English With Kirsty

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 herehttps://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 pagehttps

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 F

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

I've known Mira online for several years now. We got chatting because of a comment on some language-rlated post and we've had a few virtual coffees and online chats since. I thought Mira would be a good guest to bring on the podcast because of her own story, where she moved to England and needed to start using English within the school system here and later to build her international business.Mira Rutter is a Life Balance Coach & Strategist from <a href="https://ruttercoaching.com/"> Rutter Coaching.</a> She coaches female online service-based business owners to strategically manage their time & energy, develop an empowering mindset & build high-performance habits so that they can take their business to the next level and create success on their terms.She helps you create your success cycle & grow your online business with ease, fun & flow by coaching you to implement female-centric strategies and take aligned, inspired action. Connect with Mira to discover how to tap into your

This is a really short episode, but it's important!What one thing can you work towards in English or another language that will be fun for you?Maybe you are learning a language for a specific reason. Maybe it isn't even your choice. But what is one thing that you can work towards that you will enjoy?I share something that I did recently and why this brought me closer to one of my goals for Romanian. How about you? Learning a language doesn't always have to be serious! We should find ways to make it enjoyable for ourselves too - even though it can be tough sometimes!If you find something that makes you feel good, it will motivate you to keep going!Here is the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode220

Diana is “a very curious woman from Venezuela and a big fan of languages!”We met on LinkedIn – it’s the place to be these days – and I want to share with you what happened when we got together a couple of weeks ago. We talked about: Diana’s story and language journey Why it’s important to have fun when you are learning languages and to find activities that are enjoyable for you Why it’s important to practise every day and not just when you go to classes How to avoid mixin up languages when you are learning several languages at the same time How using different languages helps you to highlight different parts of your personality How her knowledge of languages and her experience working with different cultures help Diana now with her work in communications How having something enjoyable to work towards can be both a motivator and a reward. Find out more on the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode219

I haven’t done a solo episode for a while, so I decided to talk about producing content in other languages.This is relevant for me at the moment because I’m creating a presentation in Romanian and writing a guest blog article in German. So I thought it might be useful to share some of the things that I’ve been doing to make the process easier. After all, it’s not exactly the same when you are creating content in an additional language. Maybe you need to do the same with content in English.Let me know if you have any tips to add or experiences to share!Find out more on the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode218

Antoni Maroto is a freelance medical communicator who aims to produce accessible, clear, and inclusive documents for consumers, health care providers, patients, and regulatory agencies. His areas of specialisation are imaging and radiology. Antoni’s working languages are Catalan, English, Portuguese, and Spanish.We talked about:* How Antoni's early introduction to English opened up new opportunities, personally and professionally.* Moving to Portugal and beginning to learn Portuguese.* How writing in your additional languages can help you to consolidate what you've learned* The importance of finding role models who inspire you when you want to learn a new language* Ways to overcome the fear of speaking an additional language.Do you relate to any of the subjects that we discussed? Find out more on the show notes page:https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode217/

Sancha and I got to know each other on LinkedIn and I was interested to find out more about her, her work, her family, and her story.In this conversation, we talk about:Sancha's first experiences working with English speakersGetting used to listening to a variety of accents once you start using a language in the real worldLearning Korean as an adultBringing children up bilinguallySancha's journals for mothers and children. This is how Sancha introduced herself:“Mental and emotional health are by far what affects many parents / carers of people with disabilities, as we focus so much on caring for others, we tend to leave ourselves behind. I became a Thetahealer and I didn't stop since, I became a Reiki Master, studying Psychology at NUI Maynooth, joined the Irish School of Shamanic Studies to become a Shaman healer, started reading Angel Cards and made my mission to help all parents and carers of special needs children/adults , to balance their mental and emotional health on the daily basis. Because I know how

Where do I start? When Rita and I get together we never really know what will happen! We have all kinds of ideas for projects and I’m sure you’ll hear more about those soon.But this time we talked about one of our favourite subjects: languages!That means• How we became interested in them and the role that they play in our lives• How we share this passion with others and help them to learn• Why Madonna is so important in Rita’s language learning story• How language without context won’t help you to communicate• How Rita’s English and Portuguese mentoring sessions work• Why it’s important to combine our other passions and interests with our additional languages.Actually it’s really hard to summarise our conversation because we cover so many topics, share what has worked for us, tell stories, and generally have a great time talking about everything around languages, linguistics, and learning!Find out more and how to connect with Rita on the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode215

Nadezhda Chalyk is a trainer, consultant and lecturer working in the field of intercultural communication. Here are some of the topics that we discussed in our conversation about language, culture, and communication:* Nadezhda’s language learning journey* When it’s time to start actually speaking a new language* Different types of communication styles – influenced by language and culture* Ways to communicate better and to avoid misunderstandings* Cultural norms in terms of communication – what is polite? Which topics are considered too personal?* How learning about language and culture are connected and why they are both important* Ways for those using their first language to be more inclusive in professional situations.Find out more on the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode214

Leanna and I connected when Leanna message me on LinkedIn. First I thought our conversation would be about language teaching, but in the end, we also talked about:How speaking (and learning) additional languages can make you a better teacherStrategies for learning new languages independently as an adult.Ways to make sure that you allocate time to different projects when you're learning multiple languages.Leanna's new blog and website, Learning with Leanna.This is how Leanna introduces herself:"I am Leanna Lee, and I started my teaching career with home-schooling my son for his Kindergarten and 1st grade years. After that, I worked as a Spanish and Mandarin Teacher for a private day care. During the pandemic, I obtained my TESOL certificate and started my journey as an ESOL Teacher. I started my company Learning with Leanna during this time and privately tutored through this. I have worked with children and adult students from all over the world and I enjoy helping my students reach their English goals. In my

Two things really impressed me about Maribel’s story: If you want something and it doesn’t exist, create the opportunity yourself! You’ll see how this worked out for Maribel as we talk about her story and how she built her business. Having your own business and using additional languages in business can be a way to help you develop and improve those language skills. Don’t wait till everything is perfect! Do your best, but the learning comes along the way as you use the additional languages in real situations. I need to remember this one too! Maribel Aburto is the CEO and co-founder of CREATIVA Design Studio, a Branding and Web Design Agency dedicated to providing flexible job opportunities to women of different backgrounds. Originally from Chile, she moved to New Zealand in 2009, where she lived for 13 years before recently relocating to Dublin in January. With a background in branding and website design, she’s passionate about helping value-driven women and businesses worldwide to grow and succeed by creatin

Today I'm looking at some of the differences between studying a language at school and learning as an independent adult. We have more opportunities as an adult and more freedom to customise the learning process, but sometimes it can be too much freedom! So  we need to be proactive with time management, to actively seek out opportunities to practise, and have the discipline to stay on track. Understanding these differences can help us to make better choices, so I want to look at five of them. I talk about practical things, such as finding the right course, but also the way we manage our emotions around starting something new or not yet having the skills that we want because we are still in the process of developing them!Find out more on the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode211

Bogdana and I met a few weeks ago on LinkedIn - my new favourite social media platform!Bogdana is a Creative Digital Marketing Passionate  Entrepreneur. Throughout the years she has worked with more than 35 areas of interest such as Tech, Software, Beauty, Fashion, Tourism, Construction, Medical, Business Services, Coaching programmes, Real Estate and more. Her communications and digital marketing skills helped her to generate more than 10k leads for SME companies through online advertising and PR SEO articles. Bogdana has helped more than 100 SME Companies increased their online & offline brand awareness by more than 30% with creative marketing strategies, successfully handling large marketing budgets for advertising, and developing digital courses & programs for Start-ups in different communities.We talked about:What Bogdana does and how she helps her clients to promote their products and servicesBogdana's experiences with learning German and Serbian as an adultThe role of AI in marketing and commun

It was hard to find a title for this interview with Sorina Dascal from Social Click because we covered a lot of ground!Sorina is a passionate social media specialist who helps businesses gain visibility and increase their revenue through social media strategies.We talked about Sorina's business and how she helps clients with social media. We talked about moving to another country and how this can be a struggle if you don't speak the language well, but how having a group of people around you who want you to succeed can be the key to growth and development - if you are brave enough to ask for help when you need it.We talked about one of Sorina's challenges and how she overcame it.Sorina's story is a really positive one and it's exciting to hear her journey.She's someone who generally wants to do good and help people, so be sure to check out her links and discover more about what she does.Click here for the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode209

Today I'm starting with the idea that we should try and focus on our message, rather than on how we feel about delivering it."I've got something useful to share that will help people", rather than "I don't want to speak in front of these people because I'm nervous!"It doesn't mean we ignore how we feel, but it shifts the focus on to something more positive.Following on from the idea of focusing on the message, there are 5 more things to think about:Make it clear;Make it complete/don't hold back useful information;Make it relevant;Make it yours;Make it memorable - in a good way!This is where you can find the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode208

After around 8 years of virtual coffees and collaborations online, I finally met up with Jane. Jane is a translator who is based in Germany, but this year she came to England for a different kind of networking tour.We discuss why Jane decided to meet people one-to-one rather than in large groups, plus how this approach can be helpful for both developing your network and improving your language skills. I love the flexibility of online meetings and the fact that I can connect with people all across Europe. This is important for me because most of my customers are miles away from the town where I live. At the same time, there’s something really cool about meeting online friends for the first time in real life!We also talked about designing schedules that are flexible enough to accommodate changes, some things you can do to make life easier if you’re operating in an additional language, and some of the things that Jane learned while she was here in the UK.How about you? When was the last time you took an online b

Sometimes we neglect our active language skills because it can be easier or more enjoyable to focus on the passive ones. In today’s podcast episode, I explain the difference between active and passive language skills. I then give you 8 ideas of things that you can do to improve your active language skills.You can find out more on the show notes page:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode206and you can find more information about the conversation club here:https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/conversations