Shadowing Practice: Scott Ian of Anthrax on playing with Stryper - Learn English Speaking with Video

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33 sentences
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First time Anthrax played L .A was at the Country Club out in Reseda in 1984.
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We actually played two nights.
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It was Anthrax and Raven.
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And we actually had Striper opening for us, which was a whole other thing.
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I mean, if you're familiar with them, they were a Christian band.
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It's our Christian band.
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I heard they're back together.
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But there's these guys there, and we were driving around in a van, and there's these guys with these big giant hair
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and they're wearing all this crazy yellow and black striped spandex and shirts
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because their album was the yellow and black attack and I don't know what that has to do with Christianity.
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And they had a limo and all this kind of stuff and we're like, who are these guys?
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They're in their dressing room praying in a prayer circle.
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So I asked one of the dudes, I was like, you know, you guys have a limo?
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I don't understand.
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He took a limo and they said, yeah, we prayed to God and he answered our prayers and he got us a limo.
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And I was like, well, can't you just get one for 50 bucks an hour?
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Like, they go on stage and they're throwing Bibles into the crowd.
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And this is an anthrax audience.
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And they're up there, like, tossing Bibles out into the audience.
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And the Bibles are coming back.
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Just, you know, 100 miles an hour.
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Kids just winging these Bibles back at them.
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And I was like, man, why is this?
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Like, how did this happen?
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But that was the first time we played LA.
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And you know, our shows were great.
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I mean, the crowd was insane.
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First time here was incredible.
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And LA's always been good for us.
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A lot of bands complain about LA.
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A lot of bands complain about New York, you know, London, there's big cities where they say people just, you know, kind of stand there and watch you.
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But LA's always been insane for us.
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And I don't know.

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What You'll Learn from This Clip

This video offers great english speaking practice for two key skills: storytelling with conversational flow and reacting naturally to unexpected details. The speaker shares a vivid anecdote, using phrases like "I mean" and "you know" to connect ideas—skills that make your speech sound more relatable. Additionally, his mix of curiosity ("I don't understand") and humor ("can't you just get one for 50 bucks an hour") teaches how to convey tone through intonation, a critical part of real-world communication.

Listen For These Sounds

Pay attention to connected speech and reductions that make the dialogue sound natural. For example, "they're back together" becomes "they're back t'gether" with a linked "t" sound. The phrase "I don't know" is often reduced to "I dunno," and "you guys" may sound like "y'guys" in fast speech. These small changes help you understand how native speakers simplify language, making it easier to follow and mimic during shadowing technique practice.

Say It Like a Native

To mirror the speaker's rhythm, focus on stress and pauses. He emphasizes key details: "big giant hair," "crazy yellow and black striped spandex," and "Bibles coming back 100 miles an hour." Stress these phrases to highlight their importance, just as he does. Pause slightly before punchlines, like "the Bibles are coming back," to build comedic effect. Using the shadow speech method—repeating his words immediately after him—will help you internalize this rhythm. A good shadowing site can help you practice timing, but even repeating aloud while watching the video works. Remember, native speakers don't speak in perfect sentences—they use filler words and pauses to think, so don't fear them. Embrace the flow, and you'll sound more natural in no time.

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 →