Shadowing Practice: Ruthlessness | EPIC The Musical | Animatic - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Ruthlessness”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mercy, ourselves, ruthlessness, Poseidon, upon. This video has 31 sentences and 331 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:09. The speaker talks slowly, about 80 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 5 of its 31 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mercy noun | /ˈmɝsi/ | Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another. |
| harm noun | /hɑːm/ | Physical injury; hurt; damage. |
| reveal verb | /ɹɪˈviːl/ | To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden. |
| crack noun | /kɹæk/ | A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material. |
| wolf noun | /wʊlf/ | Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily. |
| goodbye | /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ | Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| chill verb | /tʃɪl/ | To lower the temperature of something; to cool. |
| apologize verb | /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ | To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends |
| invisible adjective | /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ | Unable to be seen; out of sight; not visible. |
| bleed verb | /ˈbliːd/ | To shed blood through an injured blood vessel. |
| tidal adjective | /ˈtaɪ.d(ə)l/ | Relating to tides. |
| drown verb | /dɹaʊn/ | To die from suffocation while immersed in water or other fluid. |
| gracious adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪʃəs/ | kind and warmly courteous |
| ruthlessness noun | The property of being ruthless. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- That's right, the cyclops you made blind, is mine.
- I'm left without a choice and without a doubt.
- All I've got to do is open this bag!
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 12 contractions and reduced forms, such as I've, could've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, invisible /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/
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 mercy, harm, reveal.
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.