Who is Rachel of Rachel's English?┃Learn American English Pronunciation On the Go

Rachel: You're listening to the Rachel’s English  podcast, made especially for non-native  

speakers, where we study the way Americans  really speak. My goal is for you to listen  

to this podcast every week and sound  more natural when speaking English,  

and improve your listening comprehension. Today’s  episode will be a little different. This is the  

first ever Rachel’s English podcast. In this first  episode, my husband David is going to interview me  

so that you can learn a little bit about, who  is Rachel and what is Rachel’s English? We're  

getting pretty conversational here. So,  if you have a hard time keeping up with  

the conversation or understanding all  the words, you will be able to download  

a free transcript of this podcast. Just visit  Rachelsenglish.com/podcast. Let's get started.

David:

Okay. So, why are you starting a podcast?

Rachel:

Well, I've never been a huge podcast listener, and  recently some friends started podcasts, and as I  

started listening to them to see what they were  about, I realized, this is a really fun format.  

It's a really fun way to talk about things. I feel  like in my YouTube videos, there, it's sort of a  

formal feel. You know, I'm teaching something.  Let's be serious and teach. And the podcast feels  

like it has room to be a lot more conversational,  and that sounds really fun to me. And, and after  

all, the people who are following Rachel’s English  want to know a lot about conversational English.  

And so, since I'm going to have a transcript  available for each podcast, I feel like we can  

really speak at a normal conversational pace. And  for people who are having a hard time catching  

all the words, they'll have that as an option,  that transcript to go back and look it up. So,  

I guess it's that. It just feels like a really  fun way, a new way, to talk about these topics.

David:

Cool. So, uh, I wanted to know more  about why do you think it's going to  

be fun? What about pod—what about  a podcast is going to be fun?

Rachel:

Well, it took me a while to decide what my  different episodes were going to be like,  

and I don't know if you know this,  but I settled on the idea on that,  

actually you were going to be  in almost every podcast.

David:

Oh, interesting. That sounds great.

Rachel:

Well, because it's a lot more fun to  have two people involved, because,  

hence, the conversation happens. It's  hard to have a conversation by yourself,  

and that's just another way to make  it a little different from my videos,  

which are generally just me teaching something.  Here, it's you and I discussing something,  

and I'm for—let's just go ahead and say it.  I'm the expert here. You're, you're not.

David:

No.

Rachel:

But, so, that's interesting. You can add a  different perspective to what I'm saying.  

You may stop me and ask me questions  that I didn't think about. Um, and I,  

I just think that because you, my husband, will be  in on these podcasts, that, you know, potentially,  

it will just be a more friendly, open kind of  conversation. Maybe little anecdotes from our  

lives will come up. And I'm looking forward  to sharing that kind of thing more.

David:

Yeah. Cool. Yeah, and I think, um, you definitely  are the expert, but one of the things that's been  

interesting over the years that we've been  together is, I've become an expert in how much  

I'm not an expert. I mean, it's been really fun to  sort of learn from you about all the intricacies  

and, and nuances of language that I had no  idea about. And even as a native speaker, I,  

you know, I see the English language and hear the  English language in a really different way. Uh,  

so it’ll be fun to talk with people a  little bit about that along the way, too.

Rachel:

Yeah, definitely.

David:

All right. So, let's get into some of this.  Um, and I know that this is a question that,  

um, for you, you get asked often whether we're  at a party or you're meeting someone for the  

first time, and because you don’t have a quick  and tidy answer, it's been sort of annoying  

almost at times, but here you go, um, in the  moment, on the podcast. So, what do you do?

Rachel:

I do hate this question. It's such an  American thing to ask it right off the  

bat. But I have a couple different things I've  been trying out lately. Sometimes, I just say,  

I make YouTube videos. And then, people have  no idea what to say in response to that,  

because I can tell they want to say, no,  I meant, what do you do for work? They,  

they're just not quite sure what I mean if I'm  saying, I make YouTube videos for work. Um,  

lately, I've also been saying, I run an online  school. I think that makes more sense. It's more  

direct, and it's only been the past six  months that I've been able to say that,  

because I just launched six months ago. So,  that's what I would say. I run an online school  

where I teach English as a second language to  intermediate to advanced language learners.

David:

Yeah. I think that sounds good.

Rachel: Yeah.

David: It's got a nice ring to it.

Rachel: So, that's what I do.

David:

Okay. And then, I want to hear you describe for  everybody a little bit about how did Rachel’s  

English come into existence? Give us  a little bit of the story. I mean,  

how—you know, where did this thing come from?

Rachel:

Yeah. Well, it started back in 2008, and YouTube,  I think, started in 2006. Might have been 2005,  

but at any rate, it hadn’t been around that long.  I was living in Europe, and I was studying German  

at the Goethe-Institut in Göttingen. And, uh, as  a part of that, I was hanging out with a bunch  

of people from all over the world. You know, I,  when I thought, when I was thinking about going  

to Germany to study German, I thought I would be  speaking German all the time with German people.  

I thought I'd be hanging out with Germans. But  really, I was in school a lot of the day. And so,  

I was not hanging out with Germans. I was hanging  out with other people studying German.

And one guy in particular, a guy from Turkey,  we ended up having, I think, six months of class  

together in a row. And uh, so, we became  pretty good friends, and he was interested  

in American English and movies, American movies,  and wanting to sound more American. And so,  

he was having me coach him a little bit. He'd say  a couple things. I would tell him what to change  

to make it sound better, and I remember describing  the ah vowel to him. He was not making it. And so,  

I said, well, you're missing a vowel.  Let me show you what it's like. And I  

was describing what the tongue should look like,  and then he said, you're really good at that.  

And I thought, oh. Hmm. Well. Maybe I'll  start making YouTube videos about it.

David: Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

I mean, I had never posted a  YouTube video before. You know,  

I think some people post random videos  and then they kind of end up figuring  

out what they want to do, and they  start sharpening that skill. But,  

I had the idea right from the beginning that  I was going to be teaching on YouTube.

David:

Mm-hmm. Rachel:

So, I posted my first video,  and I posted off and on,  

not super consistently, for like  a year. And then I started getting  

more consistent. And I think I would  have to go back and look at my stats,  

but I would say it took like two years before even  a handful of people were watching the videos.

David:

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds  about right. And, but I think, um,  

another thing that's interesting is that you were  a student at the time that you decided to teach,  

and I think, uh, I think you've said to me before  that you were in Germany trying to learn German,  

and you knew at points that you didn't  quite sound like a native German speaker,  

and you sort of had a desire for  something—for something to exist  

to help you sound more like a native German  speaker. Like, that would have been nice.

Rachel:

That would have definitely been nice. Um, I  remember one class where they taught us a few  

tricks about, Germans don’t actually pronounce  this, this way. They pronounce it this way. So,  

I had one class where I learned how it,  the language was really being used by  

actual Germans in actual conversation. But, um,  only one out of like six months of class. And I  

think Americans tend to play with language  a lot, a lot, a lot. Maybe other languages  

do as well. I don't know other languages  as well, obviously, but I do think that,  

you know, the way we use idioms and slangs  and reductions, that there's just so much  

to try to understand outside of what you might  learn in school about the English language.

David: Yeah.

Rachel:

And the more I started teaching it, the more  I found there was so much to teach. But you're  

right. You know, I was living abroad. I was  trying to fit in and get really good in a  

language at the same time that I had the idea to  start making this resource for people studying  

English. And the reason why I was in Germany  is because I was studying opera, and I was  

singing opera. So, I was singing in foreign  languages, and it was really important that  

I sounded native when I was singing. And so,  I was really wishing to find resources that  

focused more on pronunciation of those languages.  Most people, when they're studying a language,  

they're studying grammar and  this kind of thing. And for me,  

my priority was pronunciation. But it's hard to  find resources that prioritize pronunciation.

David:

Yeah. Yeah. I want to ask you some more  about opera in a second, but I think,  

um, yeah. The way you described it is  part of what I've always thought about,  

is that your grounding as a teacher comes  out of being a student. And I think it helps,  

you know, it helps you relate to your  students. You know the experience of,  

um, trying to exist and live in a culture  that's not your first, in a language that's  

not your first. Um, I think that's, you  know, that's unique. You've had a couple  

of, uh, experiences living abroad. And I think  that that comes into the way that you teach.

Rachel:

Yeah. I think you're right. I mean, because  when you're living somewhere, you just,  

you need language in a totally different  way than when you're studying it.

David:

Yeah. Okay, so, you mentioned opera,  and I think that's something that, um,  

that, uh, I want to hear a little bit more about.  And, and sort of walk us through how you, uh,  

you know, how you ended up pursuing a Master’s in  opera performance. And then, also, how, you know,  

sort of like, help people follow your career  along and how it led to, to becoming a teacher.

Rachel:

Sure. Well, it's a good question. How did  I end up going to opera school? I would  

be really interested in someone asking my  parents that and seeing what they say. Um,  

I was not—it wasn't clear that that's what  I would do in college. I studied lots of  

different things. I went to a liberal arts  college, which is awesome, because you can  

study lots of different things. So, I started out  in taking biology and chemistry. Wait. I think  

that's a lie. I did not take biology. Loved  chemistry and physics and math. I actually,  

when I was 18 in high school, looking at colleges,  I was looking to be a physics major. Loved physics  

in high school. I won this statewide competition  with a group. We were like the physics all-stars.  

And then I also won a schoolwide competition  where we had to build a car out of specific  

materials. My car won out of like, I don't  know, 50 cars. That's felt pretty cool.

David: Wait, what?

Rachel:

Yeah. It was like, ah. I'm, I'm,  I'm kind of good at this.

David: Wait. What do you mean, you built a car?

Rachel:

Well, you were given a sheet that was like,  

you can use rubber, four rubber  bands. You know, I don't know.

David:

Oh.

Rachel:

It was like random materials that you  might find in your house. And then,  

you built a car. Whatever car design you  could come up with, with those materials.

David:

Wow. Rachel:

And then we raced them against each other. And  I remember, I had these amazing rubber bands,  

and they were better than just like,  your around-the-house rubber bands,  

but the materials sheet didn't say anything  about what kind of rubber band. So,  

we used these maximum strength  boss-level rubber bands.

David: Awesome.

Rachel:

And I remember someone saying to me, you  only won because of those rubber bands.  

And I was like, boom. I picked the best  materials. Like, why does that matter?

David: Right.

Rachel:

I mean, materials and design.  Those are both important. I did  

win because I chose the best  rubber bands. Good for me.

David:

That's right.

Rachel:

Um, but yeah. Okay, so, that's—I'm getting  sidetracked. I loved physics and math growing  

up. And so, I thought that's what I wanted to do.  I got to college, and I immediately was enrolled  

in a 300-level physics class my first year because  I had tested out of the general physics. And I was  

like, whoa. What is this? It was so theoretical.  I couldn't stand it. I'm not a theory person at  

all. So, then I was like, what do I want to do?  I started dabbling. And then, I kind of landed  

on math, which wasn't a surprise, because I had  always loved it. And as part of that math major,  

I had to take a computer science class, and  this was a long time ago. Computer science  

was barely a thing. Okay, that's not totally  true, but it was not what it is today.

David:

Mm-hmm. Rachel:

And, uh, I had, I hadn’t even owned  a computer up to this point.

David:

Wait. Okay, so, what year was this?

Rachel:

I'm not saying. I'm not going  to age myself on my podcast.

David:

2013. Okay, right.

Rachel:

The point is, I went to college and I had never  had a computer before. That was normal. Of course,  

I've worked on them before, like  in the school computer lab and  

this kind of thing. But it wasn't the  ubiquitous thing that it is now.

David:

Right.

Rachel:

So, I was intimidated by this class. Took  it, loved it. Realized that the way that  

you write a computer program and the kind of  logic and sequential stuff you have to do for  

that is exactly what my mind does. That's how  I think and deal with the world. So, I fell in  

love with it. Immediately switched my major to  computer science. It was programming focused,  

and life got really good after that. It's so  nice when you find what you want to study. So,  

how does that relate to music? Well, all, all the  while, I was taking some music coursework as well.  

I had taken voice lessons when I was 17 and 18. I  don’t really know why. I just decided that I was,  

I liked to sing, so I might as well figure out  how to be good at it. So, my dad got me some voice  

lessons with this woman in his choir. My cousin,  who was going to the same college at the same time  

was applying for a music scholarship and said,  you should apply, too. I said, well, what do I  

have to do? She said, just record one of your,  just make a video at one of your lessons.

So, I did. I sent in the videotape, and I was  given a little scholarship. So, in order to keep  

that scholarship, I had to be a music minor.  I had no intention of being a music minor,  

but I wanted to make it look like it for a couple  years so I could keep that little scholarship. So,  

I took music theory and I was like, whoa.  Hello. This is actually very mathematical.  

This is actually very pattern-oriented. I  really liked music theory. And at that point,  

I just had enough awesome professors that I  started to get more and more into music. So,  

I think it was the summer before my senior year.  I was a applied math and computer science double  

major and a music minor. And I said to my dad, you  know, I think I want to add music as a major as  

well, because I just felt like there was a lot  there to understand that I didn't understand,  

and I wanted to. And I remember he said, well,  why? And I said, because it's interesting. Like,  

when else am I going to have the  chance to learn this? Never.

And so, he just kind of shook his head and  said, okay. So, I added the third major,  

and when graduation happened, it was time to  figure out what was next. I remember thinking,  

if I don’t study more music now, I'm never going  to. I was not expecting to be a career musician. I  

was expecting more likely to be a career computer  programmer. You're not going to stop your career  

in computer programming to go get a music degree.  And so, I felt like, if there's more I want to  

learn here and more I want to pursue, now’s the  time to do it. I can always become a computer  

programmer. But I have to build on this vocal  momentum. So, I went to grad school, not intending  

to be an opera singer. But I ended up going to  a conservatory, and in that kind of atmosphere,  

it's just, you know, you're constantly hearing  the phrase, when you're singing professionally,  

when you're out auditioning, and all of this,  and I just sort of—I don't know. I just sort  

of started taking that on in my head as what  I was going to do, and I started doing it.

David:

Wait. You went—what do you mean? You  went to the conservatory just thinking  

you were going to study music  theory and not performance?

Rachel:

No. I knew I was going to study performance  and all of the repertoire and all of that.  

But I went not intending to try to do it  professionally. I went intending to know more,  

learn more, and then get on  with the rest of my life.

David:

Okay. That fits your personality.  I didn't know that. I, I assumed  

that you had some notion of, uh, I'll  perform for a while at the beginning.

Rachel:

No, I really didn't. I really didn't. And  actually, one of my best friends, Laura,  

who I went to college with, I would check in  with her periodically in like the 10 years  

post-college and be like, you know what?  I'm still doing this opera singing thing,  

and I never even really intended to. Like,  how did I get here? It's just like kind of  

once I started down the path, I, I don't know.  I never quite knew when to stop, really.

David:

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Rachel:

And so, yeah. I ended up going to  grad school, getting a scholarship  

to study German in Germany. Sang  really a lot for several years.

David:

Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

Um, like, really kept pursuing it.  Moved to New York to do that.

David:

Yeah, and then, you mentioned it a little  bit earlier, but I, uh, I think it would be  

interesting to hear you talk more about, how  has the experience of being trained to sing  

in other languages affected the way that  you've been teaching all these years?

Rachel:

Yeah. I really got sidetracked there talking about  myself, didn't I? I'm going to bring it back to  

the main point. I guess I think that it's, um,  a mix of that really structured way of thinking,  

which I developed studying math and computer  science, along with the body experience of singing  

and the voice that I developed during my Master’s  degree. It's those two things coming together,  

I think, that have formed the foundation of  Rachel’s English, of what I'm doing now.

David:

But when you say body experience,  say more about that.

Rachel:

Yeah. Um, well, so, when you're singing, you're,  you, I had a vocal coach and a vocal teacher.  

Met with each of them once a week. So, your  vocal teacher works with you on your, um,  

your technique. And your vocal coach will work  with you on things like your language skills,  

your interpretation, this kind of thing. So, I  spent one hour a week with a pretty intimidating  

opera singer teacher, making all of these little  adjustments to how I was breathing, how I was  

standing, how I was thinking about the voice,  where my voice was resonating, which is placement.  

Um, and the other thing that's—you know, I was  working on this with her, but the way you work  

with somebody on that is really non-linear and  is not black and white. And it relies a lot on  

imagery and on thinking things in order to make  them happen. Um, and so, through all of that,  

you know, you really have to just experience  your body and experience the voice in your  

body and try to tweak this and tweak that, and go  for this sound and this kind of thing. And so—

David:

Wouldn't, wouldn't you also say  that you learned a lot about how,  

what's happening in your body in terms of  placement comes out just in sound? Like,  

there's this—I've heard you talk  a lot about, you know, um, hear it  

and repeat it and imitation and the power of the  connection from your, your ear to your brain.

Rachel: Mm-hmm.

David:

So, weren't—you were learning a lot about  the bodily experience of sound. Like,  

I don't know. Something about the fact that you  can talk about placement and bodily experience  

sensations as well as strictly auditory. Like,  it's all wrapped up in one thing for you,  

and you got—you, you improved your  instrument. I've learned from you to  

say your instrument. You, you, you fine-tuned  your instrument via your, your listening.

Rachel:

Yeah. And I developed all of this  just by doing, and not by studying  

how to do it. I might read a book that gives me a  tip or hear something from my teacher that gives  

me a new idea, but it's always working with it  in the body to see what is working and what's  

feeling right and getting feedback from the  outside world, my teacher, my fellow students,  

on what's working. And it's this constant  feedback loop, discovering it within yourself,  

trying it out, that kind of thing. So, this  is actually something that I've been thinking  

about a lot lately, because in my online school,  I've been—I just did a live class on placement,  

and I feel like placement is so hard to teach  and understand, because it does require all of  

this self-exploration. And I'm still learning  as a teacher how to guide this self-exploration  

that needs to happen in order to understand  placement as it relates to languages.

David:

I was downstairs during the live class, when  you online with your students. And I heard all  

these weird noises coming out of the third floor,  out of your studio, and I was like, oh. Rachel’s  

taking about placement, I guess, because there's  some more weird noises happening upstairs.

Rachel:

Yeah, I know. I—one of the ways that  I've tried to teach placement is to  

have people find all sorts of different  places where their voice can vibrate.  

Like, [high-pitched noise] really high up  in the nose. And so, yeah. I like people  

to play. Play with different sounds,  experiences, that kind of thing.

David:

Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay, so you've talked about,  about opera, and I'm curious. What other things  

do you think, life experiences, whatever,  what has influenced or shaped, you know,  

this method that has evolved? What are the, what  are the influences on, on the way you teach?

Rachel:

Well, my personality is a doer. I often don’t  sit down and plan a whole lot before I just  

start doing something, um, which is why I've had  a million sewing projects go awry. But it's like,  

I don’t get what I need to know until I've done  it. So, a lot of what I do is doing things twice.  

Doing it once poorly to understand it, and then  doing it once well. This is what I do rather than  

researching and learning how to do it well,  and trying to do it well the first time. So,  

I think my approach to talking about the English  language comes so much from my own personal  

experience of understanding the English language  in my own body, and trying to figure out how to  

tell other people about that experience, rather  than knowing theory about how to teach English.  

I've done essentially no research on that. All  of the research that I've done in this has been  

studying my own body and then working directly  with students and seeing what works for them.

David: Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

Yeah, and I think that both approaches,  both my approach of doing and then the  

approach of like studying and academia, have  value. I'm not trying to write that off.

David: Yeah, yeah.

Rachel:

I just know that there's a lot  of people out there doing that,  

and, um, that's not my background.  So, why would I try to do that?

David:

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay. So,  let me, let me shift gears a little bit,  

and here's another, uh, standard question  from when you're out at a party. So,  

one of the things, um, people might get  asked are, so, where are you from?

Rachel:

Oh, are we—what are we doing here?

David:

I want you to tell people where you're from.

Rachel:

Oh, okay. We're back in the  party. I've just met you.

David:

Yeah. Rachel:

And what do I say?

David:

Exactly.

Rachel:

Okay. Now, now I'm on the right  page. I say, well—yeah.

David:

All right.

Rachel:

So, I'm sorry I didn't understand your question.  It was well said. The fault is completely mine.  

Um, I'm from Florida. Born and raised in north  Florida, and people often do ask this, because,  

uh, my students often ask this, because they want  to know what kind of accent are they getting with  

me? I definitely do my absolute best to teach  the standard American accent, which is also  

sometimes called newscaster accent, which is  also sometimes called the Midwestern accent.

David:

Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

Um, my parents were born  and raised in the Midwest,  

and that's where all my family has  come from for a few generations. So,  

I believe that's what I speak with, even  though I grew up in the South. Um, yeah.

David:

Okay. Rachel:

And I've also lived in Boston and New York. So,  

I, I don’t—and Philly, which  is where I currently live.

David: Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

I don’t have the Boston accent, but, um, I had  some exposure to it, which was really fun.

David: Yeah. All right. So, you're from Florida.

Rachel:

I'm from Florida.

David: You would say?

Rachel:

I mean, I guess it depends. If I was  hanging out with somebody in Philly  

and they knew I lived here, then  I would say, oh, I'm from Florida,  

because I would think they meant,  you know, where did you originate?

David:

Yeah. Rachel:

But if I was at a conference or something and  someone says, hey, where are you from? Then I  

assume they mean, where do I live right now? And  then I would say, the City of Brotherly Love.

David: Hmm. Good point. Yeah. Good point.

Rachel:

Philadelphia. David:

Good point. All right. So, you've been  doing this for almost 10 years, right?

Rachel: Yeah.

David: When did you post your first YouTube video?

Rachel: I posted my first video—

David:

2008?

Rachel:

I think it was October of  2008, and I, but I, you know,  

I was brainstorming and laying  some foundation before that.

David:

Yeah. So, you've been doing it  for 10 years, you could say.

Rachel: Yeah. Almost 10 years.

David:

So, how come you're still doing  it? What keeps you going?

Rachel:

Well, there are a couple  things. Number one—I mean,  

this is exactly what took me to opera  school for—opera for graduate school,  

is that there's still—I still have stuff to  learn here. I think as long as I feel that,  

I'm going to be interested in it. I'm pursuing  it because I'm still discovering things.

David: Well, what's an example?

Rachel:

I mean, I'm still discovering, what's  the right thing to say to somebody to  

help them understand placement? I'm still  discovering, you know, I've been teaching  

linking vowel to vowel this way for years, and I  just posted to my online school some new lessons,  

and I got two people asking questions, and  I said, oh, okay. I'm still learning the  

right way to teach this. Based on the questions  I'm getting, I see where I've not been clear,  

and I'm making that better. I'm still, I'm still  learning how to be an effective teacher. Um, so,  

that's why I'm still doing that, I'm still doing  it, because all of that is very interesting to me,  

understanding how to do something better. I  think if I ever felt like I had come up with  

the best possible way to teach English, I would  probably feel done. And I'd be looking for the  

next interesting thing, but the good thing is,  I don’t think I'm ever going to feel that way,  

because there's so many different language  backgrounds that are learning English. And,  

you know, the language is constantly  changing. I'm working on some slang videos,  

and slang is constantly evolving. And, yeah.  You'll just, I will never run out of material.

David:

Right. Rachel:

And another reason why I'm  still doing it is because,  

let's face it. Being self-employed  suits my personality very well.

David:

Yeah. Well, that leads into my next  question, actually, is, you know,  

you get to be self-employed and sort create your  own schedule and your, you get to constantly be a  

student of how to teach. But what, what about the  opposite side? What's hard about what you do?

Rachel:

Well, can I first say what I love about it?  Then, I'll say what's hard. I love deciding  

what I'm going to do each day, which of  course, is dictating to commitments I've  

made like posting one video a week on YouTube  and this kind of thing. But I love, um, I love  

being self-sufficient, self-guiding in that way.  When I'm not sure if I fully understand something,  

I love researching it to make sure that I do.  And I just, I love that no one’s looking over  

my shoulder. I love that I'm not on the hook to  produce something for someone else. It's all for,  

for me and for my community, and that's what I  love. Okay. What do I hate about it? There are  

not very many things that I hate about it,  but it is hard living without a salary.

David: Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

And of course, I make money, but it's not  predictable. And, um, I, yeah. I always have to  

have that in the back of my mind. What is the, you  know, financial payoff versus time investment of  

doing this? Uh, so, that's, you know, that—I don’t  love. I don’t love living, living by that. And I  

try not to set too much store in money, but I do  need to live. I do need to support my family. So,  

that's, that's probably the crappiest part about  it, is the, the need to make money to live.

David:

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Okay.  And then, um, a little bit ago,  

we talked about some common questions that  you get at the party. So, I'm going to,  

I'm going to change one of those questions to  something that I wish people said more when  

you first met them, because I think the world  would be a more interesting place. So, ready?

Rachel: Mm-hmm.

David:

This—what we're doing is  pretending we're at a party.

Rachel: Okay.

David: Okay, ready?

Rachel:

Let me get in that mindset.  Okay. I'm at a party.

David:

Take as long as you need. Okay.  So, describe a moment from the  

past week of your professional life  in which you felt passionate.

Rachel:

Wow. Okay. Well, actually, I made a video where  I brought my camera to a park with a friend,  

and we sat down and I recorded about five  minutes of conversation. And I got home,  

and I looked at it, and I was just so pleased with  how fun it was to make a lesson from that. How,  

when you capture any everyday moment,  there are interesting vocabulary words  

that are happening. There are interesting  pronunciations that are happening. And  

that was, that was invigorating to me.  You know, it's sometimes a struggle to  

get good quality audio or video when I'm out  and about, and that kind of thing, but the,  

the content, what's there, is always good.  It's always gold. English is so rich.

David:

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Okay. And  then, um, I have one more question.

Rachel: Okay. Am I still at a party?

David:

Uh, no.

Rachel: Okay.

David: You can leave the party.

Rachel:

Okay.

David:

Um, the, the question is, and this  is not so much teaching method or  

influences in that sense, but from what  or from whom do you draw inspiration?

Rachel:

Hmm. Well, this is actually pretty easy. I draw  inspiration from my students. When they post  

videos for me in my, um, Facebook group, which  I have for the people who are in my school,  

my students, there's a wide range. And I think  even that range is inspirational. You have people  

who have come up with all of these different  ways to teach themselves English to get better  

on their own. They hustle for it. They work for  it, and it shows. They're getting great. Then,  

you have people who are not at that  level yet, and they're in some cases,  

really intimidated by using their English. Um, but  they're still there. They're still doing it.

And I just think about when I hear the stories  of my students and the kinds of things they're  

doing with English, I think, my God. The, the  amount of effort that takes to be able to do  

that in a foreign language, and to face all of the  prejudices that you may face when you're speaking  

in a foreign language, like when you can't cut  into a conversation quickly enough to share your  

thought. And then, people end up thinking you  have nothing to say, which completely isn't true,  

but it's a language issue. Um, yeah. Those, my  students really inspire me. I mean, wow. Talk  

about hard workers. Talk about, um, do anything  to reach their goals, following their passions.

David:

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. All right. So, thanks,  Rach. I, I always love hearing you go back  

through your story. That's, um, you know,  over the years, I've gotten to hear you  

talk with a lot of different people in a lot of  different situations about some of these pieces,  

but I learned some new stuff today, too.  So, I appreciate you, uh, talking to me.

Rachel:

Well, thanks for asking the questions. I kind  of think I've shared this story a lot before,  

and yet, every time—you're right. Something  new gets told. Some new part of it. Um,  

and to everyone who’s still listening to this  podcast, I want to just do a little quick  

introduction of David. David’s my husband.  We've been married for like three years?

David:

Mm-hmm. Rachel:

Something like that. And he is going to be one  of the main people doing this podcast. Almost  

every episode is going to be Rachel and David  talking about the language and seeing what we  

can discover together. So, I'm really excited  to embark on this new project with you.

David: Mm-hmm.

Rachel:

Thank you for your willingness to do that, and  to be thoughtful about the English language,  

even though you probably don’t have to be.

David:

No, you're right. I'm really  looking forward to it, too.

Rachel:

Okay, guys. I hope this was interesting for  you. Maybe you've learned something new about  

me. I hope that you'll stick around. There are  going to be new episodes every week on Wednesday,  

and we're going to talk about a variety of topics  in English conversation, English pronunciation,  

and I'm going to be answering a lot of questions  from you, the audience. If you have a question  

you'd like to submit for the podcast,  please send it to [email protected],  

and put Podcast Question in the subject. And  don’t forget, for a free copy of the transcript,  

visit Rachelsenglish.com/podcast. To see  the show notes and links to related topics,  

please visit the podcast section of my website,  Rachelsenglish.com. New podcasts are released  

every Wednesday. Be sure to go to the iTunes  store and subscribe. Also, please consider  

leaving a review in the iTunes store. I'd  love to hear what you think of the podcast.