Once a foreign student now an English coach | My story | Confidence in English

Hey guys, it's Hadar. So you all know me as a pronunciation Coach here on YouTube, but I've never told you my story and how I get to do what I do and why I do it. Now, as some of you already know, I'm not a native English speaker. I'm an Israel born Hebrew speaker and English is a second language to me. When I was 20, I moved to New York. I wanted to build, become an actress and I wanted to start a new life away from my home. I was in love with New York City and I really wanted to be a part of it. I didn't want to be different. I didn't want to be perceived as the other, as the foreigner. In fact, in the first year I even changed my name to Julia so I wouldn't have to face questions like, oh, hey, Dar Hud. Dar. Oh, what an interesting name. Where are you from? You see, I didn't want my name to start a conversation about the fact that I'm a foreigner, but not that it helped because, you know, the moment I would open my mouth, people would hear my voice and say, oh, what a cute accent or what an exotic accent you have. Where are you from? But you know what, it wasn't just that that made me feel self conscious about myself or about my English. I felt that when I speak, my English is like a baby that constantly had to be tended or cared for, you know, by me or by others. Like when people had to complete my sentences, you know that when people have to. When people complete your sentences because it was too difficult for me to express a complex thought or idea, or when I get stuck or say something but get those blank expressions because I was pronouncing it all wrong. Now luckily I had really, really good friends that made me feel super appreciated and gave me tons of confidence. And I realized that they were interested in what I had to say and you know, even if it was broken or slower than what they were used to hearing. And obviously that gave me more confidence and I became more forgiving and less judgmental of myself. That really helped me. And then when I was 23, I started my training at Circle in the Square Theater School. So I finally went to an acting school. Now this really has been a life changing experience for me because I've learned so much about life and hard work and about being genuine and honest. I've discovered my passion for the written word and for the spoken word. But mostly I loved my speech classes where I fell in love with the sounds of English and the ability to modify my accent. Because we also worked on different dialects of English, like Scottish and Irish and British. And to do all that just by learning the phonology and phonetics of English and really listening to the language. And I was inspired and in awe by the change in my confidence and self worth thanks to the new understanding of English. Something that is really simple, just understanding something and what impact it had on me. So, yes, I ended up not becoming a famous actress, although it had been my dream since I remember myself. But I know that every choice I'd made got me to where I am now. And looking back, that was the journey I had to take. And everything I've learned from my teachers and fellow students and friends is here with me as I'm teaching others, as I'm a friend to others, and as I am as a mother. So yeah. And when I moved back to Israel in 2006, that was 10 years ago, I felt that I had to share those things that I've learned with everyone. Like, I remembered what impact it had on my life and my English. So I started giving private accent lessons. Now, of course, everyone around me started saying, oh, accent training, that's sounds really interesting, but we're not actors. That's not important. We don't need to change our accents. I mean, we should learn grammar and vocabulary. But you know what? I knew that it can help people because accent is not just sounds and melody. It's about having a deeper understanding of the language. And when you know something and you're specific, obviously it boosts your confidence, you're less judgmental and you know what to do in order to change. It's not vague and overwhelming. So I started teaching. But at first I was really embarrassed to admit that I'm not a native English speaker. I would even try to hide it because after all, there are so many amazing speech coaches out there who are native speakers. And what do I have to contribute? How can I possibly reach their level? But as I got better at what I do and I saw the results in my students, I realized that what I believe to be my disadvantage to turned out to be my biggest strength. Because of my background and training and history. I know the way non native speakers think while trying to process the sounds and intonational patterns of English. I know that because I'm one of them and because I've been there myself. I know what to say and how to explain it to make it specific and clear. So I realized that this is something that is unique to me and only I can deliver it that way. And my otherness, something that I wanted to hide in the past, has become the thing I'm proud of the most now. To say that I'm perfect, that I don't make mistakes. No, because you know what? Just the other day I had a student texting me saying hey Hadar, you know persistency is not a word now. Yes, I know that. But at 3am when I was sending my newsletter to thousands of subscribers of people, it sounded pretty darn good to me. So yes, I still make mistakes. But I don't beat myself up over it. I learned from it. And I know that I'll be a little better next time. And this is something that I've learned from you guys because I see the journey people make, struggling through the tedious grammar rules and pronunciation challenges and irregular everything. I see so much courage and passion in my students and my YouTube followers. You guys struggle to get your voices out there to express yourself. Even when it feels unnatural and uncomfortable, you do it while and despite hearing those voices of oh shut up, you sound stupid or you sound terrible. I know these voices. I feel like I invented them. But thanks to you, I realized that the need to be heard and to communicate is stronger than self criticism or outward criticism. And pursuing change and improvement comes from learning from mistakes and not silencing yourself because of them. This is what gives me inspiration and drive to share my knowledge with everyone. Because our strength and uniqueness come from being different. And you know what? Especially these days, it's important to stand for who we are and what we have to contribute to the world and say to the world as others. So this is my story. And now I'd love to hear from you about your story. Tell me, what is your story? Tell us your story. What are your struggles and what makes you stronger and better? Share it with all of us in the comments below so we can learn from your experience and feel less lonely in our journey. Because we are all a part of a bigger community that is connected by words and sounds that allow us to overcome cultural, social and political barriers. And this is also a great opportunity to say thank you for following me and trusting me. Alright, that's it. Please share this video with whomever you think may benefit from it and subscribe to my channel so I can keep on sharing everything I know with you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Have a great day and I'll see you in the next video. Bye.