Shadowing Practice: Linus Torvalds Explains What Makes Linux So Fast - Learn English Speaking with Video

Linus, do you follow any development of any new programming languages?

Do you see any language except C which is suitable for development of operating system?

So I have to say, I'm kind of old -fashioned and I'm really interested.

The reason I got into Linux or operating systems in the first place was I really love hardware.

I love tinkering with hardware.

Not in the sense that I'm a hardware person and giving me a soldering iron is a bad idea.

But I like interacting with hardware from a software perspective.

And I have yet to see a language that comes even close to C in that respect.

It's not just that C, you can use C to generate good code for hardware, it's that if you think like a computer,

writing C actually makes sense.

I mean, and I think the reason it works that way is the people who designed C

designed it at a time when you,

I mean, when compilers had to be simple and the language had to be kind of geared towards what the output was.

So when I read C, I know what the assembly language will look like, and that is That's something I care about.

I don't do a lot of programming myself anymore.

I'm a technical lead person.

I merge other people's code.

But if you go and look in the Linux Git history and look at what I do, the last few months, the kind of code I've changed,

I've made sure our file path lookup

takes as few cache misses as possible and all

that code is C

but in order to really be able to it's optimized at

the level where I worry about single instructions kind of thing and

especially single cache misses and I love doing that

because that's it's completely I mean to some degree people say you should not micro optimize

but if what you love is micro optimization that's what you should do

and we made sure our algorithms are good before we started the micro -optimization,

so I'm very proud of the fact that we look up path names way faster than anybody else, I guarantee it, right?

And we can do it in parallel on a thousand CPU machine with no contention.

I mean, that is something that has happened in the last 18 months, and that is impressive.

I mean, you don't know how impressive it is Until you've worked with that code for, I mean, I thought we'd never get there, but we're there now.

So that's the kind of thing that really.

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40 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 32 sentences and 435 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:54. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 79% 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
hardware noun	/ˈhɑɹdˌwɛɹ/	Fixtures, equipment, fasteners, tools, and devices used for general-purpose construction and repair of a structure or object. Also such equipment as sold as…
microwave noun	/ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/	An electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves.
impressive adjective	/ɪmˈpɹɛsɪv/	Making, or tending to make, a positive impression; having power to impress.
optimization noun	/ˌɑptəmaɪˈzeɪʃən/	The design and operation of a system or process to make it as good as possible in some defined sense.
cache noun	/kæʃ/	Such a store of physical supplies, placed by humans or other animals for practical reasons.
gear noun	/ɡɪɚ/	Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
guarantee noun	/ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/	Anything that assures a certain outcome.
output noun	/ˈaʊtpʊt/	Production; quantity produced, created, or completed.
suitable adjective	[ˈsjuː.tə.bɫ̩]	Having sufficient or the required properties for a certain purpose or task; appropriate to a certain occasion.
parallel adjective	/ˈpæ.ɹəˌlɛl/	Equally distant from one another at all points.
generate verb	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/	To bring into being; give rise to.
instruction noun	/ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/	The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.
interact verb	/ɪn.təˈɹækt/	To engage in communication and other shared activities (with someone).
algorithm noun	/ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/	A collection of ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input…
merge verb	/mɝd͡ʒ/	To combine into a whole.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look up verb	/ˌlʊk ˈʌp/	To have better prospects.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: optimization /ˌɑptəmaɪˈzeɪʃən/, cache /kæʃ/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/, contention /kənˈtɛnʃən/

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 hardware, microwave, impressive.

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: Linus Torvalds Explains What Makes Linux So Fast - Learn English Speaking with Video

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