Native-like fluency in English
Natalia Tokar, a non-native speaker, shares her methodology and exercises for achieving native-like fluency in English. She emphasizes deliberate practice, human feedback, and mastering fundamental skills for spontaneous conversations. With 17 years of teaching experience, she aims to help learners become daring and create their own curriculum.
Episodes
How Your Body Is Blocking Your Fluency (And What to Do About It)
What if the real barrier to speaking effortlessly and fluently in English isn't vocabulary or grammar — it's your inner state?In this episode, Natalia gets personal about the physical and mental foundations that make authentic expression possible: sleep, movement, what you consume, and the radical ownership required to stop playing victim to your own habits.She shares her own journey — quitting co
How to own your NO in English and how to put it into words. Boundaries, Authenticity, and Love.
Six-month program - https://nataliatokar.me/nativelikefluencyFollow Natalia on Instagram- instagram.com/nataliatokarr/?hl=ruJoin the conversation on telegram - https://t.me/upskillmeFollow Joni Christine on Instagram - https//www.instagram.com/jonichristinefraser/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sell yourself to an American Company: Interview with an American HR
Watch this episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/3VVyftqMhLw?si=jUIK2rV5Usp09ZDG Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Three reasons why it's hard to implement knowledge
Become a member - https://nataliatokar.me/communitySign up here - https://nataliatokar.me/communityFree self-study resources - https://tinyurl.com/39x24vf3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why do I coach advanced English learners? Do you know what it means to be YOU in another language?
Apply for 1:1 coaching here https://nataliatokar.me/mentorshipBecome a member and start practicing your English skills the new way - https://nataliatokar.me/communitySign up here - https://nataliatokar.me/communityFree self-study resources - https://tinyurl.com/39x24vf3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Improve your flow in English and fall in love with effort. Listen, follow along, and do the exercise with me.
To become a member, apply hereTo access my free self-study recourses, create an account here Free Synchronization Exercise to improve your listening skills: subscribe on Telegram and Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Improve your pronunciation by mastering the English vowels | A special episode with Dela Martin
Watch this episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/rH__bA73WZITo join small group classes with Dela, become a member https://nataliatokar.me/communityDela's instagram https://www.instagram.com/delateaches/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Student Interview: How to Find Joy in Learning and Be Honest With Yourself | Marina's True Stories
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Interview with Alex: How do you communicate in English so that your clients take action? Making an impact when English is the language of business:
Watch the interview on Youtube https://youtu.be/PARok06v8acTo join the Community of Practice, get on the waiting list here https://nataliatokar.me/community Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Interview with Clara: Why Modern Dentists Invest in Learning English
You can watch our conversation on Youtube too https://youtu.be/Spq5hnLnzS8Leave a comment there if you have questions for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why reading out loud is a MUST-DO exercise if you want to be spontaneous in English
Find the transcript of the episode in the community of practice. It's the only place on the internet where we discuss the episodes. To read out loud with me, open any video episode of Natalia Reads and practice too! Here is an example https://youtu.be/CBsFyEdq_4gIf you need native-like fluency in English, you need a system to make English practice a lifestyle. You will find hundreds of creative ex
Accent or Poor Pronunciation? Unconscious Stereotyping and Conscious Practice to Improve your Pronunciation
See the show notes in the community of practicehttps://community.nataliatokar.me/c/podcast-native-like-fluency/podcast-accentYou will find over a hundred creative exercises in the community of practice (it keeps growing!) to help you achieve native-like fluency in English. Start your practice routine today and receive human, caring feedback. https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/how-things-work-here
Learn to belong with others without losing yourself in a global team. Natalia Reads "Global Dexterity".
Find all the episodes on Natalia Reads in the community of Practice - https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/read-out-loud/Take the free welcome video course "A Daring Learner" here - https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/welcome-course/The book - https://www.amazon.com/Global-Dexterity-Behavior-Cultures-Yourself-ebook/dp/B00B77AINY/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why is it so difficult to learn English independently? Grammar tips for advanced learners
See this post with ALL the links and show notes - https://cutt.ly/30G8AFGI am passionate about helping people achieve native-like fluency in English. To achieve mastery, you need a practice routine. Join the community of practice and start building yours. Start a free trial and take the free video course "Daring Learner" https://cutt.ly/ACNAepY Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor
Improving Writing Skills for Advanced Non-Native Speaking Learners: Make Writing Personal
To learn more about my work, to practice the writing strategies that I mentioned in the episode, and to see examples of such writing, join the Community of Practice cutt.ly/ACNAepY Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Natalia Reads "The Poets and The World". A Nobel Lecture by Wislawa Szymborska
Here is the text that I am readingwww.nobelprize.org/prizes/literatu…borska/lecture/To see all video episodes of Natalia Reads with transcript and to practice with me, join the community of practicecommunity.nataliatokar.me/c/read-out-loud/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A practice routine to continuously improve your grammar (for advanced learners). Simple, yet unobvious exercise.
To find the grammar books that I mentioned, go to the community of practice, section "Grammar" - https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/grammar/You will find grammar books, self-study tips, creative exercises, and interactive challenges to continuously improve your grammar and to eliminate some old grammar mistakes that you've been making without knowing. Start your free trial and get serious about y
The importance of taking care of your inner state if your goal is native-like fluency
To discuss the episode, join the community of practice: https://community.nataliatokar.me/To start practicing, check out the FREE interactive challenges: https://nataliatokar.me/challenge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
An exercise to practice the rhythm of English: read a quote a find a FOCUS word. Let's do it together
Find this post in the Community of Practice.You will see the quotes and the video I'm referring to.Go ahead and practice with others!https://community.nataliatokar.me/c/updates/exercise-focus-word Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Natalia reads "Networked Knowledge and Combinatorial Creativity"
You will find the blog post that I am referring to here www.themarginalian.org/2011/08/01/ne…l-creativity/Practice reading these thoughts together with me. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Natalia Reads "Book Lovers" by Emily Henry
Do this exercise with me!Here is the text I was reading www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/670293…4836/excerptTo find more exercises that can help you get better at reading out loud, check out this collection raindrop.io/NataliaTokar/reading-out-loud-22525828nataliatokar.me Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
BREVITY in English for advanced learners. What is it and how to practice it?
I teach a self-study exploratory practice approach to learning a foreign language. The result of this method is that people move beyond the levels of "Advanced" and "Proficient", and instead of fixating on achieving a certain "level", they invest in building a deliberate practice routine that might never end.I show strategies and tools to build a meaningful practice routine for those who need more
You need motivation only if you choose the exercises that are way too difficult for you
Join the community of practice https://nataliatokar.me/community Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
English practice that opens doors to international opportunities. An Interview with Nuri.
I am very excited to introduce Nuri to you. We had an insightful conversation on what it takes to continue practicing when you're already good. We talked about English practice that can open doors to great career opportunities if you choose not to quit and continue investing in yourself.Nuri is not a native speaker; she's originally from Kyrgyzstan, and she's currently in HR, helping Getir, a Turk
Communication Confidence in English: rhythm, pitch, melody, etc. An interview with Jill Diamond
You can also watch a video of our conversation here youtu.be/3dZuIXHMFHcMeet Jill - www.youtube.com/c/JillDiamondJoin Jill's program "Find Your Stage With English Communication Confidence" - www.byjilldiamond.com/a/2147503351/ahXUjtisUse this coupon code to get 15% off until Feb 28, 2022 - "SPECIAL15"Join Native-Like Fluency. The Community of Practice - pages.nataliatokar.me/co
Stories between Moscow & LA. The work you do when you already live in an English-speaking country.
This is the story of Fira. She speaks flawless English and Russian.She lives in the US, and she still puts the work in to continue improving her English skills.Even though Russian is her first language, she had to do a lot of work in Moscow to improve her Russian to the level where she could enter Moscow State University.If you already live in an English-speaking country or if you're planning to m
Natalia reads "10 Reminders We All Need When We’re Ugly and Hate Our Jobs"
10 Reminders We All Need When We’re Ugly Crying Into Our Vodka and Hate Our Jobswritten by Ash AmbirgeFirst of all, if you're actually crying into your vodka, you must be drinking from an exceptionally wide glass. I commend you.Second, I made this list the other night when I was awake at three o'clock in the morning because isn't that what everybody does at three o'clock in the morning? Makes list
Natalia reads "This I Know" by Terry O'Reilly
When you create a message with emotional content, it attracts people. Leadership consultant Edwin H. Friedman puts an even finer point on it, saying, “People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them.” Emotion pulls, it doesn’t chase.I’ve always been a fan of humour in advertising, and most of the ten-thousand-plus commercials I
Natalia reads "You're Not Listening" by Kate Murphy
When was the last time you listened to someone? Really listened, without thinking about what you wanted to say next, glancing down at your phone, or jumping in to offer your opinion? And when was the last time someone really listened to you? Was so attentive to what you were saying and whose response was so spot-on that you felt truly understood?In modern life, we are encouraged to listen to our h
Natalia reads "The Ocean at the end of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman
ExcerptThe Ocean At The End Of The LaneI remembered it before I turned the corner and saw it, in all its dilapidated red-brick glory: the Hempstocks' farmhouse.It took me by surprise, although that was where the lane had always ended. I could have gone no further. I parked the car at the side of the farmyard. I had no plan. I wondered whether, after all these years, there was anyone still living t
Natalia reads "The Overstory" by Richard Powers
Reading out loud is one of my favorite exercises. It is also one of the most powerful ones that non-native speakers can use to learn to feel the rhythm of English, improve their presentation skills, and achieve native-like fluency.Here is the passage I am reading. Try reading it as well.First there was nothing. Then there was everything.Then, in a park above a western city after dusk, the air is r
How to listen and understand: 10 important steps in between(Easy examples for non-native speakers)
Many learners of English want to listen to a song in English and immediately understand. They expect themselves to immediately understand everything that their English-speaking colleagues or people on the movie screen say too.It's not how listening works.First, we need to learn to hear what we're listening to. Then, when we hear it, we want to learn to identify what's new and what's familiar infor
Natalia reads "Will". A memoir by Will Smith
I love reading out loud. That's a fantastic exercise to practice better pronunciation, intonation, though chunking, rhythm, an melody of the language.This time I picked a new memoir by Will Smith (written together with Mark Manson). Listen to this piece and see if you want to read the book. You can read the same excerpt here and practice with mewww.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/606827…781984877925 H
How to fit infinite learning into your finite day. Personal stories about creating new routines. Part 2
The question that students ask is "How long exactly will this take?"How long will it take to achieve native-like fluency?How many exercises a day precisely do I need to do to get there?How much time will it take per day?Yes, mastering a skill is an infinite process. But how do we fit this infinite learning process into a very finite day that we all have?In the second part of this podcast, I'm shar
Natalia Reads a letter from a 20-year old Hunter S. Thompson (Life advice from 1958)
Just listen to how profound human communication can be... and how much time we waste seeking advice in places that have no advice for us.Listen to how beautiful and meaningful human communication can be, how much wisdom we possess as humans... and think how many words are wasted today to convince people to buy life advice or printed words of wisdom.*****The inimitable Hunter S. Thompson was just 2
How to fit infinite learning into your finite day. Personal stories about creating new routines. Part 1
The question that students ask is "How long exactly will this take?"How long will it take to achieve native-like fluency?How many exercises a day precisely do I need to do to get there?How much time will it take per day?Yes, mastering a skill is an infinite process. But how do we fit this infinite learning process into a very finite day that we all have?When people say they're ready to commit, but
Why you should stop translating and what you can do instead. Easy step-by-step scenario
Even some advanced students can't ditch the habit of translating every single word.In this episode, we talk about:1. The reasons why people translate every word (and keep that habit)2. Why you should not translate the word order. Examples of miscommunication3. The exercises you can do instead to improve your vocabulary and your listening comprehension skills4. Things you can try in case you read a
«Talking to yourself in English»: 3 reasons people give up on this exercise and ways to make it work
They say you need to speak more if you want to speak better English...If you don't have a speaking partner, the general advice is - "talk to yourself".Many people embrace this idea with enthusiasm, but they quickly give up on the exercise... In this episode, I'm sharing the most common reasons people quit practicing (no feedback, no fresh ideas, no sense of progress...)as well as many ways to make
Intensive Listening exercise for native-like fluency in real time. Nuances and examples
This episode is a practical exercise that you can do together with me in real time.I am using a movie in English and a video tutorial in German (if you don't speak German, that will not be a problem:)The link to the video on Intensive Listening Practice & Short-term memory is here youtu.be/PZzdzWM2JqcTo view my courses, visit courses.nataliatokar.me/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for
The true role of a teacher and what it takes to help a student become their own teacher
"What avail is it to win prescribed amounts of information about geography and history, to win ability to read and write, if in the process the individual loses his own soul; loses his appreciation of things worth while, of the values to which these are relative; if he loses his desire to apply what he has learned, and, above all loses the ability to extract meaning from his future experiences as
Russian vs English rhythm & stress patterns. Tips to improve the clarity of your communication
This episode explains the differences in stress patterns in Russian and English. We will look at how and why Russians hear/don't hear the rhythm of English, and how Americans/British hear the Russian language.Intonation helps us hear the essence of what's being said, the shades of meaning, the context, the attitude and the intention of a speaker. People who learn a language to succeed in sales or
Public Speaking, inner confidence, and fear of judgment in business
In this episode I'm sharing unimpressive reasons why you should stop trying to impress people with your presentations. Here are the highlights: - Public speaking in business has nothing to do with acting. Learning acting skills does not help people to become more confident presenters. - Why technical teams don't like public speaking and how to help them be more comfortable with presenting in front
How to measure fluency. Part 2. A message for non-native speakers
Fluency is measurable. This episode (in two parts) explains how non-native speakers can measure fluency based on 4 criteria: - How much I hear - How much I understand - How clearly do I formulate my ideas in English - Do I speak English or a version of English that other non-native speakers understand? Natalia Tokar, the founder of UpSkillMe, is a non-native speaker herself. She helps internationa
How to measure fluency. A message for non-native speakers
Fluency is measurable. This episode explains how non-native speakers can measure fluency based on 4 criteria: - How much I hear - How much I understand - How clearly do I formulate my ideas in English - Do I speak English or a version of English that other non-native speakers understand? Natalia Tokar, the founder of UpSkillMe, is a non-native speaker herself. She helps international teams communi
Starting a speech right. Why I Never Introduce Myself
How to start a speech? Or a meeting? How important are introductions and why is everyone trying to impress people with their credentials before they give any value? Natalia Tokar Founder & CEO at UpSkillMe (Communication & Public speaking coaching for startups, sales teams, and business leaders) upskillme.ru/ Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/nataliatokar/ Instagram - @nataliatokarr Hosted on
Carving Out Your Value through Communication: How Funds Can Improve Their Chances For Allocations
This is a podcast on communication for fund managers aiming to get more allocations. - How do you stand out among all the other funds? - How to pitch your value and which common mistakes to avoid? - What is an incubator for fund managers and how to reach $250M AUM when you're starting a fund? - Criteria that are vital for investors. - Cross-cultural communication tips for fund- and asset managers
How to give confident presentations when people always interrupt you
People often get thrown off balance when someone interrupts their presentations that they have been prepared meticulously for a long time. People think it's annoying and disrespectful to interrupt while big clients, investors, shareholder, actually....very often interrupt presentations... because everyone craves a conversation, not a presentation. More of my thoughts on how to use interruptions to
The secret to a good pitch is knowing when to shut up
Natalia Tokar is a communication coach to business leaders and sales teams and a founder of UpSkillMe.ru. Natalia has been using cross-cultural communication strategies to successfully run business projects in the UK, USA, Middle East, Russia, and Europe. She believes that communication is what helps to clear any mess in any business. Natalia has been actively involved in the blockchain space doin
"Depression for free!" Inspiring story of Stefan Siepmann
-Did you know that 90% of serotonin is produced not in the brain but in your digestive tract? -Did you know that some people just do not produce enough serotonin by default? -Did you know there’s a way to handle depression and learn from it? Listen to Stefan Siepmann’s story. He is a certified yoga teacher and he’s been going through cycles of depression since he was 25. “I am 25 – I was on antide
Great presentations in English start with a feeling of physical comfort. Motivating guide on how to find it
When people give business presentations in a second language, most of the time they feel stressed. People experience almost physical pain when they have to say something important in front of others who certainly have high expectations of them. They may be brilliant speakers when they present in their first language. However, when they switch to English, they lose all their confidence. This podcas
6 minutes to help you present with more confidence in a second language
If you need to make business presentations in English, and if English is your second language, you will find this useful! For more tips follow our Business Page on FB -www.facebook.com/upskillme.ru Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why tech companies need to invest in communication skills
Every tech company today needs to invest in communication skills. We see a lot of brilliant technical teams who are unable to communicate the value of their product (often a true innovation) to the world. Storytelling, marketing, understanding people and learning what empathy is - that’s not exactly a skillset of a tech team today, but can be and should be a skillset of every human team. Human com
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