No AI will help you with this
The hardest skill to develop on your own
In this email:
Reflect: speaking a foreign language in the AI age
Practice: this week’s speaking prompt
What I’m up to: in person hangouts rock!
Links & about me, if you just got here
Reading time: 5 minutes. You can do this :)
Struggling to focus? Read one section at a time.
Your brain loves everything more if you don’t overload it.
Struggling to understand? Support your reading with paragraphs you don’t understand by copying them here.
No shame in getting help if you need it. It’s part of the process.
AI is very useful, indeed.
But it can’t do this one thing in your place.
It can’t speak for you.
It can translate, of course it can.
But it cannot do the speaking on your behalf. It just can’t.
Speaking, and making connections to other humans, heart to heart, is something no AI can do for you.
Thankfully, I would say.
Speaking is possibly the hardest skill to develop independently because… It’s hard to do it on your own without feeling slightly crazy — although I encourage it while in the learning process, because you have no audience but yourself.
You can find my self-talk guide here, with extra tips not only on how to get speaking on your own, but also on how to use what you recorded to improve yourself. Independently.
Which can help slowly push you away from a space of shame, and towards a space of playfulness.
And if it doesn’t… I suggest you ask yourself, who is the worst enemy of my learning? Might that be… Myself?
And if that is the case, it’s good news. Because you have that under a certain amount of control. Re :)
If you’ve been reading me for a while you know that I work a lot with speaking prompts to encourage you to speak on your own and beat perfectionism, in the language you are learning without needing company.
I explained why speaking prompts work, how they help, and how to actually use them, in more detail here.
Today’s speaking prompt to practice on your own
What is one thing that is (or might become) possible in your life because of English (or French)?
For what reason is it important to you?
It doesn’t have to be anything productive. It can also be something that just makes you happy, like being able to read a certain writer in the original language (that’s what finally pushed me to start reading serious literature in Spanish: being able to read Mariana Enriquez in her own words. It only happened about 4 years ago.)
How to prepare for recording in a way that helps you grow:
Write 3-4 bullet points (you are not writing a script, you don't want to sound like you are reading out loud)
Try to keep it concise: give yourself a time limit of 3-4 minutes.
Listen to yourself once and think of the things you'd like to improve: words that you were missing. Places where you were unclear. Make a mental note to improve those areas, and then re-record.
The three ways you can work with me whenever you’re ready:
Discover more about or join The Joy Luck club here, where you can come and… Speak with lovely people! Grow and bloom together, without breaking the bank. All details are on the page: we are waiting for you! If you join us now, you’ll get two benefits: being in a smaller group (which allows for a more intimate experience) and a lower price. See you inside?
Flow and Bloom is my 1:1 English and French coaching programme. Want to find out if my work can serve you? Then fill in this form, and I will get back to you!
I have space for one new client. Do you want to be the next person to stop being afraid of speaking and start to love their English (or French?) Then reply to this email — in Italian, English, French, Spanish or German — and let’s chat. No pressure of any sort to actually work with me if you speak to me. It should be obvious, but let me write it out. I hate pressure on me as a buyer. I won’t make others feel pressure of any sort either.
Have a conference or a talk in English coming up that feels more scary than exciting? Let’s get ready together at my Coaching Clinic! Fill in this form, give me some context, and let’s get you some quick, practical & super focused practical support… Along with someone cheerleading for you in the corner.
What I am up to
I don’t know about you, but in these 5 years that have passed since the pandemic, lockdowns and the like, even though I’ve moved 99% of my work online…
I am really, really enjoying getting together with people in person.
So much so that when I do… I forget to take selfies or photos. I am too busy enjoying the connection, and the company.
Two weekends ago I was at the Neurolanguage Coaching conference in Sitges, near Barcelona. I am so grateful that conferences are so often held here in Barcelona and surroundings!
Thisconference was my second this academic year. In November, I was invited as a speaker at the Europe-wide French teacher conference, and it was so cool to just cycle there, no planes involved. I hope I can go again this year! (I will keep you posted.)
It was brilliant… It was the exact illustration of what I said above, about getting together and feeling the fabulous energy of being with like minded people!
Listen to my interviews about language learning, multilingual life and solo travel as a woman here. In English, Italian and French.
French speaker? Read my speaker bio in the Intervenantes section of the Rencontre FLE by Maison des Langues, if French is easier for you.
Italian speaker? Listen to me on Spotify, or sign up for my biweekly cultural bulletin. Access other cultures through literature, film, visual art and series from 4 different language spaces. The ones I inhabit. Join me :)
Read my archive (and find past, free speaking prompts for practice) here.
About me:
My name is Paola.
I’m an ICF-certified language coach, and I speak 5 languages fluently.
I believe in making language learning and cultural growth available to as many people as possible, which is why this newsletter has no paywall, and won’t ever have it.
I also believe in slow, gentle communication: we have enough stressors in our lives. Let’s make our learning space a space of peace and kindness, pushing back against notifications, social media noise & mental fog, and expectations of instant responses.
My mission is to get others to access a wider world thanks to their English — speaking a language well is so much more than just a skill you can put on a CV, it’s a door to other amazing, colourful, far away worlds! — and to help them do so joyfully, without judging themselves, and being okay with messing up. Making mistakes is part of the game.
Learn with joy, consciousness & (self-)love. Everything else will follow!
Thanks, Luciano!