If you live in Moscow, would you like to swap books in English? People who have English books are ready to share. People who would like to read English books, would gladly borrow rather than purchase. Read more about our new Community Initiative here https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/ask-anything/book-swapping-in-moscow-it-was-your-idea

People believe that the main verb in learning a foreign language is "memorize". They get ready to deal with verbs like "remember", "learn", "prioritize", "understand", "repeat", "try again"...while the main skill for advanced learners who want to continue advancing their language skills and the quality of their conversations in English is to "discern".

Worth listening to https://podcasts.apple.com/ru/podcast/manager-tools/id74198801?i=1000565376199

https://youtu.be/kvuEKqaxb3g

New video.

"It Ain’t What You Don’t Know That Gets You Into Trouble. It’s What You Know for Sure That Just Ain’t So."

Watch the full video in the Community of Practice.

https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/tips-to-build-your-practice-routine/cognitive-load

The full video in the community answers the following questions:
- What is Cognitive LOAD and how can we use it to OUR advantage when learning foreign languages?
- What is sensory & working memory and how can we apply it when learning English and improving our vocabulary?
- How can we watch movies in English more effectively (if you find yourself reading the subtitles all the time instead of watching a movie)
- How can we work with vocabulary to acquire it faster?

If you're not a member yet, start your free trial here https://pages.nataliatokar.me/community
#nataliatokar #nativelikefluency

The next reading practice session is on July 3, 2022 in Moscow.

We will all read the same book for the session. I chose "A Red Herring without Mustard" because students asked for a detective/mystery novel. If you want to participate, please read the first 2 chapters (12,5 pages) before the meeting.

I will send the book to everyone who has registered for the event. The details are here https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/calendar/reading-session-july-3

If you want to improve your pronunciation and your understanding of the rhythm of English but you don't know where to begin, try this SPRINT! It's a short creative challenge and a ready practice routine. https://courses.nataliatokar.me/courses/sprint-thought-chunking

Btw, did you hear a mistake that I made there? I deliberately repeated the wrong word combination a few times in this audio 😉

In the absence of data, we will always make up stories because meaning making is in our biology.

People make up stories at work because they don’t have access to information.

"Regard yourself as a cloud, in the flesh, because you see, clouds never make mistakes. Did you ever see a cloud that was misshapen? Did you ever see a badly designed wave? No, they always do the right thing. But, if you will, treat yourself for a while as a cloud or a wave and realize that you can’t make a mistake whatever you do. Because even if you do something that appears totally disastrous, it will all come out in the wash somehow or another. Then through this capacity you will develop a kind of confidence. And through confidence you will be able to trust your own intuition."

Source: Taoism: Way Beyond Seeking

The most successful path to mastering anything is to practice for the sake of the practice itself, not for the result. All significant learning is composed of brief spurts of progress followed by long periods of work where if feels as if you are stuck on a plateau. There are no experts–only learners.