My connection with English communication began in 2013, when I moved to London to study History of Art at university. While studying, I worked in luxury retail for brands like Tiffany & Co., Harrods, Mulberry, and Christie’s. I was trained to communicate with a high level of politeness and professionalism, & I quickly saw how using respectful, well-chosen language directly impacted both client relationships & sales.
Many of my colleagues were from across Europe & Asia, & being a British native, I was constantly asked questions like:
“Why do you say it like this instead of that?”
“Why are you using that tense? We were taught to use this one.”
“Is it more polite to say this or that?”
Being naturally curious about language & culture, I would ask them back:
“How does it feel in your language when if you said this in my English style?”
"Can you express it like this in your language?"
"Would that be too formal in your culture?"
Over time, I started noticing patterns — shared confusions across languages, as well as language-specific issues: pronunciation challenges for French and Italian speakers, tense mistakes from Mandarin speakers, & issues with tone & directness from German & Slavic speakers.
During that time, I was in a relationship with an Italian partner whose first language was a German dialect — & had never formally studied English! Having studied a little German, I realised he was transferring his grammar & communication patterns into English — something all language learners do!
Our communication issues weren’t really about language level. They were cultural.
He didn’t understand my British need for subtlety & politeness. I couldn’t understand his German-style directness.
I realised we were both speaking English — but not the same version of it.
While doing my Master’s in Arts Management, I worked at a national museum in London & was asked to give a tour.
Public speaking TERRIFIED me! But a week later -after a lot of preparation & reassurance from my colleagues, I gave my first hour long tour to 8 people! In just a few weeks, I’d gone from dreading a small group to confidently speaking to audiences of 80 — including celebrities & high-profile visitors. After overcoming this fear, it became second nature & was my favourite part of my job.
Since many of my colleagues weren’t native English speakers, I found myself helping them prepare for their own tours & English public speaking — focusing on their language, delivery & expression.
At that time, I was in another cross-cultural relationship — this time with a Slovenian partner. Like before, we ran into some language & communication. But now I had better tools!
When something felt 'off' in my English mind, I’d ask him: “When you say this, do you mean X, or do you mean Y?”
We explored how English felt compared to Slovene language: the tone, the images certain phrases created & how that aligned (or didn’t!) with what he actually intended to say.
Mostly, what he thought sounded appropriate in his cultural context felt very different in English. We were both surprised by how deeply our native languages shaped how we expressed ourselves — & how we understood each other.
Moving to Slovenia
In 2020, I moved to Slovenia and began learning Slovene. I thought it would be a smooth process — I had the time to focus on it, and I’d done really well with French at school. But I was wrong!
Slovene, being a Slavic language, was nothing like French. My English brain had no linguistic, mental, or cultural framework to process it. French only felt easy because of its similarities with English. This was completely different.
As a Brit, I’d also never truly experienced what it feels like to be unable to communicate or understand anything. There’s always some English somewhere. But now, for the first time, I felt the full weight of that barrier. I expected a challenge — but I didn’t expect how small and isolating the world can feel when you can’t speak the language around you.
Things got harder when my boyfriend unexpectedly broke up with me shortly after I arrived. I was still determined to stay in Slovenia, but now I was alone in a foreign country — & the urgency of needing to learn Slovene felt overwhelming. I’d lost my personal support system, & language became the one thing standing between me & finding work or connections.
To speed things up, I took a 3-month intensive Slovene course — but it turned out to be completely ineffective.
We weren’t taught the structure of the language, how it works, or even how to pronounce things properly. Grammar was reduced to repeating sentences with no explanation what the grammar is doing. I could recognise formulas when reading or listening, but when it came to speaking, I couldn’t build a sentence — only recall random words & memorised phrases.
To top it off, my teacher told me that because I was English, I’d never be able to speak Slovene — so there was no point trying. Inspiring, right?
That experience taught me something important:
if language learners struggle to communicate in that language, it’s not about the learner — it’s about how the language is being taught.
When the course ended, I continued teaching myself & was thrilled to pass my A1 exam four months later — even though speaking remained my weakest skill!
From Teacher to Coach
In 2021, I completed my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) qualification. One unexpected side effect? Learning the technical side of English grammar actually helped me understand Slovene better!
Even though I instinctively knew how English worked, I didn’t consciously understand the systems or terminology. I just followed patterns — what felt right or wrong. It turned out I couldn’t connect things to Slovene, because I didn’t have the technical language or knowledge to identify them in English in the first place.
I started teaching Business English through local language schools & privately online. And no matter who I worked with from any part of the world — even B2 and C1 level professionals — they all told me the same thing:
“I can’t really communicate in English.”
I started asking the same kinds of questions I’d asked my friends, partners & colleagues back in London — things like how certain expressions felt in their language, & how that compared to English.
When I shared how I process English emotionally and mentally as a native, something clicked for them.
By exploring the deeper connections between their native language and English — grammatically, conceptually, and culturally — we both began to uncover what language actually does, & how to use it naturally & appropriately.
Many of my clients were Slovene, and the more we explored the differences between our languages and communication styles, the more I realised something else:
My own English brain was getting in the way of learning Slovene.
And the traditional methods I’d been taught to use as an English teacher weren’t helping them, either.
In fact, the more I taught using standard methods — and saw what was being delivered in language schools — the more it became clear: it’s not the learners, it’s the learning system that stops learners speaking.
They didn’t need another generic “Business English” course.
They didn’t even need an English teacher.
They needed a coach. Someone who could help them bridge the gap between language knowledge and real-life English communication.
Someone who could explain how English is processed and felt by natives.
Someone who could help them sound natural, professional & clear — not just grammatically correct.
So I stopped teaching in the traditional sense. I started studying what really makes language learning work — including brain science, neurolinguistics, memory, psychology & cultural communication styles. In response to what my clients actually needed, I created my own method:
Think English, Feel English, Speak English.
It’s a communication-first strategy that focuses on native processing, cultural context, and real-world communication skills.
And it works — not only for my clients, but for me, too! It’s how I now learn Slovenian better than I ever did in a classroom.
Today, I’m lucky to help clients all over the world live the lives they want — with English as a tool, not a barrier.
If you want to transform how you communicate in English, I’d love to help you!
Me about to give a tour in London, 2018.
Novo Mesto Slovenia, 2019
My Qualifications
Academic
Master of Arts- Arts Policy & Management
Birkbeck College, University of London
2019
Bachelor of Arts- History of Art
Goldsmiths College, University of London 2016
Professional
Certified Life Coach
The Transformation Academy
2024
Level 3- (TEFL) Teaching English as a Foreign Language
The TEFL Academy
2021
