Shadowing Practice: Mỹ Lai Massacre - Learn English Speaking with Video
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It is March 16th, 1968.
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The Tet Offensive rages on, with American -backed Vietnamese forces struggling to repel waves of fighters pouring in from the north.
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Meanwhile, in the small village of Sun Mi, life continues as normal.
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Villagers rise at dawn, preparing for another day of work and toil.
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Unbeknownst to them, a cadre of Americans are en route,
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fueled by fear, frustration, and a desire for retribution after losses on the war front.
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In these early hours, Sun Mi remains oblivious to the impending tragedy and America's most heinous war crime, the My Lai Massacre.
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For soldiers of Charlie Company, 1968 was shaping up to be a tough year.
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Constant attacks by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces required tighter security in the provinces.
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As a unit within the 1st Battalion,
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20th Infantry Regiment, Charlie Company was under the umbrella of the 11th Brigade and part of the larger 23rd Infantry Division,
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responsible for security and pacification in the area of the Quang Gai Province.
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Since February, Charlie Company grappled with the harsh realities of guerrilla warfare, enduring numerous casualties due to mines,
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booby traps, and sniper fire from the Viet Cong as they patrolled through the areas infested with guerrilla activity.
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U .S intelligence reports suggested that the Viet Cong's 48th local force battalion, having dispersed during January's phase of the Tet Offensive,
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had taken refuge in the village of Son Mi in Quang Gai Province, specifically within the hamlets known as Mi Lai.
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Son Mi was located southwest of the Batangan Peninsula, Deemed a notorious Viet Cong stronghold by the U .S.
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Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.
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According to McVie Ford Commander General Melvin Zhe, the village was a vital part of the three most dangerous provinces south of Da Nang.
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In his words, it was the birthplace of the Viet Minh, and now the Viet Cong.
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You find mothers, fathers, and sisters, brothers, grandmothers, and grandfathers, a part of this insurgent movement.
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Determined to regain control after the Tet Offensive, MACV initiated search and destroy operations targeting the elusive 48th Battalion.
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Task Force Barker, a battalion -sized unit formed in January 1968 and comprising three rifle companies,
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including Charlie Company, was assigned this daunting task.
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The village of Sanmi, referred to colloquially as Pinkville by Task Force Barker troops, was included in their area of operations.
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The numerous hamlets
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that made up the village were designated My Lai 1 through My Lai 6 to help keep track in each section's activities.
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The strategy for the operation was clear.
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Engage
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and eliminate the remnants of the 48th Battalion believed to be
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hiding in Pinkville leading task force Barker was Lieutenant Colonel Frank A.
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Barker, who passed on McVie's instructions for an aggressive approach, with orders to destroy the village, kill livestock, spoil food supplies, and poison wells.
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Before the attack, Captain Ernst Medina briefed Charlie Company, stating that anyone remaining in the village after 7 a .m would be Viet Cong or their sympathizers,
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as the civilians were away at the local market.
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These orders were interpreted by some as a directive to kill all inhabitants, regardless of age or gender,
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and to lay waste to the village.
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The atmosphere among the troops was already tense, with emotions running high thanks to recent casualties and the elusive nature of the enemy.
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Fueled by anger and a desire for revenge, some soldiers viewed the orders as a green light for unrestrained violence,
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blurring the lines between combatant and civilian.
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Following a barrage of fire from artillery and helicopter gunships, Charlie Company began to land in Son Mi by helicopter around 730 a .m.
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The first two platoons of Charlie Company went into sub -Hamlet My Lai 4, while Captain Medina with 3rd platoon waited outside the area.
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To secure the perimeter and prevent any escape, Alpha Company positioned themselves along the upper bank of the Song Diem Diem,
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while Bravo Company took a strategic stance below My Lai 1.
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Bravo was tasked with invading My Lai 1 and My K -4, following Charlie Company's initial assaults on My Lai 4.
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As the operation unfolded, Bravo and Charlie Companies were set to converge and solidify control over the area by evening.
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Despite no evidence of enemy fire, the soldiers were ordered to shoot anything that moved, expecting immediate resistance from VC guerrillas believed to be hiding in the village.
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GIs quickly began shooting villagers and setting homes ablaze, leading to widespread chaos and brutality.
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However, as the violence unfolded, GIs found a village consisting mostly of women, children, and old men.
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Many were scared, running at the sight of approaching soldiers, and refused to stop when instructed.
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Even those that complied were subject to violence.
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One soldier shot and killed an elderly man at close range, despite having his hands raised.
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As the remaining villagers were being herded into the open, eyewitness accounts report of GIs committing wanton slaughter against these civilians.
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Villagers were cut down with bayonets, mutilated by grenades or summarily executed with shots to the back of the head.
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Later testimonies from soldiers revealed an atmosphere of fear and panic as they still believed Pinkville was rigged with mines,
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booby traps, and Viet Cong waiting to ambush them.
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These reports of apprehension contrasted with the actions perpetrated on the ground.
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Violence escalated and the villages became embroiled in chaos, with some soldiers committing heinous acts of brutality.
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Groups of GIs would disappear into homes, shooting anyone inside.
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Fires were lit across the huts and thatch buildings, consuming anyone trapped inside.
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Women and girls, some as young as 10, were subjected to horrific acts of rape and sexual violence, their pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears.
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Herds of villagers were driven out of hamlets, often being fired on indiscriminately, their bodies dumped on dirt tracks or nearby ditches.
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Circling above were numerous helicopters, with many pilots becoming key witnesses to the horrors unfolding below.
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One of these pilots, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jr., was shocked and confused by what he was seeing.
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With soldiers of 1st Platoon firing into a ditch of injured civilians, and even Captain Medina firing point -blank at an unarmed woman he later claimed had a grenade.
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Upon seeing a group of GIs approach a bunker filled with civilians, Thomas decided to take a stand, landing his helicopter between the soldiers and the remaining villagers,
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threatening to open fire on them if they tried to shoot the villagers.
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In the middle of this chaos, Thompson confronted Lieutenant Stephen Brooks,
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commanding 2nd platoon, and attempted to broker a ceasefire and facilitate an evacuation for the civilians trapped in a bunker.
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Undeterred by Brooke's indifference, Thompson, along with crew members Glenn Andreata and Lawrence Colburn, valiantly airlifted over a dozen people,
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including a young girl from a corpse -ridden ditch.
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Thompson's actions ultimately earned him and his crew the Soldier's Medal for their exceptional courage.
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Upon returning to base, Thompson wasted no time in reporting the horrific events he had witnessed at My Lai to his superiors.
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His alarming account prompted immediate action from Lieutenant Colonel Barker, leading to a ceasefire order directed at Charlie Company.
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This swift intervention halted the ongoing massacre, preventing further loss of innocent lives.
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Meanwhile, senior American officers, deeply disturbed by the revelations, cancelled any subsequent operations planned by Task Force Barker in Kwangai Province,
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aiming to prevent a recurrence of such atrocities.
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In the aftermath of the massacres, the initial response from the military hierarchy was a mixture of commendations and denials.
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Colonel Oren Henderson, commander of the 11th Brigade, met with Thompson to discuss his report, but despite the gravity of the allegations,
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he chose to commend Captain Medina for his leadership.
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The official combat action report submitted by the commander of Task Force Barker painted a starkly different picture,
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declaring the operation a success and claiming the deaths of 128 Viet Cong combatants,
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with civilian casualties only happening at a small scale as a result of accidental long -range artillery fire.
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This was a narrative echoed by higher -ups in the 23rd Infantry Division
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and even General William Westmoreland commanding U .S forces in Vietnam.
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The true extent of the tragedy at My Lai remained obscured for years, with the U .S.
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Army opting not to conduct a comprehensive body count of non -combatant casualties.
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Estimates of the civilian death toll vary widely, ranging from 347 to 504,
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with the memorial at My Lai listing 504 names, spanning all ages.
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The official U .S.
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Army investigation eventually settled on a lower estimate of 347 deaths.
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Overall, the atrocities cast a dark shadow over America's mission in Vietnam.
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Survivors left to recount their harrowing experiences became living testaments to these atrocities, lending cadence to the North Vietnamese cause.
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Master of Command is a real -time tactical game set in the 18th century.
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You lead and customize your army through increasingly challenging battles.
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You can stop at settlements along the way to restock and outfit your men with unique items and upgrades.
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Once they've got enough experience, you can reform them into higher -tier units,
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promote your lowly recruit all the way up to a guard grenadier if he proves himself in battle, and customize his flag to reflect his new status in your ranks.
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Steam Workshop was also added last year, and since then there's been a lot of great mods to try out as well.
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One of my favorites adds in an American Revolutionary War scenario.
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This other one gives you maxed out resources in case you want to mess around with different strategies and just experiment.
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The game is available now on Steam and is updated regularly.
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Join our Discord community too, which is linked below.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 103 sentences and 1605 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:32. The speaker talks at a steady 139 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 67% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- civilians /sɪˈvɪl.jənz/ (noun) — Synonym of civvies
- battalion /bəˈtæl.jən/ (noun) — An army unit having two or more companies, etc. and a headquarters. Traditionally forming part of a regiment.
- trap /tɹæp/ (noun) — A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.
- helicopter /ˈheliːˌkɔptə(ɹ)/ (noun) — An aircraft that is borne along by one or more sets of long rotating blades which allow it to hover, move in any direction including reverse, or land; and…
- casualty /ˈkæʒu.əlti/ (noun) — Something that happens by chance, especially an unfortunate event; an accident, a disaster.
- chaos /ˈkeɪˌɑs/ (noun) — The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony.
- civilian /sɪˈvɪl.jən/ (noun) — A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces.
- hamlet /ˈhæm.lət/ (noun) — A small settlement or a group of houses, often defined as a settlement smaller than a village.
- platoon /pləˈtuːn/ (noun) — A unit of thirty to forty soldiers typically commanded by a lieutenant and forming part of a company.
- meanwhile /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ (adverb) — During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place.
- atmosphere /ˈætməsˌfɪɹ/ (noun) — The gases surrounding the Earth or any astronomical body.
- commit /kəˈmɪt/ (verb) — To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto.
- estimate /ˈɛs.tɪ.mət/ (noun) — A rough calculation or assessment of the value, size, or cost of something.
- tragedy /ˈtɹæd͡ʒ.ɪ.di/ (noun) — A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of…
- provinces /ˈpɹɔv.ɪns.ɪz/ (noun) — The part of a country outside of the capital, major cities, etc., and regarded as being rustic or parochial; a hinterland. See provincial.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- fall on (verb) — To experience; to suffer; to fall upon.
- go into (verb) — To get involved in; to investigate or explore.
- make up /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ (verb) — To constitute, to compose.
- meet with (verb) — To have a meeting with (someone).
- pass on (verb) — To go forward.
- run at (verb) — To charge at (someone); to advance on (someone) as though to attack; to conduct a surprise attack on (someone).
- set in (verb) — To take root, become established.
- settle on (verb) — To make a decision or selection; to decide, arrange, or agree on.
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: southwest /saʊθˈwɛst/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, aftermath /ˈæf.tɚˌmæθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: casualty /ˈkæʒu.əlti/, shock /ʃɔk/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: helicopter /ˈheliːˌkɔptə(ɹ)/, casualty /ˈkæʒu.əlti/, artillery /ɑɹˈtɪləɹi/, brutality /ˌbɹuːˈtælɪti/, memorial /məˈmɔːɹi.əl/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like civilians, battalion, trap.
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.