277. Real Stories About What's Possible | Interview with Nabila

Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar and today we are going to listen to a real life story about English success. You are going to listen to an interview with one of my students who is going to tell you what is possible now that English is no longer an obstacle. Let's listen.

Today you are going to meet one of my favorite people in this world. Her name is Nabila. She's from Morocco and she will tell you her story and what is possible for her once English is no longer an obstacle.

Hi. Hi, Hadan. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me today.

Oh, I'm so happy to have you today. I'm so happy to finally have that conversation with you that I've been wanting to have for so long.

How are you doing? I'm doing great. How about you?

Amazing. Thank you so much. And you went through the first round of New Sound, and I'm curious in hearing about your story and where you're at and what were your biggest struggles before and during New Sound, but also just, you know, the story of what is possible for you once English is not an obstacle where in the past English it used to be. But that's like the, the overarching theme of our conversation. But before that, for those who don't know you from beyond or from New Sound, would you like to introduce yourself?

Yes, of course. So my name is Nezula. I'm from Casablanca, Morocco, and I live in Casablanca. And English is not my. My native language is Arabic, of course, obviously. And I speak French as a second language because this is what we use in Morocco, you know, to make appointments at work, to study. This is the language that we use. We don't use Arabic very much, maybe just to. We mix Arabic with French in our daily speaking. This is why the dialect of Morocco is a little bit hard for people who don't speak French. Like people from Lebanon or from Syria are thinking about Amer. It's a little bit difficult. Yeah. And I work as a financial controller, so my work has to do with cost analysis. So this is what I do. I look how to calculate margins and to look into products which are profitable or not profitable and to talk to the management about it. I work for a French company and I don't use English on a daily basis. But I'm lucky because I have the cluster of the companies of Africa, which is based in South Africa, and we, as you know, South Africa, they speak only English. So I have to write two ports in English and I Communicate, basically using the chat with them because we don't have a lot of meetings. So that I can speak in English. Like life. Yeah.

Amazing. And it's so interesting. I have so many questions to ask you about the relationship between Arabic and French, because languages are a part of your personality. And so at home you speak Arabic or French. It's a mix and mix.

It's a mix. Yeah. Let's say 50. 50. 50, 50, 50.

So interesting.

Yeah. In fact, we have sentences that. I can start the sentence in Arabic and I will finish it in French or vice versa. Yes. This is how basically we speak in Morocco.

Do you have a preference?

The preference is French, of course, because this is what I use at work. I work with expatriates who are French people. So this is what I use a lot as I live alone. So I don't speak a lot of Arabic. My mom was a French teacher. So it makes things a little bit difficult to speak in Arabic at home. But it's. If I want, for example, to speak to the security of our building, I speak 100% in Arabic. Because in Morocco, unfortunately, we have a lot of people who are not very well educated. People working in security, people working in the market. Unfortunately, even if I use the nick. 80% in Arabic, 20 in French, they will understand, but they prefer to be addressed in Arabic 100%. So.

So people who don't have access to education would probably not have access to that additional language. To French.

Yes. And. But they understand. They understand because this is.

Yeah. Because Morocco definitely has.

Yeah.

Amazing.

Yeah.

So interesting. Now, why did you decide to even start making a change in English? What was hard before you joined New Sound?

I just saw a comment in Arabic which is a little bit aggressive, but I will not let it. In general, people in Morocco, they like to seem in a certain, like, image, and they don't like to talk about what is. I'm talking about reality. People that I'm in relationship with what I see in the street. Yes. And this person was saying that a lot of people in Morocco, they have degrees. Yes. But having a degree doesn't mean that you are. You can have a degree, like, for example, a master in Arabic or. It doesn't mean that you are excellent in other languages.

Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent. And this is languages. It's just a question of exposure and intention. It doesn't mean anything about, you know, the level of your intelligence or if you didn't have access to the language, you're less likely to speak it. That's just how it Is which leads us to English, which is if you don't have access to it and you don't have the intention of learning, of course, course it's going to be difficult for you to succeed in the language. So would you agree with that?

Yes, yes, 100%.

And again, I'm sorry that you had to, like, receive, but, like, this is what happens when you go online and when you share your thoughts.

This is why, in fact, I was waiting. I was a member of the Influencing community for a long time, but I started going there only since last October after we finished New Sound, because I don't feel safe in environment that I don't know 100%. So I feel safer, of course, in beyond. And I was feeling safe in New Sound as well. Yeah. Because of those comments that maybe, yes, we can't agree, but I think that it's not very. It's coming from someone who's not very well educated to attack people on social media just because they are expressing their opinion. We are free to say whatever we. We want, whatever we think, as long as. Yeah. We are not offending our people. Yeah.

So I want to talk a little bit about what's happening now because a lot of people, they're really afraid of showing up in English and being criticized. So what is it, the process that you go through that you have gone through in the past? Because you probably have this internal conversation inside of, you know, oh, this person is trying to shut me up or to bring me down, and you're like, no, I'm going to keep on speaking. So what would you say to someone who is afraid of that or is experiencing that? What would you tell them how to find that courage to keep on speaking and to keep going? Because we know that a lot of people may get criticized for their English or their mistakes, and this is a good opportunity to really discuss that.

In fact, when we are confident enough to show ourselves a real us, it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe before, but maybe a year ago, before New Sound, if I were exposed to something like what I had today, maybe I think that I've just said to you to finish this call because I was going to be deeply, maybe deeply sad, deeply touched by those comments, but today I don't care anymore because my confidence is beyond everything. And I built this confidence, like during the last year thanks to you, thanks to New Sound, thanks to Beyond. And it's just like a wall, a very strong wall. And I can let whatever I want to go through this wall to me. And if I feel like Insecure. I just like, shut the wall. And I have this confidence, just like a wall protecting me from anything else. Yeah, I love that.

And I think it's really like something that we have to work towards, like to build that wall to know that we don't have to let any comment in or anything that might hurt us, because otherwise it's serving the person making the comment, not us. It's just stopping us from being the person we want to be. And what's the point in that? Like, what a waste of life if we are only consumed but what other people think. And usually strangers. Right. Like this person is a stranger. And if you had let that affect you, of course it would be, you know. So, yeah, thank you so much for, for sharing that. And so back to the question. What made you decide to kind of like up level where you were?

Oh, it's a very interesting question. I will go back to when I was five years old because my dad was an English teacher. He's retired now.

Wait, so your mom was a French teacher and your dad was an English teacher? Did they have like linguistic conversations about languages when you were a kid?

No, because French was the priority for us at home, because this was the language we used to have beautiful grades at school, and this was the language to have access to our future.

So.

So there was like no battle between them about which language we had to master first. But my dad was like, sure, 100% back in the 80s that English and French are the language of our future. And this is why we didn't give a lot of importance to Arabic as a language. Like, we were studying Arabic at school, but it was just to have the grades and to not have to repeat the year because of the Arabic language. And back when I was five years old, my dad, he started to expose me to the English language by doing some exercises, learning from songs, learning basic vocabulary. And what helped also was that my dad had and still has a lot of American, German, English friends that used to come in summer and spend the holidays with us, with their kids. So we used to speak, we were speaking French. But during those holidays it was like the opportunity to, to practice some English. But it was like very, very, very much not enough. Yeah. And I went to high school during the 90s, so things changed now. But at that time, we were starting to learn English in high school in the first year of high school. Now kids are learning English since primary school in Morocco, which is awesome. And it shows that the government is now more aware of the importance of English. And so When I was at high school at that time I would say that I was fluent. I was able to make sentences, to answer, to do, writing beautiful writings. And I had very beautiful grades in English as a subject at school. And after that I went to business school in Morocco and we had some subjects in English, but only starting the third year, so it wasn't enough. And after that I started working. And in Morocco, as I told you, when we were, we used French as a language. So at the beginning I was working for Morocco companies and I had no opportunity to speak English English. And in 2011 I was hired by an American company and it was the first time I was going to work in international environment. But my management was based in Paris. So once again I was speaking English only a few times with some people in England. And I had no contact with the people in the U.S. even if the the company is American. And at that time I enrolled in the British Council in order to have opportunities to speak because I was writing emails. I had a beautiful interview in English. It was very quick, but I needed like to feel more confident in speaking because this was my biggest problem. And I always had this myth that I needed. I was waiting for that day where I was going to speak in English as I'm speaking in French. And yes, for me it was like I have to be speaking nonstop, making no time fillers in my sentences. Yes. But it was impossible because I wasn't exposed to the language, to English. And I continued working for that company. After that I went back to French companies. And four years ago I changed my job to my, my actual employer which is a French company. And I was having those exchanges emails and text chat messages with my colleagues in South Africa. And I started to be like scared if someone is going through, you know, in hangouts, we are using hangouts at work. And if someone instead of just chatting is going to use the camera to talk to me, how am I going to do. And I was really scared to have this experience, experience. And I was already imagining myself there and not being able to speak. And I think two years ago I came across one of your videos and this is when I told to myself, yes, this is what I need. This lady is a non native speaker of English and look where she is. So if she can do it, I can do it. I just need to find something. And I was looking for your course and I went to your website and I signed for the waiting list of the next round of Accent Makeover. And I was waiting for. Because I watched the interview, you had with Anna from Ukraine. And it was very inspiring. And I told myself very, this is exactly what I need to be able to speak because, yes, I understand a lot of things. I can read because I read a lot of books, so I have a lot of vocabulary, even if it's passive. But when I read the newspaper, I understand everything. When I watch the news, it's the same. But I need to speak like Anna. And if I want to speak like Anna, I need to go to. To do this course. This is going to be like a game changer in my English speaking. And this is how I enrolled last year in New south because it was the new version of accent makeover. And this was the best thing I did last year because I took my English to a new level and my confidence was, I don't think that I can have today this conversation in French. Oh, wow, that's a big deal. A very big one.

What would you say the main component that attributed to this confidence that you're experiencing now?

The mindset module we had back in New Sound. Because before that I was like having this comparison comparing myself speaking English with myself speaking in French. And I have never integrated my mistakes before New Sound because for me as a kid of teachers, mistakes were like, it's a bad thing and you have to be the first one. You have to be the best student, you have to be the best employee. You always need to be the example. And there were like no room for mistakes. And I was feeling disappointed every time I made a mistake. But after that and after this very transformative module, the mindset one, yes, it was a shift in my personality and it has a lot of positive effects also on my French speaking because I wasn't able to do a lot of things before New Sound and it changed my life. Yes, for sure.

Wow, that's amazing to hear. And I agree. I think mindset is everything. I always talk about it. It is the foundations we need to build trust before we talk about mindset. But it is the foundation for everything. And thank you so much for sharing that. And I think like that idea of letting go of the fear of making mistakes and celebrating them. I think this is mind blowing. It's so freeing. And not just in English, in every other aspect of your life. Because we're always taught like you said, especially as a kid of teachers. You know, my mom was a teacher too. So as a kid of teachers, like you want to bring home good grades. Cause you, you know how she sees her students with good gr. It's just like that too, you know, and what mistakes mean. And also like back in the 80s or 90s when we, you know, not the generation we have today that we like or we understand better a little bit about what happens to a child when they're exposed to just like that need for perfectionism. But no one talked about it. Mindset was not a thing that you talked about, you know, growing up. So I think our parents also didn't know any better. Yeah, so, so, so interesting. And tell us a little bit about your experience. From New Sound you shifted to beyond, which is. You're like one of the leaders in the community. There was a question there from someone asking about the difference between New Sound and beyond. Do you want to try and answer that?

Yes, of course. New Sound is a program and you need to do the work. And I can tell you that from my own experience. I was a very good student, a hard worker. But when I started to working, I became very lazy. And I don't like to study for hours. It's not my style. I don't like to study like. Like this new sign was like studying four hours per day to be become what I am today. I would say no to it. What I liked about New Sound is everything is prepared. Everything is 20 minutes per day of working. And it was perfect for me and very well organized. You don't know to think about when to start, what to do after that. No, everything is organized. You just need to follow. I would say don't be. You don't need to be very.

Yeah, it's brain. Like don't invest any brain energy into. You already need to work so hard in rewiring the connections when you learn pronunciation or mindset. So you don't need to take care of everything else, like figuring out what to do Exactly.

So it's just like you have the recipe and you just. You just need to follow it step by step. Don't think, don't do anything. Just do the work and you will see the result. The result is guaranteed. This is New Sound. You need to do the work 20 minutes per day and you will do it for sure. It's a guaranteed recipe. Just like when you want to make a cake and you want to look for a recipe which is very well. It was like tried by so many persons that you want to be sure of the result. So this is Newsom. You have the recipe tried by so many people. Just follow it and you will have a beautiful cake at the end.

It's funny that you're using recipe as a reference. We'll talk about that in a second.

Beyond is beyond New stuff. So we see this new sound and we do the work and we are very happy with this beautiful cake, beautiful results. And we need to go to beyond to share it. Because if we have a beautiful cake. Yes. So beyond is a family. Yeah.

Cooking classes and beyond. Because beyond it is like a family and we have a lot of extracurricular activities like cooking classes and they're amazing. And I, I participated one of them and I don't know how it happened.

What?

We baked this amazing zucchini pizza that my daughters loved. So thank you for that, Nabila.

My pleasure.

But it's so nice how you said it. Like you have to create something and then you can share it, which is sharing is the idea. Sharing your thoughts, sharing your energy, sharing your opinions. And that is beyond. Now it's great. But if you want the foundations, if you want to reach a transformation, if you want to learn the sounds and master the sounds in a consistent way and the step by step way, so you're not just like picking and choosing and trying to figure out how to organize it on your own. The new sound is probably, I would say, the best direction and the best starting point. And then to top it off with beyond afterwards, if you want to maintain and keep the results or at least create a space for you to practice and share with incredible community. Because usually people don't want to leave the community and they want to stay a part of the community.

Yes. And I want to add something. Some people, they think at the end of the new sound, you know, when you have this beautiful cake, that you have your achievement. But you know, if you stop there, if you don't like me, you live in a non native speaking country, you're going to lose all those efforts made in New South. You need to continue. It's just like exercising. So exercising in new sound. And you need to maintain a certain cadence somewhere. Because if you are even for people living in the US and now I know a lot of them thanks to to be on even for them, they don't have a lot of opportunities to speak with native speakers. Because if you live in a Spanish community, you are living with your people, with your friends and if you don't have like a community where nobody speaks any other language but English. Yes. At some point you're going to lose all those beautiful things that you acquired thanks to new sound.

Yeah, exactly. It's a work that needs to be maintained. Now in new Sound you build those habits and beyond allows you to keep those habits or to create a space for you to maintain those habits. You can do it on your own if you have a space to have conversations. And you're good with like sticking to the schedule because New Sound offers you a daily schedule even for after the program. But like you said said, English is not meant to be learned alone and this is why we love this community. Nabila, what would be your one piece of advice for people struggling with English or having that anxiety or fear of that someone would call them? Start a hangout convo and if they are where you were a few months ago, a year ago.

I wish I had someone a year ago to give me this advice. Enroll in New Song because this is the answer to all those questions about struggling in pronunciation or struggling with mindset lacking classism. This is the place where you can get rid of all those issues at once. Yes, because for me it was I unsolved that I was pronouncing vowels and consonants as they should be pronounced before newshound and it wasn't the case. I had a mix of a French accent and British accent. Maybe before I didn't know. And New Sound is an eye opener on all those issues regarding pronunciation for p people who have those issues. Because this is a program that worth every penny you put in it. It's not a waste of time and it's not a waste of money. And last year I didn't go on vacation in summer because I I told to myself the money of the holidays will be invested in this program and I will be spending spending my holiday doing the work because. Well. And it was worth it. Yeah. So yes, I can tell them to go and to subscribe to your YouTube channel, but it will not be enough because when we are in your YouTube channel we watch a lot of things randomly. We don't have a planning to do the work and a work that is really designed for non native speakers of like having a lot of accents. Because your program is not only because there's a lot of people who are speaking to Spanish people, to Asian people, to Arabic people, but your program, you are like addressing the issues of all non native speakers at once. And this is incredible and it doesn't exist somewhere else. So yes. Wow.

Thank you so much and it's been such an honor having you here and speaking to you and seeing what's possible. And you know, I'm so happy with what you shared and I think that this along with this idea that the mindset module was the one thing that really, really influenced You, I think a lot of people maybe even thinking, hey, you know, I get it. Mindset, mindset.

But.

But I need grammar. I need vocabulary. Right? And I think that opening yourself up for this idea that maybe you haven't included in your life before, I think it would be, you know, seeing what Nabila says and her experience, I think that you might surprise yourself. Because ultimately, I think that this is such an inherent part of any work that we do, but in particular, working on acquiring a second language. Would you agree?

100%. Yeah. Because, you know, there's a lot of hesitation, because when someone is thinking about signing up in a program in general, there's a lot of hesitation. And the hesitation should be like before, if you have no examples, you have no, like, live examples. Yes, you can hesitate, but when you see people who did the work, not for a long time, like, it was just one year ago, less than one year ago, and you see the results, and yes, you. You don't have the choice. If you love yourself and you want to give, like, a. A beautiful gift to yourself because you want to put yourself first and not second.

Love that so much. Yes, it is. It's like, really about showing yourself some love and saying that you deserve it, you know, because you deserve to feel this confidence. You deserve to let the English that you already know out. What a waste. You know, a lot of people, they have no idea that their level of English is actually a lot higher than what they think or what they allow themselves to use. And I think, you know, that is the idea of the program to allow this English to come out. This is what we're not teaching you English. We're teaching you how to allow the English that you know to come out and create a solid ground foundation for you to learn and for it to quickly affect and influence and improve your. Your ability. So thank you so much. Nabila, I want to say thank you to Katya, who's in the comments cheering everyone on, and Lisa Sandro, who is a new New Sounder, and I'm so honored and excited to work with you, and you've been here in all our lives and always, always having, like, great words to say about the students and the guests. So thank you for being here. We love that energy, and this is what it's like in New Sound. You always feel like you have this group of people cheering you on. You have a group of cheerleaders around you. Nabila, thank you so much for your time and for your generosity and for your wisdom. I love you very much. I'm so honored to have you as a student and as a community member, family member, beyond family member.

Thank you very much, Hadar for having me today. It's such an honor to be here and to spend time talking with you and I feel like you are my friend because it's just like I know you from so it seems like more than two years. Yeah. And watching all those videos, doing all the lessons with you, seeing you in my screen every day, doing the sprint review. Yeah. For me. Yes. And thank you very much for your time and for everything you are doing for all non native speakers of English in the whole world.

Thank you so much. Sending you a big, big hug. So take care and be like have a beautiful rest of the day and I'll see you in one of the cooking classes or Beyonce sessions.

Of course.

Bye bye everyone.