Shadowing Practice: Most Unlikely Heroes in History - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Today, we're going over the most unlikely heroes in history.
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John Paul Jones It's 1768 and disaster has struck the Scottish trading vessel John.
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On its way back to Scotland, the ship's captain and first mate both died of yellow fever, and now the crew have found themselves without a leader in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
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With no one wanting to take charge, the crew votes for a 21 -year -old sailor named John Paul to take command, and against all odds, the young man's able to bring the ship home.
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The owners of the ship, expecting a total loss, are amazed that their crew
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and cargo were saved by such a young man and give him his own ship to command as a reward.
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Seemingly overnight, John Paul's life had changed forever, but he would soon find out that being a captain was much harder than he expected.
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On just his second voyage, John Paul finds himself dealing with a mutiny against his crew over wages.
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Being so young and eager to assert his authority, he finds the leader of the group and begins flogging him as punishment.
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Be grateful, you even get paid what you get, and that goes the same for all of you.
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Uh, sir, I think he's dead.
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Uh -oh.
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The leader of the mutiny wasn't actually dead, but he did die a few weeks later, which gets John Paul arrested for involvement in his death.
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He makes bail, but leaves Scotland to captain a London registered trading ship
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and heads off to Tobago but his old habits die hard
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and the new crew mutinies against him and this time he kills the leader of the rebellion with a sword.
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Now a murderer, John Paul abandons his ship and runs away to the American colonies and ends up in Virginia.
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There he changes his name to John Paul Jones and decides to lay low.
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Though he always had believed he was destined for greatness, he had at last accepted this was probably not his fate.
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But everything changes in April of 1775, when British forces clashed with rebel colonists at the Battle of Lexington, sparking the American War for Independence.
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There was no turning back from what was later called the shot heard round the world, and within a month, thousands of British troops pour into the colonies.
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The newly formed Continental Navy puts out calls for experienced sailors to join the fight to help defend the American coast, and former ship captain John Paul volunteers for service.
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Now, I think it's important to understand just what our guide John Paul Jones
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and the rest of the Continental Navy was up against.
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The colonies had a few dozen ships in their fleet, made up of mostly converted merchant and fishing vessels, and these men had the unenviable task of going up against
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the most powerful navy in the world who had hundreds of warships at their disposal.
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Trying to engage the British in a direct battle would have been instant death, so instead the Continental Navy focuses on raiding merchant and supply ships, ports, and prisons.
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John Paul takes to this unconventional warfare like a duck to water
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and he soon rises through the ranks
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and by the end of 1776 he's made a captain with command of his own ship.
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But the ship John Paul is given is a sloop
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and he's constantly passed over for command of the bigger more powerful warships.
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He begins to make a stink about it and eventually he gets
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so annoying that the higher -ups tell him to take his ship, the USS Ranger, to France to quote, do things that help the American war effort.
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Basically, they were just trying to get rid of him.
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And so, on November 1st, 1777, with no clear orders and a chip on his shoulder, John Paul set sail for the Old World.
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Upon arrival in France, the captain meets Benjamin Franklin, who was serving as one of America's ambassadors.
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Franklin also initially found John Paul to be arrogant and kind of annoying, but over time, they became friends.
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John Paul was fearless and had bold plans on how to take the fight to the British, and soon he proved he was exactly what an underdog Continental Navy needed.
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Ah, and then, Benny, old boy, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do next.
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I'm gonna take the fight right to the British and attack their ports, and terrorize their towns, and oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
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oh, oh, oh, John Paul, are you okay?
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Musta e 'en some heart attack gone bad.
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Let me get you a doctor.
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Hmm, looks like you're suffering from a case of, hmm, too much blood, I think, welp, I can fix that.
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Have you ever found yourself in a new place and suddenly needing to find a doctor you can trust?
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Looks like John Paul could use a second opinion.
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But luckily for you, living in the future, finding a doctor has never been easier thanks to the sponsor of today's video, ZocDoc.
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ZocDoc is a free website where you can easily search and compare high -quality in -network doctors.
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Whether you're looking for a doctor who takes your insurance, someone nearby, or someone who's available when you are, ZocDoc can help you easily find the right provider for you.
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You can read patient reviews, check their schedules, and even book your appointment online.
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No need to talk on the phone.
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Free you say?
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That sounds good to me.
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Where do I go?
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Thanks so much to ZocDoc for helping us make this video.
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Alright, time to take it to those British.
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Watch me cook, Benny.
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In the first weeks of April 1778, the ranger sinks three enemy ships and captures another in British waters.
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Then, against the objection of his entire crew, John Paul attempts to raid the critical British port of Whitehaven.
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Though the attack failed, the idea of Americans directly attacking the home island quickly spread fear and anger throughout Britain.
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The very next day after the failed raid, John Paul and his crew attempt to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk.
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They aren't successful here either, only managing to take some silverware, but just a few hours later, he attacks the HMS Drake, which was nearby.
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The two ships engage in a brutal hour -long gunfight, and in the end, John Paul and his crew are victorious and capture the ship.
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Most people would call it quits right there.
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But immediately after he secures the Drake, John Paul sails off and captures two more ships and sank a few smaller ones before the day was done,
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and I just have to point out that he did all of this in just one month.
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The Ranger and HMS Drake sail victoriously into the French port of Brest in early May to much excitement.
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The capture of the Drake turned the Ranger into a legendary ship amongst the Americans, and at the same time, John Paul's actions infuriated the British, who quickly classified him as a pirate.
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Against all odds, the unknown fugitive on the run had become a hero of the American Revolution, but his next battle would take him from a hero to a legend.
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Following the capture of the Drake, John Paul is given command of a converted merchant ship, which he names the Bonham Richard,
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the French translation of Poor Richard's Almanac which was written by his good friend Benjamin Franklin.
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Franklin gives John Paul a fleet of ships to command and unsurprisingly, given his now infamous lack of people skills, he immediately pisses off the captains of all the other ships.
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Particularly, the captain of the USS Alliance hated John Paul
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so much that he refused to meet with him stating that if they were together, they would be forced to kill each other.
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Nevertheless, John Paul takes the Bonham Richard
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and his unwilling fleet to harass British cargo ships in the North Sea and on the evening of September 23rd, John Paul discovers a large merchant convoy off the eastern coast of England.
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Guarding the convoy was the brand new 44 -gun HMS Serapis.
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John Paul immediately gives the order for his fleet to follow him in attacking the Serapis head -on, but the captain of the Alliance, who remember, hated John Paul,
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refused, thinking it was a dumb idea, and instead splits off and targets the support ships.
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No matter, Jones was determined, and the Richard barrels headfirst towards the Serapis.
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As night falls, the two ships finally drift within firing range, and John Paul gives the signal to attack.
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Immediately, cannons aboard the Bonne -Merchard explode in a fiery fury, but not in the way John Paul wanted.
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See, wanting some bigger guns than the French had initially given him, John Paul had purchased some at a discount from a scrapyard.
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Well, turns out these cannons were in the scrapyard for a reason, and many of them exploded on their first use, killing many of John Paul's gunners.
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The Serapis, on the other hand, had no such issue and began unloading a heavy barrage into the now smoking Bonham Richard.
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Seeing his crew begin to panic, John Paul rushes to one of the few remaining cannons and begins desperately firing it at the British ship.
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He realizes that if things continue this way, they'll all be blown to bits.
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He needs to do something and quick, so he shouts for his men to prepare to board and gives the command to ram the ship.
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The Bonham Richard crashes head first into the stern of the Serapis.
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The British captain, seeing the ravaged American ship up close, mockingly shouts, huh, are you surrendering?
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To which John Paul shouts back, I have not yet begun to fight.
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The ships detach, and again the Serapis unloads another lethal barrage into the Richard, punching massive holes below its waterline.
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The situation aboard the American ship turns desperate.
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The Richard is taking on water fast, and between shots of his own cannon and pistol, John Paul orders for another attempt to bring the ship within boarding range.
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Just when all hope looks lost for John Paul, rigging on the two ships become intertwined and they slam into each other broadside to broadside.
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Now unable to escape, the British fire their cannons directly into the Richard, blasting more holes through the sinking ship.
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John Paul sends his men up the masts with grape shot
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and grenades and orders them to begin picking off the British sailors on deck.
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The Americans are barely holding on when suddenly things get even worse.
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Cannon fire rings out in the distance and shells rock the Bonham Richard.
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Fueled by an equal hatred of the British and John Paul, the captain of the USS Alliance had begun firing on both ships, trying to take two birds out with one stone.
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Things were now dire for the Americans as the British continued to fire on them, preventing them from boarding.
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But in the chaos, one of the sailors who John Paul had ordered up the
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mast crawls to the end of the yardarm unnoticed with a handful of grenades.
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As he peered down onto the deck of the Serapis, he spots a small hatch and he begins to try to throw grenades into it.
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He misses on his first few attempts, but finally scores a direct hit.
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In the blink of an eye, a huge explosion erupts from every porthole and hatch on the British ship, and sailors are sent flying into the air as the Serapis catches on fire.
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The lucky grenade had ignited a gunpowder reserve and killed over 20 men, and in an instant, the outcome of the battle is now a toss -up.
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With both ships heavily damaged, the British and American sailors charge each other and melee combat breaks out on both decks.
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The glint of swords and musket fire illuminate the battle for spectators watching from the shore.
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Under increasing pressure, some aboard John Paul's ship attempt to surrender, and according to some accounts, he shoots them for treason.
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The crews continue to fight for over an hour until the British captain finally breaks.
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He pulls down his ship's flag and steps aboard the Bonham Richard.
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He then walks to John Paul and personally delivers it and his sword and surrenders.
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Though the Bonham Richard was damaged beyond repair and sank the following day, John Paul Jones proved that the Continental Navy could challenge the best the British Navy had to offer.
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His victory inspired the French to increase their support to the struggling colonies and when he returned to France,
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King Louis XVI made him a knight and he was awarded a medal for his valiant service by the new American government.
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Though he died in relative obscurity, probably related to his piss poor people skills,
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John Paul Jones is considered a hero in the US today and widely recognized as the father of the American Navy.
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Desmond Doss It's the late 1920s in Lynchburg, Virginia, and a young boy named Desmond Doss and his family are finishing up a meal at his uncle's home.
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His father and uncle had begun discussing some boring topics, so Desmond leaves the table with his mom to go to the living room as the two men continue to drink together.
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The night goes on and Desmond can hear the conversation in the dining room slowly becoming louder and more heated.
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His father and uncle throw back more shots and they begin slurring their words and shouting insults at each other.
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The argument between the two men becomes so loud
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that a neighbor had called the police and soon the blare of sirens could be heard in the distance.
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Desmond and his mother walk into the dining room to tell the men to settle down.
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But as they step through the doorway, they watch in horror as his father slams his fist on the table, stands and draws his pistol.
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Desmond watches as his father menacingly points his gun directly at his uncle as his mother bolts in between the two men.
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The police are on their way, she says as she grabs the pistol from her husband's hand and tosses it to her son.
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Hide that gun!
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Desmond bolts out of the house and runs as fast as he can back home.
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He hides the gun and races back to his uncle's house just in time to see his father being arrested.
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As he watches the police load his father into a black paddy wagon, Desmond's mind races with thoughts.
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His mother had raised him as a strict Seventh -day Adventist, and he knew the Bible well.
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He thought of the story of Cain and Abel and realized that if his mother had not stepped in at that moment, his father would also have killed his own brother.
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How could anyone do that?
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The Sixth Commandment says, Thou shalt not kill.
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In that moment, Desmond Doss swears he will never touch a gun again, a decision that would one day turn him into one of the most unlikeliest heroes in military history.
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December 7, 1941 was a day that shocked the nation.
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The Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the U .S naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, plunging the United States headfirst into World War II.
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In the days that followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor, young men across the United States rushed to enlist to join the war.
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Desmond at the time was working at a Navy shipyard and was offered a draft deferment, but he could not stand idly by and officially joined the U .S.
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Army on April 1st, 1942.
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But when he reported for duty, the commanding officers were shocked to find out that their newest recruit refused to carry a rifle due to his religion.
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Desmond applies to work as a combat medic, but wanting to get rid of him, the Army officially designated him as a conscientious objector,
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and they send him to join a rifle company thinking this would break him and make him quit on his own.
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At basic training, when his fellow soldiers find out the new guy won't carry a rifle, they conclude he was just trying to figure out a way to get out out of the war, so they mocked him relentlessly.
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They threw boots at his head while he said his nightly prayers
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and threatened to shoot him themselves if they were ever deployed together.
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Things only got worse for Desmond when he insisted on observing the Sabbath on Saturdays
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and requested permission to attend church services on that day.
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This made everyone hate him even more, and many refused to eat with him, train with him, or even speak to him.
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The officers eventually gave up trying to make Desmond quit and reassigned him to the 77th Infantry Division as a combat medic.
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But unsurprisingly, the recruits there also hated him for the exact same reasons.
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They saw him as a liability, and after trying their own hand at bullying and standard methods of getting him out,
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a commanding officer who had taken extreme offense at Desmond's refusal to touch any weapon tries
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and fails to get him court -martialed for refusing orders.
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But as horrible an experience as basic training was, Desmond endures, and eventually he
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and the rest of his division are shipped out to fight in the Pacific Theater in March of 1944.
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Armed only with a Bible, Desmond would soon prove every man who had called him a coward dead wrong.
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The 77th Infantry Division lands on the shores of Guam in May, and immediately Desmond is given a close look at hell on earth.
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The Japanese attack without mercy, and American casualties quickly begin to pile up.
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As enemy bullets whizzed past and mortar shells exploded around him, Desmond ran headfirst into battle to treat fallen comrades and carry them to safety.
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Against orders, he begins crawling into no man's land at night, searching for the injured and dragging fellow soldiers back to camp, saving many of their lives.
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In engagements in Guam and the Philippines, Desmond again and again fearlessly charges into battle unarmed and brings back wounded soldiers to safety,
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and soon stories of his heroism spreads throughout the entire battalion.
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By the time he left Leyte, Desmond had earned two Bronze Stars with a V device for exceptional valor.
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But as bad as the fighting had been so far, the 77th had no idea they would soon participate in one
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of the most bloody battles in World War II as they sailed toward the island of Okinawa.
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In May 1945, the Japanese troops were fiercely defending their last stronghold before their main islands, and as Desmond and his unit arrived to relieve the 96th Infantry Battalion,
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they were greeted with trucks stacked to the brim with dead American soldiers.
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The mud on the battlefields was stained red from days of brutal combat, and these sights shocked the 77th as they proceeded to the area that had stalled the previous company's progress,
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a 300 -foot escarpment that the Americans had nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge.
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The Japanese had spent years fortifying the cliff with an intricate network of tunnels, bunkers, and firing positions.
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Wave after wave of soldiers attempted to take the ridge but were driven back nightly by the Japanese.
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Machine gun fire from the defenders was so intense that the rounds sawed men in half, and eight company commanders died in less than 36 hours trying to take the escarpment.
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Soon, it was Desmond's unit, Company B's turn to try to take the ridge.
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The 155 soldiers of Company B stormed up the escarpment and were greeted with heavy fire from the Japanese.
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After hours of fighting, the day was lost, and 55 soldiers managed to retreat down the cliff, with the rest either dead or too injured to make it down themselves.
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The survivors of the engagement look up from below and see a lone medic standing on the ridge.
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With bullets flying all around him, Desmond Doss charged into the battlefield and dragged men back to the cliff and lowered them down to safety.
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After lowering the wounded and seeing they had been taken by medics on the ground, Desmond silently prayed, Please Lord, just help me get one more,
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and rushed back into enemy fire to retrieve another fallen soldier.
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Knowing the Japanese would torture anyone they found, Desmond refused to leave a single American soldier on that ridge, and over the span of 12 hours,
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he single -handedly rescued 75 men.
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The following day, a Saturday, the commanders asked Desmond if he'll be able to do his duty on the Sabbath.
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After some thought, he requested some time to read his Bible before they tried to take the ridge.
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The commanders and all the soldiers who had ridiculed him for months held up the assault
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and wait for Desmond to finish his prayers.
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When he was done, he gives his commander a nod and the Americans begin their climb up the cliffs.
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By the end of the day, they held Hacksaw Ridge.
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A few days later, Desmond is injured in battle and loses his Bible in the process of being evacuated.
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When the soldiers of B Company find out, they risk their lives to search the battlefield and eventually return it to their medic.
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In August of 1945, the Japanese announced their surrender, and in October of the same year, Desmond Doss smiled for reporters on the lawn of the White
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House as he received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Truman, the first conscientious objector to ever receive the award.
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Sergeant Stubby It's July of 1917, and a stray Boston Terrier mutt is wandering around the campus of Yale University looking for something to eat.
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While sifting through some trash, he looks up and sees a group of soldiers marching in formation.
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Curious, he follows them to a military training camp that had been built on the school's football field.
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The dog wanders into camp and watches as the men go through their exercises.
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One of the soldiers notices him and walks over and pets him on the head.
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This was the first time the dog had ever been shown any kind of affection from a human, and so he begins to show up to the camp every day.
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And soon, a private named James Conroy notices the dog and starts calling him Stubby.
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Conroy starts feeding him, and eventually he and all the other soldiers in the unit adopt him as their pet.
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The soldiers teach him tricks, and he begins sleeping at the camp with them.
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In just a few short months, the dog went from roaming the streets to having a name, a family, and a home.
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But one chilly October morning, a nervous Private Conroy scoops Stubby up and quickly pulls him into his overcoat.
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Stubby doesn't know what's going on, and when Conroy finally lets him free, he finds himself on the deck of a huge ship.
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It turns out the soldiers who were training at Yale were
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now being deployed as one of the first National Guard units to fight in the Great War.
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On their way to Europe, Stubby is eventually discovered by the commanding officer aboard the ship.
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Having won over the commanding officer, Stubby is officially made the regiment's mascot and allowed to freely travel with Private Conroy and the unit.
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The Americans arrive in France, and in February, they're sent to fight on the Western Front.
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Though things are initially quiet, everything changes in February of 1918, when the Germans begin to use chemical warfare on the American positions,
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and Stubby is nearly killed by a gas attack.
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Though he recovered, he never forgot the smell of the gas that almost did him in, and he would quickly become an early warning system for incoming gas attacks, barking at the first scent of danger.
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By March, the relative quiet Stubby
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and the American Expeditionary Force had enjoyed was completely shattered as the Germans launched their spring offensive.
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Shells begin raining down on the Americans, and firefights break out day and night.
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As he watches Conroy fire his rifle, Stubby hears loud whistling overhead.
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He looks around at his fellow soldiers, but they don't seem to hear anything in the chaos.
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He jumps up, barking at Conroy, biting his leg and pulling him towards cover.
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Stubby runs to the next soldier and continues pulling people towards shelter until all of the unit realize what he's doing.
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Artillery shells soon rain down all around them.
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Stubby had saved their lives.
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A first for the brave dog, but definitely not the last.
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By April, the Americans have the Germans on the run, and Stubby follows Conroy into no -man's land as the Americans push towards the enemy lines.
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But as they advance forward, a retreating German soldier throws a grenade that finds its way right next to their position.
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It explodes near Stubby, and shrapnel digs deep into his legs and chest.
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Conroy frantically rushes Stubby to the field hospital where the doctors are able to save his life.
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While recovering from his wounds, he wandered the field hospital, visiting fellow soldiers, performing the tricks they taught him to cheer them up.
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Soon, Stubby returns to the front lines, and he quickly begins demonstrating a new skill of finding wounded soldiers and barking to bring medics to treat them.
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Night after night, he runs out into danger and helps to find and rescue dozens of wounded soldiers.
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One night, as Stubby was heading out to search for more wounded, he runs into a man he had never seen before in the American trenches.
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The man begins trying to call to Stubby, but he steps back and begins barking and snarling at the stranger.
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His hair stands up on his neck and he bares his teeth.
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Nearby soldiers hear him and walk over to check out what's going on.
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In an instant, the man turns to run.
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Stubby leaps forward, sinking his teeth into his leg and knocking him face down into the thick mud.
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The American soldiers arrive and find an iron cross pin on the stranger.
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Stubby had single -handedly found and captured a German spy.
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For this, the command officer nominates Stubby for the rank of sergeant, which everyone begins calling him, but he never officially receives the rank because, well, he was a dog.
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When some local French women hear about the hero dog's exploits, they knit him a small uniform, which he wears proudly.
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Conroy pins his rank and two wound stripes onto the jacket along with a French campaign medal
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and the Iron Cross taken from the German spy he'd captured.
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Stubby would fight alongside Private Conroy and the rest of the American Expeditionary Force until the end of the war, and against all odds the pair would survive the conflict
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and make it back to the states where they were welcomed as heroes.
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Stubby would go on to meet three US presidents
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and go down in history as the most decorated American animal in World War I.
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After the war, Stubby lived out the rest of his life with Conroy
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and went with him to law school at Georgetown University, where he became the football team's mascot.
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As if he already hadn't accomplished enough in his short life, during halftime breaks at home games, Stubby would rush out onto the field and nudge a football around to entertain fans,
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creating one of the first ever documented halftime shows in history.
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All in all, not too bad for a stray mutt from Connecticut.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 261 sentences and 4713 words to shadow. The speech runs for 24:51. The speaker talks fast, about 190 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| capture verb | /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/ | To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem. |
| ridge noun | /ɹɪd͡ʒ/ | The back of any animal; especially the upper or projecting part of the back of a quadruped. |
| wound noun | /ˈwund/ | An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body. |
| aboard adverb | /əˈbɔɹd/ | On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car. |
| sailor noun | /ˈseɪ.lɚ/ | A person who sails; one whose occupation is sailing or navigating ships or other waterborne craft. |
| soldier noun | /ˈsoʊld͡ʒɚ/ | A member of a ground-based army, of any rank, but especially an enlisted member. |
| rank noun | /ˈɹæŋk/ | A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers. |
| shell noun | /ʃɛl/ | The calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates. |
| fleet noun | /ˈfliːt/ | A group of vessels or vehicles. |
| sink verb | /ˈsɪŋk/ | To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance. |
| rifle noun | /ˈɹaɪfəl/ | A firearm fired from the shoulder; improved range and accuracy is provided by a long, rifled barrel. |
| colony noun | /ˈkɔl.ə.ni/ | A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area. |
| merchant noun | /ˈmɝt͡ʃənt/ | A person who traffics in commodities for profit. |
| ranger noun | /ˈɹeɪ̯nd͡ʒɚ/ | One who ranges; a rover. |
| bark noun | /bɑɹk/ | The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree or of various other woody plants. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. | |
| break out verb | To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly. | |
| bring back verb | /ˈbɹɪŋ bæk/ | To fetch something. |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| drive back verb | To force someone or something to retreat or move away; repel. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| finish up verb | To complete the last details of a task. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if they were together, they would be · if things continue this way, they'll all |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are amazed · were saved · was destined |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has struck · have found · has never been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Drake, which was · Almanac which was · man who had |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as gonna, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, nevertheless /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/, shell /ʃɛl/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, shock /ʃɔk/, shout /ʃaʊt/
- Long words — get the stress right: participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, nevertheless /ˌnɛvɚðəˈlɛs/, legendary /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənˌdɛɹ.i/, liability /laɪəˈbɪlɪti/
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 capture, ridge, wound.
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.