211

when a t is between two vowels it becomes a d sound

212

so got to becomes gotta gotta arm said this like i gotta stop

213

your speaking will only get better through practice so listen again

214

and try to say it just like he did no i gotta i gotta stop no i gotta i gotta stop

215

no i gotta i gotta stop i gotta stop this for

216

a for a bit i gotta shut it down finally to shut something down means to stop

217

or end an activity often temporarily rm needs to shut down the pressure of always representing bts

218

so he could rest and recharge we are geologists first

219

if this thing has any historical significance at all we are shutting down i'm shutting us down

220

so in our final super short clip rm talks about his musical influences and dreams

221

and it's absolutely packed with music slang check it out someday

222

uh i just um you know really want to make it

223

make a my route i said like in the 90s maybe the boom baps

224

or someday i just want to do the bangers

225

or maybe the mosh pits

226

and club ones someday uh i just um you know really

227

want to make me make a my root i said like in the 90s

228

when arm says make my root he means going back to his musical origins

229

or foundations the style that first inspired him

230

which for him is 90s hip -hop makes sense since he was born in 1994.

231

By the way, this is actually a bit of a mistake.

232

The more correct expression would be, go back to my roots.

233

However, we can understand what RM means perfectly.

234

Mistakes are just part of the journey, and it's one of the things we can really admire about him as a courageous English speaker.

235

Please, Mr. Curtis, go back to what made your first film so great.

236

You know what?

237

You're right.

238

I'm going back to my roots.

239

Plots and characters lifted from westerns

240

and samurai films to the video store maybe the boom baps

241

or someday i just want to do the bangers

242

or maybe the mosh piss

243

and club ones well this is a pretty funny expression boom

244

baps what do you think rm is talking about dance moves sound equipment a style of hip -hop

245

music

246

so boom bap is a style of hip -hop music with a hard -hitting drum sound boom for the kick drum

247

and bap for the snare speaking of music slang bangers are really good energetic songs that get people excited You know,

248

they're the kind of songs that you want to dance to or pump your fist.

249

By the way, we're doing this lesson with RM because of comments from viewers like you.

250

So let me know what other global stars like RM, Lisa, and Rosé you would like a lesson with by commenting down below.

251

Maybe the boom baps or someday I just want to do the bangers or maybe the mosh pits and the club ones.

252

A mosh pit is an area in front of the stage at rock

253

or hip hop concerts where people dance very energetically often bumping into each other it's intense

254

but some people find it fun

255

and finally a club here refers to a disco nightclub

256

or music venue where people go to dance and listen to djs

257

or live music technically there would be two ways it could

258

be started from a from a keyword like flower words or just a simple melody.

259

But usually it starts from a keyword.

260

What's a slang word meaning hey that Aram likes to use?

261

K -pop is like a mix.

262

It's like the mix of American pop music, all the visuals and the hikarias and social medias and stuff.

263

It's really intense and really hectic.

264

When RM says his 10 years with BTS were intense, he means they were relaxing and easy, very demanding and extreme, boring and slow.

265

Like, yo, what do I got to say?

266

What do I want to say? or there's a beautiful track

267

and then you know the track calls the melodies and

268

and keywords but usually I I think I start with with the word

269

because it's always my major and my main part

270

and Aram prefers to freestyle his lyrics rather than playing them carefully true

271

or false false I don't usually mumble

272

or just just freestyle um for me i'd rather build it like a like an architect like a you know from

273

from stone to stone, brick to bricks.

274

It was 10 years really intense as a team.

275

And I actually was in charge of almost all of the interviews and,

276

you know, representing the team in front of the other members.

277

What does RM mean when he says he was in charge of interviews?

278

He means he was responsible for handling interviews and speaking for the group.

279

That was my, that was my stuff, I guess, row.

280

Yeah.

281

So, um, I think I got really, um, um, I don't know, like, no, I gotta, I gotta stop, I gotta stop this for a, for a bit.

282

I gotta shut it down.

283

Someday, I just, you know, really want to make my root, I said, like, in the 90s,

284

maybe the boom baps, or someday I just want to do the bangers, or maybe the mosh pits and the club ones.

285

What's the correct way to say to go back to your origins?

286

Go back to your roots, make your root, dig your roots.

287

Hey, if you want to get confident, natural English, just like RM, you're going to need to build it stone to stone, brick to brick.

288

This is exactly why we made the RealLife English app.

289

Learning and actually remembering new vocabulary every day is essential to do this.

290

And we're making it practically effortless for you.

291

So practice for free with this lesson with BTS by tapping that link down in the description below.

292

And if you're sticking with us here on YouTube, a really great free way that you can support us is by liking this video

293

and hitting the subscribe button and bell down below

294

and you might want to watch this lesson next i think for me the big difference is language

295

because english is not my first language so it's challenging for me to answer

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or doing interview in english yeah

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but you know what's amazing about you is you know you

298

speak english you speak thai you speak korean You're conversational in Japanese, conversational in Chinese.

299

I've heard you rattle off French before.

300

Do you have any foundational advice for someone who's trying to pick up a new language?

301

Like, how do you do it?

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 301 sentences and 3686 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:23. The speaker talks at a natural 165 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
intense adjective	/ɪnˈtɛns/	Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering.
brick noun	/ˈbɹɪk/	A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc., used for building.
boom verb	/bum/	To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.
freestyle noun	/ˈfɹiːˌstaɪl/	A swimming event in which the contestants may choose any stroke.
someday adverb		Sometime; at some unspecified time in the future.
melody noun	/ˈmɛl.ə.di/	A sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase.
technically adverb	/ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/	Based on precise facts, which, however, may be contrary to common belief or casual terminology.
inspire verb	/ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/	To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by…
vocabulary noun	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
flower noun	/ˈfloʊɚ/	A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens…
pit noun	/pɪt/	A hole in the ground.
clip noun	/klɪp/	Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
architect noun	/ˈɑɹ.kɪˌtɛkt/	A professional who designs buildings or other structures, or who prepares plans and superintends construction.
carefully adverb	/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/	With care; attentively, circumspectly.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
go back to verb		To stem from; to originate in.
shut down verb		To close, terminate, or end; to stop operating, either permanently or temporarily.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come back verb		To return to a place.
get down verb	/ɡɛt ˈdaʊn/	To bring or come down; to descend; to cause to bring or come down.
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.
start out verb		To emerge suddenly; to jump out.
work out verb	/ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/	To calculate.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	being lost · could be started · being inspired
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has advanced · you've thought · i've made
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	choreographies which means · person who lives

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 93 contractions and reduced forms, such as gotta, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: enthusiast /ɪnˈθuːziˌæst/, methodically /mɪˈθɑdɪkəli/, thoughtfully /ˈθɔtfəli/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: flash /flæʃ/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, dish /dɪʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/

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 lesson, intense, brick.

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

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?