My father taught me the importance of knowing how to fall. He used to remind me that I had to learn to control my falls. The best way to prevent them is to expect them.
When we practiced acro yoga with my partner, I realized I didn’t know how to fall from a shoulder stand. So, we spent the next 20 min practicing my fall. That gave me confidence and calmed down my nervous system. I learned what to expect and what my body was supposed to do to land softly.
My body learned to act in alignment with my mind. Now, instead of freezing, it’s moving in a controlled way and in the right direction.
Many students never practice falling or dealing with failure. They plan their practice routine as if every day is going to be their best way. “I’m going to practice my English skills for an hour every day”, they announce to me. And then life happens. Disappointments, setbacks, unmet expectations, heartbreak, numerous failures, lost motivation, discouragement, anger, powerlessness to their own habits and emotions take over… and they can’t get back up. They don’t expect the falls. Only triumphs.
But the more advanced we get, the more resilient we must get. Our progress slows. There’s not much new for us to learn. Our only practice is to put what we know into practice and continue supporting the person we’re becoming as we keep our word, stick to what we decided, and commit fully to improvement.
To learn is to change. If we change, we’ve learned something.
To change where you are right now, you must climb higher. To climb higher, you must learn to fall. This doesn’t mean you will have to fall many times. This means you’ll be able to land softly and get back up quickly. There will be many, many opportunities to fall. Not all of them are your invitations to quit. If you know how to fall, you don’t see the point in quitting.
When we practiced acro yoga with my partner, I realized I didn’t know how to fall from a shoulder stand. So, we spent the next 20 min practicing my fall. That gave me confidence and calmed down my nervous system. I learned what to expect and what my body was supposed to do to land softly.
My body learned to act in alignment with my mind. Now, instead of freezing, it’s moving in a controlled way and in the right direction.
Many students never practice falling or dealing with failure. They plan their practice routine as if every day is going to be their best way. “I’m going to practice my English skills for an hour every day”, they announce to me. And then life happens. Disappointments, setbacks, unmet expectations, heartbreak, numerous failures, lost motivation, discouragement, anger, powerlessness to their own habits and emotions take over… and they can’t get back up. They don’t expect the falls. Only triumphs.
But the more advanced we get, the more resilient we must get. Our progress slows. There’s not much new for us to learn. Our only practice is to put what we know into practice and continue supporting the person we’re becoming as we keep our word, stick to what we decided, and commit fully to improvement.
To learn is to change. If we change, we’ve learned something.
To change where you are right now, you must climb higher. To climb higher, you must learn to fall. This doesn’t mean you will have to fall many times. This means you’ll be able to land softly and get back up quickly. There will be many, many opportunities to fall. Not all of them are your invitations to quit. If you know how to fall, you don’t see the point in quitting.
❤4
Anna lives in Slovakia and she's working on her American Accent in my community pf practice for advanced learners of English.
Join us and attend LIVE Accent classes every second Monday and Wednesday.
if you want to master the basics and finally correct all the unconscious pronunciation mistakes you've been making for years, this is the right place.
@nataliatokarr & @21accents partnered to help you improve your American accent with professional human feedback.
To apply for group coaching, comment ACCENT, and I'll send you the application form. If you're a community member, DM me to apply.
As a community member, you get access to the American Accent course by Amy Walker and very specific exercises and practice routines carefully designed by me.
Everyone in the group receives individual feedback and a personalized practice plan.
Learn more here nataliatokar.me/accent
P.S. If you're looking for an advanced group and you're determined to sound American, we have it! Check out the link above too ⬆️
Don't forget to grab your free self-study resources. Click on the link to get instant access.
Join us and attend LIVE Accent classes every second Monday and Wednesday.
if you want to master the basics and finally correct all the unconscious pronunciation mistakes you've been making for years, this is the right place.
@nataliatokarr & @21accents partnered to help you improve your American accent with professional human feedback.
To apply for group coaching, comment ACCENT, and I'll send you the application form. If you're a community member, DM me to apply.
As a community member, you get access to the American Accent course by Amy Walker and very specific exercises and practice routines carefully designed by me.
Everyone in the group receives individual feedback and a personalized practice plan.
Learn more here nataliatokar.me/accent
P.S. If you're looking for an advanced group and you're determined to sound American, we have it! Check out the link above too ⬆️
Don't forget to grab your free self-study resources. Click on the link to get instant access.
nataliatokar.me
American Accent Training
Get coached by a professional. Get results
❤1
When it comes to learning, the pen is mightier than the keyboard.
A 2021 study put handwriting and typing to the test:
Researchers asked students to write and then type notes from a biology textbook. The researchers then compared the handwritten notes and the typed notes.
The results?
- Researchers found that students seemed to be cognitively overloaded while typing. In other words, they typed the notes on their computers, but that information didn’t “stick” as well as handwritten notes.
- The students also showed less knowledge, accuracy of terminology, and ability to interconnect ideas when typing notes.
A 2021 study put handwriting and typing to the test:
Researchers asked students to write and then type notes from a biology textbook. The researchers then compared the handwritten notes and the typed notes.
The results?
- Researchers found that students seemed to be cognitively overloaded while typing. In other words, they typed the notes on their computers, but that information didn’t “stick” as well as handwritten notes.
- The students also showed less knowledge, accuracy of terminology, and ability to interconnect ideas when typing notes.
👍3
Stop seeking approval from people who can’t give it to you.
You’re not fat. Why do you go the gym?
You’re an A student. Why do you study more?
You already ran 10K. Why do you continue running?
You already have a degree. Why get another one?
You already won a championship. Why continue training so hard?
Those who don’t practice will never get your perspective. They only know the perspective of avoiding pressure. In their world, practice = pressure, and pressure = pain.
They don’t know the perspective of a champion who feels responsible to defend his/her title and train harder. They don’t know the perspective of genuine curiosity. What can I become? What am I meant to become? They don’t feel the pain of unused potential because they don’t have the potential that you feel inside.
Don’t blame them for it. Don’t expect them to get you.
You are here because your practice is 100% self-assigned. They are waiting for someone to assign “life tasks” to them.
That’s the only difference. They don’t see you as capable to do what really matters because they don’t see this capability in themselves. They see you as they are, not as you are.
Stop looking in skewed mirrors. They don’t reflect who you are. They can’t approve of who you are because they can’t even see you.
You’re not fat. Why do you go the gym?
You’re an A student. Why do you study more?
You already ran 10K. Why do you continue running?
You already have a degree. Why get another one?
You already won a championship. Why continue training so hard?
Those who don’t practice will never get your perspective. They only know the perspective of avoiding pressure. In their world, practice = pressure, and pressure = pain.
They don’t know the perspective of a champion who feels responsible to defend his/her title and train harder. They don’t know the perspective of genuine curiosity. What can I become? What am I meant to become? They don’t feel the pain of unused potential because they don’t have the potential that you feel inside.
Don’t blame them for it. Don’t expect them to get you.
You are here because your practice is 100% self-assigned. They are waiting for someone to assign “life tasks” to them.
That’s the only difference. They don’t see you as capable to do what really matters because they don’t see this capability in themselves. They see you as they are, not as you are.
Stop looking in skewed mirrors. They don’t reflect who you are. They can’t approve of who you are because they can’t even see you.
🔥5
You can stop an old, stubborn pattern in only TWO days following my self-correction routine.
Here are the steps:
1. You must see your patterns (usually, people can't see them. That's why everyone gets personal feedback in my community)
2. You need to buy TWO notebooks and use them with discipline
3. You must do the exercises correctly. The results will blow your mind.
Join the community to learn how to:
1. Do the self-correction routine correctly
2. Internalize vocabulary effectively in 7 days (rather than memorize it)
3. Use the METHOD to get rid of old, often unnoticed mistakes. Watch the workshop "METHOD" and do the exercises to see mindblowing results.
This video is the fragment from our Sunday Practice Sessions. Join today and attend the Sunday Practice Session tomorrow. ONLY in JULY you can skip the application process and start a free trial in no time.
I'm currently rebuilding everything, and in August we will have a new application process in place.
If you want to learn to be YOU in English (and not a 'correct" or "simplified" version of YOU), join us and discover a whole new way to learn fluency and practice full self-expression in another language.
Here are the steps:
1. You must see your patterns (usually, people can't see them. That's why everyone gets personal feedback in my community)
2. You need to buy TWO notebooks and use them with discipline
3. You must do the exercises correctly. The results will blow your mind.
Join the community to learn how to:
1. Do the self-correction routine correctly
2. Internalize vocabulary effectively in 7 days (rather than memorize it)
3. Use the METHOD to get rid of old, often unnoticed mistakes. Watch the workshop "METHOD" and do the exercises to see mindblowing results.
This video is the fragment from our Sunday Practice Sessions. Join today and attend the Sunday Practice Session tomorrow. ONLY in JULY you can skip the application process and start a free trial in no time.
I'm currently rebuilding everything, and in August we will have a new application process in place.
If you want to learn to be YOU in English (and not a 'correct" or "simplified" version of YOU), join us and discover a whole new way to learn fluency and practice full self-expression in another language.
95% of online schools and online courses tend to beginners. Beginners struggle to begin, that's why they are where they are.
They need a push. They need motivation, entertainment, and a lot of encouragement. They need to be reminded of the decisions they made and the commitment it takes to master a skill.
Advanced English learners have different needs. They don't need a course for beginners. They already did it 10 times.
They don't need "motivation" from people who haven't mastered the skill. They don't need to be pushed, punished, or manipulated into buying what they don't need.
They need someone who cares enough to show them what it is that they can do differently. They don't need rewards from a funny character on their screen. They don't need gamification. They don't need exams or certificates either.
They need better results in real-life situations. They want to understand their children who speak better English than they do. They want that promotion. They want to deliver their message to wider audiences because they do have something to say. They want to belong. They don't want to be asked "So, where are you from?" any more, after 20 years of living in this country.
They need to be heard, which means they need someone who has the patience to listen.
They need feedback, not gaslight.
"Your English is so good!" often means "I don't want the responsibility of telling you how to fix your life".
This WILL fix everything. Once you have learned to sound like YOU in another language, you life will change, and this is not a joke.
I'll introduce you to more people who choose to learn rather than wait to be taught.
You can meet them yourself if you join the community and do the exercises with us.
Every exercise will take you one step closer to sounding like YOU in English.
All you need is one exercise a day and human feedback from someone who is no longer stuck where you're stuck now.
Link in bio. Start a free account today. https://subscribepage.io/nativelikefluency
Comment "FEEDBACK" and book a free 20-min session with me to get practical tips on what you can do today to create different results.
P.S. watch the full interview with @dariana_nevska on my Youtube
They need a push. They need motivation, entertainment, and a lot of encouragement. They need to be reminded of the decisions they made and the commitment it takes to master a skill.
Advanced English learners have different needs. They don't need a course for beginners. They already did it 10 times.
They don't need "motivation" from people who haven't mastered the skill. They don't need to be pushed, punished, or manipulated into buying what they don't need.
They need someone who cares enough to show them what it is that they can do differently. They don't need rewards from a funny character on their screen. They don't need gamification. They don't need exams or certificates either.
They need better results in real-life situations. They want to understand their children who speak better English than they do. They want that promotion. They want to deliver their message to wider audiences because they do have something to say. They want to belong. They don't want to be asked "So, where are you from?" any more, after 20 years of living in this country.
They need to be heard, which means they need someone who has the patience to listen.
They need feedback, not gaslight.
"Your English is so good!" often means "I don't want the responsibility of telling you how to fix your life".
This WILL fix everything. Once you have learned to sound like YOU in another language, you life will change, and this is not a joke.
I'll introduce you to more people who choose to learn rather than wait to be taught.
You can meet them yourself if you join the community and do the exercises with us.
Every exercise will take you one step closer to sounding like YOU in English.
All you need is one exercise a day and human feedback from someone who is no longer stuck where you're stuck now.
Link in bio. Start a free account today. https://subscribepage.io/nativelikefluency
Comment "FEEDBACK" and book a free 20-min session with me to get practical tips on what you can do today to create different results.
P.S. watch the full interview with @dariana_nevska on my Youtube
The exercises you can do to learn to understand what people say in English AND communicate what you understand in spontaneous speech:
1. The Synchronization Exercise (Find 25 free episodes on Youtube).
2. Chapter "Listening" in my FREE self-study resources offers a number of great exercises. Sign up today.
3. To improve your speaking skills, join the Sunday Practice in the community and get specific feedback on WHAT you need to change and practice. Start a free trial in the community today. I'm offering a free trial until the end of July.
P.S. I will keep working on the way I sound. This video is only a few months old, but I sound very differently today.
LIVE training + All the resources to change your accent are available to the community members in abundance. All you need to do is show up and put the work in.
1. The Synchronization Exercise (Find 25 free episodes on Youtube).
2. Chapter "Listening" in my FREE self-study resources offers a number of great exercises. Sign up today.
3. To improve your speaking skills, join the Sunday Practice in the community and get specific feedback on WHAT you need to change and practice. Start a free trial in the community today. I'm offering a free trial until the end of July.
P.S. I will keep working on the way I sound. This video is only a few months old, but I sound very differently today.
LIVE training + All the resources to change your accent are available to the community members in abundance. All you need to do is show up and put the work in.
Audio
A community member practices the long "a" in the American Accent Program.
Can you write down the phrases that she's saying? What words can you hear?
P.S. This is not a performance. This is practice. Practice is supposed to be NOT perferct. You're supposed to make mistakes and learn to fix them when you practice.
P.P.S. What can you learn from watching this person practice?
Can you write down the phrases that she's saying? What words can you hear?
P.S. This is not a performance. This is practice. Practice is supposed to be NOT perferct. You're supposed to make mistakes and learn to fix them when you practice.
P.P.S. What can you learn from watching this person practice?
🙏1
NEW in the BLOG ⬇️
Example: I want to speak better English. I've lived in the U.S for 10 years, but I still sound like I arrived yesterday.
The Question: What am I pretending not to know?
The Answer: I’m pretending not to know that nothing will change unless I decide to change it. I'm hoping that my English will get better simply because I live in the U.S. now. I'm pretending not to see that my chosen strategy is not working.
My strategy is to "hope for the best" and pretend that it works. I know that if I continue doing the same thing, I will sound exactly the same even if I spend 10 more years here, but I'm pretending not to know this.
https://nataliatokar.me/blog/tpost/feidamatm1-how-to-learn-a-non-trivial-skill-such-as
Example: I want to speak better English. I've lived in the U.S for 10 years, but I still sound like I arrived yesterday.
The Question: What am I pretending not to know?
The Answer: I’m pretending not to know that nothing will change unless I decide to change it. I'm hoping that my English will get better simply because I live in the U.S. now. I'm pretending not to see that my chosen strategy is not working.
My strategy is to "hope for the best" and pretend that it works. I know that if I continue doing the same thing, I will sound exactly the same even if I spend 10 more years here, but I'm pretending not to know this.
https://nataliatokar.me/blog/tpost/feidamatm1-how-to-learn-a-non-trivial-skill-such-as
nataliatokar.me
How to learn a non-trivial skill, such as spontaneous speech in English
Spontaneous speaking skills in a foreign language (for me, it's in English) require a lot of cognitive effort.
People want to be ready. They want to prepare "correct" English words in advance. In reality, you have no idea what to expect. "Spontaneous" means you have no control over the other person's perception, reaction, or response. Moreover, you can't really prepare the words for your own response because you don't know what they're going to say.
Yet, many English learners invest their energy in preparation for the unknown.
And every time someone strikes up a spontaneous conversation they were not ready for, they feel stuck.
Here is why:
1. If you rely on certain verbal patterns to help you through a conversation, be aware that they require cognitive effort that reduces your ability to understand the demands of the situation (you may miss some nuanced information because you are busy searching through your mental stockpile).
2. You potentially lose out on an authentic moment because you are not immediately present — you are reacting (that is, acting out what you were previously thinking), rather than responding to the demands of the moment.
The best way to avoid these scenarios is to really listen to what is being said and what is needed in the moment so you get out of your own way and respond authentically.
Unfortunately, these skills are NOT trained or even spoken about in language schools. They are considered either too advanced or unnecessary. English learners waste their time preparing "perfect" words for situations that exist only in their imagination and will never happen in reality. They're expected to be authentic, free, and fluent when they speak to native speakers in the real-world...only no one has ever shown them HOW it can be done.
You can't prepare your words for EVERY potential situation in life.
But you can prepare yourself to deal with ANY situation in life.
I teach a structured approach to developing spontaneous speaking skills in a foreign language. I am living proof that this can be trained.
If you've been looking for a coach to help you be clear and spontaneous in English, book a free 20-min session with me.
Comment "feedback", and I will send you a link with available slots.
People want to be ready. They want to prepare "correct" English words in advance. In reality, you have no idea what to expect. "Spontaneous" means you have no control over the other person's perception, reaction, or response. Moreover, you can't really prepare the words for your own response because you don't know what they're going to say.
Yet, many English learners invest their energy in preparation for the unknown.
And every time someone strikes up a spontaneous conversation they were not ready for, they feel stuck.
Here is why:
1. If you rely on certain verbal patterns to help you through a conversation, be aware that they require cognitive effort that reduces your ability to understand the demands of the situation (you may miss some nuanced information because you are busy searching through your mental stockpile).
2. You potentially lose out on an authentic moment because you are not immediately present — you are reacting (that is, acting out what you were previously thinking), rather than responding to the demands of the moment.
The best way to avoid these scenarios is to really listen to what is being said and what is needed in the moment so you get out of your own way and respond authentically.
Unfortunately, these skills are NOT trained or even spoken about in language schools. They are considered either too advanced or unnecessary. English learners waste their time preparing "perfect" words for situations that exist only in their imagination and will never happen in reality. They're expected to be authentic, free, and fluent when they speak to native speakers in the real-world...only no one has ever shown them HOW it can be done.
You can't prepare your words for EVERY potential situation in life.
But you can prepare yourself to deal with ANY situation in life.
I teach a structured approach to developing spontaneous speaking skills in a foreign language. I am living proof that this can be trained.
If you've been looking for a coach to help you be clear and spontaneous in English, book a free 20-min session with me.
Comment "feedback", and I will send you a link with available slots.