Today I decided to do a short episode to ask you a question!

We talk about increasing our vocabulary, but sometimes there are words about ourselves or our language skills that don't serve us. It would be better if we stopped using them.

I give some examples of things that I often hear, or something that I want to stop saying in my Portuguese classes when the teacher asks me a question!

Are there any words that you want to banish from your active vocabulary about yourself?

Alice MANSAUD is a French coach and podcaster whom I discovered through The Language Worker podcast.

In France, Italy, Poland, Spain...Alice has always cherished international encounters and experiences, so much she decided to teach her native language, French to non-French speakers! Through her own journey in learning languages and expatriation, she explored the power of the brain and life challenges, which led her to create her own method. With "Moi-même en français", she helps non-French speakers to learn and absorb French in order to be(come) themselves in French. 

We talked about:
* The importance of being and becoming yourself in another language.
* Alice's podcast, the different kinds of episodes that she produces, and how listening to podcasts can help us to learn other languages.
* The need to find new challenges as intermediate language learners.
Alice's newsletter for people who are learning French.
Finding our own way as language learners and identifying the strategies that will be most useful for us.

Our take-away at the end - be open and curious to try new things that will take your language learning adventure to the next level!

Find out more on the episode's page:
 | https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode230/

Today I decided to do a short episode to tell you about my conversation club and how it can help you to improve your English.

The most popular solo episode in 2023 was about improving your active language skils and I know that sometimes it's hard to find ways to do that. 

So in this episode you'll find out what the club is, who it's for, what we do, and how it can help you!

 You can sign up or find out more on the club's page
https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/conversations

Send me a message if you have any questions or you'd like to know more:
[email protected]

Today I'm talking about the different ways in which friends can help us to practise our language skills. 

I share some ideas from my own experience - not all language exchanges have to look the same. There are different ways in which we can learn from those around us and it doesn't have to involve using your first language at all.

These tips work for any language. I talked about German, Romanian, and Portuguese.

I know many people here are learning English. My ideas are great if you know people or you have friends with whom you can practise English. If not, come and join us at the conversation club, you can sign up or find out more on the club's page:
https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/conversations

Find out more on the show notes page:
https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode228
And let me know your experiences when it comes to learning with others.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or any language experiences that you'd like to share, you can write to [email protected] or look for me, Kirsty Wolf, on LinkedIn.

We’re back!

I love making content with Rita Prazeres Gonçalves and you’ll be seeing more from us in 2024!

This time we talked about:

* Our podcasts and why we decided to create them (Rita also has a new one, The Intuitive worker).
* Why people listen to podcasts and how they can help us.
* What we’ve learned from the experience of creating podcasts.
* How learning other languages gives us access to new content in areas that are relevant to us.
* Our networking events for language professionals.

Find out more on the show notes page:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode227/

I met Lynn on LinkedIn through Carol Constant, whom some of you may remember from previous podcast episodes. 

Lynn Swain is a  TEDx Speaker, Trust Activator, and finalist in the 2023 Woman of Stature Awards for Coaching and Mentoring. She is the founder of the Symbiota Leadership Institute.

Lynn holds a Master of Science degree in Neuroscience of Leadership from Middlesex University, and as a result,  offers a distinctive perspective on trust and performance. Her recent TEDx talk, 'A Trust Mindshift to Create a Trust Revolution,' delves into the transformative power of self-trust. Lynns impactful interventions and talks are dedicated to leaving audiences with game-changing tools. 

We talked about:

* Lynn's recent TED talk and how it felt to prepare for it.
* What's actually going on in our brain as we move from the fight or flight reaction to a more confident and focused state.
*  The impact of self-trust and empathy on our ability to move past fear and think clearly.
* How to get past our insecurity or the fear reaction that comes up when we try something new.
* The TRUST model and How to redirect our attention and give our brain access to the resources that we need to focus and succeed.

Find out more on the show notes page:
https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode226

I first met Marta online last year when she took part in my “31 ways to improve your English” challenge in January. Since then, Marta has been participating in my conversation club and earlier this year, she gave a presentation there to the group for business owners and freelancers. This was something new for Marta, but she accepted the challenge! Then she accepted a new challenge – her first podcast guest appearance in English!

We talked about:

* Marta’s challenges with saying “no” and what changed for her
* Some of the benefits that we can enjoy when we say “no” to things that are not right for us
* How knowing ourselves and our values can help us to say “no”
* Tips for people who find it difficult to say “no” at work
* Challenges and solutions for saying “no” in an additional language.

How do you feel about saying “no”? Do you have any tips or experiences to add?

Find the show notes here
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode225/

Leda  is an English to Romanian Charity and Public Sector Translator whom I met on LinkedIn a few months ago. Initially I was happy to have found another Romanian connection who enjoys languages, but as I began to read more of her content, I thought she would be a good guest to bring on the podcast too!

Leda loves translating texts that educate, entertain, and inspire: from articles about mental health to child protection documents and educational resources developed by charities. She also loves reading, learning languages, and having a nice cuddle with her dog, Puck.

We talked about:

• Leda’s interest in languages from an early age.
• How reading books, including audio books, can help you to develop your language skills.
• Leda’s book group on LinkedIn.
• Translating children’s books into Romanian
• How Leda got into doing social care, parenting, and mental health content translations.
• The benefits of having a dog - I had to get Puck the golden retriever in there somewhere!

Find out more on the show notes page
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode224/

Isabelle and I met on LinkedIn after she was a guest on my friend Rita Gonçalves' "The Language Worker" podcast. Isabelle is a Pronunciation Coach & Marketing Translator from English and German into French for the Tech and Cyber security industry.

This is how Isabelle introduces herself:

"I'm Isabelle Cottenet, a French pronunciation coach and translator.
I help non native French speakers master the rhythms and sounds of the language to sound clear and confident in French.

I've been delving into the relationship between languages and music for over 20 years.

Today, I use a combination of tools drawn from my background in linguistics, phonetics, music, and vocal technique to create an enjoyable, efficient and supportive journey into French pronunciation for my students.

I offer individual and group online classes focused on phonetics and pronunciation.

I work with interpreters, translators, language instructors, but also corporate professionals, freelancers, individuals, and singers who want to improve their French pronunciation and be better understood."

Find out more on the show notes page:
https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode223/
And visit Isabelle's website here: https://www.secureyourpronunciation.com/  

You may remember Rita Gonçalves from episode 215. The episode we did together for my podcast was actually the second part of a podcast conversation swap - and now you can listen to our first conversation as well.

This is the conversation that was originally published on Rita's podcast, The Language Worker. Go and check it out if you are interested in the exciting world of language learning and working in the language industry.

I love Rita's passion, enthusiasm, and her stories. This time we talked about learning other languages as an adult.

The show notes are here:
https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode222