English podcast to improve English #santalks #englishpodcost

Ajouté : 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Hello, ma'am.

[00:00:02]Can you hear me clearly?

[00:00:04]Yes, ma'am. Yes, you are audible.

[00:00:07]How are you doing?

[00:00:09]Yes, ma'am. I'm doing uh great. Thanks for asking. How are you, ma'am?

[00:00:13]I'm doing well as well. Thank you.

[00:00:16]Okay.

[00:00:18]So, can you tell me something like how do you do it because I'm a little new to this podcasting, so I generally have no idea. You tell me how you do it, so then if you want anything from me, I can explain accordingly.

[00:00:29]Yes, ma'am. It is we are just into some random conversation. That's it. You can be very comfortable with me, and you can also ask whatever you want.

[00:00:38]Okay. All right. So, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Like just about you like uh how come you started this YouTube channel? Like is there a reason so that I have a little idea on what I can ask you?

[00:00:48]Yes, ma'am. Uh as you know, my name is Sankavi. I'm from Tamil Nadu. I'm a homemaker, and I'm mother of two. I worked as a teacher before, but because of my second pregnancy, I quit my job.

[00:00:59]Currently, I'm planning to rejoin, ma'am.

[00:01:02]And uh my YouTube journey actually to improve my English, I started this journey. It is not just only about uh teaching uh someone.

[00:01:12]Uh my ultimate goal is I want to improve myself first. And uh with this journey, maybe uh someone who is like me, they can also learn from me.

[00:01:23]That is why I'm posting my videos online.

[00:01:26]And I started very recently, ma'am. I started two months Sorry, 5 months ago, I guess. Okay.

[00:01:33]Well, that's amazing. Uh which subject were you teaching in school?

[00:01:38]Yes, ma'am. I teach English. I I completed MA English literature, but my schoolings, I completed in Tamil medium, so I find it very difficult to uh reach at least this level.

[00:01:50]>> [clears throat] >> Okay. But you like literature. I mean, you loved it enough to do your master's in it as well. That's amazing.

[00:01:57]Yes. Yes, ma'am.

[00:01:58]And I actually watched your video Yeah.

[00:02:01]Uh I watched your videos with Shanta ma'am and also with another YouTuber. I think Karisma. Karisma, yeah. Yeah.

[00:02:10]I got really inspired uh by your personality. More than your English, your personality is really amazing. You are multi-talented and uh the way you speak, the way you behave, it's just quite impressive, ma'am. That is why I tried to reach out to you. And uh I want to know about you uh and my audience will also know about you. Could you please introduce yourself, ma'am?

[00:02:35]Of course. Uh my name is Sonika Shetty.

[00:02:38]And I very recently started my own English proficiency academy called Speak Easy Studio. And uh like you, Sankavi, my journey is also new. I also started this about four or five months ago.

[00:02:50]Uh I used to teach English. I in fact used to teach in a college almost a decade ago. But then life changed and circumstances changed.

[00:03:00]>> [clears throat] >> Sorry. I moved to Canada for 5 years.

[00:03:02]When I moved to Canada, that's when I realized that I started teaching English over there to newcomers and immigrants.

[00:03:09]So I did a program with the government.

[00:03:10]It was a one-year Teach English as a Second Language program. That program is a free service provided by the Canadian government for immigrants and for um just uh newcomers coming into Canada.

[00:03:22]So I thought it was going to be like a normal course and get a job after it.

[00:03:26]And but when I did the course, I realized what that course entailed.

[00:03:30]Right? It was changing people's lives.

[00:03:32]It was free of cost. So people and students who were there really wanted to learn. Right? You know, they were not forced uh in the class by their parents or anyone. They were coming to class because they were wanting to improve their English.

[00:03:45]There [clears throat] were some students who were 40, 50, 60 years of age and who were at literacy level. So they were starting ABCD right now.

[00:03:53]So, it was so interesting to see people from different age brackets because now they need to learn English to live in Canada, right? Because some of them were essentially refugees that came into Canada.

[00:04:05]So, they didn't come through a PR channel or a citizenship channel. They had to flee their country, so Canada gives a silent to a lot of refugees like that. But now to live in Canada and to make, you know, a business for themselves or get a job, they need to learn English. So, they would put all their heart and soul into learning it, you know? Can you imagine at the age of 50, 60 to learn ABCD and learn basic grammar that we take for granted in India because most of us have a basic running knowledge of English and a lot of people around the world don't have that privilege. So, when I did that course, I think it also opened up my eyes a lot more to what are people around the world going through, what are their journeys like with English, what are their hesitations with English. So, when it was time to move back and we returned to India, I wanted to get back into it, but I didn't know how. Should I go to a college and teach again? Should I I don't know, join academia? I thought of a lot of things.

[00:05:04]And then I told myself, you know, I think over a period of years, I have managed to get so much experience that I can teach somebody or even teach a group of people from my own experiences and that is why I decided to start Speakeasy Studio to help not just young students and children, but also to help homemakers and working professionals. I truly want to help adults learn English because I feel like they're already in the job market and they're struggling sometimes because they don't have the proficiency level. A lot of homemakers who like we shared your experience also, who for family or for kids have to had to give up their role right or position right now, but a lot of them have not been fortunate to go back into the job world. So, they feel like they missed out on an opportunity. And we've all watched the movie English Vinglish, right? So, somewhere we all resonate with Sridevi's character. And just the nuances that they showed, the small small things, you know, the micro things that happen in your daily life.

[00:06:04]You know, like a comment or a remark a remark by a family member or that hesitation to speak outside, you know, in front of strangers. So, I saw a lot of women around me who like you know, older women around me in like my from my family side, from my husband's family side. And I felt like they also need that empowerment and that hesitation to get just over. And that's the reason why I decided that I think it's time to start something on my own. And it's been really nice. It's starting slow and steady, but it's really good. And making videos has put me in touch with, you know, people like you, YouTubers who are also on their English journey. So, it's amazing to touch base with people who have the same mindset. Our journeys may look different, but we're all going the same way. We're all going towards getting confident and just being happy with, you know, who we are and just being very confident content with our language skills.

[00:06:57]Yes, yes, ma'am. Couldn't agree more.

[00:07:00]And as you mentioned, actually we Indians have the privilege already. We are learning this language from our childhood. But still we stuck in the beginner to intermediate level. We know all the basics, we know grammar rules, but still we find it very difficult to speak. Why is that?

[00:07:19]I My observation over a period of years has been that we start strong like you said, right? We start with great like I told you, tenses, prepositions. We are taught all these things. We know our basic grammar. Our grammar till date I can vouch for Indians having a very good grammar base, a lot better than native speakers because they are not taught grammar the same way we are taught.

[00:07:39]Right? So, our base is definitely stronger. The concern and the issue where we face is that native speakers or for example, people who move to a English speaking country, they are forced to speak in English 24/7.

[00:07:51]When they go to get coffee, when they go to when they take a cab, when they go to work, when they talk to anybody, interact with anybody, it's only in English. But in India, we learn English in school, but then when it's time to go out into the real world, then we speak in Hindi or our regional language.

[00:08:08]You'll find a friend who's from your hometown, so you will speak to them in that language. We do not use practically English in our daily lives. And now, even if we do, we kind of do a Hinglish, which is like a Hindi and English mix, right? And I also personally do that because sometimes to get that emotions right, you just need to use an Indian language.

[00:08:29]And I feel like that is where we Indians are slightly getting left behind or we are not taking our progress ahead because it's hard, right? If you're Indian, I'm Indian. We both speak Hindi.

[00:08:40]We speak in English, we speak in Hindi, but there just comes a point where we may just start talking in Hindi.

[00:08:45]I think that is the reason why we kind of get stuck in that beginner to intermediate level and we're unable to reach that advanced level. And I think this hesitation is because of that.

[00:08:56]Yes. Yes.

[00:08:57]So.

[00:08:58]And to reach that advanced level, what should I do?

[00:09:02]See, uh my only ask is that I always tell people practice, right? I mean, we heard this, our parents also told us when we were children, practice, practice, practice. Be math, be it science, be it language. Now, the question arises, who do you practice with? This is people's biggest complaint/question.

[00:09:18]I don't have anybody to speak with. I don't have an audience to speak to. So, right now, take out your phone, make those voice memos, keep recording yourself. It will not just help you get confident in speaking, you'll also hear yourself. And once you hear yourself, you'll who that, oh, my the intonation is not right or my pronunciation could be a little better.

[00:09:40]You can be your own editor because you will have a recorded proof that you can go back to. And think of it this way, a recording you made today and 6 months later if you are steady with your practice, you go back to that recording 6 months later and you will be so proud or anybody of the progress that you all made.

[00:10:00]And when I say that something we don't just say that to people who are going from a beginner to intermediate or intermediate to advanced, even me.

[00:10:08]I had an opportunity to record a small bit for a friend. He's a ad director. He wanted a sentence for an ad. So he was like, "Sonica, can you do that for me?

[00:10:17]Your English is so good." I was like, "Sure, confident, no worries, send me the dialogue." It was like one month sentence.

[00:10:23]I recorded myself. When I heard myself, I was like, "Why do I sound like this?"

[00:10:28]Because I have not heard myself recorded so often, right? And then I was like, "Okay, I can do it again." And trust me, I spent at least over an hour. I made if nothing 50 to 60 or maybe 100 audio notes and I was unhappy with all of them.

[00:10:46]Right? Because I was not happy and that is when I realized that I don't think I have practiced enough.

[00:10:52]See, I do this. I'm doing conversation with you, but we don't replay our conversations, right? We don't record conversations. So I feel like that one incident helped me realize that, "Oh, I think I'm speaking way too fast or oh my god, I think my words are coming out, you know, with like a lot of force out."

[00:11:11]Like the first word when you kind of like breathe out while talking, that was happening to me. So I could correct all these mistakes because I heard myself.

[00:11:19]So I tell everybody, make use of your phone, no matter which phone you have.

[00:11:23]Send audio notes to yourself on WhatsApp.

[00:11:27]Right? You can Today there is no reason for not using technology. You know how we always hear technology and AI going to take our jobs, are going to do this.

[00:11:36]While AI is figuring all that out, in the meanwhile, let's make AI work for us.

[00:11:43]Somebody asked me in the last uh video that how can you get better at grammar and other things also, right? I use Claude, an AI app or ChatGPT for example, right? I sometimes just go like, "Hey, can you create a uh you know, they they generally work on like British or American levels of proficiency." So, you would use things like B1, B2 for intermediate or C1, C2 for advanced. So, I would say, "Can you make a B2 level tenses grammar test for me? 20 questions." And AI will create it for you, right? So, use AI to benefit you. Why don't you ask technology to create lessons for you or create these tasks for you, solve them? Like right now, I feel like you don't even need a lot of books.

[00:12:28]If you have your phone with you and a steady internet connection, I think there are a lot of things that we can achieve on the go, while you're traveling, in the bus. If you know have 1 hour to kill, do this instead. I feel like you can really use this time purposefully and to know that I want to do it intentionally. I think intention is very important for any kind of learning, right? Like you said, your intention was that you're taking this time off your work and your experience and you want to get better at it. So, this intention is of the most importance because I mean, we're if when we're free, we all like to just watch TV or just, you know, watch these brain rot videos on, you know, Instagram and YouTube. But, I think if you've made up your mind to learn something, there are a lot of avenues. We just have to find those.

[00:13:16]Yes. Yes. True, ma'am. And uh you also gave the insight about uh one reality that even if you don't have a partner, you you can practice at your home. You can practice with your mobile phone. So, that insight is quite impressive and it is it is very much important for everyone out there because, you know, people always complain that I don't have a partner to talk. I don't have anyone to converse.

[00:13:43]You need not to complain.

[00:13:44]>> if you have somebody saying your life, right? They have other things going on as well. If you have a partner, they may be busy with work. If you have kids who are learning English, they have homework, classes, and everything. So, everybody is busy in their life trajectory. So, it's also difficult to expect other people to take out time for us. So, instead of that, we can become completely self-independent over here and take the course of our learning in our hands. Yes, but I also tell people that when there is an opportunity to speak in public, at a party, at an occasion, at a gathering, don't hesitate. Speak. What is the worst that is going to happen? Somebody may laugh.

[00:14:22]Okay, fine. Somebody may like snicker or say something behind your back. We cannot control how people behave. But what you can control is putting yourself in situations that are that will will make give you like a stomach ache. You know, sometimes you're very nervous and your stomach starts to hurt. That stage fright you have, that fright is really important. You know why? Once you keep doing it and one day, right? You'll be like, "Oh my god, I think I hit my audience." Right? Someday you will find a gathering or a group of people or even one person who you're speaking with and good English, grammatically accurate English, no, not the right pronunciations, nothing matters. You will love talking with them and them with you and that way you'll find your groove. And to do that, you have to practice and practice speaking with public also. Because though you need to practice your audio notes and voice notes, eventual goal is to talk to people, right? And people are not predictable. Two people will be totally different. I could be speaking with you and another person next to you, and both of you could react differently to what I am saying right now. So, it's very important to also know your audience, and I feel like put yourself out there. There is nothing to lose over here. You're only going to gain something out of it. And if somebody laughs at you also or corrects your pronunciation, don't worry. Take it into stride. Hear what they are saying, what are they correcting, and then you can use it the next Okay. I've been corrected a lot growing up as well. Like even in college because I started speaking only in college. Also because I made friends who did not speak Hindi. Like they came from communities where they were Catholics and Zoroastrians. So, they only spoke in English. That was their essentially home language and native language. So, they would also correct some words I would say. So, I was like, "Oh, this is not how we say it." There's nothing to feel bad about. They know something more than you today. So, you learn it from them, and you pass it on. If I feel like somebody else is making a mistake, I won't laugh on them or like, you know, go like, "Ha ha ha, you said that." That is definitely not the idea of good language, but to let them know that, "Hey, you know, you said that. Actually, the word is like this." Or just be like, "I think the word is like this. Why don't you look it up?" Allow them to do that, you know. Every time correcting someone is also not a very positive reinforcement. You can just guide them.

[00:16:36]Mhm. Mhm. Yes.

[00:16:38]That is true. Even as a teacher, I agree that you need not to enforce someone to do something all the time.

[00:16:45]Yeah.

[00:16:46]>> Yes.

[00:16:47]Are you a big fan of accent, ma'am?

[00:16:50]I personally am not, to be very honest with you. And I know shade on people who like accents because I think it's commendable. I think people who do accents are good at mimicking because accents come from mimicking people, right? Hearing people talk. I'm not a good actor or a good mimic, but I also did like the way Indians speak English.

[00:17:12]I always like the Indian English. You know, I think we have a little rhythm in our language. It's not too fast like the Americans. It's sometimes not really too slow and too enunciated like the British also. So, I feel like there's a confluence. I feel like over a period of years, I have learned some words the British way. If you all have, right? We still say garage. We will still say a water, and we'll say dance. But then I went to North America, they would call it like, "Oh, you have a master's. Oh, you like dancing, right?" So, they do kind of don't open their Rs.

[00:17:46]I did that while I was in North America.

[00:17:48]Just a little bit. But now that I'm back in India, I don't need to say master's.

[00:17:51]I'm okay with master's. So, absolutely great that people like to do it. I am not a big fan of it. I think I I like to think that this English is good enough.

[00:18:02]I tried it. It works in America. It works in Canada.

[00:18:06]Very rarely have I had anybody go like, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Of course, sometimes it is. I feel like we Indians are blessed with speed because our Indian languages and our mother tongues are fast. We are used to speed, and sometimes people over there don't understand because we're too fast for them.

[00:18:24]So, I have to slow down, and then enunciate more. So, I think this, the way I'm speaking now, I learned in Canada. Otherwise, in India, I think I just speak at a faster speed, and sometimes that could be hard for people outside to understand.

[00:18:39]Okay.

[00:18:41]And we as an Indian, we have an issue, ma'am. We always tend to use different accents. Like, if you I mean, it is not accent. It is not about accent. We have that MTI issue. If you are from North India, you have you have different MTI issue. If you are from South India, you have your own MTI issue.

[00:19:04]So, how to get rid of that mother tongue influence issue?

[00:19:09]See, to To honest, I think that I spoke about this on with Shanta ma'am as well in her video that I personally don't think that the mother tongue influence is a problem at all because because that when I when I see people around the world, right? People who come from South America, they have such a strong Spanish influence that when they speak you know they're non-native English speakers.

[00:19:31]I had a manager who was from France and every time instead of saying basically he would say basically basically and as an Indian he'd just be like, "What is he saying?" But it was so common. Nobody flinches over there at all. So after going there I realized that like they say, right? If you have an accent of your mother tongue or of your home your country language, that means you know one extra language that somebody else does not know. Right? So I think make it a superpower. I know that in India we do focus a lot on these things, you know, that oh my god, you know how he said this, how he said that word. And yes, it is a very clear distinction between the southern languages and the northern languages and the western languages because I'm also from Karnataka. My hometown is there so I did grow up speaking Tulu and Kannada. So I know that a lot of our languages are slightly rolled on the tongue.

[00:20:21]And sometimes those rolling can come into the language, but if it really bothers someone and they think they have a lot of mother tongue influence, I think the one thing that works a lot is the shadowing technique and the mirror technique.

[00:20:34]Find somebody you like a lot. It doesn't need need not be a celebrity. It could be a teacher you find online or it could be a friend or somebody in your personal life as well and see how they are speaking. See how they enunciate on some words. See how they have gotten rid of the maybe the nasal tone, maybe the rolling of the tongue and try to imitate it because imitation is how we learn.

[00:20:57]See as kids also we look at our parents and we learn, right? So imitation in language learning has always been a part of our conscious.

[00:21:05]We have been programmed as humans to look at somebody and learn.

[00:21:10]So, you can do that. Anybody can be your teacher.

[00:21:13]I had a teacher in school. She was a new teacher. She came in grade nine. And she's the one who opened my mind about English because up until then it was very grammar grammar school school, you know, essay writing, letter writing, simple. She came because she used to teach in college and she chose to teach school students because she felt like she wanted to inspire younger students.

[00:21:32]And I don't know about the others, but I was definitely inspired. And I decided that I'm going to, you know, grow up and, you know, do something with English. So, sometimes you need that.

[00:21:42]So, I used to see how she speaks, how she used her hands, and, you know, how she spoke. Um so, she was so excited when she spoke about literature and characters. So, that kind of imitation can happen from anybody. You like Priyanka Chopra's videos? Watch her videos. You like Abhishek Bachchan's English? Watch his. You like some American actor or actress or British actor? Follow them. Videos are available for free on YouTube today. Watch their videos, see their interviews, uh see how they're speaking, where they take a pause, and, you know, where they're using what kind of vocabulary. And you can just do that. The other thing I did a lot growing up was mirror technique.

[00:22:21]Like just look in the mirror and talk to myself because those days the phones didn't have voice notes, if you remember when we were younger and in college, we had those Nokia phones didn't have all of these things on it. So, I think like when I spoke about this earlier also.

[00:22:36]I used to practice law right after college. So, I would always be worried before going to, you know, uh the court like, "Oh my god, today I have to stand in front of a judge. Um I hope I don't make a mistake." So, I would look in the mirror and, you know, just practice my opening line that, "Good morning, my Lordship. Here I am today." Whatever it is, like a sentence and I'd keep repeating it. So, that, you know, it becomes like natural on your mouth. And when you are in court, you can speak openly. So, I think mirror technique is also a great way before a meeting or before you know like an important event.

[00:23:05]You know how we do like vocal exercises?

[00:23:07]You'll kind of open your mouth. You'll do the e e e ah ah ah. Essentially, anything that kind of like you know makes you relaxed.

[00:23:14]Where you know your subject matter and you know that you will be able to also present it at the same space that you have uh you know intended to.

[00:23:24]Okay.

[00:23:26]Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.

[00:23:27]And uh as a trainer uh as a trainer yourself, please give us some idea to improve ourself. Uh how to develop our English fluency and if someone has only 20 minutes in a day to uh devote themselves for English practice, what are all the practices they have to focus on?

[00:23:50]Uh for me, if I feel like you want to if somebody wants to make it a daily practice, first and foremost skill in life to learn in life or in English is to start by listening. If you're a good listener, you will become a good speaker.

[00:24:03]Right? So, for listening, today you have podcasts on your phone, right? You have free podcasts. You have free audio books. Listen, if you would like to listen to podcast, listen to two people talk. If you want to listen to audio book, listen to that. You don't need to carry something with you also. We all have unlimited data on our phone nowadays, right? So, use that listening.

[00:24:21]Listening is such a powerful tool, right? It makes you a great speaker.

[00:24:25]I'll tell you why. Firstly, if you have great subject matter to speak to. So, say right podcast, you're asking me questions. But, if I'm not listening to you and I'm just giving you some other answer all together, then I'm losing you as an audience. So, this is one psychological skill that is also required to be a good speaker. On the other hand, if you listen, you will be able to tailor make your subject matter according to the person in front of you.

[00:24:51]So, if I'm talking to a lawyer, I will speak in a certain way. If I'm speaking to a fellow teacher, I will speak in a certain way. If I'm speaking to a 10-year-old child, I will speak differently, right? Like you must be speaking to your children differently than you speak to your students and people in your house. So, that is why listening is very important and keep listening. Keep listening like audio books, interviews. Keep hearing people talk. If you don't have time for that, put anything on TV like any American, British, or anything where they're speaking in English and leave it on in the background. Don't even watch the TV. I had this habit of doing this. I don't like very empty apartments. So, when I would enter home and if I was alone, I would just essentially turn the TV on and leave it. It would keep running, keep running. So, just you're walking here and there and you just hear the words over and over again. And when you hear it, it just, you know, becomes a part of your psyche and then suddenly you're going to be like, "Where did I hear that word?" You know, it happens to us, right?

[00:25:50]You go like, "Mhm, I heard this somewhere. I don't know where I heard it." This is exactly This is just something that is happening on the background. Let your brain do the work.

[00:25:59]But little effort we have to also put from our end.

[00:26:02]Yes, yes.

[00:26:04]So, and I have heard that people, you know, even after reaching the advanced level, master master's level, they also they also keep practice their keep practicing their English.

[00:26:19]So, how do you practice, ma'am? As I know you're an expert, but still what are all the practices you focus?

[00:26:28]I'll tell you this. I do not consider myself expert. I will say this because I also have days of brain fog where I am, you know, people say that I'm completely speechless right now. Not because it is so amazing, because your brain has literally gone numb. That happens to me.

[00:26:43]I have also made pronunciation mistakes.

[00:26:46]I know it's data, but there are times when I will call it data. There are times when I'm going to mispronounce a word. Last time I was talking to somebody I was saying comics and I said comics. Right? So we are all guilty of that. So like I said, advanced level, yes, in terms of education and in terms of experience, but do we all make mistakes? Yes. The way to correct it is to work on it. And I also on the side constantly try to work on it. I'm trying to read new books, newer books. I'm trying to reread books I read 10 to 12 years ago to see how I see it differently now, right?

[00:27:22]Because when you're 15, you read a book differently and when you're 30, 35, you read it differently. So I think I try to do all these things. I try to learn new vocabulary on my own also.

[00:27:32]I was watching a movie that day and like a regular like a regular American movie, sorry, and they were using this word pandemonium again and again. So I was like, okay, let me see what a pandemonium is. I was like, oh, I know this word, but I haven't used it in a really long time.

[00:27:47]For example, I was speaking to my brother and he nowadays uses this word called diatribe a lot. So I didn't know what it meant, okay? So then I asked him. I was just like, hey, you use this word quite a bit. What is that word? He was just like, oh, so I learned it somewhere. So like this, right? Because vocabulary is unlimited. There are more than million words, millions of words.

[00:28:08]So we'll never be able to fully know. So if I hear somebody say something I don't know, I honestly ask them, that hey, what was that thing? I'm sorry, how did you know that? Like, where did you read it? I'm just curious to know that. So I feel like staying curious is very important. We are all learners.

[00:28:25]Everybody's learning capacity and level is different right now, but you and I read a book, we both learn something from it.

[00:28:32]So that is my only thing, that keep learning, keep learning. Something new is going to come into your life and it is going to change an aspect of your life. And always be on the lookout for new vocabulary because it can make language interesting for yourself.

[00:28:47]Yes, yes.

[00:28:48]Yes, ma'am. Actually, we have to be very open to learn uh something new from everyone.

[00:28:53]Uh even from the kids we can learn something.

[00:28:56]>> Kids can teach so much. I have these kids in my class who are in fourth grade, and every time I meet them because I do Sunday classes with them, they teach me a new word, and I'm just so surprised. I'm like, "What What is this word? Where did you learn it?" And then they'll go to explain to me why this word is used.

[00:29:13]Uh we have to be open to learn something new from everyone.

[00:29:18]The kids nowadays are saying six seven six seven, right? I mean, all kids are saying that. So, I learned it from a student why they say that. Then why they're using a certain word, and uh nowadays kids are watching IPL in India, so they have all these cricket terms that's happening on the side. They are so aware of everything that's happening in the world of football, in the world of celebrity, in the world of IPL, and how many followers Virat Kohli lost in one week, and they know that also. So, like I said, it's a treasure trove out there. Every person has their own skill set, what they like, and they have a good amount of knowledge. I have zero sports knowledge.

[00:29:57]So, I'm very curious. So, I learned about IPL from these students only because I don't watch cricket at home.

[00:30:03]So, it's really great. So, that way it helps me broaden my knowledge and scope, and in return I try to teach them some vocabulary pertaining to sports or something. So, it helps them learn and get excited. And I feel like that is the thing with vocabulary also.

[00:30:18]Instead of re- taking out the most difficult Shashi Tharoor kind of words, you know, those words are not going to be useful to people like us. Just being honest. Where are we going to use it? If I use that in front of my husband, he's just going to be like, "Huh?" If I use it in front of 10 or 12-year-old kids, they're also going to look at me. Try to find vocabulary that you can ease into your daily life.

[00:30:39]Sentences that we use regularly, whatever you use. Like I didn't realize this, but in Canada a lot of my colleagues used to whenever I would start saying something and because you know we Indians are very expressive when we speak, right? And it's not true for everybody in the world. But you know how we are very like hands and gestures and I can't believe she said that. So I use the word audacity a lot, okay? Like when I'm explaining something to somebody at work. So every time I would say something and they'll just go like, "The audacity, right?" And I'll just be like, "Yeah, exactly." And then I realized that they And I asked this one girl. She was like, "I love the way you say audacity with so much emotion and expression, right?" And then it just became a joke. Every time like I would say something, they would all together go like, "The audacity, right?" This I feel like sentences that you use a lot that really make you also feel like, "Wow, I felt good saying that." Use those kind of vocabulary. I do like to use words which are also onomatopoeic, you know? Like I like to use the word kerfuffle. Like, "What is this kerfuffle happening?" I like to use words that make me happy also. I don't know about others, but they truly make me very happy. So choose vocabulary that works for you and choose vocabulary that you can you know, assimilate in your daily life.

[00:31:53]Because until and unless you're able to do that, these vocabulary words are just going to remain dictionary words in your head.

[00:32:00]Mhm. Yes.

[00:32:02]So ma'am, do you have any question, ma'am? Yeah, I do have a question for you. Like I was speaking to you earlier also, right? How How do you think your personal journey is going through Facebook through sorry, through YouTube? You said that you were taking this time off work to, you know, work on your English skills and you started this YouTube channel. So please tell me how has this been beneficial for you on a personal level?

[00:32:27]Yes, of course. This particular journey helped me to gain more confidence because I had a lot of insecurities, ma'am, because I completed my schooling in Tamil medium that too in government school. So, whenever I speak with any English medium student even though they are not in good level, I mean they are not even in advanced level English, I always feel under confident. Okay.

[00:32:53]They are from English medium, so I have to use only Tamil with them. If I speak in English, they will underestimate my English. So, that is how I always feel bad. But nowadays, I think that okay, whatever the potential you have, you just deliver it. You are not good at English, but you are good at something else. So, that is how I console myself.

[00:33:14]And I gained a lot of confidence, and I was very bad at communication, but right now I am able to question others. And you know, sometimes I I as you mentioned, I my brain goes blank, and I sometimes I do feel that brain fog. But still now okay, I have to keep this uh session engaging, so I have to ask something. So, that is how I'm I'm just thinking and questioning others. It is helping me a lot, ma'am.

[00:33:47]This specific journey.

[00:33:49]>> That's really nice. You have a great perspective on it because like you said uh that there's a lot of personal thing you know uh concerns in our head that keep us from it, right? But I'm so glad that this is helping you open up.

[00:34:04]To this, I have a question.

[00:34:06]What is the one advice would you give a younger you from 2 years ago or 5 years ago who was hesitant to speak in English? What would you say to that person now?

[00:34:18]Uh yes, at the time we were in COVID lockdown. So, if I uh you if I use that time wisely, if I uh would have used that time wisely, I will be in different level. Uh maybe in future at least uh uh but I missed out all those things. So, I would definitely suggest her to do whatever you have with you. Like you have that mobile phone with you. You are staying at home. You don't have anything to do with. So, you can just focus on your skills. So, that is the only advice I would give to her. That's actually very good.

[00:34:54]It's very You are You're holding yourself accountable, which I think is is great.

[00:35:00]But, I also hope that you do not forget that you've reached this level. You didn't do it in COVID, but you're still doing it now, right? Because a lot of people Sankhya are still in that phase that I want to do something. I want to do something. It takes a very big action to go from a thinker to a doer.

[00:35:17]Right? Yes, ma'am.

[00:35:18]Yes. There's a saying also, always a thinker, never a doer be. That means sometimes you only land up thinking so much that you don't land up doing it. So, whenever you took the leap, I'm so glad you took it. So, I hope that whoever's watching this podcast or has watched your videos and continues to watch it knows that don't feel embarrassed about the English that you have learned. We have all made the best of our abilities. And you went to a government school and any other kid who went to the same kind of you know education medium.

[00:35:51]Today, you have reached this level and you're only going to grow from here further. So, put yourself out there, speak in that English, and let people also experience the joy. Because let me tell you what, sometimes people may look very confident on the opposite end, but they are also going through their own insecurities.

[00:36:07]Yes.

[00:36:07]>> So, maybe you're not talking to somebody in English because you feel like, "Oh my god, they're going to judge me." They are worried about something else.

[00:36:14]So, I feel like I'll be honest with you.

[00:36:17]I have been told by Like, I've been I kind of I'm aware of this one thing that sometimes in some social gatherings of people I know, people sometimes are uncomfortable because I speak in English a lot and apparently it intimidates them.

[00:36:34]Okay.

[00:36:34]>> is not my intention or never will be.

[00:36:37]But now that I have understood that, I've realized it or I've kind of heard about it, I have no problem speaking in Hindi. My Hindi is as fluent as my English. It is not very which level Hindi, but it is Mumbai Hindi. It has its language, but I'm absolutely confident and comfortable speaking. It is grammatically not very accurate my Hindi because I also have that South Indian mother tongue influence in my Hindi, but I still speak it. But again like I said, my intention is never ever or nobody's intention should be to put somebody down. So, I wish that people also come and tell you, but if they don't, it is our job also. So, maybe you're hesitant, maybe the person opposite you is also hesitant. You know, sometimes when people get scared like you know, you if I get nervous or get very angry, I only speak in English and then all my big vocabulary start to come out. So, sometimes maybe I am guilty of that when I go to a party or a new place, I'm speaking English because I am nervous.

[00:37:32]So, I feel like everybody has their, you know, have have their days and have their ups and downs. But the important thing is to put yourself out there and practice as much as possible.

[00:37:44]Yes, yes. So, ma'am.

[00:37:46]And any other question, ma'am?

[00:37:49]No, thank you, ma'am. That's what I asked you what I wanted to ask you. Yes, but I don't feel like end this conversation because I I love to talk to you a lot. But anyway, I'm looking forward to connect with you in future as well, ma'am. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:38:02]And if I get on my YouTube journey, which I'm not sure because YouTube is difficult for me. Somehow I cannot wrap my head around how to do YouTube for some reason.

[00:38:12]So, kudos to you because it seems extremely intimidating to me. But if I get on with the something, I would love to have a chat with you. I will reach out to you for sure as well.

[00:38:21]Yes, ma'am, definitely. And uh I would love to say that uh I love you I'm a big fan of your English. More than your English, I'm big fan of your personality. I really love love your personality and be the same person, ma'am. Thank you so much. Thank you. It really means a lot coming from a fellow learner and a fellow teacher. Okay, you'll do really well. So, don't worry at all and have fun with your kids cuz this time in your life will also not come back. So, enjoy that staying from home and while doing this also. It is going to be a great experience for you.

[00:38:53]Okay, ma'am. And thank you so much. Take care, ma'am.

[00:38:56]You too. Bye-bye. Take care.