Natalia Tokar | Native-Like Fluency

Last week, we did a 7-min creative writing exercise with the participants of my new Intensive Program. We were guided by a professional author's coach and editor from LA. We picked two random words as writing prompts: "anxiety" and "create". Everyone's writing was beautiful! ➡️ Today, I want to share what I wrote: "Anyone who has ever created something has felt anxious about their creation. It's funny, but when I think about how I create, I realize that I feel anxious right when I start and after I finish. I often create WITH anxiety. My anxiety is mixed with intense anticipation, curiosity, and a great deal of impatience. Once I start, I feel on edge because I can't wait to see the final result. I may feel exhausted because when I create, I forget that I have a bladder, a stomach, or a body. I forget to drink. I have stayed up all night a few times to finish a painting. When I start to see the results of my creation, I also feel anxious. Was it me who did this? It's all a blur. It's almost surreal. Did I really do this? What if it fades? I pinch myself a few times to make sure it's not a dream. I take a few steps back from the easel to look at my drawing. And I see that it's real. I post my writing in Russian and walk away. I often need a break because the intensity of the message I have finally put down on paper almost hurts. When I come back to my writing, I see that it’s real too. The message is so powerful that it is still pumping in my chest. The feeling is real. The people who read my writing also confirm it is real. They tell me about the sense of transformative power it gives them, and how its aftermath leaves them wanting to change what needs to be changed."

do this exercise today 🙂

I hope you've been looking forward to a new exercise! Episode #21 is already there for you🎉️️️️️️ Watch Episode #21 and hear every word that they say in English (I'm warning you, it's not an easy one!) Practice Line by Line to enhance your learning

I have a new practice routine. My yoga teacher gave me homework: 50 handstand jumps after each workout so I can do a confident handstand and eventually press up into handstand. My body is ready. My mind is afraid to let go. I'm afraid of falling over. This practice routine is to smash the fear. How long should I practice? I'll stick with this practice until I see a different result. it's fun and it's challenging. I couldn't do 50 jumps yesterday. I did only 40. Goal #1 is to be able to do 50 and not feel exhausted. When you practice a new skill, make sure you focus on what needs to change instead of focusing on "how long it takes". This is the fastest route to a new norm. Consciously change what needs to be changed. For example, the shape of you vowels, the words you habitually choose, the way you listen, the notes you take, the things you keep forgetting.... Do ONE thing differently today and stick with it until you see a different result. To change the way you sound, write, and think in English, join the community of practice and become a daring learner. Nataliatokar.me/community #nativelikefluency #nataliatokar

Prices will go up starting from January 1, 2024. Apply here It’s still going to be so much more affordable and more effective than online courses, private classes, and endless hours of useless YouTube content that never gets implemented. If you want to UNlearn your old speaking habits that prevent you from moving to the next level AND improve your spontaneous speaking skills, this is THE place. I believe every ESL teacher needs to do these exercises and learn to create such exercises for their students. The biggest positive side effect of being a community member is that you are learning to be a better learner. The reason people are not being consistently taught to be better learners is that we have very, very few teachers who know what metacognition is, let alone how cognition works. We need more teachers who know how to learn and lead by example. First, we need more adults who can self-regulate their emotions and their learning process,and only then we can teach this to children.

We're starting a new 3-month American Accent training program. Exclusively for the community members!! You will get personal coaching from U.S. based professional accent coaches. I'm a queen of negotiating the best terms for my community members! It's unbelievably affordable, practical, and effective! please apply here https://nataliatokar.typeform.com/to/FU1XcHkM Please note that starting from January 1, the membership prices will increase. Apply before Dec 25 to get the current prices!

PART 2

Start taking your ability to improve seriously. What fun game are you playing today? What are you trying to do/not do today? Join the community of practice to find hundreds of exercises for every level, from intermediate to advanced ++++ and change the way you speak, think, and write in English. You can do it yourself. All you need is a supportive environment, professional feedback, and a clear set of exercises. We have it. You don't need more online courses because you don't need more content to improve. Content is free. Youtube is full of correct English, but people don't improve because their base assumption is content = entertainment, and entertainment = no effort. You need to change how you work with content. You need to fall in love with your own effort. Apply before Dec 25! (before the prices go up😉) nataliatokar.me/community

PART 1. Add "PLAY" to the "joy" of continual practice. More in part 2. Whatever you practice, your practice routine will be enjoyable only if it brings you joy. 1. Plan your week. There must be AT LEAST one exercise that you're looking forward to doing again. 2. Always rate your JOY & CHALLENGE levels. The community members know. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much joy did this exercise bring?" Monitor your results. The exercises that bring the most joy are worth repeating. 3. STOP consuming the information doesn't nurture your soul or your learning process. People can't learn something effectively for a simple reason: they get constantly distracted. They allow these distractions. Practice requires discipline and creativity. Find creative ways to remove distractions when you practice.

Exciting news! I'm partnering with 21Accents, founded by Amy Walker, to offer my community members professional accent training. Join the free American Accent training class tonight https://newsletter.nataliatokar.me/accenttraining

See the details above ⬆️⬆️⬆️ Dec 11, 2023 7pm (GMT +3)

ALL Community members are welcome to join the Accent Training tomorrow! 7 pm (GMT+3) If you have an account in my community, you can join the meeting, watch people practice, and do the same exercises in real time. If you want to receive personal feedback from the accent coach (tomorrow we're meeting with Alex Brown), please DM me or leave a comment. The first class is $45. Only 6 people are allowed to be in a small group so that everyone gets enough attention. We have only 2 seats left! https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/calendar/american-accent-training-with-alex-brown You must be a member to join the meeting. Not a member? Sign up here

Did you do the test on articles? Check yourself https://nataliatokar.typeform.com/to/zeV9scLA