This is an All Ears English bonus episode.
Fabrice's Adventure Story how the weekend in Boston created tangible results for a more successful life.
In English
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 50 million times.
We believe in connection, not perfection.
With your American hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Boston and New York City, USA.
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Today we meet Fabrice, a member of the Boston Adventure in October.
He'll show us the results that he saw immediately after the Boston Immersion Adventure and he'll tell us how this adventure changed his attitude toward English and his confidence forever.
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Hey Fabrice, welcome to All Ears English.
How are you?
Hey Lindsay, I'm great.
Thank you so much for having me.
Oh, I have a smile from ear to ear because I'm happy to have you on the show.
Yeah, me too.
So cool.
It's weird, but it's great.
It's great.
It's so great.
And the reason you're on the show Fabrice, is because you joined us for the second Urban English Adventure in Boston in October.
How are you feeling?
It's been about three weeks since that event.
How do you feel now?
Oh, I feel great.
It was amazing.
I'm still a little nostalgic about it because I wish I could do it again, actually.
Me too.
Me too.
Me too.
That's so cool.
So let's give our listeners a sense of what you did during that weekend, what we all did together as a group, and what kind of results you got from that weekend, right?
So you are based in Chicago, is that right?
Yes, exactly.
I've been living in Chicago for a little more than four years now.
Nice.
Okay, great.
And what do you do in Chicago?
I'm an elementary school teacher and I teach in my native tongue.
I teach in French, actually.
Oh, okay.
But English is important, right?
In your everyday life in Chicago...
Yes.
At school, I have to speak to American colleagues or to American parents.
So, yes, I have to use English.
Yeah, definitely.
Awesome.
Awesome.
So, you had a real reason to join.
I mean, why did you decide to join the Urban English Adventure, Fabrice?
Why did you come to Boston?
Well, the first reason was for work, because I wanted to be more at ease at work when I speak to American teachers or to American parents.
But the most important reason for me is that two years ago, I married an American.
And even if my English is sufficient for us to understand each other, we notice sometimes a gap in our communication and we could have some arguments because of small mistakes of my part.
I really decided to join the adventure, to overcome my difficulties, to face those everyday life situations.
Awesome.
I love that.
It's so important, especially when you're living in the US, for your quality of life and your relationships and your happiness, to have the English skills, to have that confidence right.
Right.
Definitely, yeah.
Oh my gosh, that's huge.
Okay, so you went ahead, you applied, you sent in a video introduction, and we did an interview.
And so then you booked your flight from Chicago.
And how did you feel when you entered that very first event, the first night, the informal happy hour.
How'd you feel?
Well, it was a mix of feelings actually.
I was very motivated, but I was anxious at the same time.
I was excited.
I remember that, on my way from the hotel to the bar where we had this happy hour, I didn't really know what to expect.
Yes.
But in addition, I was very excited to meet you guys, to meet you and Jessica, because in my mind you were and you still are, I guess, like celebrities.
So, yeah, I was a little anxious, I guess, but very, very excited.
You were a little anxious.
And after a couple of hours there in the bar, how did you feel?
Like once you were getting to know everyone and you saw what the situation was like.
How did you feel after that?
Well, I felt very happy, very at ease already, very confident, because you Jessica, the other students and the native speakers were all there, nice supportive.
So it was a ideal, really ideal, you know.
Oh, that's so cool.
So we went through the whole weekend.
We had an intensive weekend.
And by the time you left the barbecue, how did you feel then at the very end when you had to go?
You left around four o'clock.
You booked your flight back to Chicago.
How did it feel getting back on that plane?
Well, it was like back to reality, back to boring life.
But, regarding the program, I felt really equipped and really prepared to face anything with confidence, because the weekend really made me realize that the most important is really to connect and to be perfect.
I know it's your model, so it's not original, but it's really what I felt.
I really, because sometimes before Boston I was not very confident, but through the challenges I was aware that native speakers were always able to understand me and I was always able to understand them.
So good.
I love it.
I'm so happy right now.
It's so cool to see these kinds of results.
It makes it so worth it.
So worth it for us.
All the planning is just amazing.
I mean, okay, so yeah, you're right, though, when it comes to connection, not perfection.
We say that on the show all the time, and we mean it 100%.
But sometimes we have to get out on the street and prove it to ourselves, right?
Yeah, definitely.
We have to dive in to get out of our comfort zone.
And we wouldn't do it in real life.
Awesome.
Yeah, that's so true.
That's so true.
So, you were able to prove that to yourself, right?
Okay.
I love it.
So, it's been about three weeks since the program ended, right?
I mean, let's talk about like specific results that have come from that experience.
Now, you took the TOEFL exam like...
Really soon after coming home.
Tell me how that went for you.
Well, it went great, actually.
My score was 112.
So it was a great score for me.
And I'm sure I wouldn't have done better so well without the Boston Adventure, especially regarding the speaking and the listening parts of the TOEFL exam.
I was a little anxious about that before, but thanks to you guys, I really approached it with a lot of confidence and it worked pretty well.
I had a score like 28 or 29, something like that, on 30.
So congratulations, that is so cool.
And what are you going to be and what are you going to be able to do now with that score?
Well, with that score I will be able to apply for a master's program at university to become a foreign language teacher here in the United States.
So to have an American diploma would be great.
Oh, so cool.
Imagine just what, just, you know, the result.
I mean, obviously you were preparing for the TOEFL before you came, but I think the weekend gave you that push, that confidence that you may.
I don't know, maybe you wouldn't have found it right.
If you hadn't come.
Oh, no, no, no, for sure.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I want to say congratulations on that.
This is what happens when we actually, we are in integrity with our own goals.
Like we always say we want to get better.
We have life goals.
But if we don't actually make a commitment to doing something, to changing what's going on, we're not going to get there right.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
I was really lucky to have this experience.
Okay, awesome.
So we made a little bit of a change this time.
We added something new.
We called the action plan meetings where we were able to give you guys feedback.
Did this meeting help you?
Yes, this meeting helped a lot actually.
It was awesome.
I mean, I was really looking forward to it because I knew that you and Jessica were observing us all the time.
I noticed that and I was observing you too.
It's funny.
I knew you would have amazing feedback about everything, about all the weekend.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Yeah, we were watching you guys very closely.
And you know, you guys had a special advantage because we had we had a smaller group this time.
But you know this is something that we want to try to do in future groups to make the feedback very customized and not just like on a one to five scale grammar vocabulary.
It goes a lot deeper than that.
Did you feel that?
Yes, yes, definitely.
How to tell that?
We were really close.
You weren't like teachers, but more like friend teachers.
Exactly.
Really relating to us.
I know that you pointed for my evaluation.
You pointed things that I already knew, but you made me aware that I could overcome them.
Awesome.
For example, not focus when approaching a situation, a real life situation.
Yes.
That I shouldn't focus on what could go wrong.
Yes.
On the contrary, that I should go right into it.
Yep.
Yeah.
Focus on what could go right.
Right.
I love that idea.
You also told me that and it was a great advice that I, when we discussed I told you that as a teacher, I feel very confident in my classroom.
So you told me that to put myself in this state of mind, to be able to be more confident about my speaking skills in English,
And it works.
It really works.
Oh, cool.
So you've been using that back at home.
I love it.
Yeah, because that is you too, right?
That's us.
Like in different scenarios, when we feel really confident, that's a version of ourselves, of us.
And we can replicate that in different areas.
There's no reason why we can't.
Yes, definitely.
And I've never thought of that before.
And so great advice.
Awesome.
Okay, very cool.
Let's talk about some specifics of what we did here.
So you participated in the drama lab, Fabrice.
What was that all about?
What did you learn from that?
What were the skills that you gained there?
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Wow, a lot of skills, actually.
It was a very intense afternoon and first we learned a lot of idioms through the phone challenge and then we were about to talk about these idioms with the native speakers and with you guys, so it helped a lot to remember them and to be able to reuse them in real life and to establish a better connection.
Yeah, so cool.
I love American idioms.
There are so many.
Yeah, I think it's a great way to connect with the Americans.
Yeah, it's really important for connection, right?
Because it makes us feel familiar with each other, right?
Exactly kind of insiders and we're able to connect on that level.
That's deeper than when we use just the formal language.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So the fact that I could vary my vocabulary, it's a great thing.
Yeah.
That's so cool.
And after the drama lab, we went to dinner with the native speakers, right?
We all went down to Central Square in Cambridge, and we went to kind of a sports bar, right?
So how was that for you?
Well, I really enjoyed the dinner because it really helped me to improve my skills and my speaking skills, because the dinner, The dinner, was great, of course,
It's always nice to have dinner with some friends.
And we were able to share occasionally about what happened.
It was a very laid-back way.
So we were able to give you feedback about the program.
We were able to give us feedback, but it was really laid back.
That's what I lacked.
And most of all, the natives were very open and supportive.
So we could literally ask them anything and share with them any of our opinions, because it was a non-judgmental atmosphere.
So that's great.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's the other piece that's so important for this program is the time that you spend with natives.
I mean, how did you find the native speakers?
Were they friendly?
Did they help you develop?
Yeah, they were super friendly.
We had only spontaneous conversations with them.
That was great, but a lot of different topics.
So we constantly had to speak about anything at any time.
And they were very helpful, very interested, curious people patient, so that was really ideal condition.
Yeah, they're amazing.
They're definitely amazing people and they have different talents and it's really cool.
I mean, you know, where can you go, that you have a chance to do this kind of conversation, spontaneous speaking with native speakers.
It's just very rare.
Yeah, exactly because in real life, here in Chicago, for example, I wouldn't see myself talking to people in the street or in the bus.
It's a little weird.
It's a little weird.
Yeah, yeah.
That's funny.
That's great.
And so what about our team?
So we had a smaller group this time.
And how did you get along with the other members of the team?
And how was it being in a small group of students?
Well, I think that it was a great advantage because we basically spent all of our time with you.
Yeah, right, exactly.
So two teachers for four students is perfect.
And the group where the other students were great, we got along very easily.
I think we created a special bond right away because, Although we were from different countries, different age and different culture, we had the same fears and we shared also the same goals just to improve our English.
So we collaborated with each other, we helped ourselves in challenging situations, and that was great.
That's so cool.
It's true.
It's like you guys are in a situation where you're taking a big risk, right?
You're flying to Boston.
You're paying for this program.
You are meeting us.
You haven't met us in person before.
You know us through the podcast, but it's a big risk in so many ways and you're in it together, right?
You're not alone.
Absolutely.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, I remember the first challenge.
I was paired with Koyo and having him on my side made me overcome my fears.
So we took advantage of the fact that we were both in the same boat, actually.
I love that.
Good expression too.
We're both in the same boat.
We're all in the same boat here.
I love it.
I love it.
All right, cool.
So I want to ask you just a couple more questions here, Fabrice.
This is so cool having you on the show.
I love it.
Okay.
So if some of our listeners you know we're going to be holding more of these programs in the spring and the summer, what kind of student do you think should join the Urban English Adventure?
Well, definitely someone who wants to have fun because it was fun.
But I think also that students should be ambitious and should be really ready to take risks and to want to improve their English at any cost, but still having fun.
Yeah.
You learn without realizing it, actually.
Yeah.
No, someone who's going to take on these challenges and accept them.
Because you don't have a choice, right?
We set up the challenges for you and we say, here's your task.
Yeah.
You don't have an option to say no.
Yeah.
And we couldn't use our phones.
No, right.
Yeah.
That was me.
You have to complete the task.
We kind of force you, but in a good way, right?
With a little friendly nudge, let's call it.
Yeah, definitely.
And being in the city was great comparing to being in a classroom.
Last summer, I took some classes, like two weeks of class in a school, a traditional school.
Okay.
So, I learned more in one weekend than in two weeks.
Oh my gosh, that's amazing.
Yeah, I mean, that's really what we're trying to challenge.
Is that traditional classroom model, because we see some major problems with that model.
Right,
You get no contact with native speakers, you're sitting in a classroom so you don't get to move.
There's a lot of things that we think we can do better here for you guys, because you know we want you guys to reach your potential and do what you can with your English to live a better life.
Yeah, but it's a real deal.
This program is the real deal.
Really?
It's the real deal.
Yeah.
So what piece of advice then, would you give to someone who's thinking about joining the program this summer or this spring?
Like what would you say to them?
I would say really don't hesitate, because with all the support that the All Ears English team brings, you cannot fail.
It's impossible.
And I would say that some people could be afraid really to apply with this video that you have to make.
Just do it.
It would be really a shame not to do it because of this legal fear.
Yeah.
So really don't hesitate.
It's fun.
It's conversational.
You really...
I felt that we could really learn the difficulties of English itself.
We weren't just spectators, but we were actors of it, of our learning.
Okay, I love that.
That's fantastic.
You were right in the middle of it, and you got better.
You got stronger, you got more confident, and you came away with a good memory, like a happy memory.
Oh, yes, yes, definitely.
I was really sad to have to go back to Chicago.
Oh, so good.
So good.
That is so cool.
Fabrice, thanks again for joining us on this October adventure.
And maybe we'll see you back in another one in the summer.
Who knows?
Who knows?
Why not?
If it's possible.
Why not?
Why not?
All right.
Awesome.
And thanks for taking the time to come on the show today.
I love it when we have student voices on the show.
No problem.
It was an honor.
So thank you.
Absolutely.
All right.
Thanks, Fabrice.
We'll talk to you soon.
Thank you.
Bye bye.
All right.
Bye bye.
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