Natalia Tokar | Native-Like Fluency

Check yourself! Which words surprised you?

Let's do an experiment. What do people say in each of these videos? Can you hear every word of it? Or do you find yourself guessing? Watch the fragments and write what you hear in the comments. I will reply to show you the exact percentage of how much you can hear. The answers will be in the next post. **** Many language learners have a strong "guessing habit". They think they’re being intuitive, but in reality, they’re fantasizing. People say "I understand", while in reality they didn't hear half the words. As humans, we desperately need meaning. We create meaning where we can't find it. Many learners guess the words that they can't hear because they don't know WHAT to do to actually hear them. The “word guessing” habit can stand in the way of learning to read and understand spoken language. People don’t guess because they’re lazy; they simply use the process that seems most logical or intuitive to them. Believe it or not, guessing is taught as a reading strategy in many language schools. Previous teachers may have encouraged a student to look at the word or use context clues to see if they could figure out what the unknown word was. This habit is the hardest to break! People rely on the sand castles they build in their heads, and not on what actually is. Students strengthen the habit of guessing instead of developing the habit of understanding. Native-Like Fluency is about mastering communication in English, and not about knowing enough words in order to pass a test. It's impossible to reply if you don't understand what was said. You can't answer the question that you didn't hear. You can't influence people if you can't hear how your own messages land. Stop guessing. Learn to hear what people say in English. Every word of it! ➡ To learn more about improving your listening skills, listen to my podcast episode "How to listen and understand: 10 steps in between" ➡ To learn to understand everything that native speakers say, do the synchronization exercise with me in the community (see “weekly focused practice”) I look forward to your comments!

You want to improve your vocabulary, so you decide to read books in English. You quickly realize though that finishing one book might take forever.... If this is you, read this ⬇️ Everyone says "Read more books in English. That will help you improve your vocabulary". And I agree. But I also FEEL your pain ⬇️ ⚫️ When you read a book or a blog post in English, you want to easily understand every word of it. People who say, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand some words. Simply keep reading. You'll eventually get the idea", give you advice on reading books in English, not on improving your vocabulary. 📌 If the focus of your practice is "better vocabulary", the advice to ignore vocabulary is USELESS. ⚫️ Here is what most people do: They pick up a book, having no idea how much to read, when to stop, and what to do with confusing words. They look up every word that they don't know and by the end of the page they feel exhausted and are convinced that they will never be able to read the entire book. Looking up words takes forever! What's more, all these words get immediately forgotten. The conclusion that the brain makes is this: reading in English is pointless, frustrating, and takes forever. The exercise is NEVER completed. ⚫️ Try this instead: Pick a book that you like or want to read. Put your finger on a random sentence in that book. Literally, close your eyes and do it! Read that random sentence out loud. One sentence might be enough for you. If you feel like doing more and you like the sentence, consider reading a paragraph. If you don't have a lot of experience of reading out loud in English, don't read more than one paragraph because all you're going to achieve is internalize your unconscious mistakes. You strengthen your guessing habit. Instead, you want to apply conscious effort to achieve a clear improvement. Swipe ➡️ to see an example sentence P.S. This text is from my newsletter. If you don't receive my emails, consider having practical tips land in your inbox exactly when you need them. Sign up here - nataliatokar.me/sign-up

Meet my student - a consultant principal in a life-science company based in London. He faces the challenge of leading a team of native-speaking experts who are older and have been with this company for longer. His daily meetings in English demand clarity in communication above all else. How can he ensure his ideas are not only heard but also acted upon? How can he strike the perfect balance between human warmth and professionalism when speaking with English-speaking clients and team members? Many people often ask me what exactly I teach. It's hard to explain in a single post, but I’d rather show you. If you can relate, if your career also depends on how well you articulate your ideas in English - despite imperfect accent or occasional grammar mistakes - my method can make a difference. I primarily coach senior executives. They need real-life results and confidence in high-stake situations. We focus on two key areas: 1) Breaking bad speaking habits through self-correction 2) Mastering clarity in spontaneous English conversations, where understanding goes beyond mere words. You can check out the individual mentorship program on my website. https://nataliatokar.me/mentorship P.S. The full interview is coming out soon! Subscribe to my Youtube channel to get notified.

Preparing a presentation is easy. Preparing yourself for the unknown, i.e. questions at the end of your presentation that will be asked in English, is a whole different level of mastery. I spoke in front of 40-1000 people in Barcelona, Stockholm, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London.... I prepared other speakers for conferences in Singapore, London, Athens, Bangkok, San Francisco, etc. I prepare senior executives for interviews in English with the press. It's easy when you have done it enough times. But spontaneous situations are different. You can't predict anything. You can't prepare your words. Only yourself. And that's what I do best. I prepare people to be themselves and sound like themselves in English even if they are not prepared. Learning to be be clear and spontaneous is my favorite skill to practice. In the end, it's what matters. Prepared speech gets forgotten. The skill of being YOU in a foreign language is never lost. P.S. The fragment is from my recent youtube video "Native-Like Fluency: What people want" https://youtu.be/1UePmVaZKTg

The Stanford press release announcing the article is titled, “Instead of ‘finding your passion,’ try developing it.” As the release elaborates: “While ‘find your passion’ is well-intended advice, it might not be good advice. A new study by Stanford psychologists examines the hidden implications of the advice to ‘find your passion.’ … Mantras like ‘find your passion’ carry hidden implications…they imply that once an interest resonates, pursuing it will be easy. But, the research found that when people encounter inevitable challenges, that mindset makes it more likely people will surrender their newfound interest. And the idea that passions are found fully formed implies that the number of interests a person has is limited. That can cause people to narrow their focus and neglect other areas.”

“Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.” ― Cal Newport * People think that Passion and Effort live in different dimensions, but it's not true. You will never be passionate about math if you suck at it. You will never be passionate about English practice if you never practice it. It doesn't matter how many English teachers you follow on Instagram and how many courses you have bought. You will never become passionate about learning if you have poor learning skills. Passion makes it look and feel easy, but passion is the result of effort. It's easy for those who love their effort. It's impossible for those who hate effort. Today, working out is a non-negotiable part of my daily routine. I love it, but I used to hate it too. Passion is nothing without discipline. Discipline dies quickly without JOY. I know that eating right, workout out, and improving my English are the things that I will need to do for the rest of my life. It's in my best interests to become really good at these things so that my own results inspire me to keep going. What are your non-negotiables? What do you want to learn to be passionate about?

From my Youtube Video "Native-Like Fluency: What Do People Really Want When They Say They Want To Be Fluent in English?" https://youtu.be/1UePmVaZKTg

Everyone cal learn. Learning is natural for humans. We’re able to learn on our own. And we love learning with others. Binge watching educational videos feels like learning, but it’s not. I help people achieve native-like fluency in English by staying true to who they are, embracing their curiosity, and falling in love with their own effort. But most importantly, they use the right methodology. I have developed the methodology for achieving Native-like fluency that prioritizes the fundamental understanding of human nature, and not English grammar. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. You need to practice the right way. Watching YouTube videos all day or watching Netflix is not the right way to practice. It’s possible to master English independently. Taking expensive programs or working with a coach is not a prerequisite. Moreover, it’s useless if you can’t learn and expect to be taught instead. If you practice independently with YouTube: 1. Choose relevant content ( what you genuinely like) 2. Do the exercise with that content 3. Request feedback 4. Do guided self-evaluation Stop binge watching! You can learn more from a 20-sec video than from 3 hours of mindless browsing. The community of practice is where you will find the right methodology and all the right steps to help you practice effectively and improve your spontaneous speaking skills. You can also bring in any content, and we’ll turn it into the exercise. My job is to help you create. Don’t get used to being a helpless consumer.

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https://podcasts.apple.com/ru/podcast/native-like-fluency-in-english/id1534189308?i=1000611985713 A new podcast episode is out. 1. Why reading out loud is a must-do exercise to improve your fluency 2. The major differences between English and Russian rhythm patterns. Enjoy! The podcast is available on any app where you get your podcasts.

Find the transcript and other episodes of Natalia Reads in the community of practice. Read out loud with me and request feedback on your reading. https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/read-out-loud/ Get inspired by what Ash Ambirge writes here https://selfishforever.com/about Join us and learn by doing. Reading out loud is THE exercise to help you develop spontaneous speaking skills