When you think about success in English, what comes to mind?
Do you think about being able to speak without getting stuck?
Do you think about speaking flawlessly without making mistakes or without mispronouncing words?
When I think about success, I think about what's possible.
What is possible for you now that wasn't possible for you before?
What is possible for you on a personal level, on a professional level, on a social level?
And these are the things that I love talking about with my students.
And today, you are going to join a conversation that I had with one of my students.
Her name is Jelena, originally from Serbia and now living in the US and working on her PhD.
And in this conversation she's going to talk about the anxiety and stress and lack of capabilities that she felt when she was communicating in English before she had moved to the US and before she joined one of my programs New Sound, Later Beyond.
And in those programs she went through a deep transformation when it comes to her English and how she is capable of using the language freely, clearly and confidently.
So she will talk about...
What is possible for her now?
What are the things that used to be an issue and are no longer an issue?
And I want you to listen into this conversation because it is so inspiring and so motivating seeing someone who has been exactly where you might be right now and seeing what's possible for them with guidance and structure and with doing the work.
She's going to talk about all the good, bad and ugly, and I bet that you are going to find a lot of value and inspiration in this conversation.
I cannot wait for us to get started.
Let's listen.
Hi, Elena.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
How are you doing?
I'm doing really good.
Yeah, like the weather is terrible, but I feel great.
And I'm very grateful for this opportunity to share my story about my life in the United States and how actually I improved over the years thanks to your programs in general, but mostly New Sound.
So I'm very excited to talk about that.
I am so excited to hear more and to ask you.
And for those of you who are new to these types of conversations, these are conversations that I often have with previous students of mine, who talk about what's possible for them now that English is no longer an obstacle.
And I cannot wait to share with you Jelena's story.
And we also talked right before we hit play and we said, it's going to be like a public catch up.
Right.
Like we're going to catch up on each other's lives and the changes, but we're going to do it publicly, because I think it's so inspiring seeing people who are confident and fluent and successful and understanding that it hasn't always been like that.
And this is what I want to talk about.
Yeah, for sure.
For me, it was like a, such a, such a struggle at the very beginning.
So, um, yeah, it's a huge shift in my life in general.
So let's talk about that.
But before that, please introduce yourself to those who don't know you, which is probably most of the people watching right now.
So my name is Jelena.
I'm from Serbia originally.
But about five years ago, I moved to the United States for work.
So I work at the University of Michigan as a research fellow now.
I started as a visiting researcher back then.
And this is maybe important to the story, because I was able to get a position here at the University of Michigan after the New Sound course.
So that's the reason why I'm mentioning that.
And yes, I think yeah.
So basically, when it comes to my English journey, so I used to learn English in elementary and high school, but it was almost, you know, with written tests and grammar, and I didn't have actually a real opportunity to speak English before I moved to the United States, so basically five years ago.
When I came here, I was very anxious.
I was a voider, so I was like super scared to talk with my first supervisor.
So every time that I would need to have a meeting with her, I was like anxious and, you know shaking, and it was just not a very pleasant experience for me uh, and i avoided going outside.
So the basically the only comfort zone that i had at that time was like spending time in the apartment, because every time that i would step outside from the apartment it's like out of my comfort zone.
Doing grocery store, going to the doctor's appointment, going to work talking, talking science with my colleagues, so everything, or like making social interactions, everything was a struggle.
Everything related to english and to other people, whether it was about science or about where are the eggs.
So basically everything yeah, was related to english, because in order to communicate the science, i need to use english.
And uh, you know, even if i had a good idea, i didn't know how to communicate them, or like, maybe it's not that i i didn't know how to communicate that.
That was part of the problem, but also confidence.
I think That was the thing that I was lacking the most, because I was afraid.
So I would you know and I want to emphasize that because you said I all I knew was basic, you know English, or blah blah blah, like you said, you know just communicating, but you did get that position and that offer.
So that means. that you were able to pass some exams or to go through some kind of a process.
So clearly English was there for you.
It's just that it wasn't like the spoken experience or feeling confident or had permission to share ideas like you had in Serbian, for example, or like you would have liked in english.
Right yeah, exactly so yeah, as you said, but like even if i, when i was preparing for my interview with supervisor, it was a struggle and i remember i would walk outside with my husband uh, i maybe just uh to give a context.
So my husband used to live in the uk and his english is really good in comparison to mine, especially five years ago.
I was always comparing myself to him and I was frustrated that my English was not good enough.
But he was always supportive.
And before all these interviews I would practice with him and you know I would try to learn some phrases and new words and like how to present myself in the best possible way.
So yeah, I think, like with the practice and like that was like hours and hours and days of practice, I was able to get that position.
Yeah, you're right.
Yeah.
So, like you had that practice, you had the ability, but when it came to live spontaneous, you know day-to-day conversation.
Or I would bring my husband with myself as a support, because I knew that whenever I, you know, get stuck or like I cannot recall the word, he would be here to jump in.
So it was just like, you know, it's just, I don't know.
Yeah.
Yeah, when I think about those times, it's so funny and silly.
But, you know, it's just like I was, I don't know, I feel like I'm a partially, like, perfectionist.
And I knew that my English is far from perfect.
And that just blocked me from going outside and, you know.
Yeah, communicate with people in general, no matter like whether that was, you know, finding friends, or like teaching or I don't know.
Communicate my scientific ideas.
I think that, like what you pointed out, that when you, when you are a couple, and one has a higher level of English or more experience or just more confidence, right and it immediately puts the other person.
And I know that from a lot of my immigrant students, usually women like immigrating to the US.
And it's kind of like having that on one hand support system.
And on the other hand, it's almost like, It's a way of staying hidden, right?
Like not pushing yourself or not.
So, and also like the nature of communication would be that the one person, whether it's the woman or the man, would be more dominant, more having conversations.
So they would go ahead and improve their speaking skills, social skills, all of that.
And the other person would stay dependent on that person.
Again, men or women, women, men or men or women.
So I think that that it's something that, if that happens, like what you said was great, that at least you had him as a support system, but you still you were still the one speaking and communicating, which is which is really important.
And it's important to pay attention not to hide behind other people so that you can still put yourself out there, because it's really, really important.
How did you feel during that time?
Of course, it's frustrating that you can't talk and you were avoiding, but how did that make you feel about yourself and about your capabilities?
Yeah i i yeah, i didn't feel really good like about myself.
I i had like these uh very like sad days because i uh in serbia, back in serbia and after serbia, i lived for a short period of time in slovenia.
I was always surrounded by people and i would always go after work to like drink coffees or whatever, like wine nights with my best friends, But that was something that I was lacking here.
And I think that really hurt me on emotional level.
So I was really, really, really struggling.
And I was really desperate.
I don't know.
It's basically I was desperate.
So I knew that I need to do something for my basically mental health because I was struggling a lot.
It was real, real struggle.
Yeah um, and then uh actually um, i.
So university of michigan has a great support, our support system for uh international speakers, and i think maybe i was lucky that i moved to ann arbor, which is a university town, student town, so there are like a lot of people all over the world So they have a really good.
You know, on Michigan, University of Michigan websites, I recommend that courses and like ways how to improve your English and everything.
And among all these courses, it was yours, new sound course.
So surprising to me, by the way.
Yeah, but I think it was like one of your students written like a review of New Sound and I think it immediately caught my attention and I think maybe one of the main reasons why I decided to join New Sound is that you are also a non-native speaker.
Because I think that I always struggle, like when I when I came here, I struggled to speak with people in general, but like speaking with native speakers is it was like always like additional step of like.
Uncom, uncomfortability.
I don't know if that's the word in English, doesn't matter but like super, super uncomfortable, like even more uncomfortable, because I knew that international students could relate to me, as I could relate to your story.
And when I saw and native speakers you know they maybe if they learned like second language, but like in the when it comes to like English courses and everything, I knew that you know you are a non-native speaker and you will understand what struggles we have when we try to learn English.
So that was like, I think, one of the biggest reasons why I decided to enroll to the New Sound.
And I started actually, I was late for the New Sound round, so i started with sprints and i noticed that sprints helped me a lot with my pronunciation, which was like also uh uh, really i think my pronunciation also besides confidence uh, improved the most because, like there are a lot of differences, there are like many differences between how we pronounce serbian sounds and english sounds, and you know.
So i think sprints really helped me with with pronunciation and i saw that you know this works for me.
You know and i trust you and uh yeah, that's how i uh enrolled in the new sound.
I love this story.
First of all, thank you so much for sharing.
And I'm so happy and proud.
And, you know, and I think that at the end of the day, there are many methods that work.
But for a lot of people I know how specifically pronunciation even if it's not just about the accent but the method really builds up, builds you up as an international speaker.
So I want to talk about, I want to ask you what was it about pronunciation or what was it about New Sound specifically, because it's not just pronunciation, but what was it about New Sound that helped you transform?
And if you can share, like a turning point where you said to yourself oh my God, now I feel like a change, I feel a difference.
Yeah, so first maybe to go back to pronunciation, because I again discussed a lot about this with my husband and I actually learned that I am not aware of all these sounds that exist in English.
So, for example, one of the biggest struggles that I had is the TH sound and I was not aware of its existence.
And he told me, and I was like I don't know how to pronounce this, and i remember attending one of like you had a like workshop before the new sound and you shared like a sneak peek into the new sound and there was a lesson about the th sound and i was like that's it yeah, that's it, you know.
And now you know.
Now I know how to pronounce, because I knew that you were going to explain how to position mouth, because you know, I wasn't unaware that I need to, you know, change a bit how I position my tongue and, like you know muscles inside of the mouth to pronounce English sounds.
And, you know, I'm a scientist, so I need to break that down.
I'm just a perfectionist, which feels like it sometimes goes together, right?
Yeah.
So yeah, that was a pronunciation.
And then yeah, the other thing that I really liked about New Sound is that I had so many opportunities to speak in safe environment, which was Talk about that.
Why is it important?
Very important for me because you know you meet with a group of people from all over the world who are all very kind and very understanding.
And we all come with more or less similar stories and struggles.
And I think it's very...
For me it was very beneficial to speak and practice in that safe environment because everyone is very supportive.
And you build a confidence step by step.
At least that's how it happened in my particular case.
Once, when I learned that I can, you know, speak without any.
You know issues let's say issues but I am able to discuss different topics, because we didn't discuss only, like you know, selected topic, but like every single day or week, we would have like a couple of different topics and we would discuss about them.
I learned that I can do that.
I can go outside and I can speak with people.
So the only thing that actually was blocking me from doing this is actually Courage, or like I was afraid, or you know.
So The turning point and that's something that I shared with all of you guys in the new sound was this famous story about Visiting professor that came to the University of Michigan.
So back then it was like, I think, middle of the new sun round.
I had a couple of questions for him, but I was still afraid to ask him those questions in front of people.
But after the lecture I approached him and we had like a 15 minute conversation about like the science, and you know his lecture.
So that was, I think, a huge, huge step for me.
And yeah, I think that was like a very like, as you said turning point, like it was like clearly gave me like a this confidence boost that I can do this not only in the safe environment but, like you know, can go outside and live my life fully.
Basically,
Yeah.
First of all, I totally remember that story.
And we refer to this story every now and then, sharing about, like you know, talking about The impact it could have, because I think what you're saying is that I did the work.
You know, I opened up my speech.
I build confidence through building my pronunciation, but also building confidence and actually having conversations.
With other people in a safe environment, proving to myself that it's that I'm capable of doing that because, at the end of the day, it's just like proving to ourselves that we're capable.
So do you think that mindset and having that like these transitions or transformations in your thinking know, do you think it's needed for people who might say no, i just need like just let me learn pronunciation or let me just yeah, i think mindset is one of the the most important things, at least for me, because you know, if you have like these limiting beliefs and you're like afraid of speaking, i think you know this is the switch that you need to start and go outside and you know speak, you know whatever.
So I think in my particular case, besides pronunciation and also you know, I learned a lot of vocabulary and grammar here and there.
But I think mindset and, like you know, this confidence that I gained was like the most important part in my journey.
What are some other wins that you have experienced since then?
So if we look back at Jelena from 2021, let's say to Jelena of 2026, So yeah, there are a lot of wins.
So the first one, I got a research fellow position here at the University of Michigan.
I did an interview with a professor and I was super happy that that was successful because I got the chance to stay here in the United States with my husband.
So that's, you know, unmeasurable happiness.
And then also I'm super proud of having an opportunity to meet people from all over the world and to have a really great social circle like friends that we hang out with regularly, and among them is my best friend Amanda, who is a native speaker, and I'm just saying that because at the beginning I told you that I was really afraid of like speaking with native speakers in particular and the loneliness of someone who is just immigrated or relocated.
You know like it's a, it's a real thing and it's hard to know to, to break, break through when you're also exactly, and i think it's maybe just not just speaking, but also like getting used to, like how the thing, like when the relations in the united states work, because i i think you know how to communicate.
So that was like all the, all the uh, like those tiny nuances that you learn when you live in the country cultural differences.
I'm so happy that I have Amanda and that we have this beautiful friendship.
You know doing brunches and speaking about so many different topics, like I would speak with my best friends in Serbia.
So I think I really, really appreciate it and cherish that friendship a lot because, you know, that's something that I didn't think it would be possible for me uh, in in in the united states, but like i, i'm yeah, i managed to do that like one of the most the biggest wins.
Yeah, it is because i'm really yeah, i'm really a social person.
So if i'm not surrounded by people, i'm very yeah, i don't feel well.
I need people around me.
So I think that may be one of the reasons why I like dancing because it's like a social thing.
And, you know, another another win is that I taught salsa, Cuban salsa here in Ann Arbor.
And that's again thing that I would never in English, in English, I would never do this teaching salsa in english.
Yeah, that was like i don't know.
It was just uh, i don't know, i could not imagine that something like that uh, would happen to me, like having this great community here um, and like everyone was like so uh, welcoming it.
Just i'm so lucky that i'm surrounded with this great group of people and yeah, but you also attract this and you are open right, like it's not, it's not magic and it's not just luck.
It's also what the intention that you've set, you actively looking for it and you actively making a change in your mindset, in how you show up your willingness to be vulnerable and open, even though it was scary, like it's.
It's not coincidence and i think it's possible for people who have that mindset and who do the work, because it's both about putting in the work but also Yeah, doing the real thing.
So yeah, basically, so that's what I was trying to do.
As soon as I got, as I said, this confidence and I knew that people understand me what I'm trying to say, you know, I went outside and I tried to seek for, you know, someone to speak with.
So I don't know, in the past also like, one of the things that was like really stressful for me was a doctor's appointment, right.
Because, you know, you want to explain the doctor what's wrong with you.
But now you know I don't need to like do hours of research before I go to the doctor's appointment.
So it's just like that is huge.
You know, I remember in New Sound this woman.
She was like it's the first time in three years that I went to a gynecologist.
Because I was so afraid and I finally did it because I wanted to.
You know like I could hold my ground with in English and tell them what they think.
And which was, you know, like this, this is life changing for a lot of people.
I have a question for you.
First of all, congratulations on all the unbelievable, incredible wins.
Like, you know, you are such a superstar.
I love, love, love hearing it.
And I love, you know, Jelena reached out to us a few weeks ago, a few months ago.
And just she sent me an update about like I just want you to know because she hasn't been in.
You know, New Sound happened in 2022.
It's been a while, but she sent me an update, which I loved, because I love getting that from my students, just saying this is what's possible for me today.
And the impact of doing this, working on this the way you did is long lasting.
It's not something that you feel just like after month or two.
Exactly yeah, and i'm still improving.
It's, like you know, never ending and endless students exactly um, internal students maybe that would be a more more appropriate word um, I'm curious to know a little bit about what you've discovered about cultural differences and what needs to shift for you to connect better in the US.
Coming from Serbia,
In Serbia we are more direct.
We are not always like very sensitive towards like other people's feelings, like yeah, but i think we still have like a good intention.
But, like you know, you're more direct.
But here i think uh sometimes uh people can get offended by that.
So I learned how to tune down my directness.
If that makes sense.
Also, I think that I feel like my English personality is not, you know, one to one to my Serbian personality.
I think there are like a lot of reasons for that.
But like, for example, you know, Even though my English improved tremendously, I still don't have the same vocabulary as I have in Serbian, so I always need to try to find a way, depending on the topic, how I'm going to say words.
I think that I'm...
I was like, it's like for me now, it is still like very hard to make jokes.
I think that's one of the biggest challenges that I still have.
It's just like very hard sometimes.
And usually, you know, I use my facial expressions.
That's what I'm good with. to compensate for not being here.
You're a resourceful.
Yeah, exactly.
To make good jokes.
But I think that the most yeah, the thing, and then yeah, I don't know, like you know, work-life balance here is also like totally different.
There, I think that you know that you used to live in the United States, or that's something that I also struggled a lot, because people expect you to work a lot, and which is fine, but again, you know, in Europe it was like much more or like more relaxing um environment when it comes to work, but then again, you know there is a price to pay because, like here, you get, you know, better scientific outcomes, let's put it that way, you know.
So it's um yeah, i think it's just, uh.
And then yeah also, i think that i'm also like have, i'm very open to my best friend amanda, talk with her about like so many different topics, but i don't know some some topics here, i think, that are more sensitive than the topics that i was uh able to talk with, like random people, you know, in serbia.
So those are, i think, maybe the the, the things that i noticed um the most.
But yeah, i think Yeah, I learned a lot.
I'm very grateful because it's not just like meeting like the people from the United States, but also like a lot of people from mostly like South America and India and China.
They all have like different ways of communicating their ideas.
Sometimes, when you need to read between the lines, you know it's just like a very, very interesting experience in general.
And I think being able, like just even being aware of it or paying attention is, you know, it's a good skill to have and, just you know, operate from curiosity and not from assumption.
Like you know, this person would be like this.
This person would be like that, which is, I think, what you're doing.
And also I think that cultural differences are more noticeable at the beginning of relationships.
And then the closer you get, you give yourself permission to communicate the way that feels natural to you.
And I'm sure that you and Amanda, for example, have a very different type of communication and relationship that how you have with other colleagues or people that you don't know very deeply.
Yeah, i know, and i noticed that also through actually teaching salsa.
That was also like a huge switch because i think uh, and that that's actually where beyond helped me, because after new sound, i enrolled in beyond uh, because i practiced my um teaching like salsa lessons uh, within beyond, because i learned that i cannot use the same um way of teaching as i used to do in serbia uh, so again, in teaching you, serbia is more direct.
You say yeah, you do this wrong and you do that wrong.
Yeah, here you need be to need to be like a little bit more careful and maybe not direct and maybe not like correct the the, the person um uh, like a certain person, but like Talk, like more general terms and things like that.
So that's a good point.
I agree.
This is definitely something that I see a difference.
I also see it as a coach and how people want to receive feedback.
Like there are the students who is just like, just tell me what's wrong.
Right.
Just tell me.
No, don't tell me good things because that I can't I can't. you know, fathom it as feedback at all.
And, like you know and others, if I say something that might be very critical or harsh could, you know, really impact their confidence?
So feedback is always given.
It's just that the way it's given has to be adapted to the person receiving it.
And, I think, as a good coach or communicator, depending on who you're speaking to, It's important to understand you know what they need from you.
Yeah, yeah.
Amazing.
Jelena, what would you recommend you know?
For people who have been where you were at the beginning, you know, like when you decided I need to make a change in terms of practice habits, mindset and strategy.
What would you recommend for them to do?
It's a lot, it's a lot.
So i think first thing is just uh, you know, go outside and find someone to speak with.
I know it's stressful, but like nothing bad can happen to you, you can only do that, i think.
I think actually that was like the the most, like one of the most important things that I did for myself.
Going outside and speaking with the people in the real life is the way to do it, and I think that helped me in my case the most and that is the way I made these, you know, successes in my work life, social life, general life.
Then when it comes to habits, I think I might confess, I need to confess, I'm not like really...
I'm a bit of a lazy person so I don't have like any you know strict habits, except one very important one, which is every time that I had an interview or like very important presentation, I do sprints.
That's like my go-to.
Every time that I have something important, I it's just like a Yeah.
I think this is like a great yeah.
It's just the perfect practice for everyone because, you know, I can notice immediately after this 10-15 minutes how my pronunciation changes.
I become more confident.
I'm already in that mindset of, like you know, now I'm speaking, now let's go.
You know I can do this.
I love it.
So that's the one habit that I had.
And I forgot what was the third one.
I'll tell you.
But just for people who don't know what sprints are sprints are very deliberate, intentional 10-minute drills designed to improve fluency pronunciation grammar, vocabulary.
And it's designed to build a habit of just doing and warming up and getting fit, and when it comes to your pronunciation,
And I have quite a few sprints on my YouTube channel and we have daily sprints and beyond.
So it's absolutely accessible.
The last question I had, because I asked about practice and habits, right?
Like, which is that?
And I think you also mentioned, when you started your journey, the habit of going to conversation groups, right?
Like that is the one thing.
Yeah, for sure, i think that helped a lot.
So, while it was, like you know, still in this in between, whether i'm confident enough or not, maybe you know now nowadays, since i have like so many opportunities to speak english on daily basis, i don't feel like i need.
Maybe if i move back, you know, to europe, then i would need to, you know, return and in practice, because i would not, i will not have, you know, as many opportunities to speak on daily basis.
But i have regular meetings.
I meet with amanda or, like it's my salsa friends, i go to social events, so it's just like so many different um opportunities for me to speak.
So i don't necessarily practice english every single day but again, maybe you know practicing uh, i do sprints, i i watch movies, you know it just and then speak with people who you know.
For example, Every time that I speak with Amanda, I learn some new phrase, new word.
You know it's just, you know it's maybe turning every.
Yeah, you're living the dream, right?
Like living in English, using English, learning from it, you know, constantly improving.
Uh, so that is now your practice.
Before that it was.
You know, you've created it artificially for yourself, inside of new sound and then and beyond.
But now you have transformed and there is no need for that anymore and this is why the programs exist to get to from where you were to where you are today, not to be there.
Yeah, that's the reason why i'm so grateful.
Yeah, sometimes i i like um to to say that i'm the product of your work because i used, you know so, so you know everything, like every single piece was designed in a way, from my perspective, to help me to come from this stage of like being afraid, anxious of speaking, to like where i'm today, where i use english on daily basis without any issues.
Of course, i still make mistakes.
I still cannot recall the world, the particular word all the time, But that is not the point of the conversation.
Conversation, you know, or communication, you know, it's like language.
You want to use the language to communicate with people.
And that's not always just like to have a rich vocabulary or no perfect grammar, but like communicate your ideas with as many words that you have, with your smile, with your arms, with your you know it.
Just that's the point of the language.
And once when i learned that and became confident enough uh, i just went to the world and and yeah that's, that's how i did, that is the mindset right, like that is the mindset, part of it.
It's just like language is not to be spoken just for it to be spoken.
Well, it's to connect, to achieve your dreams, to create a social circle around you and to grow personally professionally, to teach salsa, for example.
The last thing was strategy.
So you chose pronunciation for that.
So I'm assuming you would advocate for doing pronunciation work to develop that confidence and fluency.
Yeah, for sure, because I think it helped me tremendously to learn because, as I said, each language has their own unique sounds.
The idea behind choosing a pronunciation is to learn how to use the sounds of english, because i was not aware that like, there is like 40 plus sounds in english, so i was puzzled and at the same time, you know, i wanted to be aware of them, to be able to pronounce all these words that were like more or less familiar to me, and by doing that i basically noticed that my pronunciation improved and I can easily pronounce some words that I was not able to do that in the past.
So that also boosted my confidence as well.
And, you know, it's very easy to see the improvement over time.
I think that's something that's very... like measurable because you know we did like so many different practices where you would record yourself and like at some point you hear the difference and you know okay okay i learned th sound you know yeah like yeah you know yeah exactly it's like quick wins in a way yeah yeah yeah so it's yeah i think that it helped me a lot especially since you know i was not aware of that before i moved to the united states uh the time like my pronunciation is very like hard rough slavic like we have like very hard sounds and then i learned that i need to soften uh soften pronunciation of those sounds to be like more um in the in the spirit of english language and now i know it's still not for those ths yeah yeah and i know that still you know people would ask me you know well where are you from you know i hear the other you no i think that's uh i i don't know i i you know i'm still serbian you know it's just my other personality and i'm you know it doesn't bother me sometimes uh yeah i think because the reason why why it doesn't why it doesn't bother me is that um people still can understand me.
Because I'm... Yeah.
Going back to the mindset, the most important thing.
Communicate well, be a good listener, make connections, that's it. have impact when you speak.
You don't have to have a perfect American accent to do that.
Exactly.
So, yeah, so that's the reason why I think it's just I'm okay with that.
And you know it always starts some fun.
You know, small talk here is just a normal thing that you do.
I actually became a very good small talker if, again, this is a word.
Good for you.
That's also going back to the cultural differences, right?
Yeah.
Direct cultures don't like small talk.
Yeah, I know.
I know.
And yeah, I think that you know the accent thing sometimes really starts a really nice conversation and you meet people and they tell you oh, you know, for example, my grandpa was from somewhere, you know.
And, you know, always, yeah, it doesn't have to be a bad thing.
No, I agree.
It's all how we reframe it.
Exactly.
And it's really important your interpretation, because you could feel good and you can feel bad about the same situation, and it's just a choice.
Yelena, you are incredible.
You sound incredible.
It's such a pleasure talking to you.
I want to say a huge thank you for sharing your experience and your story.
You know you attribute a lot of your success to my programs, but I have to say it's all you, because you were entirely responsible to your growth and your journey and your choices and your you know curiosity and consistency.
So 100 is up, you know, was up to you and and you did incredible job and you deserve to celebrate every single win.
Uh, i am just grateful that i could be a part of your journey.
So thank you so much for being my student and thank you so much for sharing your story.
Yeah, thank you for inviting me for this interview.
And as I said, I will always be grateful until the end of my life for this whole experience.
Because, as I said, I think the biggest achievement for me is that I have a normal life in the United States.
I live here the same way I used to live, or very similarly the way I used to live in Serbia, and that's, I think, the thing that I'm the most proud of.
So that's – yes, thank you for doing that.
Thank you for creating these platforms to help people like me.
Thank you so much.
That's so inspiring and promising for people who may not have that experience and they've immigrated and they maybe missed their lives back home.
So it is possible and maybe one day.
One day we'll get you to come back to beyond and teach some salsa yeah, maybe as a guest teacher for salsa classes.
Yeah, actually we had a great fun there.
Yeah, i really like those classes.
Thank you so much and i wish you the best of luck in your next step.
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much for joining us and thank you Jelena, for this beautiful, beautiful conversation.
I am so incredibly happy for you.
If you want to learn more about our programs Beyond or New Sound, I'm going to put links in the description below.
New Sound is my signature pronunciation coaching program, and Beyond is our English fluency membership.
So if you have any questions, let me know in the chat.
And, in the meantime, have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day and I'll see you next week, the next video.
Bye!
