English with Kirsty

I met Dolores a few months ago at a networking event and since then I’ve been getting to know her better at my networking and language exchange events for language professionals.

Dolores is also a podcaster – in fact that was one of our first topics. I thought it would be interesting to talk about Dolores work, her podcast, and why she decided to split it into two separate podcasts with content in both Spanish and English.

We talked about:

You can find all the links and further details on the show notes page:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode264/

In this week's episode I'm talking about my new interactive workshop, which is all about the challenges that we can face as advanced language learners. We've got our language to a good level, but then, for whatever reason, we feel stuck and it's hard to move forward.

We'll explore 5 challenges that you might be facing and what you can do to move past them.

Talking about problems isn't fun, so I wanted to make it a bit more approachable and light-hearted. I also didn't want to make case studies with these 5 challenges in case anyone had the same name as the characters. So instead, we have 5 dogs. You can see the retriever in the picture here - she struggles with perfectionism. Does anyone relate to that? If you do, come along to the workshop!

We also have 4 other dogs with different situations, so if you come, you'll discover whether you're more like the spaniel, the labrador, the German shepherd or the collie!

Or maybe you'll have elements of more than one. As a language learner, I do!

This is where you can find out more about the workshop on 28th November 2024 and book your place:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/dogs-and-language-learners-tips-for-advanced-learners-to-get-unstuck/

And this is where you can listen to the episode on my site:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode263/

If you use access technology or have other accessibility requirements, you can’t just find a good language course and sign up for it! First you need to check out how accessible that course will be for you, how willing the course provider is to make any adaptions, and then you can make an informed decision about whether it’s going to be a good option to meet your needs.

I’m a learner as well as a teacher and I have a lot to say about this too, but I thought it would be more interesting to have a discussion with one of my clients who also uses access technology.

I’ve known Elisabeth for a number of years now. In fact, she was my second customer! We talked about:

Find out more on the show notes page:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode262/

Today I'm talking about some of the activities in which I've been participating in order to develop my language skills in a way that's relevant to work. Whether that was attending a Women in Localisation webinar in Portuguese, meeting a Toastmaster's group in Portugal, or planning future attendance at a workshop in German - all of these things are somehow work-related and at the same time, they help me to develop relevant, work-related vocabulary. 

I should add that I didn't need to look for these opportunities. all of the invitations came to me through my network. If you spend time getting to know people and building relationships, those people will probably invite you to things!

I also talk about some other things you can do such as looking for industry-specific podcasts, publications, or social media accounts.

Whether you're developing your passive listening skills at a webinar, participating in a workshop, or even going on a podcast in an additional language - all of these things can help you to grow and become a more confident user of your additional language/s.

Here is the show notes page. 
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode261/

You can send me a message with any feedback at [email protected] 
or come and find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-wolf-a8478235/ 

You first met Maria in episode 244 of the podcast about the conversation club.

I first met her at our networking for language professionals events and through her interview on the Language Worker podcast.

Maria also shared more of her story at one of our conversation club meetings and I thought it would be interesting to share this story with you as well.

We talked about:

* Maria’s interest in writing and how it has continued throughout the different stages of her career
* Maria’s blog in Portuguese
* Tips for how writing can help you to improve your language skills – either in your first language or an additional one
* How writing by hand and typing in other languages with additional characters are good ways
* How writing or journalling can help us to be present and get to know ourselves better.

We also discussed Maria’s upcoming course for those who want to learn more about subtitling. You can find the details here: 
https://www.translastars.com/course/master-subtitling

Who is Maria?>
Maria Virgínia Barros is a passionate wordsmith with a background in export and international communication. After completing her degree in contemporary languages and literature from the University of Porto, she deepened her skills through a postgraduate program in specialised translation at Porto Executive Academy.
Today, Maria Virgínia dedicates herself exclusively to translation and subtitling projects for various companies and television networks.
Her love for language extends beyond professional work. Maria Virgínia continues to write poetry and has maintained a personal blog, Sítio da Saudade, for nearly two decades. She believes that poetry and translation share a fundamental connection: the pursuit of the perfect word.

Find out more on the show notes page: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode260/

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Kirsty - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-wolf-a8478235/
Maria - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariavirginiabarros-language-consultant/ 

September can be a time for new beginnings, although really, we don't need to wait for a certain month to start something new. Still, lots of people are talking about new plans and ideas at the moment and it got me thinking...

Some people just get an idea and run with it. For others, there are a number of things that get in the way or that make us put things off. Sometimes just taking the first step and getting started is the hardest part.

So what are those things? This week we're looking at 8 of them and what we can do to prevent them from getting in the way of us starting something new and exciting!

Here is the show notes page. 
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode259/
I mentioned my 3 main programmes too - details of all of them can be found on the home page of my English with Kirsty site. 

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Send me an email if you have any questions or suggestions about the English with Kirsty podcast:
[email protected]
or come and find me on LinkedIn 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-wolf-a8478235/

Today I'm bringing you my conversation with Helen. You may remember her because she featured on episode 235 about the conversation club.

This is part of a new series where I'm talking about different aspects of learning languages. We'll explore some of the challenges that my clients have faced and how they overcame them.

Helen isn't someone who loves learning languages, but she needed English for some professional training that she was doing and she was motivated enough to get some help with it. Helen went from someone who felt nervous about speaking English to someone who now talks to strangers at the gym and prepares presentations for us at the club.

What changed? Find out in the episode!
 
Find the show notes here: https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode258
and you can connect with me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-wolf-a8478235/

I have two announcements for you this week!

Firstly, I'm doing a survey about the podcast and I'd love to get your input. It's always good to hear from my podcast listeners, but I'd be especially happy if you have a few minutes to fill in my survey because I'm making plans for the next 250 episodes and it helps me if I know what people are enjoying/finding useful. 

Here's the link to the survey!
https://englishwithkirsty.com/english-with-kirsty-podcast-2024-survey-and-meet-up/

secondly, I'm organising an online meet-up for my previous podcast guests and listeners who have completed the survey. Details are on the survey page and if you leave me your email address when you complete the survey, I'll send you the joining details for the event.

Thanks in advance to anyone who gives me feedback and I'm looking forward to meeting some of you or seeing you again at the meet-up!

I decided to contact Inês because I’d been listening to her podcast, Your voice matters, for a while. I was even more excited to discover that the first episodes were in Portuguese, because it means I have some more interesting content to listen to that will help me improve my Portuguese and learn about other voice-related topics!

But originally, our interview wasn’t going to be about that. I wanted to talk about voice coaching. We covered topics such as getting used to hearing your own voice and practising how you want to sound before you actually speak in public. Also, how we can use our voice to communicate our personality, even if we’re feeling nervous about the language.We can adopt vocal habits in another language that aren’t ours and it’s liberating when we learn to move past this.

We also discuss why Inês decided to start a podcast, why she switched the language after the first two seasons, how she did it, what the process was like for her, and what advice she would give to people who are thinking about creating content in another language.

I also love one of the things that Inês said at the beginning when we were talking about her career journey. Deciding to work with a coach or trainer doesn’t have to be because you have a problem. It can also be because you want to do something better!

I decided to contact Inês because I’d been listening to her podcast, Your voice matters, for a while. I was even more excited to discover that the first episodes were in Portuguese, because it means I have some more interesting content to listen to that will help me improve my Portuguese and learn about other voice-related topics!

But originally, our interview wasn’t going to be about that. I wanted to talk about voice coaching. We covered topics such as getting used to hearing your own voice and practising how you want to sound before you actually speak in public. Also, how we can use our voice to communicate our personality, even if we’re feeling nervous about the language.We can adopt vocal habits in another language that aren’t ours and it’s liberating when we learn to move past this.

But we also discuss why Inês decided to start a podcast, why she switched the language after the first two seasons, how she did it, what the process was like for her, and what advice she would give to people who are thinking about creating content in another language.

I also love one of the things that Inês said at the beginning when we were talking about her career journey. Deciding to work with a coach or trainer doesn’t have to be because you have a problem. It can also be because you want to do something better!

Here's the show notes page:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode256/

Or you can connect with us on LinkedIn:
Kirsty - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-wolf-a8478235/
Inês - https://www.linkedin.com/in/inesmoura/

We often talk about what we do, but one of the things that we touched upon at the conversation club today was why we do what we do. What motivates us? What gives us a sense of fulfilment?

Today I'm sharing a bit of my story about why language is important to me, how needing to learn in a slightly different way has actually helped me, and why I do what I do.

In the coming months, some of my clients and friends will be sharing their stories too.

I also talked about my "Discover your voice in English" mentoring programme. Send me a message if you'd like to find out more or to have a chat about whether it's for you!
https://englishwithkirsty.com/discover-your-voice-in-english

Here's the show notes page for the episode:
https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode255