The focus of the course

  • Practical tasks to sharpen your focus and listening skills

    New practical tasks are being added weekly to give you enough variety. You can come back to the platform any time and you will always things to do. You will learn to understand exactly what people say in movies, TV shows, phone conversations, live interviews, quick and spontaneous replies, songs, etc.

  • Free flow speaking exercises

    In addition to training listening skills, you will focus on developing your speaking fluency. You will receive free flow speaking exercises and weekly video/audio feedback from your coach. You have a choice to submit your homework in the form of video or audio messages.

  • Personalized feedback to each participant

    The course is NOT a collection of videos that you watch on your own. Participants receive weekly feedback on their work and can always request individual feedback on their iterations of the same task. Students normally do several iterations of the same tasks when they work on acquiring a new skill.

Independent work doesn't mean you work alone

This course offers an opportunity to train your ability to understand EVERY word of a movie, a podcast, or a client's presentation in English.

You will not be training alone. You have a coach and your coach's human feedback during and after the course makes all the difference in the world of online education. 

  You can apply these strategies to hear & understand people with different accents, regardless of how fast they talk.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

    • A message from the instructor

    • How to use this course

    • Before we begin...
  • 2

    Chapter #1. Reading tasks that improve listening skills

    • Introduction to the updated Listening course. Things to expect

    • How to use dictionaries ...and why do we start with dictionaries?

    • Working with dictionaries. Practical task

    • Dictionaries & Pronunciation. More tasks.

    • My new favorite English-English dictionary

    • Let's read

    • Advanced Tip: how to check your reading

    • EXTRA: Why your accent doesn't matter that much...

    • Let's keep the record of your results

    • How to do your homework (if it's an audio recording)

    • Another READING task

    • Read action

    • Read a text of your own

    • Video feedback about Chapter #1
  • 3

    Our Community

    • New tasks and challenges every Friday

    • What if I'm new here... and I see 30+ posts in the Community?

    • A few more words about the community
  • 4

    A video that explains a lot

    • FAQ in one video
  • 5

    Chapter #2. How exactly should I read to improve my listening skills? Examples

    • Pay attention! Your cell phone!

    • Let's keep track of your results!

    • Reading practice

    • Reading practice again. Let's do this work together

    • What to pay attention to when you read... Another text to read together

    • Why read fiction?

    • How do I learn from fiction? A video lesson

    • How fiction helps us FEEL the language

    • Video Feedback

    • How to continue practicing reading to improve listening skills?
  • 6

    Chapter #3. New tools to improve your pronunciation.

    • Listen and learn from the context (how to learn from a varierty of sources)

    • Reading. Practical task

    • Practical tasks. More advanced texts to work with.

    • Benedict Cumberbatch will teach you how to read aloud

    • Another impressive Reading lesson

    • Vocabulary Review

    • A small test

    • The disappearing "H" in English

    • Revisit your recording
  • 7

    Chapter #4. Chunking, rhythm and intonation

    • What is chunking?

    • What will happen if I stress words incorrectly?

    • Where do I go UP and DOWN in English?

    • More "Chunking" rules

    • A "Chunking" exercise with a video ad

    • The rhythm of English

    • Some nuances of word stress: politician, artificial, convenience...

    • More on sentence stress

    • Chunks or "thought groups"

    • Learn to see chunks/thought groups and pronounce them correctly

    • Intonation patterns. Do you go "up" or "down"?

    • Intonation in Questions. UP or DOWN?

    • Intonation in questions. More examples

    • How does your pronunciation affect your listening skills?

    • Intonation patterns in sentences.

    • TED Karaoke exercise. Instructions

    • Tips on doing the TED karaoke exercise

    • Let's do a TED Karaoke exercise together

    • The history of chocolate. A TED karaoke exercise

    • Let's do a reading task together. The 'Sesame street' experiment

    • Ben Franklin exercise

    • Another Ben Franklin exercise (deconstructing a movie)

    • Extra: American pronunciation. Rules and exceptions.

    • EXTRA: how English sounds to non-native speakers.

    • The Standard North-American Pronunciation. Examples

    • Strategies to practice chunking consisently

    • Vocabulary work. Again🙂

    • Video feedback. Chunking
  • 8

    Chapter #5. Tips and exercises to practice chunking

    • How to make sure you stress the correct words?

    • How to speak faster

    • Learn to reduce the word "for"

    • Ben Franklin exercise. Let's practice with a movie

    • An alternative to a TED KARAOKE exercise (for busy people)

    • Choose your own materials. Karaoke!

    • Create Color Maps as you Chunk

    • Now...learn to choose your texts to practice Chunking

    • Should have, Wouldn't have, Could have...

    • Intonation in greetings and basic questions.

    • Jorge Carlin on the English Language

    • Learn to read Limericks to practice Sentence Stress

    • Vocabulary work. Let's do it again.

    • Table 1. A reminder

    • Video feedback

    • Your reading library
  • 9

    Chapter #6. Diction. Enunciation. Phonetics

    • A great exercise to improve your diction

    • She sells seashells...

    • This is what this exercise looks like. An Example

    • Let's revisit the ABC

    • More exercises to improve your diction

    • For those who are struggling with the TH sound

    • Sheep or Ship? Exercices.

    • Why work on your diction. Example from a movie

    • Summarizing your experience. Practice speaking

    • Mouth exercises for clear speech

    • Minimal pairs for better enunciation

    • Vocabulary work

    • Tongue twisters for advanced students

    • A book to improve pronunciation. Self-study
  • 10

    Chapter #7. Connected Speech as a skill

    • What connected speech looks like if we visualize it?

    • Elision, Assimilation, Intrusion, and Catenation

    • Examples of how native speakers do it

    • How to relax your accent. More examples

    • How to pronounce 'ED' at the end of verbs

    • Kids talk

    • Weather Channel... let's give it a listen

    • The disappearing H. Another exercise

  • 11

    Chapter #8. How to learn new Vocabulary as you take this course

    • My strategy to expand my vocabulary

    • A step-by-step scenario to acquire new vocabulary fast

    • Practice.

    • EXTRA: 5-step algorithm to learn new words

    • A short practical lesson

    • Another reading lesson to improve vocabulary

    • Video feedback on vocabulary lessons
  • 12

    Chapter #9. How to work with movies

    • How to work with movies

    • The algorithm of work. Adaline (2015)

    • Tips for independent practice

    • Green Book (2019)

    • Ben Franklin exercise with a movie

    • Your movie library
  • 13

    Feedback to self

    • The next step of your speaking practice

    • Feedback to self. The speaking part
  • 14

    Chapter #10. How to work with songs.

    • Working with songs. Instructions.

    • The Greatest Showman by Hugh Jackman.

    • Let's keep an eye on your results

    • More songs

    • Practical tasks

    • Short speeches and movie trailers

    • Movie trailers

    • Big Blue Sea

    • Mary Poppins

    • Jodi Benson - Part of Your World (From "The Little Mermaid")

    • Choose your own songs in our Resource Library
  • 15

    Chapter #11. How to learn from podcasts

    • How to work with podcasts

    • When words don't mean what you think they do. Why "translation" is not enough

    • The algorithm of working with podcasts

    • Animated podcasts

    • The Golden rule

    • Mi Abuela Panchita

    • A Giant Man

    • The "True Story" Podcast

    • The fall of WeWork culture

    • Religion in the communist world. Speaking exercise

    • Lexicon. Verbs on the move

    • I just can't!

    • Three tips on writing better copy

    • Your Resource Library
  • 16

    Chapter #12. How to work with Live Interviews

    • The reason we even work with live interviews

    • Introducing live interviews

    • Interview in a podcast

    • Practicing with live interviews and real human conversations

    • Stories of real people

    • You! You??? Intonations and their meaning

    • Storytelling. Kids. Family. Nah....

    • Call outs vs Call ins

    • Simon Sinek on Leadership

    • Chris Evans & Scarlett Johansson

    • Robert Pattinson & Jennifer Lopez

    • Emily Blunt & Hugh Jackman

    • Emma Watson Interviews Rupi Kaur

    • Matthew McConaughey about playing with Kate Hudson
  • 17

    Chapter #13. Understanding different accents

    • How to learn to understand different accents. Introduction

    • Don't lose your accent. Put on a new one

    • Southern accent

    • Southern American Accent. A true story

    • Midwestern accent

    • Received Pronunciation in Harry Potter

    • Irish accent

    • More of the British Accent

    • British accent

    • You can "crack the code" of each accent

    • New Zealand accent
  • 18

    Exclusive practical tasks

    • How to work with these video tasks. Instructions

    • Tracy Chapman. Summary of a love story

    • Aravind. Summary of a podcast

    • What was the GULAG? Summary and a transcribing task

    • Cal Newport about the effect of social media

    • Shrek ...and other metaphors

    • Lana del Ray sings & Simon Sinek reads
  • 19

    Monthly Zoom sessions

    • We talk live every month

    • The next LIVE call is on April 2, 2022. Join here!

    • Live session from June 5, 2020. Vocabulary exercise & Ted Karaoke

    • Live session from July 6, 2020. How to enrich your vocabulary and work with English movies

    • Live session from August 7, 2020. CHUNKING nuances & practice

    • Live session from September 6, 2020. Sentence stress & How to learn from poems

    • Live session from October 2020. How to work with podcasts

    • Live session from Nov 6, 2020. Rising, falling, and gliding intonations

    • Live session from Dec 7, 2020. Vocabulary in movies. How to work with it

    • Live Session from Jan 5, 2021. Scottish accent...or any accent

    • Live session from Feb 5, 2021. Word combinations inside chunks

    • Live session from March 6, 2021. How to pause inside a chunk

    • Live session from April 4, 2021. How to do the TED karaoke exercise properly

    • Live call from May 3, 2021. Free Flow speaking exercise. Applying self-correcting algorithms.

    • Live call from June 4, 2021. Building your practice routine

    • Live call from July 6, 2021. Thought groups and chunks

    • Live call from Aug 5, 2021. Thought groups and sentence stress again....

    • Live call from Oct 24, 2021. How to add the Color Vowel Chart system to your practice routine

    • Live call from Nov 8, 2021. How to work with audio pieces if you can't understand it even after 30 iterations

    • Live call from December 21, 2021. Free Flow speaking exercise. Demonstration

    • Live call from Jan 8, 2022. Simplify: reading and speaking exercises

    • Live call from Feb 5, 2022. Practice routine for beginners on the course

    • Live call from March 5, 2022. How to check understanding

  • 20

    The extra things....worth knowing

    • 15 annoying speech patterns

HERE IS HOW THE COURSE WORKS

  • Short lessons with clear instructions and practical tasks

  • Practical algorithms that teach you to improve your own pronunciation, understand movies, songs, podcasts,  voice messages, and interviews

  • Personalized feedback on all your work in the form of voice messages.

  • Lifetime access to regular practical tasks with video-feedback (arrive once a month)

You will get access to all the lessons right away. You can choose to work at your own pace.

You need to do the homework to see the results. 

We are going to work with fun, modern texts, songs, and videos. You will be given many options, but you are free to choose any songs, videos, podcasts, or interviews that you personally enjoy in order to practice the skill. 

The more you like them, the faster you get your results.

Your instructor

Founder

Natalia Tokar

Natalia Tokar is the Founder of this online school and UpSkillMe. She is a Public Speaking & Communication Coach for non-native speakers, business leaders, and sales teams. She has written publications for Marie Claire, Forbes, Biz360, Executive, international startup communities, etc. You can also check out her podcast on achieving native-like fluency and improving sales & communication skills on iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Feel free to check out Natalia's Youtube videos.

Got a question about the course?

Hearing every word in English is a life-changing skill. It's a new level of relationships with your team members, your friends, and with yourself.

Ask a question

FAQ

  • What English level is required to participate?

    The course runs 100% in English. Take a small test - if you understand this text and the video above, your level of English is enough to take this course. If you don't understand my videos, probably it's a little early for you. All instructions are in English.

  • What does independent work mean in the course?

    In the first part of the course, you will be doing small practical tasks that will teach you new algorithms to hear and self-correct what you hear in English. Once you learn to apply them, you can use videos, podcasts, and TV shows of your own choice to continue practicing. The course gives you the structure, which is easy to apply to anything you like or need to hear in every detail. You will receive a personalized plan and a list of exercises to practice the application of the new algorithms and the new structure (even after your membership expires). That is considered independent work. You continue receiving feedback (if you want to).

  • How much time will I need to spend on my homework?

    The amount of work will differ from day to day. We start small (with a 15-min task), and then tasks will add up. Starting from Lesson 8, daily assignments might take about 30-40 min to complete. However, these are very individual metrics and what takes you 10 minutes might take another person about an hour.

  • How does personalized feedback work?

    You will be receiving weekly feedback from your trainer in the form of a voice message. My voice messages vary in length (from 2 to 20 minutes)... and this number totally depends on the amount of work you submit. If you submit no work this week, there is no feedback this week. And that's ok too. You will catch up next week. Feedback day is Sunday or Monday (may depend on the time zone I'm currently in).

  • Do I need to do the work every day? What if I skip a few days?

    There are no deadlines that dictate by which day you're supposed to master the new algorithms offered in the course. Sometimes we need to skip a day or 5 days to let the new information sink in. Sometimes we don't feel like listening to a particular interview, but we might feel like reading one paragraph today. This course is not about finishing all the lessons by a certain date, but rather about learning a new skill. It always takes time, patience and high-quality feedback from someone who has already mastered it. If you feel like you need a day off, go for it. A 12-month membership is designed exactly for this purpose: to give people time to learn and then advance the new skill with time.

  • Why a 12-month membership? Will there be new tasks every day?

    I personally need 9-10 months to learn a new skill. When I say I "learned a skill" I mean I can do it so well that I don't need to think much about it. I just do it. One month, 21 days, 2 weeks ...have never worked for me. I want to be honest with people and set realistic goals in this course. Most adults need about a year to learn a new skill, and they also need continuous feedback, lots of support, reinforcement, and new challenges to get unstuck and move on. You will have a variety of interesting tasks, and new challenges will be added to your account monthly. Some tasks will take you 20 min to complete. Some tasks will need you to come back to them and do them again...and then maybe again... Every 3 months you will need to submit an assignment so that we can both track your progress and correct your individual plan that you will receive after about 2 months in the course. 12 months is a reasonable timeline to learn a new skill and see own tangible results.

Three exercises in a free video lesson

Give it a try!

Listen to students' stories

Watch Intro Video

One more story

12-MONTH MEMBERSHIP

A year of consistent work and continuous personalized feedback from your trainer.
A single payment of 47,000 RUB (you save 20%)
or
Four payments of 12,900 RUB (you save 10%)
or
Pay as you go (5,800 RUB the 1st month and then 4600 RUB monthly)

  • 12-month access to all the course materials

  • Weekly tasks and challenges in a supportive online community

  • Weekly individual feedback on your homework (in the form of audio/video messages)

  • Personalized plan for independent work from your trainer. Work when you can. No rush, no deadlines. You will always receive feedback.

  • Additional lessons to vary intensity and individual tips from Natalia

  • New monthly tasks to continue practicing (with individual feedback) for as long as you want

  • Bonus webinar. How to work with podcasts to improve your listening skills.

  • 20% off any future course on this platform

Choose what works best for you

In case you choose to discontinue the course in 30 days, your membership will simply expire. Your card will not be charged again.

If you're ready to commit to a year of work but you'd like to split the payment, consider this option.

CORPORATE

Please email us at support@nataliatokar.me and we will craft a personalized offer for your team.

  • Your team will learn to lead conference calls in English with ease and confidence

  • They will learn to HEAR people's words and their genuine intentions in private conversations and on the phone

  • They will practice to sell in English (we train intonation that influences the outcome of a conversation)

  • They will become great listeners and influential speakers without saying much

  • Every team member receives personalized feedback and individual assignments

Not ready to join the full course?

1. Free exercises and practical tasks are available on my Instagram (see the highlighted stories) and in my YouTube Videos. 


2. Join the Community of Practice and explore the exercises that focus on developing your Listening skills.

Learn to continuously develop great listening skills in English

If you have questions about the course, please ask them in your application

Apply