Shadowing Practice: Leonardo DiCaprio Interview -- DJANGO UNCHAINED - Learn English Speaking with Video

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What is the story of Quentin Tarantino?

I've been a fan of Quentin's work for a long time, and I love the fact that he was,

you know, sort of recreating his own history in a deeply American, you know, context.

With this sort of spaghetti western Sergio Leone genre mixed into it, something only Quentin Tarantino can do.

And this character really reminded me of a young sort of Louis XIV that was rotting from the inside.

As he put it, which I like to say, he's somebody that really represented the moral decay of the South during that time period.

I mean, he was the worst of the worst of plantation owners and I, you know, it was too well written to pass up,

and I'd always wanted to work with Jamie Foxx, and of course, you know, the great Christoph Waltz and Sam Jackson.

There's too many great elements to this movie to ever look away.

It's a fantasy film in a lot of different respects.

I mean, you know, just like Inglourious Bastard was, he's sort of recreating history,

but there's nothing in the film that isn't historically accurate as far as what these people were like during that time period.

He's an amazing actor, first off, and he's such a powerful force when it comes on set.

I mean, you read your dialogue, and you think about the scene in a very specific way,

and then this tornado just comes in that is Sam Jackson, and you need to step up to the plate

and try to bring yourself up to that energy because he just takes over, and it's amazing.

I mean, what he did with this role is astounding.

I think what's so different about this movie is the fact that we have,

you know, Jamie Foxx as this man that has been enslaved his entire life, but is becoming self -empowered and freeing himself.

And we've never seen anything like that cinematically ever.

It's always been a much different dynamic.

And, you know, of course, you know, we show the atrocities of that time period and the way these slaves were treated,

but to see the self -empowered hero take matters into his own hands, it's, of course, recreating history in a lot of ways,

but like I said before, none of this wasn't historically accurate, and everything in this movie,

things like this, did happen, but only in a.. we get to see it through Quentin Tarantino's eyes.

Only somebody like Quentin Tarantino can do.

I mean, he's really got to...

If anyone tried to duplicate what he does, I think they would be sued for copyright infringement, because he's got his own unique, specific style.

And when you see a Quentin Tarantino movie, you know you're gonna be incredibly entertained, and there's gonna be things and elements,

not only character -wise and story -wise, but music -wise that are just gonna be completely shocking and take a second to adjust to.

But, you know, like in this film, bringing hip -hop into a pre -Civil War period piece is so audacious, but it works.

You know, it's amazing.

To work alongside some of these people is amazing.

And what was really great about the ensemble that we had was everyone was so incredibly supportive of one another.

I mean, I remember some of the earlier read -throughs

that we had when we all sat down at a table with Jamie and Carrie and Kristoff and Sam and myself.

And we were talking about our characters and the different aspects of them and the way these relationships would connect.

And, you know, to hear

Sam Jackson and Jamie Foxx say, Look, you know, I know this is a troubling character.

I know he is.. it might be difficult to do,

but if you don't go the distance with this guy and make him as despicable as possible, people aren't going to embrace that as the truth.

They're going to think we're sugarcoating the subject matter.

So, in essence, the further you go with him, the more truth you're going to speak.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Leonardo DiCaprio Interview -- DJANGO UNCHAINED”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Quentin, Tarantino, Jamie, Sam, amazing. This video has 43 sentences and 690 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:01. The speaker talks at a natural 172 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 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

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
recreate verb	/ˈɹɛk.ɹi.eɪt/	To give new life, energy or encouragement (to); to refresh, enliven.
element noun	/ˈɛləmənt/	One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
incredibly adverb	/ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/	In an incredible manner; not to be believed.
historically adverb	/hɪˈstɔɹɪkli/	In a historic manner; with reference to history or the historical record.
empower verb	/ɪmˈpaʊ.ə/	To give permission, power, or the legal right to do something.
moral adjective	/ˈmoɹəl/	Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour, especially conforming to principles of rectitude.
shock noun	/ʃɔk/	A sudden, heavy impact.
alongside	/əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/	Side by side with.
deeply adverb	/ˈdi(ː)pli/	To a deep extent or degree; very greatly.
aspect noun	/ˈæspɛkt/	Any specific feature, part, or element of something.
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
remind verb	/ɹəˈmaɪnd/	To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
dynamic adjective	/daɪˈnæm.ɪk/	Changing; active; in motion.
slave noun	/sleɪv/	A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition…
dialogue noun	/ˈdaɪəˌlɑɡ/	A conversation or other form of discourse between two or more individuals.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look away verb		To ignore something; to pretend not to have seen or noticed something; to avoid dealing with something.
pass up verb	/pɑːs ˈʌp/	To refuse (not accept); forgo.
take over verb		To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force.

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	I've been · has been enslaved · we've never seen
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	has been enslaved · were treated · would be sued

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as gonna, you're, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/, plantation /plænˈteɪʃən/, audacious /ɔˈdeɪ.ʃəs/, sugarcoat /ˈʃʊɡɚˌkoʊt/
Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, historically /hɪˈstɔɹɪkli/, atrocity /əˈtɹɑsɪti/, despicable /dɪˈspɪkəbəl/

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 recreate, element, incredibly.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: Leonardo DiCaprio Interview -- DJANGO UNCHAINED - Learn English Speaking with Video

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