We notice the NEW only in the repetitive.
A fragment from a group call with the members of the Native-Like Fluency group that successfully finished the program in Dec 2022.

I'm inviting ambitious English learners to join the new cohort on Jan 8, 2023!
Build a meaningful practice routine to improve your fluency and grow your confidence as a learner and speaker.

Application window opens only twice a year. You will be working in an international group of TOP professionals who are driven by the same goals and have the same needs.

Every participant receives individual feedback on their work. The duration of the program is 6 months. Apply now https://forms.office.com/r/XSKMSGFr6S

I am so excited to get started this week!!!

Check out this page for more information and make sure to apply if this is what you have been looking for! https://nataliatokar.me/nativelikefluency

A new podcast episode is out! https://play.acast.com/s/63a49b2469c77e00112dcdd9/63b83affcddc410011e7af76

Follow the link to listen to it on your favorite podcast app

Listen on Youtube here - https://youtu.be/YpsVADXRZio

The exercise that I did today: CREATIVE WRITING:

I found this photo and felt like I wanted to write down my thoughts.

I turned it into a creative writing exercise, which took me about 30 min.
I edited the text, and now I feel that I need to put it aside for some time. I will get back to it later and probably edit more later.

I would like to work on connecting my ideas better.

Here is the result of today's practice:

I found this photo in the archives, in a folder with other random pictures.

To see your own progress, look at your life in retrospect, and you will see everything, including what your eyes can't see.

This photo wasn't selected to be retouched or edited, but I like it. It was taken when I turned around, before I was ready to be photographed.
I can see now that I was still afraid of my own wild nature back then. That's why I chose to "forget" that this picture existed.

If I could give one advice to my younger self on this photo, I'd say "Be bolder. Be braver."

Have I changed since it was taken? A lot. I have embraced my wild, extravagant, and untamed traits, and I'm still welcoming them, one by one, as they keep introducing themselves to me.

I have learned to be more present and honest with myself. I fell in love with my bare face, my body, and my spirit. I learned to be beautiful without needing makeup to cover my face. I still love make-up, but in the year when this photo was taken I used makeup to hide my acne and my shame. I learned to take better care of my skin, and I healed it. I created practice routines to change so much of what seemed normal. I created the new "normal" for myself by transforming my pain into empowerment. I reinvented many areas of my life when I realized how big my influence was.

Each of you plays the main part in your own life, but somehow people are taught to believe that their part is not important, or that they failed the audition.

What do you see when you look at your old photographs?
So many people want to go back to what WAS, feeling resentful toward what IS. They want to lose weight to look just like they USED TO look when they were 25 or to be as happy in a dysfunctional relationship as they USED TO be at the beginning of their story. People set goals to travel to the past, and I say - look into the future. You can achieve the unimaginable and the unachievable (yet). You can't see your goal clearly from where you are (because you haven't been there yet) but you can feel that you're certainly traveling into the future, toward your authentic self. It only gets better there.

When I look at my photos from a few years ago, I have no regrets. I understand more than what I understood back then, and this understanding propels me forward.


To do YOUR exercise, go to the post https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/exercises/exercise-106

An EXAMPLE of a practice routine if you need to improve your presentation skills in English


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When you enter a new season of life, you need to let go of the old habits that don't work in this new season.

Let's say, you decided to commit to practicing your English every day, and a month later you find yourself on a long business trip in a new country.
Does this mean that there's no way for you to continue practicing while you're on this trip?

To me, this would mean that I need to adapt my practice routine. I always ask myself, "What can I do in my current environment to keep moving in line with my authentic desires?"

I will not wait for my environment to change for me to continue eating healthy, taking care of my body, or improving my speaking and thinking skills. "Perfect conditions" may take forever to materialize. I find it more fulfilling to create my own environment, in which I can learn and look forward to doing my exercises.

If you're on a long business trip, organize your routine accordingly. You will probably spend a lot of time on the road. What can you do on a plane? For example, I like to write. Prepare some writing and listening exercises before your flight so that you can practice without distractions. I do not recommend reading or speaking exercises. You'll most likely find it impossible to practice your speaking skills on a plane, and reading only works if you read out loud, which, again, is not easy to do on a plane.

If you drive a lot, make sure you have something to listen to. Don't listen inattentively. Don't turn on a podcast "to have some English play in the background". Be deliberate with what you choose to listen to. Listen to the stories you have recorded previously and give yourself feedback. Listen to 30-60-second audio pieces a few times and repeat what you're hearing. Listen to the news on the radio and practice repeating the intonations. You can also use the time in the car to do your speaking exercises. For example, practice thinking out loud and record yourself. Then listen to yourself - are you being clear? If not, self-correct, record it again. You'll know exactly how to do better for your message to sound clear when you get to hear yourself.
It's a matter of choice.

When you choose to become a better learner, you commit to creating your environment, in which you can learn better.

You stop waiting to be taught. You actively seek and create opportunities to learn.
Don't draw the divide line between "life" and "learning". So many people talk about life-long learning, but they find it impossible to integrate learning into their life. They feel like they have to stop "living" to start "learning". It's not true, because the purpose of learning is to undertand the self.

You were made to believe that learning is a "separate" area of life, or that it is separate from "living". Choose to integrate, not to separate. When you enter a new season of life, you need to let go of some of the old ways, but it doesn't mean that you have to give up on yourself and your practice entirely.

From Mark Manson’s blog

How can editing be fun???
It rarely is.... but it is always about GROWTH.

If you haven't tried these Creative Writing SPRINTs where you get caring feedback on your writing skills in English, where you get support and guidance from a coach, where you're asked to edit your texts over and over again, they are so worth it!

Only practice and feedback bring results.
If you practice a lot and don't receive high-quality feedback or don't give yourself feedback, you'll be soon demotivated to proceed since you can't really see or measure your progress.

If you receive feedback (only praise or only criticism) in real-life situations and don't have a practice routine to work on your skills, you depend on other people's opinions about your performance. You don't get to see yourself. You believe what others say you are or you are not.

Start a practice routine and decide whose feedback you want. Ask for it and use it to self-correct the behaviors that prevent you from moving forward.

https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/creative-writing-practice-2-0/

In this Creative Writing SPRINT!, sessions are available as replays. Every participant received feedback on every text they write

This week in the community of practice. Join us!