They criticized her English mistakes on YouTube... and this is why it’s SO MESSED UP.

105,809 views ・ 2022-11-15

Accent's Way English with Hadar


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Is English for everyone?
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Well, of course...
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unless you are a successful non-native English-speaking female YouTube creator.
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Let me tell you a story.
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A couple of weeks ago, I got a message from my friend Daniela,
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telling me, "Hadar, you have to check out this recent video that is
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getting some attention on YouTube.
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I'm really curious to hear what you think."
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Of course, due to my curious nature and natural inclination for a little
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bit of YouTube drama, I immediately went and checked what this was about.
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Now, at first, I thought it was just another, you know, 'stop saying'
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video made in collaboration with the creators that you see now on the screen.
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But it took me a hot minute to understand what was really going on.
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"St[ei]tus' is kinda more academic".
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"In America, we always say st[a]tus.
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We never say st[ei]tus".
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"It was a highway robbery".
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"We cannot say 'a highway robbery".
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"Just exaggerating it: garb[a]ge is wrong, garb[i]ge is right."
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"No, Americans are not wrong.
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We do not say 'Mercedes'.
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We don't say 'pizza'.
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We cannot say m[o]dern, m[o]."
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I was shocked because it turns out that Kevin and Lisa, the creators
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of this video, and actually similar videos on their channel, actually
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decided to go through a bunch of videos created by Marina Mogilko
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– also known as linguamarina, she has three very successful YouTube
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channels – pointing out every mistake, slip of the tongue, or pronunciation
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inconsistency they could find.
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Now listen, I don't personally know Marina.
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And even though we sometimes might have different views about how to
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teach English, I absolutely admire and respect her for being a prolific
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YouTube creator, a very successful entrepreneur, a mom, and also showing up
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unapologetically despite the criticism.
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And with millions of subscribers and very successful business, she actually
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doesn't need my help advocating for her.
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She can do a pretty good job at speaking up for herself.
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"Yes, I'm a creator.
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Yes, I get hate.
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Yes, I get criti...
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Yes, I make mistakes and I admit it.
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Everyone makes mistakes.
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The best teachers in the world make mistakes.
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And by the way, I think the best teacher in the world is not the one who makes
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mistakes, it's the one who motivates.
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Because we're teaching...
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like when you're teaching something, you're giving people instrument,
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and this instrument has to work.
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You can have the most perfect English in the world, but if it doesn't make your
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life better, why would you even have it?"
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So, the reason why I am recording this video is because I believe that there
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are some behaviors in the online teaching industry, YouTube in particular, that
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need to be called out if we wanna foster a healthy, non-competitive,
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and supportive environment.
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And you know what?
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It's not just for creators.
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But also, and even most importantly, for our audience.
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Because when learning a language, this is the only environment
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that allows people to thrive.
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Not a competitive, judgmental environment.
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And if you feel that even though you've been learning English for so long, you're
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still consumed by the fears of making mistakes or of speaking, or what people
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are going to think of you, I believe that videos like these are a big part of the
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problem and why you feel the way you feel.
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So, for those of you who haven't watched the video – and please
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don't go and watch it now, don't contribute to adding more views – I'm
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gonna tell you what this is about.
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The video claim to teach you how not to make the terrible mistakes made by Marina.
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So, it ranges from grammar to pronunciation, idioms, and different
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phrases or expressions, but with no real defining theme or topic,
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except for mistakes Marina makes.
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Now, any beginner teacher would tell you that a collection of random
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mistakes or random lessons without a particular theme, just like how
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it's presented in this video, is likely to create overwhelm because it
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doesn't offer real practical tools to remember, categorize, and use them.
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So ultimately, really, such videos create more confusion than clarity.
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And honestly, there are many ways to teach English, including these topics
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that are criticized in the video.
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My question is, is de-legitimizing another creator really the best way
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and most effective way to do that?
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Claiming them to be a fraud despite the value that they've provided for their
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audience, whether you like it or not?
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Is that what's going to create value for your audience?
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Or is it just an attempt to ride on the success of another creator?
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Getting views using negative messaging.
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Because that is the problem with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other
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content platforms, which often promote quantity and engagement over quality.
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And negativity attracts views, and it makes some content creators care more
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about their views than their viewers.
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And you know what, for those of you who might argue that they really do
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care about correct English, let's look at the tags below the video:
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#viral, #viral_video, #viralvideo, #viralstatus, #viralvideos, #marina
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mogilko, #linguatrip, #linguatriptv, #linguamarina, #МаринаМогилко, #Могилко.
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Hmm...
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I wonder why they haven't used #CorrectEnglish or #EnglishGrammar
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in their tags, if that was indeed their motivation.
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So now you may say, "But Hadar, Marina is a teacher with a huge following.
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She has a responsibility, right?
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She's teaching English incorrectly.
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Oh, the shame..."
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Yeah.
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Well, the thing is, many of the examples that were given in those videos were
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taken from her vlogs, where she's casually speaking or while explaining something.
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And honestly, I consider most of them as slips of the tongue or careless speaking.
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And I can attest as a non-native speaker of English that that's
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what happens when you speak fast and fluently in a second language.
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How much do you know about that, Kevin – creating consistent content and
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speaking freely in a second language?
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And honestly, you know, you focusing on those mistakes most people don't even
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notice, you are absolutely disregarding her proficiency, confidence, flow, and
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fluency, and positive impact, which is so incredibly hard to achieve and do.
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And by that, sending a message to your viewers that even if you sounded like her,
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it is still never going to be good enough.
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And, listen while I'm not saying that intentionally teaching English that is
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perceived as incorrect is a great thing, I do believe the creators of 'English with
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Everyone' have taken the mission of caring for the purity of English a bit too far.
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And by doing that, they're causing more harm than good.
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And by the way, am I the only one who is bothered by the fact that a
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white male native speaker is telling a successful non-native English-speaking
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woman to, basically, keep her head down, be quiet, and stop showing up
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because she doesn't sound like...
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well...
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him?
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But here's my biggest problem with this video.
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It's the message of what English mistakes mean, that you
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are sending to your audience.
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When you publicly shame other creators, who are non-native speakers, for
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their mistakes, you are basically validating your audience's biggest
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fears, proving that their mistakes will cost them their dignity.
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Because one of the reasons why people are so afraid to speak and they're so
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terrified of showing up in English – and that obviously affects their ability to
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build their fluency and their confidence – IS the fear of making mistakes.
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But it's not the mistakes that they're terrified of, it's people's
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reaction to their mistakes.
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It's the fear of experiencing exactly what you and everyone else in the comments
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mocking Marina, are doing to Marina.
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So now, with the attempt of helping your audience learn correct English, what
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you're actually doing is sending the following messages: Mistakes are bad.
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People will make fun of you if you make mistakes.
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Native speakers don't like it when you make mistakes.
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You're not worthy of success if your English is not perfect.
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There is only one way to speak English – like us – and there
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is no variety whatsoever.
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If you make mistakes in English, you shouldn't dare to do something publicly.
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You should definitely not teach on YouTube if you make mistakes or if
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your pronunciation is not 100% native.
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So now, just imagine someone watching this video, thinking, "If someone like
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Marina, who's a lot more fluent than me, is making so many mistakes and
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being criticized for them publicly, what does that mean about my English?"
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Do you really think your videos or these types of videos would drive them to be
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courageous, speak up and take a chance?
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Would it help them actually use what they learn with you?
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Or would it just contribute to the illusion of learning, teaching
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them something they won't have the courage or opportunity to use?
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Or you know what?
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Think of a non-native English-speaking teacher watching this video, hoping
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to start a YouTube channel in English.
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A teacher who is already battling discrimination and bias and imposter
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syndrome due to the obvious preference for native-speaking teachers in language
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institutions, schools, and on YouTube.
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Does this video send a message that everyone has a place on YouTube,
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non-native speakers included?
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Even if they don't have a native-speaking counterpart on the screen?
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Or does it say, "Back off, unless your English is perfect"?
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And on a personal note, as a non-native speaker myself, whose
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English is far from perfect...
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I mean, seriously, I can go through my videos and ask myself questions like,
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"Did I really pronounce an S here?"
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Or, "Where did that article go?"
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Because that's what happens when you speak fast and the energy of
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speaking is a little stronger than your ability to articulate it.
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So, when I was thinking of making this video, I thought, what if the grammar
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police decides to come after me next?
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Now, of course, I didn't let that thought stop me, but if this happened 5 years ago
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when I was first starting out, not only I'd never dare to say anything against
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this, right, but I'd also be terrified of posting anything that's less than perfect.
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It would really inhibit my ability to share and post and be prolific.
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That would've necessarily meant not publishing content as much as I did,
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which would've led to me not being here and where I am today – having
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a life I love, a community I adore, and a business that changes lives.
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If I let perfection stop me, all of this would not have been possible.
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I wanna say something to all of you who really enjoyed Marina's public
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humiliation and commented about her English and actually how much she's
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not bringing value, and all of that, not seeing that there is something so
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fundamentally wrong with this video.
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I invite you to be more mindful.
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Because what goes around comes around.
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Judgment towards others is often really a projection of the judgment
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that we have towards ourselves.
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And maybe the next time you'll need to speak English in public, you might
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remember this experience, and you're not gonna wanna be Marina and you'll avoid
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speaking out of fear of being ridiculed.
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And that, my friend, will cost you your fluency, will cost you opportunities,
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and living the life that you want.
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So, instead of bringing hate and shame to such situations, bring compassion and
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grace to those who are less than perfect.
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Focus on what matters, and believe that this is what you deserve
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as well when you fall short.
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You know, it's funny because on the English for Everyone Instagram
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account, it says: "We focus on American pronunciation and teach English
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just like you hear in real life."
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And the truth is, this IS what English sounds like in real life.
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It is spoken with different sounds and different syntax.
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And yes, sometimes not according to grammar books,
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but it is spoken nonetheless.
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To conclude, please don't let videos like these deter you from speaking
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and showing up with your mistakes.
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Keep going, your voice matters.
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The only way to make an impact in this world is by doing everything you can to
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express yourself, even when it's hard.
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Be mindful of how you respond to mistakes around you, to your
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mistakes, and manage your judgment towards others and towards yourself.
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And if you encounter an account that makes you feel not good enough, unfollow it.
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And call out bad behaviors.
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Let's make this space safer and better for everyone.
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Call out native speakerism and discrimination, and do things that
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make you feel empowered and motivated.
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And as to you, Kevin and Lisa, you can do better.
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I recommend that you take down those videos and keep using your
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platform to do good in this world.
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Promote positivity over negativity, communication over perfection,
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community over competition.
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All right, thanks everyone for watching this episode.
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I would love to hear what you think.
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So please join the conversation in the comments below.
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You can also send me a private message on Instagram.
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I'm at @hadar.accentsway.
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I am here to listen.
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Take care, everyone.
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And I'll see you next week in the next video.
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Bye.
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