326. Behind the Scenes with "The Ladies of English" Jelena, Marcela, and Daniela

Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar and this is episode number 326. Today you are going to listen in on a conversation I had with my ladies of English, Jelena, Marcela and Daniela.

The three of them used to be.

My students and now they are coaches and a part of my company. These wonderful ladies will share with you their journey as non native teachers and how building pronunciation confidence has helped their students clarity and confidence in English. I am so excited to share this conversation. Let's listen.

Okay, so if you are in the influenza community, you must know these ladies. If you are one of our students, then you must know these ladies. And if you don't, then you are lucky to get to know them today because these three lovely ladies are incredible human beings. They're my friends and they are incredible teachers and coaches. And I'm honored to say that we all work together because they are trainers in Accent Sway and in my programs. And what we're going to do today is we're going to talk about our journey together and their journey. And we'll begin by maybe why don't you just introduce yourself and talk about yourself a little bit? What do you say, Daniela, do you want to start?

Sure. I'm Daniela and I am Bulgarian. But I've been living in the states for 18 years now. That's crazy time advice. And yes. So in 2018, I was lucky enough to meet Hadar to find her and it's been such a journey since then. It's amazing. It's been amazing for me. I'm in the ETA and I was a part of Accent Makeover, which is the most amazing program and it's just. I feel like my life changed in time.

Well, you started first in the influencing community, right? You were.

I was in the influency community and I met amazing people. And then I joined the program Accent Makeover and I met even more people. Yes. And I'm still part of all the programs.

Yeah. So there was like we started with Accent Makeover, then English Teachers Academy and tell us a little bit about your transition from what you did before to becoming an English teacher.

So I think like I was just swinging between so many jobs and I studied journalism before and then I moved to the Bay Area and then I did marketing and, and I did even like circus arts aerial silks, which is crazy. Totally unrelated. But I always love helping people like non native speakers and I never realized that that's really what I want to do. That makes me so happy. It was just an informal helping, like people in school, foreigners, or, I don't know, like anybody else. They were just asking me about grammar or can you check my paper or something like this. And I was always happy to help. And when I met you, I realized that I actually love it so much. I want to make it as a career. And then currently, I'm also studying, doing my master's in the University of San Francisco in tesol, teaching English for two speakers of other languages. And then I am here.

Yay.

And you're going to be one of the coaches.

I'm so honored.

The honor is all mine. And I think you're brilliant. And I think the feedback that you give is. Is just. It's always on point. And I want you to talk a little bit about before we go to Marcela and Jelena, who are incredible as well, and I can't wait for you guys to hear their stories. Daniela, you said that you had a passion for English and teaching English, which I love, because I think that a lot of English teachers that I know, it's not something that they always thought that they're going to do. And, you know, it's not like that I'm going to become a doctor or a lawyer or such a thing, but it's something that you find through your passion, through the work, especially the speakers, you know, doing the work and seeing all the opportunity that it opens up. I think that a lot of learners become teachers because of that discovery. So do you mind talking a little bit about that?

Yes, of course. I discovered I love languages when I left Bulgaria and I went to Poland, and that's when I found out for the first time that it's actually easier. I feel like I just understand people easier, and some people thought it was really difficult. And then I realized, and of course, when I moved to the United States, I started learning English and understanding it really easily, really quickly. And I realized that I really love grammar and not good grammar. I mean, like a lot of people, I hate grammar.

I love ways.

And then I was saying, like, together with my classmates, they realized that I was just loving it so much and understanding it. So they're always asking me for help and even teasing me sometimes, like, oh, like, present perfect for past perfect. And then there was time when my grandmother visited the US for the first time. And then it was such an unfortunate situation because my mom had just passed away and she was visiting, and then I didn't want her to just stay in the house because basically I was the only person she was communicating with. And I told her, listen, I'm gonna sign you up for classes, for English classes. She was like, are you crazy? Like at my age. But I just wanted her to see other people, somebody else than me in the house. So I told her, listen, if you agree, I will volunteer in the school. And that's how it started. So she was like, okay, if I'm going to be with you. Because she wasn't terrified to be alone with people. Like, nobody spoke Bulgarian, of course, and she didn't speak any word of English. So that's how I started. So I signed a lot of volunteering in the school, and I loved it so much. Yes. So I don't know why it took me so many years later to just realize that that should be my career, because I kind of continued with school, school and like, doing other stuff later. But I remember how happy I was when I was doing it.

I love it so much because again, at the end, like, what we teach in the course and in all our programs in our community, that English is not English. It's a way to connect with people.

Right.

It's a way for you to break out of your skin and to get to know other people. And the reason why English is so unique is because it is a global language. Right. The lingua franca, where you know, truly people from all cultures all around the world have a form of communication. And that is so unique. And I think this is what drives us to really to help simplify it and make it more accessible for people. And I'm going to move on to Jelena. Jelena, I'm just going to introduce you really quickly. Jelena is not only an accent coach working with me, she's also a full time team member. She's a customer success manager. She knows all our students, all their needs, and we have hundreds of them. And you're like one of the most brilliant people that I know. So first of all, this is a good opportunity to say thank you to everything that you're doing and crazy organizational skills. Like, you really figure it out. But I'm most interested in your, first of all, your own journey, having to deal with, like, all the ideas that you had about your voice when you just started, because you also started as an accent makeover student and you had like a massive breakthrough in the middle, if you remember, like, one of the stories that you told. So I'd love for you to talk a little bit about that and then about the experience of a non native speaker that becomes a teacher. What is the added value that you feel that we have.

So. Hi, I'm Elena. I'm from Serbia, but I live in the Netherlands and I've been a member of Hadar's community for the past couple of years, I would say. Yeah, but. But I'm very honored to say that I've become a member of your team. And working with you is such an amazing experience. I've never thought that that would happen. I never applied for a job, but.

I just pulled her. Pulled her from. From the crowd. Yeah, you did.

And thank you for it. Thank you for it. I enjoy working with you. And you're such an amazing boss and mentor and a friend. I. I appreciate it so much.

Completely mutual. And it's so crazy. All four of us, we know each other so well. We've known each other for years. I think Marcela is, you know, she really joined the community right at the start. But like, we never taught in the same school. We weren't working together, which feels strange because we all, you know, work so well as a team. So. Yes. Jelena, talk a little bit about your journey and how you discovered your English voice.

Well, a couple of years ago, I started working as an English teacher, and I started working with very young children. They were five or six or seven. And I loved it. I absolutely loved teaching, and I loved helping my students. I loved seeing their progress, and it was really rewarding. And I loved the whole process. However, I was insecure about. Well, about being a non native speaker. How can I teach English? This is not my language. I should be teaching Serbian, but to be honest, I don't know how to teach Serbian. I know how to teach English.

Because you learned it.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. And I was. I wasn't confident. I loved the job. I loved the connection I had with my students, and I think they loved me, but I just wasn't confident. And especially when it comes to my pronunciation and my spoken English. And I wanted to improve. I wanted to improve and I wanted to be better for my students. And that's how I came across your videos. I mean, at the time, I was waiting.

Yes, the Flap T. The Flap T video. Thank God I made that video. Yes.

I was actually struggling with how to pronounce water.

Okay.

That was the main word.

Yes.

That's how I found you. It was the Flap T. I was reading a lot of things at the time and watching many, many different teachers following different people. But you, you were different. You were different because first of all, I like the way you explain things. It was so simple. And I felt that it's something that I can immediately try, and it works. And I also felt that it's something I can share with my students and they'll be able to understand it.

Right. Yeah.

And the second thing, I was binge watching your videos, and then I came across the video where you told us your story about being a non native speaker and moving to the US and everything. And then I felt how brave you were to actually talk about it with everybody on YouTube. And then I felt, well, if this lady is so brave, maybe I could be brave and confident as well someday.

You never told me that part.

Yeah, it wasn't just the flap t. It was more about that video. Yeah. And the story. And then I think I. I messaged you on Instagram and I asked you, oh, do you have a course or something? And then you said, well, actually I do, but I closed doors a few weeks ago. And then I thought, oh, no, I don't want to wait for six months to join.

No.

And then you said, okay, I'll let you in.

Right.

I think you're, you're so genuine in your frustration. I was like, I usually don't do this, but yeah, I know you were able to catch up with the materials really quickly, I have to say.

Yes, I was a bit anxious, but yeah, but I really did my best and I invested my all in the course and I learned so much. The course is fantastic. It's absolutely amazing. And I think going through the process of working on my pronunciation helped me so much to be able to teach it, to be able to help others. It was extremely valuable to have my own doubts, to have my own questions, to work on it, to actually know how it feels to work on it. And my frustrations as well. It wasn't smooth sailing, but yeah, I.

Mean, those frustrations and all of you can relate to that because we have had that, those private conversations before, you know, those frustrations or the, the walls that we're breaking, especially as English teachers, because as English teachers who are non native speakers, the imposter syndrome is a lot more substantial and present in our lives than, you know, non native speakers. Because not only that, you need to, you have your own challenges. As a speaker of a second language, you also need to teach it. So you need to position yourself as an authority, which is the essence of the imposter syndrome, where you feel like a fraud and be like, who are you to teach me?

Right?

And all of those voices. So I think that non native speaking teachers are exceptionally brave. And yet, not only that, they're brave they really can understand the inner narrative of the students. Right. And this is why part of my work is really to promote non native speaking teachers. Because, you know, like it's as an agenda. Because I do think there is something different there or English teachers. I'm not saying again, it's really important to understand that it's not against native speaking teachers who are incredible, but I think the process of learning a second language is very, very teaching and revealing and telling. So, yes, and we do promote it, not because it's amazing, but also because there is a lot of discrimination against non native speaking teachers, which we need to change that. And your stories, ladies, are. They show everyone watching here that truly you can be an exceptional teacher even if you weren't born into English. What is your favorite part, Jelena? About teaching, about being an accent coach.

Maybe helping others, Just helping other non native speakers, making it easier for them. And yeah, just helping others. I really.

Making it easier is a good objective.

Yes. Yeah, making it easier. I just love when I explain something and my student understands it and they say, oh, wow, actually, okay, I can do it. It's not so horrible. Yeah, that's the moments, the moments that.

I like the most amazing. Marci, do you relate to making it easier? You're the queen of making it easier.

I'm here and I'm so excited. So excited. I cannot even believe that this is happening. But okay, I'm super anxious all the time.

That's me.

But anyway, first of all, I'm a teacher and from Argentina and I've been a teacher for 25 plus years, a lot of years. And well, the thing is that I. Everything that you're saying here is so different from my story because I never thought about English that way. I studied English at university and my English was very, very structured, you know, like I had to teach grammar. Actually, I was a teacher, student teacher at university. I was teaching grammar and it was like, I know grammar because that's the best thing I can teach because it's like mathematics, you know, Like, I can teach grammar because I know I'm going to be on the same side. Right? So maybe that was my idea, my inside idea or my inner idea. I didn't know. Okay. But the thing is that I was feeling that I was stuck in a rut. And I have been teaching forever, you know, like 20 years in 25 years. And I was like, I'm not helping my students. I didn't feel I was helping my students. I could make friends with them. We had great relationships. We had fun together. We shared our lives, but I was not helping them with the English itself. I felt that. And my breakthrough again was when I met Hadar, because I just was browsing videos. I just didn't know what I was looking for. I was not that clear about what is lacking here. And the video that I saw was intonation. I had never, ever paid attention to pronunciation. For me, it was like nothing. I studied it at university, but I didn't even understand what I was doing. And when I heard that video, I was like, oh, my God, people actually speak with intonation. They would be like, wow. And suddenly everything became like, wow, this is, like, mind blowing. And that was the thing. And it didn't sink that very, very fast. I had to go through a lot because I had all my issues as a teacher before, like me not being a native teacher, a native speaker, blah, blah, blah. But eventually, when I could see that my students were thinking the same way I was thinking, they were just. They said, no, no, pronunciation is not enough. I want to do grammar.

I'm like, no, thanks. Okay.

Grammar is good. I don't want to, you know, undermine the grammar. But there's still this idea that we have to do grammar in order to know the language. And now I'm more like, you know, guys, grammar, no, speak you already. And if you put emotion in what you say, you're gonna be heard, you.

Know, and that is the whole thing.

About pronunciation, clarity, but also what you wanna say. You wanna be heard.

Yes.

Listen to you. So that is my journey. And now I'm, like, so excited because I see that it's happening. People are relating to the language, and also they are seeing how they can use it and how that takes them where they want to go.

Yeah. It's so amazing to think of a language like the way we're taught it. It's just like you said, it's like math in a way. A plus B equals C, you know, and then you have to. You have all those grammar rules, and you constantly need to kind of like visualize the words and everything is very logical. And then it lacks the emotion. Right. And the emotion is really very much attached to how we say things in our voice and intonation.

Right.

And also I think that the idea of pronunciation sometimes being presented to students is this idea of improve your accent, sound like a native, or just be clear. And we're missing this idea that pronunciation is. Is everything about the language. It's grammar and vocabulary and your voice and clarity, for sure.

Right.

And those moments of struggles and the conflicts are the places where, like, when we master them, it's a moment of accomplishment. It's like you said, I see how it all connects. And the students, and when they feel accomplished because they. They've overcome a certain challenge, that's when it becomes to me, the way I see it, that's when it becomes exciting, motivating, hopeful, and then they're eager to stay.

And also, just let me say one thing, the fact that we are flying now, I see saying it like how you can apply pronunciation to every other area of the language, like grammar, like.

It was mind blowing for me.

I was teaching conditional sentence forever and nobody could ever get them. And now with the repetition in just like, okay, just repeat that for a while. Once you understand what you're trying to say, it's the time for you to repeat it. Like you need to know, but then you need to repeat because otherwise you'll never. You'll never get out of that place of, okay, past, past, perfect, which would.

What?

It's crazy. And then it never happens when you want to speak.

And now it's happening.

My students are using conditionals, and I'm happy.

Ah, that's amazing.

Yeah.

So Marcela, I didn't introduce. Marcela is one of the coaches. She coaches individual students and she is a teacher and she has her own school in. In Argentina, but also she works with us, and she's also a coach in one of our programs. But one of the things which he talks about there is building pronunciation confidence in grammar structures, like in sentence structures, like conditionals. So the idea behind it is just like when a baby learns to speak or a kid learns to speak, they don't memorize rules. They just hear it a lot and say it a lot until they get it right. So the idea is to kind of like, do it and fast forward to build the pronunciation confidence. That happens naturally when you're born or when you acquire language to do it and fast forward. So that's amazing to hear, Marcela. And what input do you have as a non native speaker? You know, what do you share with your students that relates to the mindset and all the fears around that?

Absolutely, absolutely. One other thing that I wanted to say as to grammar, that I wanted to close that idea, run it off. Also the patience, that is something that I am developing too. Like when you learn something, you need it to sink in. And that is so important because. And also teaching students that they have to stay there, to hang in there and keep practicing, and then there will come the moment in which that will sink in, and they will be able to do it. And they need to have the motivation. They have to be lenient.

That.

Because sometimes it's a little bit tedious, the repetition. But when they believe in you and when they see it happen, then they. They. They hang in there and they keep doing the work. And yeah, because I did it. I do it all the time. And I tell them, hey, guys, I do it, like, not. Not because I know everything. Not at all. I'm just saying that I was in a bubble in Argentina. I have to say, my. My world was super small, and now it's big, and I'm learning all the time. And that journey that I'm going through right now is the same thing that I'm telling my students. Hey, guys, it's me. For example, I tell them, today I learned this idiom, and I'm going to teach it to you, even if you don't remember it. Because I want to remember it. I want to teach it to you, because that's the way that you're going to learn. Teach it to other people, you know, when you create that sort of bonding, because they know that you are on their side because you're, you know, you are the authority, but at the same time, you're going through the same. So you become very approachable, and English becomes like a. Like a whole game, right?

Like, okay, it's a place of, you.

Know, let's do something. Let's explore here a little bit.

Yeah, I love it. And I think that it often happens to me, too, where I hear a word and I'm like, I haven't used this word in a while, right? Like, you know, it's stuck somewhere in my subconscious. So let's use it today, right? And I. I really try to use it deliberately, intentionally. I do what I teach, right. I truly do. And I think it's effective because I also know all the obstacles because I face them, too. Daniella, I have a question for you. So, as part of the community, you start with a community, and what do you think? How important is the place of the community in learning English? Right? So you went like, you studied at the university, you had English classes, you taught, right? But what is the added value that we have in the community? And why do you think it's important to be a part of a community when learning?

It's very important because you see how many other people are going through the same thing. Because sometimes we're stuck in our own brain, and we think we're the only person in the world going through the same.

Same thing.

And then you meet amazing people from all over the world and people with incredible speaking skills, and you see that they still feel the same way. And you're thinking, how come this person, to me, he or she is perfect? Like, how come that this person feels that way? And. And I feel the same way, too. So it's very, very important to have your peers to support each other and, of course, to talk. And, like, we share very technical things about language also. How do you say this? How do you say that? The psychological element of this is very, very important for people.

Okay, so you were one of the. When you joined Accent Makeover, you started a mastermind group. Well, when we started it as part of the program.

Right.

Because when you join Accent Makeover, you do get. We have conversation and implementation workshops. And you started a group, and now you're on meeting. What, 58.

No, 60 something.

Oh, my God.

Five or six. I don't know.

Every week.

Yeah, every Saturday. We've been together for a year.

More.

More than a year.

More than a year.

Yeah.

Yes. And it's just amazing. We've become best friends. Like, I feel I'm just waiting for those Saturday meetings with my. We call each other Squirrels.

Squirrel. Pay attention. That it's a tough word to pronounce. Yet Accent Makeover members, they know how to pronounce this word.

Yeah.

Yes.

I have no idea how and why we chose. Like, it was just crazy Squirrels. And I. I think, like, I just said it and. But I didn't think that people will agree. I thought people are going to say you're crazy, but they actually liked it. So I'm like, okay, well, I guess we're the Squirrels now. But it means that weak Squirrels.

Actually, that's squeaky squirrels. Right? I joined one of those meetings on your 50th meeting, right?

Yes, yes. But I am honestly waiting for our Saturdays together because we started at a very structured way. Like, we had it be maybe Saturday. Okay. Now we're gonna watch a video and we're gonna discuss it. And over time, it just became just like friends meeting. Like, oh, how was your week? And what you doing really? Everything. What's going on in our lives? So it's just amazing. I feel like we're best friends and we've never physically met, but we're all the time together. And even when we're not talking on Saturdays, we're always, like, on WhatsApp, like, texting each other and calling. So. Yeah.

Which is so important to surround yourselves. You know, it's so important to surround yourself with an empowering and supportive group of people who want to push you forward and to support you when you get discouraged and to hold you accountable. It is such a huge part of the learning process. And most people think that that's something that they need to do on their own, and they don't understand how easier it is when you're a part of a community and when you're doing it. This is why, like, in our program and even in the influency community, which is our, you know, free platform for English practice on Facebook, that is incredible. With speaking clubs and many activities, I mean, it's accessible. You just need to find it online. And this is why we make English learning a community thing. You know, so you need the structure, you need the process, you need the feedback, but you need the community, too. You're not on your own. And just like you said, Daniela, I think that understanding that, like, you all of a sudden hear your deepest, darkest thoughts being spoken by someone else again and again and again, right? Like, we have those coaching sessions once a week that. That usually I run, and now we have more practice groups that, you know, these three ladies are going to run. And then you hear those things and you're like, oh, so maybe it's not a thing. Maybe it's not just me. Maybe I'm not the. The only one that feels that way.

Yeah, definitely. I was so surprised when I saw. I think that was the first video of Jelena, when I saw. When she was describing how in the gym telling a lady that she teaches English. And the lady said, oh, but you have an accent. And I thought, wait, Jan has an accent? But she, what are you talking about?

To me, everyone has an accent.

And I'm like, what do you like? I felt that was so mean. I wanted to punch this lady. I would, like, if I was there, I would have been like, what are you talking about? But people are so oblivious. Sometimes they don't feel like they don't know how we feel. So sometimes they're like, oh, you have an accent. It's like, oh, you have, I don't know, long hair. It's just. As a matter of fact, people just say it, but they don't really realize. And I'm talking about native speakers. They don't realize. Maybe it's just not offensive to them to have an accent, so they just say it. But we started the entire process in the brain. Like, oh, my gosh, why did she say that? Maybe she didn't understand me, Maybe I'm bad or I should work harder, but it's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like, I think that that story about pronunciation is personal and so intimate. And we need to respect our, you know, like, if we feel insecure when someone talks about it, I mean, we need to become more resilient and to know that it's a gift and not something to be ashamed of, but also to respect and hold space for all those emotions and fears and, you know, the journey that you've gone through and the pride that you have in how you sound now. And if someone says something that compromises a little bit all your journey, I mean, it's okay to experience that and at the same time to be like, yeah, but I speak two languages, you know, or, yeah, but like, I have come such a long way no matter what, and that's what really matters. I'm going to ask you guys watching if you have any specific questions for the ladies here, for Jelena, Marcela, Daniela, about pronunciation, grammar. I mean, don't ask us technical stuff, but, like, maybe about how to approach things about their journey. Luciana is here. She says from New York to Los Angeles, people have accents. English learners should take that into account before being harsh on themselves.

Absolutely.

Okay, I'm looking at some of the comments. How do I join the community? Gabriel, go to my website, hadar shemesh.com and then it'll take you and you'll see a button that says community and then you can join. I'm looking to see just if there are some comments. A lot of love from the community. How much time did you invest to improve Naima? Who are you asking? Do you have a specific question to someone, probably your pronunciation or English? So, Jelena, I'll hand it over to you. How much time did you invest in improving your, let's say, pronunciation?

Well, I think when I started accent makeover course, the first time, it was about half an hour a day, maybe sometimes a bit more, definitely sometimes a bit less. But it was about around half an hour a day. But it was important to be consistent. So that's what was the most important, to be consistent and not to do eight hours on a Saturday, but then nothing the whole week.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, I mean, I did that as well, but I felt better when I was practicing a bit. But every day.

Okay, because you have gone through the process, it's a lot easier for you to give feedback to the students going through this process. This is, you know, you've been working for, like, last round, and this Round. You are one of the coaches in Accent Makeover. Would you mind telling us a little bit about the. The implementation workshops that we have there? And during this program, not only that, you get a lot of feedback. You also have conversation groups and implementation workshops where we work through building pronunciation confidence. So maybe what is pronunciation confidence and how do we implement that in. In the workshops?

Yeah. So we're going to have implementation workshops in the program, and we're going to practice together. So we're going to repeat words. We're going to repeat phrases, not just words. This is very important. We're going to repeat phrases and chunks of speech in order to build a pronunciation confidence and to be able to actually use it in free speech. Because there are a couple of steps in between learning about a certain sound and actually being able to use it when you speak freely. And those steps can be a bit frustrating. And that happened to me as well, actually. I was at a point where I felt like, okay, I learned how to pronounce the R. I know. I know what to do with my tongue, but it still doesn't sound good. I was getting frustrated with that, and I was practicing the words and trilling the words, but I was getting frustrated. And then eventually I realized that practicing the words is amazing. And that's the first step, and it's great. But I also have to practice chunks. I also have to practice sentences. I have to repeat sentences many times. Even though it can be a bit boring. It was a bit boring at some point, I must admit. But that's why we're going to try to practice together. We're going to try to practice together to make it a bit more fun, a bit more engaging. And I think having a community of people around you doing the same thing is very, very useful. Because sometimes I would feel, oh, you know, I'm all alone, I'm doing this, and maybe I should just do something else. Maybe this is not worth my time. Maybe I should invest my time in something else. Why am I learning how to say the R sound? Why does it matter? But then actually, when I feel the community, when I feel that everyone else is doing the same thing and everyone else is going through the same process of learning, implementing, being frustrated, but also having breakthroughs. Yes. Yeah. So doing it together in a community is very, very important. And it helped me a lot. It helped me immensel as a student, as a learner, and right now as a teacher and as a coach. I love our community, I love our students, and I love sharing everything I know and everything that helped me with them.

Yeah, I love that. And I think that idea of doing it together is first important because they hold you accountable. Because you're like, okay, I'll join. You know, because when you say, I'll do it alone, then you can always push it. But when you have a date and a deadline, you. You're like, okay, I'll join. Because you know that if you don't do it, then it creates FOMO fear of missing out. Right. So people are like, well, if I don't do it, then I'm wasting my time or money. And so, okay, I should do it. And then they hold you accountable. But also, it's just. It's so important to understand that part of the practice is this frustration, as well as, you know, hitting a wall several times. And when you see others hitting a wall and trying it and again and again, they can't use it spontaneously. But then what you said about all of a sudden reaching a breakthrough, it gives you hope because you know that you have been where they were, you know, five hours ago or five days ago, and all of a sudden they're there and you're like, maybe I can do it as well. But when you're on your own before you hit the change, it feels, you're at its worst, where you feel like it's never going to change. And you don't have any reflection. No. Even if you have a teacher and she says. Or he says, don't worry, it'll be okay. You don't have anyone else around you that shows you that it's okay. So you quit. And usually people quit right before change, but when you have other people around you and you hear that they're changing, I think that is so incredibly powerful. This is why the power of the community is not just for fun. It really works on your brain. I think it's fun, too. And it's fun. Exactly. Especially.

It is.

Yeah.

I mean, everything that. That we do in the course, the acting, doing monologues, dialogues, different scenes, really getting out of our comfort zone. It's so much fun. It really is. It's way more than drilling the R sound. Way more.

Yeah.

Because you can only keep up with Rs for a little bit.

Right.

Like, so you gotta make it engaging. Plus, all four of us, as you can see, and the rest of the coaches, I mean, we're fun people and we don't want to get bored.

Right.

So it's important for us.

Maybe now we're a bit nervous, but we're more fun in General.

Yeah, you're very fun. Okay, since we have to wrap up really soon, maybe one tip from each of you about, let's say, the students who are watching this and thinking about joining and maybe they will join. What tip would you give them on how to succeed? Seed Whoever wants to start.

Well, join. It's going to be so much fun and you're going to meet a lot of people going through the same thing. And it's a whole experience. It's so much more than just a course. It's a course, but it's so much more than just the content. It's about the connection and people and join and.

Yeah, and maybe come open, right? Like, arrive open. Because don't expect yet another, you know, program where you do the work, you go and that's it. It takes over. Right. Like a little bit on your life and in a good way.

The most important thing for me is what you're saying is that you don't know where it takes you because that's the thing. You start there and something happens. Because it doesn't have to do with the English. I mean, the English is okay, and it's there and it happens. And you'll see the change because it's just mathematical. Again, like, you have a methodology, so you're going to get there. You have people who know what they are saying and what they are doing.

Yeah.

This is one thing. And the second thing is what happens inside you, like, the mindset. Like, you start seeing things differently. You start daring. I would have never, ever, ever thought that I would be here today, ever. Like, I remember my first video. I live with my partner and his kids, and one of his kids is 13. And I was recording my first video and I remember that I did it.

I did it.

I don't know why I did it. And I didn't know how to stop the video, so I. I was like.

Staring at the camera forever.

Stop it. And it wasn't. It was the beginning of something else. And I, you know, I'm a perfectionist and I am starting not to be. And I'm starting. That gives way to many things like respect for others and sharing and knowing that I have to learn. There is something that I can learn from everybody, that I don't need to be competitive, that I don't need to be the best because everybody else is on the same journey and everybody has something to contribute. And that is the change that happened to me. And I feel different. I feel I can give more and I can get more from other people. And, yeah, it's amazing.

Well, the first step is to join. That's very important. Of course. And then just have fun. Go with it. Sometimes people are so frustrated, and obviously, I understand because they've been working so hard and they haven't seen any results. But it's just. Let's just let it go and have fun and, you know, do all the work. That's very important. Sometimes people join and they're like, okay, I paid for the course. And they're waiting for the work to just happen magically. But you have to still have to do the work and just do all the acting, all the monologues. It's so much fun. I'll work on your voice. I remember I was recording when Marcy was saying. Now I remember I was recording in the other room once myself. And then we were. My husband and I were supposed to go out, and I was waiting for him, and I'm like, why didn't you. Why didn't you come and, like, get me? And he said, well, I. I heard you talking to, like, several people. No, I was recording myself. He was like, no, that's not true. I heard you talking to a guy, a kid, because I was changing my voice, and I was trying different things. He was like, no, it's not. I literally talking to other people. There was a man and there was a child for a short. And I still have those recording. No. Like, what are you talking about? Your face.

It was.

It's just fun. So, you know, working and.

Yeah. And you explore, and then you get comfortable, you know, with your voice and how you sound and all of that. Yeah.

Even if you don't send it to anybody else, because I understand a lot of people are really shy. It's just very important to hear it not coming out of your body. To hear your voice not coming out of your body, but towards your ears. So it's. That's why we all feel really frustrated when we hear our voice for the first time, because we are just not used to. And then we're like, oh, my gosh. That's how I sound. No, I'm never gonna do it again. Like, that's ridiculous. Stop. But don't stop, because the more you do it, you just get used to it, and the better you get. And. Yeah, it's. It's honestly, like, this course. Even though I've been living in the States for so many years, I honestly, like, it's not like I didn't know. I just didn't notice it, and I didn't pay attention to so many things. And when I was going through accent makeover, I was like, wow, that's crazy. I can't believe I'm finding out so much stuff now after so many years.

And that's the thing, like to keep on discovering things about English and then to put it into use right away. I love it. Thank you so much. We need to wrap up because Marcela has a class and to be honest, she has a class because she's a working teacher. But I'm just going to say to all of you watching, thank you so much, so much for watching. And ladies, I love you all so much. It's a sheer pleasure working with you and I cannot wait to accept all the new students into our community and to support them. Just to say, Marcela, that, you know, you couldn't barely make a video and just recently you hosted a zoom call of about 300 people. Daniela as well, Jelena as well. So just saying, these, these ladies are masters, Masters of communication and zoo masters now. And ladies, thank you so, so much for sharing your stories.

Thank you.

I love you. Thank you, everyone, so much. Thank you. Ladies.

Sam.