Six students share how Hadar's programs transformed their English. Ekaterina delivered a lecture to 50 people in English. Sergio asked for and got a 25% raise. They credit daily practice, community support, and pronunciation work for their confidence and concrete wins.
Chapters
Sao. Everyone, welcome. Welcome to day five of the English Fluency Festival. How are you all doing? Let me hear you. I hope you are well. I am exceptionally excited for today. So, so excited that I even dropped all my coffee here on the floor just before we started, just before I signed up. So I'm super excited because today I'm not going to be alone. Of course you are all going to be here. And in the meantime, say hi in the comments and tell me, you know, on a scale of 1 to 10, how are you feeling today? So I can see it. Let's see who's here. Joanna, you're here. Again, thank you so much for your compliment. Andrea is here. Hector is here. Ellis here. I love seeing you coming back here every, every day. We have 11 Oscar. Amazing. Joanna. Genesis is like 10,000, which is amazing. No, sorry, 100. No, 1 million. 1 million out of 10. I think that's. That's pretty impressive. So you're like, where I am right now. Okay. So the reason why I'm super thrilled today is because I'm going to be introducing you to some of the most amazing people that are going to share with you their journey and their experience in this English learning process. And experience. And they are going to share with you some of the hardships that they've been through and definitely a lot of their successes. Because for them as well, at some point, it was somewhat impossible to think about the option that they'd be able to communicate freely and confidently and to create and speak in front of people. Yet this is what they do today or they are doing today. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to. Wait, let me. We need music. Right? Right. We have 10. Wait, I'm still reading here. 10. Because it's Friday. Exactly. Okay, let's share. Hold on. Might be the same one from yesterday. But wait, where are you? Okay. Yeah. You don't need to see all of this. Are you ready? Yeah. I hope there are no. Yeah. Commercials. Hold on. I did not prepare. I told you I was really excited for this. So I wasn't preparing on time, but here it is. Okay. So, ladies and gentlemen, I am so, so thrilled to introduce you to Archie, Alma, Katerina, Sergio, Barbara, and.
Leia.
Let's do a little dance here. Can you hear the music with me? Yeah. So we're gonna take it from here. And everyone watching. I hope you're dancing with us. Yay.
Okay.
How are you feeling, my friends?
Awesome. Great.
It's great to be here.
So good, huh? So we have People watching. In our Facebook group, we have people watching on the website and I think they can't wait to hear a little bit about you and why, why, you know why. It's worth it to persist and to continue even though it might be scary sometimes. So before we begin, why don't we do a quick round and just introduce yourself? Okay, so I'm just going to randomly pick. So, Ekaterina, do you like to, Would you like to introduce yourself first?
Okay. So my name is Ekaterina and I'm from Russia and I work as a professor at medical university. And actually I don't need English at my everyday work.
And, And. Okay, you don't need English yet. Yet. This is, it's, it's a passion of yours, right?
Yeah, my love.
Yeah.
Why?
Why? I don't know. Maybe I like how it sounds. I like the melody. I like all the sounds. I like the intonation. I'm in full love with this language and I just can't live even one day without practicing it. It's my great passion.
I, I, I, I can definitely see it. So Katerina was in New Sound. And I think you are one of the first students that I remember their names because right from day one you showed up on video even though, you know, you didn't always feel super secure, but you did it and you showed up and you shared your stories. And I think that this is part of what is so great about you and your journey that you always had the courage to do, even though it was scary and to share and to be vulnerable. And we'll talk more about that soon. But let's move on to Alma.
Hi.
Hi, everyone. So honored to be here. I mean, this is just amazing. I was telling them earlier that I feel like a celebrity. So my name, my name is Alma. I am from Mexico, but I live in the States. I have been living here for eight plus years and I found Hadar a year ago. And I'm so thankful for. Because, you know, I was struggling a lot with the pronunciation. I took different courses at the community college. Different, like ESL classes even. One time I took an American accent training. Didn't work out for me till I found Hadar and her program. I'm so thankful for, for that. And now I have freedom in English. I don't worry anymore about pronunciation. I just worry about sending the right message. And I work in English. My whole life is in English. I have a little one, she's four years old and now she's going to school. So now sometimes she's correcting me. And I'm like, no, I don't like that. I didn't. The correct pronunciation. It's so embarrassing. But I'm. I'm. Sometimes I tease her. I'm like, now you pronounce this in Spanish. We can't pronounce it exactly right.
You know, it's so funny. I've said it before, but it's been a lot of my students who have been living in the US For a while and have children who are, you know, their first language is actually English because they're exposed to it. And usually our environment affects us more in terms of language learning than what we speak at home. So what their friends speak and kindergarten teachers and all of that. So a lot of my students are one of the main reasons. I know it wasn't yours, but their main reasons, like, I don't want my kids to criticize me anymore, and they're, you know, they're being super picky about my pronunciation. So. So this is something that I think a lot of people experience and can resonate with.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
Yeah. So amazing. And we will soon ask you a bit more about your process and what were some of the hardships and. And also successes. So. But you know what? Let me.
Let me.
Actually, let's add one more element to the question in addition to introducing yourself. Share with us. I'm going to give you some time to think about it, but share with us maybe something. Oh, we lost. Who did we lose? Where did she go? Okay, she'll come back. Probably connections.
So.
There she is. Wait, let me add her. So maybe something that you're very proud of that you had or that you had accomplished, even if it's like. And you guys, like, even if it's something very tiny, say, maybe you can share that as well. So, Alma, can you think of something or you want to take a minute?
I guess something that I'm really proud of, and I just experienced it recently, is that now with my boss, because, you know, with COVID and everything, everything is on the phone. And that's why I was having issues at the beginning, because it was so hard for me to understand. And plus, sometimes he speaks really fast, and he will tell me at the beginning, like, what. What do you say?
What do you mean?
I'm like. And I felt so bad because I'm like, probably he doesn't understand me. And since, like, three months ago, he hasn't done that to me. And I'm like, oh, he doesn't have any issue anymore understanding me. And also, I don't need to worry about any more, like, thinking in my pronunciation. I use worried about explaining my numbers because I work in finance, and it's really crucial to make sure that he understands the message. And I just worry about that. I don't worry anymore. Like, oh, did I pronounce it correctly? Did I say this right or not? And I used to apologize a lot. Like, oh, sorry. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly. I used to say that all the time, and it was so annoying. And I'm like, I'm not going to do it again.
You know, I. Amazing.
I know how to pronounce it. I just need to do it. And that's it.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
And if you don't, even if you don't, and old habits kick in, and then all of a sudden you do say something that you didn't, there's no need to apologize for it. You can just repeat it for clarification. But you didn't do anything wrong. Like, that feeling of, you know, of doing something bad that you need to apologize for is not a healthy feeling.
Exactly. And you know what? Feeling that extra pressure when talking to a native speaker, I don't have it anymore. And I know you and I talked about it a lot, and it's. It was hard to let it go. But finally I'm like, no, I have an accent. I'm proud of my accent. I just need to communicate clearly, and that's it. I don't care about anymore speaking like a native speaker because that was hurting me. When I will talk to them, I will put extra pressure that I didn't need it, and I will screw it up all the time. And right now it's like, no.
I think that mindset. I definitely noticed that mindset shift. So Alma started working with me a year ago in accent makeover. Then she took New sound. We had Accent Makeover members could participate in new Sound later on. And I. I remember the difference between how you approached pronunciation in general at the beginning, you know, and you were really, really picky about those small mistakes. And I think that that was incredible to see that once you own that. Like, it was towards the end of accent makeover where you started really owning your voice and showing up more, you know, on video and being proud of your voice and inspiring. Inspiring people. So I think that this is definitely something that that shift really gave you a lot of freedom.
Yeah, that's so true.
Yeah.
And I could feel it, and it was like, a lot of, as you mentioned in one of the sessions, it's a lot of mindset work. And that's why I'm so thankful for it, because here in the US they don't talk about that. You know, you go to a class and everything, but they don't. They don't tell you that because usually you take a class with an American teacher, and they don't have any struggle. They don't know how it is to learn a second language. I think that's the biggest value. Add that you and your team add to this course. And that's why I think that was really helpful to me. And I didn't even know that I was a thing.
Yeah, exactly. No, it's. It's like, it's not part of language learning. Like, it's not part of, you know, working out. But if you want or anything, like, any skill that one needs to develop, there's always that aspect of mindset, especially when it's about you. You know, I remember when I was an actor and I would go to auditions, right? Like, so I. After I graduated school, I was like, I love this. All I want to do is to be on stage, you know, And I was so passionate about it. And then I got out of school. I was successful there. And then there comes the real world, right? Like, of agents and auditions. And all of a sudden, you feel really, really vulnerable and constantly judged. Like, I didn't get the mindset tools to develop resilience against those moments where you get rejected, against moments where you need to understand how to manage yourself and your negative self talk. And to be honest, this is the reason why I haven't succeeded because I didn't have the tools. And I quit really early on because I couldn't face the rejection and the frustration. So I think that mindset is a huge part of everything that we do, including language.
Yeah.
Thank you, Alma. Thank you so much. Ekaterina, do you want to share? Because I added this element of, you know, something that you are proud of, an accomplishment or an achievement, and you have something that you can definitely be proud of if you'd like to share that.
Yeah. My latest achievement, I was able to deliver a lecture, a whole lecture in English in front of 50 people. And it wasn't online. It was face to face. And for me, it's much harder, much harder when you see all these people in front of you who are listening to you very carefully. And it was my first experience, and I had never even dreamed about this. And when the new sound course ended, I Decided to continue doing something. I decided that I need to challenge myself again. I need to level up something. And I approached my head and I asked him, is it possible to do something in English? And he said to him, okay, you can do this, but first make research amongst the students. Are they interested or not? And I received a lot of feedback, and a lot of students said that they would want to participate in this lecture. So I was preparing really hard. I was working the whole month. But, you know, I was nervous when I started delivering my lecture, but not more than I used. I'm used to being nervous. And in the beginning I was thinking. I was thinking about what I'm gonna say or how everything is going. But then when I tuned in, in the process, I didn't feel this barrier, this language barrier. All the words were coming to me easily. I was using even complex grammar structures and sometimes even the words which I had never been used before. So it was such a great feeling. I felt that I was free. I was doing the same in my own language. So I'm really happy about this, my achievement, and I'm going to repeat it. So right now I'm planning and I'm thinking about what kind of lecture I can deliver next time. And my students were really happy and also were my colleagues, because they were not only students there, also my colleagues.
That is amazing. Like, I think that even just that this idea that you spoke in front of 50 people, even in our first language, that could be something that is intimidating. And you did it in English. Would you. Would you have believed that a year ago that this is where you'd be today? Like giving a lecture?
No, actually, before the course, I had a lot of negative thoughts about my English, and I was very inconfident. And I always felt insecure when I was speaking English. And I always felt that I'm kind of restricted or limited when I was speaking in English and I couldn't. I couldn't express myself fully. I always felt like it was a struggle for me. I was always searching for the words, and I was always thinking about the grammar structures. But now I don't need this. It comes easily for me. It comes naturally. And I'm so happy about this, about this sense of freedom that I have right now. And it's incredible.
It's incredible. And I think freedom is something that we constantly discussed, right? Like that idea that you. I think you had this misperception of. Misconception maybe of what freedom is. And then when you or you had this expectation about what it would Feel like, to be free. Right. And I think in one of the live sessions, we talked about all the freedom that you already have, and I think that made a big difference.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, I was concentrating not on the. On those moments of freedom which I had. Instead, I was concentrating on the moments of struggles, of the moments which were hard for me. And of course, I didn't notice that I had moments of freedom. And when I shifted my mind, when I started noticing and paying attention intentionally to all these small moments of freedom, I. I actually started feeling free. And, you know, all these very. I, you know, I felt like I was a prisoner in cage, made of all these negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. And when I allowed myself to be free, all these bars, like, they were ruined, and I finally was free. Like, totally free.
That's amazing. That's amazing. And it's exactly what we said yesterday. Like, energy goes where your attention flow. No, energy flows where your attention goes. Right. So if you pay attention to the struggle, this is where the energy is going to be an energy of struggle. And when you pay attention to the moments of freedom, then the energy is free. And I think that you are a perfect example of that. And thank you for so eloquently describing it, because I think I couldn't have described it as good as you just did. Okay, so thank you so much. We're gonna come back to you. Moving on. Wait, but you guys are not gonna believe me because, again, I forgot to connect my computer and my computer to the charger. So I'm gonna give you a second. Wait, let me read. I think we had a question here. Okay, Sergio, in the meantime, I'm gonna go get it. But would you like to. I'm listening, so I can hear you. Would you like to introduce yourself to everyone? And I'm going to get back in a second.
Good morning, everyone. I mean, good morning. At my time, my name is Sergio. I'm from Brazil, and I work as a lawyer here in my country. And it's my pleasure, my big pleasure to be here and to be able to share with you this great moment. As Alma has said, I'm also feeling like a celebrity. But English for me means freedom. In fact, I don't use English at my work in my daily activities. But it means freedom for me. And why freedom? Because I really have a plan in my life to be free to live anywhere, to be free to work from anywhere. And of course, English is an essential part of this part of my life. That's why I decided to dedicate My time and put my energy on, really deal with all the. The struggles I had when it comes to English. And at the beginning of the course, I. I'm sure that had. I can remember, I think that it was in the second session I told in the group that I was absolutely not confident to speak in the group. And at that time I was talking about speak to my colleagues, my students, right. And I was not able to do it because I got stuck and I forgot the words, I forgot all the vocabulary I have. And it was really something almost impossible for me. And now I am in front of you and in front of I don't know how many people, but I think 500. I'm in front of 500 people and speak. Giving my. My best to. To. To. To express my ideas here. So it's really amazing. And the best thing I can emphasize, I'm aware that I'm just starting my journey because learning a language, especially English, that's a special language for us, is really a journey. I'm aware that I am at just beginning, but I am much motivated to keep myself on the track, to continue study, to continue practicing, to continue doing my best. Because in terms of mindset, in terms of self confidence, I feel much better now.
You're amazing. And I wish I could play that first conversation that we had because it was like, right now I'm speaking to a different person. We haven't spoken face to face in a while, and it really is like I'm speaking to someone else and. And in a good way. In a good way. You haven't changed, but it's just that you are showing up, your personality is showing up. This is different. I think it's like when you communicate in English and you feel insecure, it's like someone turns off your personality or like the joyful part about who you are and you're doing the work, you're communicating, you're saying the words. But that spark that gets people, people to connect and fall in love with you as a person, you know, and as you know and want to make connections, like we need that and we feel like it's our superpower. And all of a sudden, when English is no longer a barrier, then we allow that part in us to show up Now, Sergio, I think that there was one more element. So I think that one of the things that really made a difference is the fact that you took it seriously, right? You were committed and you got a lot of practice. Do you want to talk a little bit about the practice that you got and the innovative way that you have you and someone else here in the group created to put this into practice. And by the way, this is just for all of you out there watching, a reminder that English is not meant to be alone, to. To be learned alone. Okay?
So yes, Sergio, of course, as you. You said, we need to do our part, you need to do the work. And one of the things that you have really emphasized at the program, I mean the new south is that we are supposed to practice to make videos to. And also to. To have a partner to, to work. And I'm. I'm lucky. I have the. I'm lucky man because I have the opportunity to. To. To start talking with a partner, with a student of new course that I met and I think I can't tell her name. I. I haven't asked her if I could, but I will tell her name. I have, I have. As I have talked to worship and we have decided to. To make one daily video to talk about the English, to talk about our experience, to talk about everything that could be useful for us in order to improve our communication. And I can tell you that the difference is really remarkable. And we have decided at the beginning that we would supposed to be. We would be supposed to make 100 videos. But in fact, I don't know, I lost the number of videos and I'm sure that it's.
Or she. How many?
I know the exact number, Sergio, because I still have all the videos saved in my computer. And I know that during the program. So in those three months we shared about 600 videos. Oh my gosh. Yeah, A round of applause, my friend.
I mean, this is serious business here.
That's exactly that. And you know what? We are keep doing that. And by now we have about 1,000 videos. That's exactly the reality. And what's more, you know, we talk to each other very specific things. I mean, differences, because he's living in Brazil, I'm from Hungary, So, you know, we don't know each other. We have different cultures, mindset, everything. So we share the fruit, vegetable mindset, mentality, buildings, everything. And those was so interesting that after some videos in the evening, we went back to the topic and we shared other things. So we kept speaking for all day. So that was what helped us to be fluent in English and speak about anything in front of the video. And what's more, we didn't do it at home, in the supermarket, in the street, in public places, in front of the others, anywhere, anywhere really. So that was such a kind of experience that now if I have to make a video or I have to call someone or just I have to send a message, I prefer to make a video because it comes to easier.
Which is such an amazing tool to have. And I first of all, I always talk about. And in a second you're gonna get to introduce yourself. But like I always talk about the, the video as an incredible tool for fluency that people like, really underestimate, really. And this is such a perfect example. I mean video commitment, integrity, consistency, all those characteristics that you showed. But it's such a great tool because it really gives you the freedom to do basic things like showing up on zoom, showing up on video, recording a message, so on and so forth. But also, and I'm going to point this out, the fact that you did it created, created this versatility and variety in what you communicate about, right? Because a lot of times we get, we stick to the same subjects or the things that we know. And because you were like, you kept being the innovative, so you kept thinking about different things, expanding your active vocabulary, expanding your ability to communicate about different things. And that alone creates a lot, a lot of it increases your vocabulary, it increases your confidence. And I always talk about the fact that confidence is a skill. And because of that, just making those videos apart from, you know, English, it boosts your confidence because between you and me, showing up on video and wait, I'm gonna. You guys, can you mute yourself when you're not speaking? Because there are like some background noise every now and then just to make sure that so or she. You can keep it muted and Sergio, we're gonna move to or she. But thank you so much for being so incredibly inspiring.
Can I add something?
Yes.
I, I, I, I'd like really to motivate all of you and all of people that are, are watching us in this moment to do the work especially is coming to start studying in new sound or in any other programs that are do the work because do the work but because it, it works. And back to the, to the conversation I've had with Or She. The fact is when you start making videos and we were, we did, we didn't make only videos. We, we also had video talks in the video talks. So as, as the time goes on and you start to making more and more videos or live talks, you, you start to get more confidence and it comes like a, a need for you think that you need to talk, you want to talk because after each talk you feel that you are a little better. Thank you.
Amazing. Thank you so much for this boost of motivation. And yes, I agree with you 100%. And I think that is the most important part. Simply do the work. Do the work and trust it and it will work for you for sure. And you know, I think also something that was working here is this idea of accountability. Because when you're on your own, then, okay, I'm going to do this, I'm going to try doing that. But you don't owe anything to anyone. But when someone's waiting for a video or waiting for a conversation, and this is why part of our work is to encourage this connection and communication within the community. It's all about community learning. Then you feel obligated and you don't want to disappoint them. So you end up doing it. The result, you're doing it. Right.
Right.
Whatever the reason is, you're doing it. So we definitely encourage this idea of holding each other accountable. So. So thank you. And moving on to. Or she. Or she. And I have to tell you that I had the privilege of meeting her in person because I was in Budapest a few. Couple of weeks ago. Yes.
And.
Or she's in Budapest and I knew that because it's part of her story, as you'll hear in a second. And it was an amazing conversation and meeting. And I'm super excited that I got to see you.
So.
Hi.
Hello. So glad to be here, Hadar. And it's so nice to be in this company with you. And you mentioned that we are in 500 watching this screaming. I don't know. So it's an amazing company. I just would like to share my story with all of you and. Yes, really. A couple of weeks ago, we met at Budapest. We had a coffee in the pedestrian area here and we really had a great time and we shared experiences and we were like two colleagues meeting. Yeah. And then.
And then she spoke to my mom and sister telling them where they need to go because my mom wouldn't listen to me. Right. And she wanted to take this detour and she was like, no, no, no, you're not going to do it. You're going to go from here. I loved it. Yeah, it was so good.
Yeah.
Yeah. So I think that was the best way to go to the other side of the river.
Yeah.
So, yeah, I'm just glad to be here and support this program and all of you. And let me introduce myself first. My name is Orshi as you and I'm living in Budapest in Hungary. And honestly speaking, I'm a very experienced language speaker because in the past the first language I learned was Russian. I don't speak it. I don't. I can't speak anything in Russian. But actually I. At school we had to learn it. And then the second language was German. I think I can speak. If I really want. I can speak Spanish. I'm quite, let's say I have a medium level of depth. I'm absolutely fluent in Italian and I have my mother tongue, which is Hungarian, you know, one of the most difficult languages in the world. So this is my package after Polish. We can discuss it, you know, we can discuss it. So, yeah. So, yes, and my passion is learning languages. And my big, big love is Italian language, to tell you the truth. And it's been so for 20, 25 years. And there was also this English, something which was always so complicated. It simply didn't came to me. So it was just, I. I got just angry when I had to speak English even in my work, my jobs, you know, I have a degree in English translation and I struggled to speak. So it was just incredible. And I had a dream. I wanted to work in English, but there was always something stopping me. But always because I was not confident. I had no. The, you know, I was not safe. I couldn't really understand if I was wrong or not and came no feedback to me. So it was just something. It was a big question mark for me and I just wanted to involve English in my life. And now I'm here and I'm speaking to you and I feel really, how to say, free. I don't have another expression to describe it. And I feel a passion. And I think the best thing in all this is that now I don't try to cut short a story. You know, I love speaking even in English about anything to anybody. So I think that's my big improvement now.
Wow. Or she like I want to come back to that sentence because I think it's so powerful. I don't try to cut a story short is like the essence of, I think what we experience because we constantly censor ourself when we speak in a second, that we don't feel comfortable in a language that we don't feel comfortable in. Right. Like in English in this case. I remember that. And I'm sure a lot of people can resonate. You guys can let me know in the comment if you, if you resonate with what or she said about cutting it short, like making sure, like, you know, not telling the full story because you don't want to get stuck because you don't want to lose Words, because you. You feel like you're wasting someone's time. So that alone, I think, is the incredible transformation. Why are stories so important to you, Horsi?
So, for a lot of things. But first of all, back to my work. You know, before the pandemic, I broke up. Well, after the pandemic, I broke up with tourism. I wanted to stop because, you know, I. I forgot to tell that actually my main job is being a tour guide. So I'm making tours in Budapest and walk through the city with tourists. And in the last five, almost six years, I did this job just in Italian. I had about 15,000 tourists, you know, so I really spoke a lot just in Italian. So if you wake me up at night and you ask me anything about the city in Italian, I will answer you without thinking twice. And so the change was that after the pandemic, I. Well, actually, after the program, I woke up in the morning and I thought, what if I try to do it in English? What can happen? And the day after, I called a colleague of mine, he's a Spanish guy, he's living here in Budapest, and he's doing the same tours in Spanish. And I thought, what if I joined your company and I do some tours in English? And believe it or not, I've been a tour guide in English now, and I've been doing it for two months, more or less. In the first month, I had 12 tours in Budapest with 200 tourists. And they write reviews in English about me in a public platforms, you know, travel platforms. And I'm so proud to hear that. It is not an issue to judge my English. It is just that they get the message. They enjoy the tour, they. They have the information, they love the city, and they just flow with me. Can you understand? So I spend with them two hours, three hours, whatever it is. And now I'm so free. I even take the microphone in. In the city center and I speak out loud in English about the history for hours. Can you understand? And I. Before this course, I was not able to do it. And I enjoy every single word I say. And I don't care if they ask me questions, because I know that it is not because they don't understand me, but it's because they are curious to know even more and even more. And that's so nice, you know, that's my happiness. That's. And I'm so proud to be here and share with you this story, because it's really. I can say that this program really gave me a new life and another perspective of everything. I thought that was possible just in Italian, and now I can do it in English. So that's my story. Wow.
Or she. This is amazing, amazing, amazing. And all the comments are like, amazing, amazing. And by the way, you guys watching, if you have specific questions for the members here, write them in the chat and Jelena will collect them. Listen, I want to emphasize something and then we're going to move on. But like, I want to emphasize something huge that you said here or to make sure that everyone paid attention to what happened or she's feared to deliver a tour in English was because she was self conscious about her English and she was self conscious about the technical aspect of English. Right. She thought about grammar and pronunciation and that people wouldn't understand her and getting stuck in all of that. Right, right. It wasn't, you know, it wasn't necessarily. She didn't necessarily go super deep into how will I feel when I communicate, but it was, what happens if I get judged or they don't understand me? I'm a tour guide. I need to be understood.
Right.
Am I right? Or she like, is this something that.
Yeah.
After having gone through the process and doing the work and, you know, having thousands of minutes of practice, what freed up is not her ability to pronounce everything perfectly. What freed up was her not caring about it so much. And of course, she's done some work, some groundwork to help her like that built that confidence. Right. And to help her identify what has been preventing her. But at the same time, that freedom and that understanding has given her the opportunity to really connect and not to cut her stories short, to connect with people through stories. And this is why she's getting such rave reviews, because people enjoy the experience of being with someone who is super authentic, being their full self and being generous with them in communication, or she was generous communicating with them. Now, sometimes we become stingy communicating with others not because we're stingy people, just because we actually feel like we don't want to burden them with our language. But the result is exactly the opposite of what we're trying to achieve. So actually, if you want to achieve freedom, yes, the external part is important and it will give you that internal freedom. But that internal freedom is everything because you give yourself the permission to be you. And that's what people are interested in discovering, you, human beings, individuals. And this is why the whole speak like a native business is so inhibiting. Because, you know, that idea of, that we need to sound like someone really takes away from this idea that we need to be ourselves fully. We can't sound like someone and act like someone and speak like someone and still be ourselves. Right? You know that saying, be yourself, everyone else is already taken. Own it up. Right? You don't want to be 50, 60, 80, 90, or 100, recognizing or realizing that actually what makes you tick or what makes you enjoy life, life is being you, right? After trying to imitate or to be someone else for so long. So I think this is such an amazing representation of, of that idea with your story. So. Or she. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's for, for sharing.
Thank you too.
Thank you.
Thank you.
We're gonna come back to all of you with questions. We have a bunch of questions for people here and then also with tips and moments of struggle that you might have had and how you overcame them. But moving on, let's talk to Barbara and then Leia. So, Barbara, hi.
Hi and welcome everyone. My name is Barbara and I come from Poland where it's the most difficult language ever. But I live in Germany, so I'm also learning German here. I finished my PhD two years ago and right now I'm working for Irish company and that's my biggest win here. I was struggling English, like really years. I was learning a lot by myself. I was searching like thousands of courses. I participate in Lingoda classes because I thought like the best is to speak with natives and they were not able to explain how to pronounce the words. So I also met Hazara last year and I was really waiting. I was, was so excited when the new program opened. Thank you, Daniela. I was constantly in touch with her and I was like, you know, asking her when new program is coming, when new program is coming. So I, I didn't hesitate to. To participate. And yeah, I was struggling a lot in my job because there's a lot of natives from not only Ireland, but also uk, Africa, Africa, America, and so on. So it's like big community. And they were constantly laughing at me and they are saying like, yeah, you, you sound very funny, what you want to say? And I was really shy and slowly my confidence were really going down and down. And I thought like, oh, I tried to laugh, but after that I was complaining to my boyfriend like, yeah, my English sucked and I'm not such good. I cannot communicate. They're always laughing at me. And I will really never forget the first hot seat with Hadar when she boost my energy and she gave me a lot of tips. And slowly, slowly I was learning, I was working, I was doing the work with program which is truly amazing. The quality, the exercises, everything. I really fall in love. And slowly I get confidence. I also get a lot of knowledge. So I think this is the best, best combination. Like that was the foundation of my grow. Like I knew to what should I focus on, how to pay attention to the details, which details where I have a problems and so on. And this helped me in every day, in everyday communication with my team. And also I got. This is my. The biggest win. I'm happy to share. I. I get confident to ask my boss about the salary, like a salary rise. And Yeah, I got 25% of rice.
Yeah.
In my case, in my case, this.
This program literally pay off.
So I could right now, like you.
Know, even buy 10 times.
So I'm such thankful.
Really, really, really, really, really.
And right now also my teammates, they. They see the difference right now even they told me like, yeah, I'm becoming sassy at English. Like I'm starting.
Sassy is good. I like that. That's been funny, right? Like, these are the two things that we want to, to have.
Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah, it helped me really tons. And I encourage everyone to join it and I tried really a lot of stuff. A lot, really a lot. And I can tell you with, with my heart, like it's the best program, community, teacher coaches you can ever find, really. So don't think twice. And also the value, what's there, the quality, everything. It's. It's truly amazing. So the price we are paying for it, I think it's. It's really nothing. It's really nothing.
Well, remember that you guys, when you. When we open doors. But. And I did not pay her to say that, I swear to God.
Yeah.
Yeah, she didn't. I didn't talk to her boss about the race. No. So Barbara, let me, Let me ask you this. For people who are afraid to ask for a raise, especially for people working in a global company, right? And you had to own your voice, confident in your voice. What were the key things that help you, helped you make that decision to do it anyway and that you deserve it and that you're worth it and maybe you can, if you can even share what were the reasons why you haven't done it until that point. Because I'm. I'm sure that there are a lot of people watching this saying, oh my God, how did, how did she get to do it? So I.
When I, I started this job, the boss, she told me like at the beginning of 2021, we will have a talk about the Salary like it's something normal. But she didn't do it. So I was, I was then I also complaining to my boyfriend. Yeah for sure. This is because my English very often she asked me if I can say something twice. She couldn't understand me. So I'm sure this is because of that. I never focus on the quality of my work. I only was concentrated that my English is not correct. My pronunciation is not correct correct. And I was super afraid to ask it by myself because I felt like yeah, when she asked me something I will not be able to explain it. And I was such stressed. And after a couple of weeks in the program I started to believe in myself once again. And that what you told me on this hot seat like hey, you have to gain the power. You have to protect yourself. Don't let people laugh at you and don't laugh with them because you want to make them feel good. I really write down everything what you said in my notebook and I was reading it several times and I told to my boyfriend yeah like Hadar said I have it was like our talk.
To in front of the mirror to myself.
And yeah I, I really gained this confidence when I started to believe like my English is really good and it's, it's how I think about it. It's made the difference. And I'm doing also great work. I was, I, I built a portfolio of my work. So I was always making a print screen of the feedback. When someone from my team or customers were saying something about my work then I was collecting it and I also share it with my boss to show like hey look, that's the, that's my work. And yeah when, when my mindset changed when I started to think differently about my English and my experience expression like I'm delivering the message. Everything was such easy really it was such easy get this, have this talk and get this pay rise. Like I talked to my boyfriend. I will ask her next month what again.
Just write every month what you know, I mean it was the worst thing that could happen which is something we always talk about. Barbara, that's amazing and so incredibly inspiring.
And thank you because really without it I, I, I will probably never be able to make this step. And to, to yeah to protect myself and to fight about my rights and to believe in myself and to change the point of view. So I'm super, super, super grateful you Jelena, Daniela, whole team. Thank you.
Amazing. Thank you so much and thank you for sharing your story and showing like and I think also being able to be vulnerable and say this is what, where I was and recognizing, you know, the, the path that you have, that you have taken, I think that's, that's pretty incredible. So thank you and we're going to come back to you and there are a few questions for you too. But before that, last but not least, my dear Laia. So I don't know if you guys in the Facebook group, you probably already know her. She is your biggest cheerleader and the biggest supporter. If you're in the influency community, you definitely know her because she's one of our hosts and a star in our community. Hi.
Hi. Hi. Hi everyone. It's such a pleasure, an honor to be here. As I said before, it is a dream coming true. At least for me. It's a pleasure to be here with you. You have been my coach for three years now. And my name is Leah. I'm from Brazil, but I've been living in the United States for seven years now. And I'm. I'm a host in one of these speaking clubs in the influency community. We have a weekly review. So we review the main activities in the community. It is some a huge pleasure to me to be there to be your host because it was a long journey to be here to get to this point just for the fact that I'm here today speaking to you. For me it was my dream that one day I would be able to speak in English again. For those that don't know, I joined the influency community three years ago. It was the fluency challenge and I joined the community because, you know, I was going through some hardship, hard time in my life. I just had got out of an abusive relationship with an American citizen that caused me a lot of trouble, trauma. I was laughed at. I was, you know, when people mock mocked at you and yell at you and you know. So that relationship was really hard for me. It last eight months. The first month was okay, was amazing. The person was really supportive, you know, with my English communication. But it turns out that that person was really abusive and started taking advantage of me and abusing me. Psychological, emotional, was really hard for me to get rid of that relationship. But still, you know, I couldn't. Once I got out of that relationship, I just couldn't speak. I hated actually speaking English because of my fear of being yelled at. You know, people were going, were going to, you know, just don't understand that I was struggling to communicate in English. So was in the middle of this chaos in my life, a lot of Things happening that I found Hadar and I joined the influency community, was a free community, a lot of activities. You know, I was excited but I was struggling. So I, I started doing therapy sessions, therapy sessions with a Brazilian therapist because you know, I couldn't express my feelings in English. So I was trying but because she was Brazilian she couldn't understand my struggle in communicating in English. So I started looking for something else. But I was looking not for the average teacher. I was looking for someone else that could help me to get my comfort confidence back. Because you know, we have a lot of content on Internet. We have a lot of teachers out there, we have a lot of content, but it takes someone else with some specific skills to help you to build your confidence. So when I came across Hadar's YouTube channel, I started following her and I was struggling. I sent her an email explaining my situation. So I took a step back, you know, to take care of myself, my mental health. And then I decided to invest time and money in something that I was looking for. So I joined Accent Makeover and I was decided to take action to do something else. I couldn't take no more. I was so afraid of everything. I was living in this country, I live in the United States, in Michigan and I couldn't communicate because of fear. To be honest, I was not caring too much about pronunciation or intonation. But I was looking for someone that please help me to build my confidence. So I joined Accent Makeover. I took actually three rounds but you know, I was struggling. So this year Hadar run a new sound program and I, I have to share with you very quick because I feel that I'm part of the course. I remember the day on Instagram that Hadar shared, you know the. Okay, so Hadar went on a travel on a trip but I was amazed by the fact that she left her house, her family, everything. And she went on this trip to design, to get inspiration to create a new course. And I saw those stories and she shared the place was beautiful, you know, surrounded by nature. I saw a wall full of post its small yellow cards. And actually that wall full of small cards was the brainstorm for the course for what we have now, which is new sound program. So I feel that I'm part of the course, you know, everything because I follow from the very beginning and I remember the day that the course was launched and I signed up for the course and when I could access the course I was there like for hours on the website just looking at everything because I saw from the beginning from the brainstorm. But about that trip that Hadar, that Hadar took, went on this trip, I was amazed because she could have done that from her office, from her house, but instead she went on a trip by herself to get inspiration because this is the way she is. She get the best to deliver the best to her students. And yeah, so I joined New Sound. I was excited from the first day that I saw the website and you know, was, was real, those brainstorm was real, the course was there and I, because I'm an accent makeover student, I was there and then I was looking at everything and I was coming, comparing, you know, the implements from one program to another. It was amazing. And I just want to, want to share that if I'm here today speaking to you, it's because of this woman, because she made me feel so confident. I, I did because I finished New Sound and all the modules were important to me. But there's one which was more important, which is the mindset. Because mindset is everything. And I swear I didn't want to get emotional, but yeah, it is, it's really important to me to be here today. I feel proud of myself. I finished the course. I, I couldn't, I couldn't believe that one day I was going to be here to host a conversation group and to create things in the course that I was able to create. You know, I did the modules reviews, the course review and that was amazing because, you know, the course is very well designed. It has everything from building new habits, mindset, pronunciation, intonation, prosody. You can practice with members from all over the world. You can, you make the exercises, you record videos. At first, some few years ago, I was afraid of recording videos and watching myself because I didn't like what I was seeing. But now I like this woman. I like everything that I've done. I like English is my nature now. And just one more thing about being ourselves. One day, because of the practice and the exercises, I was just recording videos in English. And in my mind to be fluent was to speak fast. And one day I remember a friend of mine, she asked me to, to record a video in Portuguese to talk about something. And that day was a turning point to me because I watched myself speaking in Portuguese and actually I realized that this is who I am, this is the way I speak. I, I why I, I'm gonna, I'm going to speak faster if I don't even speak speak faster in my mother language. So we need to, we need to be aware of, be conscious with of who we are. And now I'm feeling so confident about myself, you know, of who I am. This woman. This woman. I don't care about speaking, speaking like a native speaker. I want to speak like myself, like who I am. And I just want to say thank you, Hadar, so much. It's unbelievable for me to be here with you. I love you. I admire you so much for everything that you have done for me, for the members. I don't exitate a second. Every time you create a course, a new program, I don't hesitate because it's really worth it, every penny. I know it works, and that's why I'm here today. And I want to say thank you so much for everything you have done for us for New Sound, for this amazing community, for the opportunity that we have to share our stories. And thank you so much to all of you guys for being in this journey with me.
Yeah.
Leia.
I mean, I'm. I'm so filled with emotions right now. And I want to say thank you and what an amazing storyteller you are because. And what an amazing gift it is for us that you give yourself the free freedom to tell a story and to take your time. Because it's not just the person that you are. That's what makes it so incredibly mesmerizing and captivating. Because of who you are. You are a magnet. And you discovering it is not only a gift for yourself, because it is, but it's also a gift to us. And definitely all the contribution that you give yourself from permission to. To do and to contribute is also all about help others. And I'm just going to point out that Leia has been showing up consistently, diligently for all the new members, showing them, guiding them, telling them, cheering them on, telling them that it's going to be okay. And I have no doubt that. That a lot of the new members that we had in New Senior Sound were able to complete the program and to keep faith, thanks to you. So it's not only that you are finally expressing yourself, is that you're really making an impact. And even, you know, and. And I talked on day three about leaving a legacy behind. You know, what is your legacy? And your legacy is allowing people to be heard, to feel like they're being heard. And that when we hold space for them, you know, it creates this. This experience for them. And that is our legacy. So you are definitely stepping into that. And I'm gonna say that because the fact that you were able to come out of all the Trauma and the hardship after this abusive relationship. And it's not just that. It's also being an immigrant in America, you know, in an abusive relationship, not speaking English or speaking English well, but feeling constantly, you know, criticized and ridiculed. It's really challenging to come out of it. But you did it masterfully. It doesn't matter that it, you know, the time that it took, that's the time that needed to be taken. And I think that that alone is just shows what a, what a powerful soul you are. And, and this is why you have like that room and space for us to share this with us. So, so thank you so much for sharing your incredible story. And I always say it's, it's really not me, but I'm happy that I was on your path to show you, you know, what is a, a direction that can make your journey a little shorter. So I'm, I'm. It's a privilege to be there with you and for you. And about that trip. Yes, I actually took this trip twice. Once when I started the course, when I started imagining it and outlining it and I can't believe it that you remembered it, but it was really like I went to this beautiful place up in the north and I spent three, two and a half days just long looking at a wall full of post its. And on those post its was everything that I wanted to teach. And of course I had to lose a lot of the post its because otherwise it would have been two year program. But everything I wanted to teach and then what is the right way to organize it and what is the right way to structure it and I kept changing it and moving it and then I took it down and put it back in. So it was really like. You know, I always talk about that roadmap, the roadmap that we shared yesterday. And really it is, you know, the result of, of what started back then. And then. Yes. At the end also to wrap up and to kind of like start thinking about bringing it all together. I also took a trip and thanks to my amazing husband that stayed with the girls while I was out there creating and, and doing this. But thank you for sharing it. It was such a nice memory to remember.
I love it.
I love it.
Excellent. Because I. It was so amazing. It was so beautiful to follow the steps in the creation of new sound Course was amazing.
Yeah. Because I think that like a course is really.
It's.
If you're doing something, it's really part of who you are in your soul and you want to bring Everything that, you know. And I think the hardest part in such a program is to know what's not, what doesn't need to go there. Right? Like, what's just going to make the journey a little harder or more complicated or more work and discouraging. So I think that this. Just sharing. I think for me, this was the hardest part because I wanted to teach everything and. And, you know, like, it's always. We're always checking it and. And serving our students and seeing what works and what doesn't, but we're really happy. And by the way, Leah, I want to also mention. And that's the same for everyone here, one thing that people really struggle with is completely completing things. A lot of people join programs and then, you know, they. They decide they start very motivated, but then they never finish it because life gets in the way and it gets boring and all of these other things. So let's do a quick round and, like, tell me in. In two sentences, what was the one thing that got you to stick to the end or at least almost to the end? So, Alma, do you want to start? What was what got you to persist? And then we'll take questions from the audience.
So I guess, Rumi, a couple of things. I got obsessed with pronunciation, with the different sounds, and the other thing, the community. Because seeing everybody else, you know, put in the time, the work, that really motivated me to keep going because I thought, okay, if they can do it, if they have the time, I also can do it. You know, that really motivated me. And what you mentioned at the beginning, you don't have to do it alone. You know, it's really helpful to be around people who are going through the same struggles, who want to succeed. I think that was the biggest motivator for me.
Yeah. Yeah. I think that, like, a lot of times when we go through something that is hard, we blame ourselves. And we're like, it's just because, you know, it's just because we. It's our fault. We don't know how to do it. But then you realize that, oh, they all struggle with pronunciation, with getting through, with frustration, with lack of motivation, with, you know, in. In lack of confidence. So. So I. And then it's like, oh, okay. So let's put. Figure it out together for sure. Thank you, Alma. And. And this is Alma. And if you have questions for Alma, just write it in the chat and Jelena will collect them for me. Okay. Because we don't have the names, for some reason, we forgot to add it.
So.
Okay, Alma, Ike, Tadina.
Okay. I would name two things. So the first thing is that actually when I was enrolling in this. In this course, I felt that I was on edge of giving up because I was studying English for three years at that point, and I didn't feel any progress in terms of my speaking skills. And I felt that everything which I was doing was not working. And I decided, okay, I try this time. And in this time, I will invest all my strengths, all my. All my. All my wishes, everything which I have, I will invest in this. And I will do it till the end because I felt that this course is gonna help me. And another thing which really helped me to keep going is that I made a commitment in front of the community. I remember that I. When I went live for the first time, just in two weeks after the course started, I told that I'm going to go live every day. And I couldn't quit. It's my nature if I said I am going to do it. So I. And I made myself accountable in front of the whole community and also in front of myself. I couldn't quit because of it.
Yeah, I talk. Thank you. I always talk about being in integrity with. With yourself and with the promises that you make to yourself. And I think you really demonstrated that. And I think this is a huge. A huge part of the work. Like, if you make a commitment, right, say you're gonna do it and actually follow through and use habit to make sure that everything is in place so you can get to the end. But absolutely, like, because when you get to the end, you see results. If you quit, you won't see results. Right. Like, in a lot of people, they start. They're good starters. They start courses and they buy another course and they watch another video, but they don't get to the end or they don't put it into practice again. The illusion of learning, I'm doing. I'm spending money. But what if you took something and you went really deep instead of broad? And that's how you see change. And this is why I think you can celebrate all these incredible successes today with us. So thank you for sharing that. Katerina, Sergio, what about you?
I'd like to tell you that I started this study studying English in Brazil when I was 14 years old. So I. I have studied for three years. So I. I left behind the course. And during all the time, all these years along, and sometimes I. I went back to study, then I left, then I come back again. And my life has been like that in terms of learning English. And it's been a long time that here in Brazil I've been considered an advanced student when it comes to English. Every time I went to a school or if I talked to a teacher, they said that I was an advanced student. And I was glad to hear that. But now I. I'm aware that I was not supposed to be aware. I'm to be happy with this kind of consideration because at the first time I went to. To an English. English country. I mean, I. I went to New York some years ago. I. I had much difficult to communicate. It was really hard for me to. To communicate in my check in. In the hotel. It was really hard for me to communicate in. In the checkout and in my. My daily activities. It was really, really hard. So by that time I decided that I need to do something different. But I didn't know why or what. And I've been following hadar for about four years. On your YouTube channel. On the hair YouTube channel. And as the. The. The new sound came, I was thinking that that was the kind of course I was looking for. Because I thought that this kind of course was supposed to go profound in each word, in each sound in English. And I felt that this was the thing I. The thing I was supposed to do. And I was a little hesitating at the beginning if I should or not start this new challenge in my life. But I went through. And just in the first days, the first day, the second day, I just noticed that this was the program that I was looking for because I wanted to really study each sound in English. So this is my, this is, this is my story. And what keeps. Keeps me more motivated, that is that the. The program is so complete, so full of activities and full of skills that allow anyone to. To develop the language that. And it's a lifetime program that I'm aware that I have even content to study for more one year if I want to. And I really want to do it because I think that I have a great improvement. But I need much more to improve yet. That's it.
Amazing. Thank you for sharing. So the fact that you saw improvement got you motivated to keep. Keep going?
Sure. I've had this kind of improvement and I'm really aware that it's possible for me because before I didn't think so. I thought that speaking English.
Did I lose you?
Oh, no.
Okay.
I think we lost the connection. Well, he's gonna come back. I hope he's not continuing the conversation with himself. And then he's like, wait, where are we? Yeah, you're Back. Good. Did you continue talking?
Now? I am aware that I'm able to learn even more. And I perfectly notice that as more I study, the more I study, the more I get motivated with the language, and it creates a wonderful success activity for me.
Thank you. And yes, like, this is again, a reminder that learning English can be. Doesn't have to be boring. And again, like, it doesn't matter if you decide to join New Sound or, you know, or to do something on your own. But the most important thing is that you don't have this perception that English is something tedious and boring that you just have to get through with to be able to succeed, because you can see that it's not. And when you're enjoying the process, then all of a sudden it's not so hard to get to the finish line, or at least to get to a point where you're like, okay, I've achieved this goal. Or she. What about you? What got you to get to the end?
That's a good question. Or the process. I think I just became even more and more and more engaged. Addicted to you. Yes. It's a part of my life. It's. It's such a nice experience. But, you know, just, just. I don't. Well, I don't want to say a very long story about me, but actually, before New Sound, I joined another course to become an English teacher, because why not? And there was this course, now I have the certification, and I, I. After the course, I started to teach some English. I have some students now. And honestly speaking, during this course, I got a very serious critic on my accent. They told me that I spoke English like Italians do. I thought, it is. No, no, no, no way. There must be something else. But nobody was able to explain me what the problem was with my English, what my accent, what would. So I was just hopeless, I thought.
But it's not a problem. I'm just gonna say that it's not a problem.
Not a problem.
I'm speaking about no problem.
I just wanted to understand what that specific teacher heard about me. So I. I was just lost and without information. And then I found you. Somehow, I think I found the podcast and I started to listen to you in that way. And I really became engaged. And I promised myself that in the future, if Hadar would propose any course, I will be the first to apply. And it was so.
So I was one of the first people. I think you were really like, one of the first. One of the first five. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Told you. I wanted to be the First. And I was. Yeah, I was curious and I just, was. I. I was just looking for my answers, you know, to understand the doubts which teachers were not able to explain me. And now I'm absolutely aware of my English. I know about my sounds. I know. And what's more, I give myself the permission to make mistakes and speak slowly, to have time to find the sound I want to use.
I just want to post. I want, I want to pause those moments where you say those really meaningful sentences and just put it on my wall. Yeah. To have permission to just take my time and.
And you know. Yeah. I think that was maybe the second week when you spoke about the mindset. First week, right at the beginning.
Yeah.
And after that we started to learn the sounds. And one after the other I discovered that these sounds I don't consider sounds, so I haven't ever heard about them. Nobody in all this long journey of English has ever told me anything about the differences between the cup and hat and father. So these things were brand new for me. And I know what to do now. And honestly speaking, this course ended, but not the journey. You gave us so many other things to practice really for one year. If I don't do anything, just open your program again and again. Every day I find something new to do. So it is not just a three month program. It's really a long journey. And everything that you just designed for us is full of value. I don't have any other verse to say. So I think all this was enough to remain engaged and follow the program until the end. And even now, later.
And even now. Yeah, no, because. Because English is a journey. It's not like a three month project. And you need the tools to. To make it a lifelong journey. And this is what this program is designed to do. New Sound, my program that we're talking about for those of you who don't know. And by the way, you have a sneak peek so you can go and take a look into a limited version of New Sound with six lessons that you can learn. So just so you know, and the team is going to put it in the chat if you haven't joined just yet. But Orshi, thank you so much. And it's incredible. Noelia said that we need to create T shirts with those insights that you shared today. So in addition to you being a tour guide, now you're going to be a T shirt maker and. Yeah, right there, like on Sundays.
Yeah.
Okay.
Now I know everything about Budapest. Barbara. We're going to shift things around a bit and I'M going to ask you a question from the audience.
But you know what, I have to say something here because I'm very organized, practice person and what you offer in the program was really the best for me. I even asked Daniela. I told her I need something that what's planned, what I know what to do next and so on. And I think it's really important to underline like this. You offer this in the program. You have a plan for every day. You know how much time it will take. So it's such easy to plan your day before. And also in the beginning of the first module, you, you teach us how to organize your time, how to book a, a time in your calendar. So you are always making it like making a progress, doing the, the exercises and so on. So from my side, this was really, really, really, really helpful. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
For bringing this up because I didn't even think about that. But yeah, like, I think the plan part of the work is that we lose track. And I think having the plan, which is something that we share and again, like everything that we share, we didn't come up with it in the first course. You know, I think when Leah joined Accent Makeover three years ago, there was nothing of that sort. But then students were like, I really struggled to know what I need to do every day. And then we said, okay, what if we create a plan for them? Then it's like we improved it. So it's really like designed to fit the needs of our students. Because we've been doing this for so long, I think it's like my, my, if I think about it, my 10th round of courses that I do, right? So every time there are like between 100 to 400 people. So we have seen, you know, we learn a lot from our students and our students are so great gracious that they do share their experience with us. So we can also improve upon that. So, Barbara, did you use the daily practice? Like, did you follow it and did you.
Yeah, exactly. Well, for me it was really helpful because I know how much time, what's the minimum? How much time minimum. I need to plan and invest to move forward. And I really love this tackling the tasks.
So also which is part of the habit work, right? Like to feel accomplished. Oh, wait. Yeah, I got disconnected for a sec. Can you hear me? Did we lose. Okay, a little bit of Internet connectivity issues, but she's going to come back. And I just want to say that this idea of creating a habit streak, we talk about it a lot Because I think that it's so important to remember that to be able to complete something, you need to create this feeling of accomplishment. And this is why we offer it in the program. We have a really, really precise daily practice where you know exactly what you need to do every day, and then you check it off and then it's like the minimal time for you to see progress. And it's between 20 to 40 minutes. So I think that this is something that is completely feasible. Okay, so until Barbara comes back. Leah, I have a question. There is a question for you. First of all, someone asked how she could reach you to talk to you. Probably she can.
She.
She wants to share something with you. So I'm just gonna say that like, like we said, Leia is a host in the influency community. So you can find her there. And I would recommend, you know, commenting, and then you. You'll find her post in the Facebook group as well. So you can write a comment, tag her, and then she can contact you in private. Would you say that this is a good. Yeah, this is Lea Sandos. Yeah, wait, let me. Okay, Barbara is back. So, Leah, there is a question for. Yeah, you're.
You got.
You got stuck for a second.
Yeah.
Okay, so we're taking now a question for Leia. How much time did you need to. Wait, let me. There are a couple of questions. Let me choose one here. Okay. Leia, how much time did you need to take the course? Was it demanding? Did you skip schedule time in your agenda specifically for it? So I guess it really. It's like, it's part of the. What we're talking about. So can you talk about that?
Okay, so just to clarify, because I took three rounds of Accent Makeover before, I think it was. I took from the first one. But what happened is I was in a different place of my life. I was struggling, I couldn't finish. I was trying to do my best to participate, but because of the fear, the trauma, I also have to do the therapy sessions. So I wasn't able to finish none of the rounds that I took in Accent Makeover. So when Hadar created New Sound course, I was committed. I decided that I was going to finish the course. I'm in a much better place in my life now, so I could focus in the course. And what made me stick to the course, I think was the module one, because as I said, I was comparing Accent Makeover in New Sound. And I can tell you this was one of the biggest implementations from Accent Makeover to New Sound. The Module one, it is building foundations. So it is all about creating new habits and stick with new habits. New habits. And that was, you know, at the beginning of the course when you are excited and you want to achieve a lot of things and you set goals. So yes, the module one was really important to me. But another thing, the course is so very, very well designed that we have implementation weeks. So when you feel that, oh, I'm getting overwhelmed, it is too much for me, then we have implementation week. So you just are free, you know, to, to catch up everything and to practice, to connect, you know. It is awesome. And also I want to say, I want to tell something about the weekly practice recommendation. Yeah, it is amazing. I mean you, you know, you have everything, you have implementation weeks, you have weekly practice recommendation. So actually I followed talking about the time that I spent in the course. It is intense. There's a lot of things, you know, because you go through creating, you. You go from creating new habits to pro. Intonation. We have four modules, two for consonants and two for vowels. So it is really intense. But if you are committed and if you stick with the program, you get there. So I was able to finish because you know, all the resources and tools and I made myself accountable because I had my, my colleagues, members that I could practice. And it is exciting. Yeah.
So accountable and responsible because I think part of the work. Because you hosted groups rooms every week. Almost every week. And I think that when you're responsible, that also requires you to show up differently. And this is why like, you know, our agenda is teach, host, you know, be responsible for others experience because then it would impact yours. And I think that you definitely.
One more thing that I forgot to share. Just one more thing. In new sound, you have space to create things. And I remember I did the modules review every week in the course, review at the end of the course. And I had space, you had that in the team. You gave me the space to create things because I was, I wanted to do something else, to practice and to go beyond. And yeah, was amazing. Thank you so much.
Thank you. That's, that's, that's like, you know, creativity is, is, is one of our values. And I think that when we see that from our students, we see it in beyond too. Is like that's, that's what gets everyone inspired. A question for Alma from Paola. What was the hardest sound for you?
Oh, still remember the open vowels. I hated the ass and cat because I hate it.
I wanted to say, I wanted to say it was the.
Yeah, I hate it because me as a Spanish speaker, we don't open our mouth too much. We speak, you know, here was like, how I'm gonna do this? And I kept practicing and practicing and it was a huge struggle for me, but I made it. And also, again, I remember talking to Helena, who is one of the coaches. I'm like, I don't know how to do it. And she was really nice and she said, don't worry about it. Just post a video. I will review it. I will tell you what you need to fix, what you need to work on. And I think that proves that Hadar and her team, they really care, they really want you to succeed, and you will have always their support.
Thank you. And can we just say that your ass in cat is amazing? I know.
Okay.
Or she, you've conquered Italian, you've conquered English too. What's next? Did you want to revisit Russian or maybe Mandarin Chinese? That's my addition.
Well, I, I don't know. In the past, I, you know, I don't know what to say because every single language is so attractive for me. So why not Russian? Why not Chinese? Why not anything? But now I want to complete my deal in Spain. Spanish first and honestly. And it has nothing to do with my new friendship with Sergio, but actually it was one of my previous plans to learn Spanish, to go to back. To go back to the university, because I found a specific program here in Budapest for Spanish speaking to learn Portuguese. So that will be actually the best.
Like, look at the way she thinks. It's not like Portuguese for Hungarian speakers, which would have been easier. No, because she wants Portuguese for Spanish speakers. She would study Spanish first and then Portuguese. Okay, amazing. But also. Or she is now focusing on her career as an English teacher. Putting it out there. So if you're looking for a teacher one on one, because we don't offer one on one. Or she's your gal. Okay, wait, I had another question. Barbara. And then after that, I'm going to ask each and every one. We have more questions, but we are like way past time, so we would. After that, I want each of you to give one piece of advice or one tip or one thing that you would like to say to the people listening. Barbara, a question. Wait, from Zoro. What really helped you conquer your fear and shyness? To speak in English. What are the best tactics in order to overcome fear when you speak using English?
So for me, it was really practicing it every day. And I told once to Yelena, I love this boring exercises. And there was a Lot of exercises in the program. Like you were recording yourself and comparing this recording after a while and comparing it also with Hadar. So this also boosts my energy.
And.
Like I was seeing this improvement when I was recording myself and comparing and I saw, hey, it actually work. All this exercising and repeating makes me feel better. And then also had our challenge because she challenged me and she told like, each time I will be, I will have a team meeting. I should find a way to once or twice say something and I really take it. And even at the end, or to say something small at the beginning, I was super stressed because I felt like what I would say. I was like having this. A lot of stories in my head.
Like, no more say and now I'm not going to be able to say it.
And, and I felt like, okay, just do it. And at the beginning it was awkward for me. I was super stressed. But each time it was better. So yeah, just practice, just practice.
Amazing. That's, I mean, that's really such. That's the best advice. And I want to say something about the goals, right? Because at the beginning of the, the beginning of the Sergio is like practicing with me at the beginning of. He's used to it. You see, we have developed a relationship where he repeats my words, even if it's in front of 400 people.
So.
Goals.
So we set a 90 day goal at the beginning. Like we talked about it yesterday, about setting measurable, timely goals, achievable and relevant goals. Right? And at the beginning I remember a lot of people saying, I want to be able to, you know, do something big or to get more fluent or to be more confident in front of my colleagues. And I would be like, okay, but how can you measure it? So sometimes we would set simple goals. Like, you know, you need to be able to speak in a meeting four times. Like, you know, some of the, along those lines that we talked about at least four times in a meeting confidently. And that would be a goal, right? Like, how will you know that you've achieved something? If right now you feel like you can't even respond when people ask you a question, then you know, no, knowing that you've succeeded, knowing what confidence is, you know, what, what would that mean? What would confidence mean to us? It would mean that I'd be able to speak without being asked anything four times in a meeting. That would be an outcome of an internal state that is confidence, fluency, you know, clarity and all of that stuff. So going back to your goals and you guys who, if, if you haven't done it yet in your workbooks from day four. Think about those things.
And, you know, also, at the, at the very beginning, I was coming on the. Each meeting on the very last second. Like, I was sure I didn't participate in any small talks and so on. So I was really connecting myself at the end. And yeah, when you challenge me, I start to show up earlier to also have a chance to participate in the small talks at the very beginning when not everyone is connected. So this was also one point when I realized, like, okay, I'm brave enough to do this.
Amazing. And the compound effect, right? Like, small decisions that you make nearly daily. I will show up four minutes earlier, right? Like, it's only four minutes. It's not a huge commitment in terms of time yet. Look at what it did. It really gave you the confidence to have that small talk. And I'll, like, check. I spoke in the meeting then. Right, but then you're already warmed up. Yeah, you're done. Pressure is off. You're warmed up. You've already spoken the. To break the ice again is not needed. Right. And then, therefore, you set yourself up for success. And these are the small changes. Show up. I love this. Sorry, I'm just, like, thinking how brilliant that is for you to do this. Like, show up three minutes before. That's it. That's all it takes. Make that phone call instead. Instead of sending a text message, so on and so forth, ask questions. Even if you don't, you know, have anything specific to ask or, you know, mirror someone. Just repeat the. What they said, but at least get yourself into, you know, get your voice out there and the rest will happen on its own. So, Barbara, amazing. Thank you so much. Okay, so to wrap up, let's go around. And each of you, Ekaterina, do you want to start? Start what is one tip or one lesson that you want to share with those students? One advice.
Yeah.
Okay.
So my, my biggest takeaway from this program, that you need to rely on the program and you need to believe in everything which you will be said, and you need to practice everything which you will be said, because I remember. And also you need to listen what other people are asking for. Because everything which I was doing was said to other people. I remember you said to somebody, you need to make videos. And I started doing videos. Then you said, you need to go live. I started going live. Then you said, make a small presentation, organize a conversation group, and speak in front of other people. And I did that. And then you said, teach something to somebody. And again, it was said to another person, but I decided, okay, I can do this too. And I did it. And why I'm saying this, because everything of this is working 100%. So why I am here right now and how I speak right now, it's happened only because of this program and also because I allowed myself to be open to everything which I was said, because you don't need to feel resistant, because these people, they know what they are saying to you. They experienced it by themselves. So I was thinking, thinking if they can could do that, I can do this too. And it's working. It's working. So trust, believe, and everything will happen.
I love. I think we need Ekaterina T shirts too. Like, I think this is just. We're gonna have to do it. Amazing. And this is such a great piece of advice. You know, just like, trust the process and put yourself out there and just do it and do everything. Don't be picky and try not to be resistance resistant. But if resistance comes, manage it. Don't let it manage you, because then you're going to end up living a life that you don't feel like it's your life and you are not proud of. So amazing. Catalina, thank you so much. Alma, what about you?
Yeah, I want to go. So I just want to say one thing. This is your last. I mean, this course has everything. Because what Hadara and her team, you know, what they did, they already went out there. They already found the sounds that you need to work on. They already know what it works, where it doesn't work. They are just saving you time. You don't need to look anywhere else. And one of the things that, you know, at the beginning, I had a lot of hesitations. I was like, I'm not going to have enough time. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it. And what Barbara was saying is true. I mean, the course is so well organized that you need just to set a time on your calendar and just do the work and just hit play, listen and practice. And the other thing that at the beginning, I couldn't believe it because Heather kept saying, you don't need to rely on anybody else. You're going to become at some point your own coach. And now I can tell you, I am my own coach. I'm like, when I'm speaking, making mistakes, when I'm practicing, I'm like, I need to practice a little bit more on that. I need to do this. I can correct my own mistakes. And to me, that's priceless because how many times you sign up for a course and then once you finish, they give you more. They want you to stay there forever and ever because that's the way they make money, right? But in this case, I mean this is just a long term solution. You don't need to do any. Anything else. Just finish the course and you will see the results.
Well, thank you Alma. And thank you for finishing the results and showing that it's possible.
It is possible.
Amazing. Thank you. Sergio, what is your piece of advice for struggling learners who are where you were before?
Two years ago I decided that.
I.
Want to be free and to be free to live and to work from any country as I told before. And I decided that English was an essential part of this goal in my life. And by this time, from this time, I started to. To be in contact with English as much I could. I started to watching videos in English, to watch even American programs on TV, in English, Internet, books, etc. And, but I can tell you that my decision and when I decided to enroll in New Sound at last May, it was the major step I could have done. And what I can say is if you want really to improve your English, if you really want to get the necessary skills and this program really works and what I'd like to emphasize is that there is a big a great team behind New Sound. The sessions code we have in the course are really great because you practice during one hour, one and a half hour with incredible and very competent coach like Elena, like Christina, etc, and this stuff that New Sound gives to you is really amazing. So. And the, the, the. The. The. Another important thing I. I learned is that learning a language is not only a matter of studying grammar, studying vocabulary or practicing speaking or practicing anywhere. It's really a kind of mindset. It's a kind of self confidence. And this, the program really offers to. To the students this kind of approach. So that's a tip. I can tell if you want to change not only your skills, but the way you, you. You deal with the language, that's the right way. And I'm so thankful for that.
You are muted, Heather. You are muted.
I just shared the secret. I guess I wasn't supposed to say it. So Sergio, thank you so much. Thank you. Or she. One piece of advice for the.
For.
For someone who is still struggling.
The best advice is don't struggle, do the work. Because really that's the thing you have to do. So really there is nothing else, you know, so. And one thing which I think nobody Told before is that this course is not only for top advanced students. Actually pronunciation would be the, would be, would have been the first step to do when someone starts learning a language and not just in English, in any single language. And I think that's something which usual teachers don't really take in consideration because it's easier to explain the grammar. It's just so passive. And it's really easier to fill the gaps in an exercise and do the work in, you know, just writing. But pronunciation gives maybe the soul, you know, of the language. And the language is actually not about studying and feeling exercises and practicing, but it's about connecting people. And if you understand that, you put the focus on pronunciation because that will really change change of life in positive.
Yeah, I, I agree. I think it really builds the foundations and this is why it's like half of the course is about pronunciation and prosody and Yes, I, I, I love that. Again, another T shirt. Don't struggle, do the work.
Or she.
I love that. Okay, Leah, what is your piece of advice? And then Barbara. And then wait, sorry. And then we're gonna announce the winner. I know out of excitement I spilled coffee and I forgot to announce the, the winners. So Natasha just informed me that again, a private joke that my team just gave me the name. So we're gonna share it here and, and stay tuned. And then at the end I'm gonna tell you a bit more about New sound and how you can get access. Yeah, Leia, piece of advice for someone who was where you were three years ago.
Okay, so first of all, before I forget, a big shout out to the team, to the coaches. Because New sound not only have the best coach, but have the best coaches and support team. I love you guys. Thank you so much for being there for us along this journey. Thank you so much.
And stay gorgeous.
My piece of advice would be. Guys, I'm kind of jealous. Jealous because I didn't have the sneak peek to check the course out. So guys, try this out. We shared our stories here, but try this out. There's a the link. I think Elena is going to put the link for this Nick peek which is you can check the content or some of a few parts of the course and you know, trust in the process. Trust in this amazing coach. And check this out. The website is amazing. This nitpick gives you an idea of how the course works. So check this out.
And Leah and like, I mean part of team Shemesh here like you are. Okay, Jelena, can you put the link in the. It's just like it feels so natural really.
I love the team.
I love you so much. Like did you see Leia's post? Like, yes. Oh my God. Like we have a slack channel and we talk about it. We have a slack channel that is called Success Stories and every. Whenever someone posts something about their success or achievement, we share it in the team and we're all like celebrating them and we're so happy about this. So we are like we're all on top of where you're all at and what you're doing. Because I think this is really part of why we do what we do and why we're so passionate about it. Okay, thank you, Leah. Barbara, one piece of advice.
I would say like be ready hungry and just do it. Program is such well organized and I also have to say like this design like the video you are doing. I have next to me the me mirror. And I was always like making the same like you with the tongue, all these exercises. And I used to also say like this program for me is like the buffet breakfast in the five star hotel. You have everything there. You can just choose what you prefer, what kind of exercises are speaking to.
You.
What'S the best for you. So it's not like you have to do it really everything because it will be too much and had our very often underlined these Pareto rules. I. I thought like, you know, I. I felt like a kid in the kindergarten. You have my hand. You show me what is to do what. Where should my focus go on. Everything was well prepared. So it's. It's impossible to not be successful at the end. Really for me it's. I think it's impossible. So you know, if you are ready hungry to be better just do the program.
Yeah, sorry because my computer is a little noisy. I keep muting myself. So. Okay. Amazing. Thank you so much. I really like. I think that it's such a privilege to be able to be a part of this and to see everything that you have to share and to give you the space space to thrive. So and thank you for sharing that with others. Really. I did not expect you to be so, so supportive of the program and other people joining. But I think that for you, you think that you know, you know that it has worked for you and you know that it can help other people. So for those of you watching and you feel like, okay, I really want to be on this side six months from today. We are trying to make it as easy as possible possible for you to make a decision. So one of the ways we are doing this is sharing the sneak peek. The sneak peek shows most of the platform, not all of it, but most of the platform. And it's totally free. And you can see what lessons are there. You can see the. Listen to the intro of each module. You can watch six or seven lessons, I think that we shared and. Yes. What is this?
Barbara, one more point. You know, I. I found this program such amazing. Like I really share some points to German teachers and I asked if someone can create something similar, but in German. So right now you are also inspiration for the German teachers, like you know, to.
To do something similar.
So it's really like amazing.
I mean, if we can share that concept of like learning language and especially the community, community learning, I think it can simplify the work for so many students around the world in any language, not just in English. And I love that. So, yeah, try out the sneak peek. So now I'm going to announce the winner for today and today. Wait, let me find it. All right, ready? Sylvia Elena Vargas V. Yay. Congratulations. You win the sprint master 2.0. So congratulations. I don't have a photo of your account, but the team is going to be in touch with you and. And that's it. And tomorrow, for those of you who share and post ideally a photo of this incredible team of students, if you share and post that, you're going to join beyond another again, we're offering another 30 days and beyond for those of you who post today. And we will announce it in the group tomorrow. Tomorrow we don't have a session, a live training session with me. We have an implementation workshop with Jelena tomorrow. And I will be seeing you everyone on Sunday for a coaching session on Twice on Sunday. And you guys, did you like my coaching sessions in new sound?
Yeah.
So you guys should join on Sunday. It's going to be somewhat silly. Similar, maybe not referring to the program, but somewhat similar. I am so incredibly happy for you and thrilled for myself for having this opportunity to welcome you. And I think we will finish it up with a dance. What do you say?
All right.
Okay.
Wait. The name of the song is Free. Do you wonder. Hey, Alma's daughter. Okay. Okay, everyone. So thank you so much. I think like I just selected it.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being here and for inspiring. I wish you could go back after. Thank you for everyone for watching. Go after and watch the comments because you'd be so proud and so amazed to read them afterwards because you can get to see them right now. But go back. It's both on the website and Facebook. I love you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you, everyone, for watching. I'll see you in the Bye, everyone.
Thank you. Bye.
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