Natalia Tokar | Native-Like Fluency

I created a new channel with FREE exercises for everyone to improve their listening skills. I want to show everyone the best exercises to hear every single word that people say in movies and in real life. https://t.me/THEexercises

A fool with tools is still a fool. If you can't learn, all the technology to help with learning is useless. If you can't learn, all gamification is short-term entertainment. If you can't learn from and with people, you will not learn from or with technology either. While they're trying to sell you the next productivity app, learn to take control of your attention and your time. Managing yourself and your attention is the #1 required skill to learn anything. Actively seeking feedback and learning from it is the next important skill. Watch the full video on YouTube https://youtu.be/3V5pm36eLLg

New video on Youtube https://youtu.be/3V5pm36eLLg

Can you relate? You complete a course and you think ✅"I'm done!" You do your best during the course, and once the course is over... you do nothing. Not because you're lazy. Maybe you think you don't need to, like my student in the video. Maybe you don't know how to do it yourself. Whatever your reason, you should know that it happens to everyone. We understand the value of knowledge and skills once we've lost them ... or we start feeling like we're losing them. It's okay if you've a had a long break. It's okay if you haven't spoken English for a long time, and you don't know how to get back on track. Simply get back as soon as you can. My longest break was 12 months long. I lived in Germany, and I was busy building my new life there. It was very, very difficult to start speaking English again. I felt like I had lost all of it. But it took me only a few weeks of active practice to get back to where I used to be and to start improving. I created the Community of Practice to give you THE place to practice English with other learners. ➡️ Why will it work for you? - You get individual feedback on every completed exercise - My exercises are specifically designed to help you achieve native-like fluency It's not an online course that you must complete, because no course in the world will make you fluent forever. It's THE PLACE where we practice and continuously improve. Get on the waiting list today to get in in July nataliatokar.me/community P.S. Full interview is coming out soon on YouTube.

The truth about being spontaneous, fluent, and clear in English. ❌ What you think is TRUE: "I have no one to speak English to, that's why my speaking skills don't improve. So, you get an idea! 💡I'll hire a native speaking teacher, and I'll have someone to talk to! The problem will be immediately solved!" ✅ What's actually TRUE: people waste YEARS talking to native speakers twice a week but they still can't ask a girl on a date in English, ask for a promotion in English, speak up in meetings when they disagree, sell their ideas in English.... All they do is maintain their level of comfort. They get used to their teacher, who eventually forgets about their teaching role and becomes a friend, a buddy.... But they keep paying!!! for conversations with a buddy, not knowing how to tell their new friend that they're making little to no progress. If you say what you know the same way you can to the same people, who already understand you, you will never improve. Honest, caring, human feedback is everything. Ask for it. Use it. Learn from it. And consider this: you can learn from ALL the native speakers. You're not supposed to learn ALL the communication skills in a foreign language from one person. The longer you stay with one teacher, the more time you'll spend hiding from the real-word, where you actually need to show your competencies in English. My community is THE place where you get to practice with many other people and get individual feedback that will get you to the next level. I call it "native-like fluency" Get on the waiting list today nataliatokar.me/community

The answers to the question I posted yesterday. Do you hear EVERY SINGLE WORD now? The main skill is attentiveness. It's easy to mindlessly consume content and tell yourself the story that you're learning. You're not if you can't implement what you've learned in your own speech. The quality of implementation is the only valid criteria. If you've learned it, you can apply it in real life. What did you learn from this short video?😉 #nataliatokar #natlivelikefluency Find more exercises (length and more advanced) to learn to hear 100% of what native speakers say in the community of practice. All exercises come with individual feedback. Get on the waiting list today. New members can join in July https://nataliatokar.me/community

How do you know that you understand everything that people say in movies? It's simple: You can repeat it. ⬇️ Check yourself: write down every word that they said in the comments. Tomorrow I'll show you "how much you think you hear" vs "how much you really hear in English". A very common problem is that language learners (even advanced learners) can't understand 100% of what people SAY and MEAN to say in movies. If they do business with native speakers, the problem gets worse: they can't understand 100% of what their clients and partners MEAN to say. 1. They hear the words, but they're not sure what they mean 2. They listen to someone speak, but they can't understand what words they say Here are TWO common reasons why it's difficult for non-native speakers to hear EVERYTHING: 1. No or little experience recognizing connected speech. People don't expect reductions, destressed words, too much emphasis, or no emphasis on certain words. 2. No synchronization practice. I have developed The Synchronization Exercise to help learners manage their focus of attention while listening. People want to immediately understand what they see. However, there are at least 10 steps between "listening" and "understanding". 📌Listen to my podcast (with the title "How to listen and understand: 10 important steps in between) to learn more. (find the link in stories) The practice routine "The synchronization Exercise" is available for community members. Find it in "Weekly Focused Practice". Do it for two weeks, and you'll be surprised by how much better you recognize words and speech patterns. Do it regularly, and you will not need the subtitles any more. If you're not a member, get on the waiting list today! We stopped accepting applications to join current practice routines last night. nataliatokar.me/community

One session with a coach is between $150 and $1000. I have nothing against good coaches. I myself will pay a lot in case of emergency. I myself choose individual coaching whenever possible. But... is "speaking about yourself" an emergency? I can't imagine paying someone $150-$1000 per hour to teach me to tell my story for a job interview. How many hours of practice will I need? Probably at least a thousand... I simply can't afford it...yet 😎 I learned to talk about myself and be ready for ANY job interview in English exactly because I couldn't afford an expensive coach. I have had many job interviews. I interviewed many people myself. Paying someone to get ready for each meeting is just not sustainable (for me), and not effective either. I forget what they have told me in a matter of weeks if I don't implement the knowledge and seek out competent people who can give me high quality feedback. I choose to learn the skills that I need rather than expect someone famous to teach me the skills in situations of emergency. Every time I apply what I know, I get feedback from life, and I improve. I surround myself with people who practice the same. Some of our community members work in HR, and their feedback is more relevant than that of a popular blogger because it's backed by years of experience. Try learning together with people. Seek out competent people who can give you feedback on your performance. Stop looking for those who'll gladly take your money and then say, "It was all your fault. You didn't work hard enough. You didn't complete my course. You didn't do what I told you to do" Reading useful job interview advice is not learning. You need to open your mouth, tell your story, have others listen to you, and take in the feedback. If you're ready to practice, become a member until the end of June 7, 2023. June 11 - 25: two weeks of Job Interview Practice. You will learn to answer 14 of the most challenging interview questions. Everyone who puts in the work receives individual feedback. http://nataliatokar-newsletter.tilda.ws/page37234046.html

Not only will you NOT become an oak tree, like your teacher, you're not supposed to become their copy. A great teacher will help you become more of who you are. A great sales person will manipulate you to buy what you really want, but they'll forget to mention that you will never be able to achieve that. Maybe you do want to become like Michael Jordan or make as much money online as Jay Shetty, but no money in the world will buy that. No course in the world will bring you closer to that goal. You will never become THEM. Just like I will never become a native speaker, even though millions of people try to sell me another course "to speak like a native speaker". Knowing yourself means loving yourself. Know your strengths, but also your limitations. Look for teachers who bring out the best in you so that you can become more YOU. The world needs you to figure yourself out. It doesn't need copies of successful online personas. P.S. The video is a fragment from one of my weekly Zoom calls last week. Join the community of daring learners to achieve native-like fluency because it is POSSIBLE. Becoming a native speaker is not.

My website is down! I'm sorry if you tried to apply, and the link didn't open. Here is the direct link to become a member and join the Job Interview Practice in June https://nataliatokar.typeform.com/to/uU5bskDK

If you want to practice self-presentation skills in English in June, click to read the full post ⬆️⬆️ Our schedule in June: June 11 - write a professional bio in English for your LinkedIn page and other social media June 12 - the start of the Job Interview Practice. 14 interview questions that you will practice answering in English. If you want Individual feedback, choose Daring Learner +