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Speak English with Confidence | More Than Words
Speak English with Confidence | More Than Words episodes
- (11 min) Is It Too Late to Learn a Language as an Adult? | with Quang Dang Tran
Have you ever told yourself it’s too late to learn a language properly, that you should have done it as a child and now the moment’s gone?
In this conversation, I’m joined by Quang Dang Tran, a professional writer whose Substack, ‘Late Learning Vietnamese’, follows his own journey back into his family’s language as an adult, to talk about the years he spent trying to fit in and the moment everything changed at home. For a few years he also performed stand-up comedy, joking about not speaking Vietnamese, until he realised the joke was the thing he needed to change.
If you’ve ever believed adults can’t really learn a language, or let the fear of looking foolish keep you doing the same safe thing, Quang’s story will feel very familiar. So will the moment he finally decided to do something about it.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously ‘From Lost to the River’, a show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
This clip comes from a longer conversation, and you can watch the full version with subtitles on my YouTube channel, Richard Marshall | English Confidence Coach (@procoachenglish).
If you’re reading this on a mobile device, click here to go straight to the video.
Find Quang on Substack: Late Learning Vietnamese
12 min - (6 min) Your Accent Is Your Superpower: How to Embrace Your English Accent as a Non-Native Speaker | with Verónica Vitale
Do you ever wish you could switch off your accent before you open your mouth in English?
In this short clip, I talk with English teacher Verónica Vitale, founder of Vital English, about why your accent is something to embrace and how it can help you speak English with confidence. I share the moment I went back to England, heard myself speaking English in a shop and realised I’d lost my superpower, because nobody noticed me anymore. Verónica talks about being asked where she learned her English in the US and in Denmark, why getting your message across matters more for non-native English speakers than ever sounding native, and how the accent you’re trying to hide is often the first thing people find interesting about you.
This extract is taken from a longer conversation, where we switch between Spanish and English. Click HERE to watch it on YouTube with subtitles.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence. More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Find Verónica:
Instagram: @vitalenglishorg
TikTok: @veronicavitale01
YouTube: Verónica Vitale
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
7 min - (6 min) Stop Worrying About How Your English Sounds | Ben Eden on Speaking with Confidence in Meetings
Do you get nervous before you speak English in a meeting, worrying about every word before it leaves your mouth?
Today I’m joined by author, speaker and former HR executive Ben Eden. I ask him how he’d help a senior professional who leads with confidence in their own language but freezes when they have to run a meeting in English. Ben admits he still gets nervous before big talks himself, and shares what a 'Hall of Fame' speaker once told him: if you’re nervous before you speak, it’s because you still think it’s about you. When your attention moves from how you sound to how you can help the people in front of you, the grammar stops being the point. And the people listening remember how you made them feel.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously ‘From Lost to the River’, a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About Ben:
Ben Eden, MSHR, SHRM-SCP, is a keynote speaker, leadership strategist and the author of 'How We See Ourselves: The Model for Lasting Results and Fulfillment'. As an HR executive in his twenties, he helped grow a company from fewer than 75 employees to almost 2,000 across five countries. He went on to create the Eden Model, which puts identity at the foundation of lasting success, and he co-created HR Wellbeing Week. Today he works with high-achieving leaders and their teams to replace self-doubt with clarity and self-belief. His book is available in paperback, ebook and audiobook.
Find Ben:
LinkedIn: Ben Eden, MSHR, SHRM-SCP | LinkedIn
Website: LifeGuides: Posts | LinkedIn
Book: How We See Ourselves
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
7 min - (7 min) English Confidence for Executives: You Don’t Need to Prove You’re Clever
Have you ever been the most senior person in the room and the quietest one in English?
In today’s clip, I talk about why so many successful professionals freeze when speaking English at work, even when their English is better than that of the people around them.
Your experience and authority don’t disappear when you switch languages, but it often feels that way. I look at where perfectionism and the fear of making mistakes in English really come from, why executive English confidence has more to do with identity than grammar, and a simple technique I use to help my clients speak English with confidence when it matters most.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com
8 min - (6 min) Your English Is Better Than You Think | Ángel Gabaldón Ortega on Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever told someone your English isn't very good, in perfectly good English?
Today I'm joined by Ángel Gabaldón Ortega, Relationship Manager for Large Corporates at Bankinter, to talk about imposter syndrome, self-doubt and the fear of making mistakes in English.
Ángel calls his English "pichí pichá", though by any honest measure it's excellent, and he speaks it confidently at work every day. As he puts it, we forgive foreigners' mistakes in our language, so "why don't we judge ourselves by the same criteria?" The person most convinced their English isn't good enough is usually the last to see how good it actually is.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Ángel posts regularly on LinkedIn about finance and geopolitics, and in April 2026 he won the Spanish Masters National Powerlifting Championship, so he knows a thing or two about strength, resilience and persevering when things get tough.
Find Ángel:
LinkedIn: Ángel Gabaldón OrtegaConnect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
6 min - (7 min) Ashamed of Your English Accent? Why Clarity Matters More Than Sounding Native | with Stefy Vaclavikova
Do you wish you could get rid of your accent when you speak English?
Today, I'm joined by Stefy Vaclavikova, an ICF-accredited coach who has helped thousands of teachers build their own businesses, to talk about her non-native English accent and the school director who wouldn't let her appear in promotional videos because of it. Stefy explains how she let go of trying to sound like a native speaker and made clarity her goal, which changed how she felt every time she spoke. Then we get into the moment that knocks so many people's confidence: someone saying "Sorry, can you say that again?" Stefy hears that question very differently. When someone asks you three times, it might have nothing to do with your English. They just really want to know what you've got to say.
This is the Speak English with Confidence podcast, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About Stefy Vaclavikova
Originally from Slovakia, Stefy works with successful professionals as an Inner Wealth Coach, helping them build the confidence, clarity, emotional control and self-worth to handle pressure more easily. Her background brings together language and psychology: she has coached mental health professionals to run therapy sessions and give presentations in English, and supported young people's emotional development under the supervision of educational psychologists in London. She also co-founded the Bowei Strategy Teacher Academy, which helps language teachers become thriving entrepreneurs.Find Stefy:
LinkedIn: Stefy Vaclavikova | LinkedIn
Get her FREE e-book: Grow Your ESL Teaching Career
YouTube: Bowei Strategy Teacher Academy
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
7 min - (7 min) Language Identity: "Do You Know How Intelligent I am in My Own Language?" with Daniele Ponzo
Do you ever feel like a smaller version of yourself when you speak English?
In this seven-minute extract from a longer conversation (which you can watch HERE on YouTube), I'm joined by English coach Daniele Ponzo, originally from Italy, to talk about language identity and the thirteen years he spent in Ireland learning to speak English confidently at work. From the fear of making mistakes in English to a funeral where he had no idea what to say, he's been exactly where you are. And nobody was judging him. They were just glad he tried.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About Daniele Ponzo
After 13 years working in IT in Ireland, Daniele now helps IT professionals worldwide build their language confidence and English communication skills with his HACK system, featured in his book 'Easy English for IT'. Find his daily tips on LinkedIn and his podcast, The Non-Native Leader, on YouTube.Find Daniele:
LinkedIn: Daniele Ponzo | LinkedIn
Website: https://danieleponzo.com
Book: Easy English For IT
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
8 min - (3 min) Your English Mistakes Sound Worse to You Than to Anyone Else | with Lauren Martin
Have you ever stopped yourself halfway through a sentence in a meeting because you weren't sure the grammar was right?
In this short clip from a longer conversation, I'm joined by Lauren Martin, a language expert and copywriter who runs Simply Copy and helps language teachers, coaches and schools with their marketing, to talk about why so many capable professionals freeze when speaking English at work.
We talk about how grammar-heavy schooling leaves people so worried about getting every sentence perfect that they won't open up at all, and how quieting the inner critic and accepting that mistakes are fine is what actually helps you overcome English anxiety.
Lauren also makes a point I loved, that people want confidence for what it unlocks, getting on at work and connecting with people, and the fear of making mistakes in English is what's standing in the way. And those little slips you're so worried about? They're far louder in your head than in the mind of the person listening.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Find Lauren:
Instagram: @simplycopy_co
LinkedIn: Lauren Martin
Website: https://simplycopyco.com/
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
3 min - (6 min) Stop Comparing Your English to Everyone Else's | Verónica Vitale on Speaking English with Confidence
Most people who have studied English for years still measure themselves against the colleague who lived in California, or against native speakers, and come away feeling they will never be good enough. Add the "fluent in six weeks" promises all over social media, and speaking English confidently starts to feel like a race you can't win.
In this short clip, I talk with English teacher Verónica Vitale, founder of Vital English, about why comparing yourself to others is never a fair comparison and how to build English confidence at your own pace. Veronica shares her perspective on the pressure created by unrealistic fluency timelines, why real learning happens long after the lesson ends, and how podcasts, films and content you already enjoy help your English click over time.
This extract is taken from a longer conversation, where we switch between Spanish and English. Click HERE to watch it on YouTube with subtitles.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence. More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Find Verónica:
Instagram: @vitalenglishorg
TikTok: @veronicavitale01
YouTube: Verónica Vitale
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
6 min - (7 min) You Know English. So Why Can’t You Speak It Confidently?
You already know English. So why does something stop you the moment it matters?
In this six-minute conversation, I'm joined by master coach Peter Freeth to talk about what's actually happening when you freeze - the inner critic, the fear of embarrassment, the perfectionism that feels like it's protecting you. Because it is. That's the problem.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
Peter Freeth is a master coach, author of more than 15 books, and the founder of Genius, a consultancy that helps organisations understand what makes their best people so good at what they do. Over a career of more than 30 years, he's worked with leadership teams around the world on executive coaching, leadership development and culture change, and he runs coaching and training programmes across the UK, the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Find Peter:
LinkedIn: Peter Freeth
Website: https://genius.coach
Reach out to me:
Join my Substack community here: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak
8 min
About Speak English with Confidence | More Than Words
From the publisher's feed
Speak English with Confidence | More Than Words (previously 'From Lost to the River') is a podcast for anyone who speaks English as a second language and wants to feel like themselves when they use it. Maybe you've spent years studying and practising, or you've built a life, a career or a family in English, and still something closes down when it matters. A meeting, a phone call, a chat with a neighbour. You overthink every sentence, you freeze, and you walk away wondering why the words wouldn't come out.
For most people, the English is already there. What gets in the way is everything around it: the fear of making mistakes, the worry about being judged, the sense that you sound less clever or less like yourself than you really are.
Confidence coach and author Richard Marshall shares extracts from his conversations. Some are with non-native speakers, from executives and pilots to teachers and language learners, showing you what confident English actually sounds like. Others are with polyglots, coaches, authors, linguists and native English speakers learning other languages themselves, exploring why we freeze, how perfectionism and imposter syndrome take hold, and what changes when you focus on being understood. Honest conversations for anyone learning, living or working in a language that isn't their own.
Learn more about Richard and his forthcoming book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at his website procoachenglish.com.
You can contact him directly and join his Substack community at https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak