01/07/2025
In this interview, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Katya (Ekaterina Ratsina), one of my amazing students who started learning English from scratch seven years ago. What’s even more incredible is that she did it all without ever living in an English-speaking country!!
Katya takes us through her journey, from feeling stuck and frustrated to finding the breakthrough that led her to become a leader in our communities. We dive deep into how pronunciation work, especially prosody, not only helped her speak with confidence but also transformed her mindset and life.
In this conversation, Katya shares her challenges, wins, and the powerful role our community played in her success. If you’re feeling stuck or unsure of your own learning path, her story will inspire you to keep going and find joy in the process.
I am so honored to share this interview. I dearly love Katya, and I know you will love her too!
In this interview, we discuss:
01:10 Meet Katya: From A1 to ambassador
04:26 Why traditional learning didn’t work
09:43 Getting stuck and the turning point
14:55 The start of pronunciation
24:47 From student to community leader
30:36 Helping others as an ambassador
34:57 The transformational power of English
40:15 Building daily speaking habits in Beyond
45:40 Creating meaningful connections
57:02 Traveling alone with confidence
01:02:24 Watching movies without subtitles
01:05:22 Different personalities in different languages
01:09:20 Perfectionism & burnout
01:15:17 How mindset changed everything
01:20:13 Big goals, bigger transformation
01:24:33 Loving the journey, not just the goal
01:28:10 Katya’s message to you
Learn with me:
Join my membership, Beyond: https://bit.ly/4knUAev
Get on the waitlist for my 3-month program, New Sound: https://bit.ly/3G7lSYy