Shadowing Practice: The Art of Balancing Stones - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Shadowing Controls
0% completed (0/28 sentences)
I really love balancing stones.
⏸ Paused
Speed:
Repeat Count:
Wait Mode:
Sub Sync:0ms
All Sentences
28 sentences
1
I really love balancing stones.
2
Mostly because I think it's such a great way to also balance myself.
3
And to create something beautiful at the same time.
4
Even though, a little wind is enough to make it look like your sculpture never was there.
5
But in this moment, as I try to find a tiny, tiny little balance point, my thoughts are completely silent.
6
And that's a very good feeling.
7
Sometimes it only takes a couple of minutes to make a balance.
8
And sometimes an hour.
9
But when it's done, I love to watch the stone balance.
10
It looks so still and quiet in a world that is constantly moving.
11
Very often I see people commenting that it's fake.
12
That it's impossible to do this and that it's photoshopped or glue.
13
But I kind of get excited about those reactions.
14
Because it's a proof that there is so much more in this life than we could ever imagine.
15
If some people think that this is impossible, imagine then how many more things there is in life that we still think is impossible.
16
Just because we never really tried it.
17
Just because we already put the frames on what is possible and not.
18
I also get a lot of questions about how to learn this.
19
And my advice is, just go get out there, find some stones, play around and have fun.
20
After a while you will get to know the stones and get a feeling of how to balance them in the best way.
21
And you will learn to see which stones work best together.
22
You might spend a lot of time trying to balance a stone that will never balance.
23
But you learn something every time and it's a wonderful way of spending time in nature.
24
Depending on what kind of stone balance you're doing, the balance point can be really tiny.
25
So the movements that you do while adjusting the stones to find the balance point are so tiny that you can barely see it with your eyes.
26
You just feel it with your hands.
27
And when you finally find that tiny balance point, the gravity will be there for you.
28
hold your stones together.

About This Lesson

You're practicing English with "The Art of Balancing Stones" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.

Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.

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.

☕ Buy us a coffee

Donate via PayPal