Talking about Life in the United States + How to Be Successful in English
Whohoo!! I’m excited to share Episode 4 of my Confident English Spotlight interview series with you!
Every month in 2018, I’m interviewing a woman in my Confident English community who has developed a successful career, is doing amazing work for others, is doing something inspiring and has overcome challenges in English. In each interview, I also ask how they became more confident and fluent in English.
And I want to share their stories with you for inspiration and motivation.
In episode 4 of Confident English Spotlight, I interview Cida
Cida is an environmental lawyer from Brazil. She has had her own law practice for her whole career. Several years ago, Cida also became an aromatherapist after living in London for 1 year.
For the last two years, Cida has lived in the United States and today we chat about these questions:
- Let’s start with where you’re from and what is one thing you really miss about where you’re from?
- A couple of years ago you moved to the U.S. – what is something that surprised you about life in the United States?
- You have a diverse and interesting professional background. You’re an environmental lawyer and you’ve had your own practice. Talk about why environmental law is important to you.
- What is it like to have your own practice?
- In addition to your law background, you’re also a certified aromatherapist – what is that?
- Now that you’re living in the U.S., English has been essential for your daily life. What has been important to you in becoming successful in English?
- What advice would you offer to someone else who is struggling with their English confidence?
- Do you have a favorite word in English?
If you’re feeling stuck or frustrated with your English, listen to this interview! Cida offers some great advice on how to get unstuck in English.
And if you’ve missed previous episodes of Confident English Spotlight, you can find them here:
Life in the U.S. and becoming successful in English.
Lesson by Annemarie
“We have to go beyond our limits all the time in life. In English is the same. It’s a mindset change.” – Cida on how to be successful in English
Notes from Today’s Confident English Spotlight with Cida
I’d like to highlight some great language Cida used in her interview so you can add it to your daily English.
to admire someone or something = to regard with wonder, pleasure or approval.
Cida mentioned that she admires the way Americans view problems as challenges and the way they focus on a solution.
to do good things for future generations
One reason environmental law is important to Cida is it gives her an opportunity to improve the world now so future generations can benefit.
to handle stress = another way to say ‘to deal with stress’ or ‘to manage stress’
Aromatherapy was an opportunity for Cida to handle stress.
to have a high level of stress
We have several ways to talk about having a high level of stress in English. Here are a few common examples:
- to be/feel stressed out
- to be at the end of one’s rope
- to be overwhelmed
- to be/feel burnt out
to go beyond one’s limits = to go outside your comfort zone
Cida mentioned that to become more fluent in English, it’s important to go beyond your limits
serendipity = making fortunate discoveries by accident
This is Cida’s favorite word. Do you believe in serendipity?
Now that you’ve watched the video and reviewed some of the language from the interview, I’d love to hear from you.
This is a great opportunity to practice what you’ve learned in this interview with Cida. Here are a few questions using today’s key language:
- Who or what do you admire? Why?
- How do you handle stress or what do you do when you’re stressed out?
- Have you ever gone beyond your limits in English? What did you do?
The best place to share with me is in the comments below. I read and give feedback to comments, plus it’s a great way to learn from others in the community. I look forward to hearing from you.
~ Annemarie
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hi annemarie, thanks for sharing this video, it was interesting and inspiring. i would like to say something about “speak confident english”. i am from india. for the past few years i’ve been trying really very hard to gain fluency in english. i’ve tried a lot of websites to speak fluent english but none of them helped me. i am a very shy person and not confident enough ‘coz am not fluent. this made me miss some important oppurtunities in my career which made me depress. i was in a state of depression that i gave up everything regarding my… Read more »
Hi Navya, Wow! Thank you for such a kind, wonderful comment. 🙏 I’m thrilled to know that you’ve found my lessons so helpful to you and I hope that you’ll continue to practice so you can gain the confidence you want. And this is important for you to know—you can absolutely do it. You can make progress, just like Cida did. I know that it’s possible for everyone, no matter how shy or nervous they feel. I know this because I work with shy, nervous, frustrated students every day and I help them stop feeling fear, build confidence, and improve… Read more »
Hi Annemarie,
Thanks for sharing this video. Also, thanks Cida for sharing your life with us.
I try to answer your questions below…
1- I really admire people who inspire other people to become better in all aspects of life. As well as people who put themselves in the shoes of others.
2- I handled stress in my life through the meditation practice, healthy diet, exercise and some yoga classes to harmonize my mind, body and spirit.
3- I am trying to go beyond my limits in English.
Wonderful, Alice! Thank you so much for sharing. You expressed yourself very well in these sentences. And I absolutely agree with you about admiring people who inspire others! Very well said!
I’d love to know what you’re doing to go beyond your limits in English. 🙂
Dear Annemarie,
Thanks for lot of mail to me. I like you because you are always to inspire the people how they successfully learn English. I think many people in the world is helpful from you. I saw that this your continuous process to develop the people to learn English. But need to good communication how can i communicate with you or if we face any problem how can we share with you. When we will be successful English speaker or when we will be successful in English all credit or success for yours. You will be more familiar.
Hello and thank you for your comments. I’m glad to know you enjoy my online lessons and find them helpful. As for working with me, I provide personal help and speaking practice to students through my courses. You can find out more about those here.
Good afternoon Annemarie and Thumb up for Cida, I have a story to share with you ALL . I cannot express enough admiration to my parents, who twice leave everything to start they live over again. In 1954, the Geneva treaty was signed that separated North from South with the North being a communist state. In 1975, communist was knocking at their door, again they left their home, business, and nearly all of their worldly possessions to come to an unknown country. They were the bravest souls and I’m so proud of being their daughter. I find peace and comfort… Read more »
Thank you so much for your comments and for sharing your story, Quy. It’s an important story to share. Your parents certainly do sound brave and inspiring, as are you. 🙂
Hi Annemarie, Thanks for sharing this video with me. I also thank you Cida for her great interview. I am answering to your questions as below.. 1. I admire the people who willingly acknowledge their weaknesses and try to overcome thier limits. Those tasks are never easy, but would be essential to improve one’s life and other people’s lives as well. 2. When I am stressed out, I take a walk in the park near my house. Then, I try to contemplate the reasons of the stresses. If the cause would be a thing that I can change, I try… Read more »
Hi Erin,
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this interview with Cida! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
And what a thoughtful comment on the kind of people you admire! You’re certainly right that acknowledging weakness is never easy. It takes a special kind of person to do that.
You mentioned that presenting in business meetings is a challenge for you. What do you think is most difficult? Why do you always regret what you said?
Hi Annemarie, thank you for share this lesson, it was very interesting, and Cida is very hilarious. Now, I try to answer your questions… 1) I admire the people with the courage of Cida, who leaved her country and moved in U.S. I think it’s very difficult, especially if you’re not twenty. So, great Cida! 2)I handle stress doing something for me, like walking in a park and breathing deeply. 3) Yes! In this moment! I’m learning english, and probably I made a lot of mistakes, but I decided to go beyond my limits (fears) and I’m answering you! 🙂… Read more »
I love this, Annalisa!! It’s wonderful that you went beyond your limits by sharing your thoughts with me. Thank you. I hope you’ll do it again and keep going further.
You and I handle stress in the same way. I also take a walk or some time for myself. You’ve done a great job using the target vocabulary in my challenge questions. Nice work! 🙂
Wow! You make me happy like a child on Christmas day! I’m really speaking with you???
Wonderful ! This is the first time I use my english out of my english class… 😊
🙂 Yes, you’re really chatting with me, Annalisa. And that’s awesome that today’s the first day you’ve used English publically. Today was definitely a big step then. I’m proud of you.
Hi Annalisa, thank you very much for your comments and for going beyond your limits. That’s life and you’re doing great, believe me. I’m very happy for you. It was specially nice knowing that my interview inspired you. Lovely. I hope to see you soon in our community. And I also enjoy walking on the beach to cope with stress. It’s one of our common points.