EDGY - Individual Language Coaching

Really, there is no such thing as language talent that some people are born with and others are not.

The first difference between successful language learners and not-so-successful language is their MINDSET: do they believe it's possible to improve or do they give up before they even start?

The good news: your mindset is also not something that is fixed at birth! You can change it and shape it so that it lets you achieve anything you want to achieve.

🖤 Share your opinion in the comments!

When you want something to change, it’s easy to point to outside circumstances and say that’s where the problem is.

Now, you may be right: there are so many things in our lives that are unfair, harmful, and cruel that it’s easy to feel defeated by them.

By starting with yourself and focusing on the things that you can control, you are teaching yourself responsibility and you are showing yourself that you have the power to change things.

This power and sense of responsibility will help you effect greater change in the world around you.

🖤 Share your opinion in the comments!

Working with Simon was a real pleasure: not only because the problem that brought him to me was a good fit and I was able to help him. But also because Simon is a close friend of mine.

In my old job at a language school, I felt very uncomfortable with the idea of having people I knew in my courses, or teaching friends who asked me if I could help them with their English. The reason was that I had a whole separate ‘teaching persona’ that was different from my actual self: let’s call her “Miss Sarah”. Miss Sarah felt that she always had to be entertaining and authoritative, a knowledgeable ambassador of the English language and British culture.

“EDGY Sarah” is a very different person. A bit like Simon with his small talk problem, I can now be much more relaxed and natural in my work. Because I only do work that I believe in and only use methods and frameworks that I actually stand behind, I don’t feel like I have to sell or perform anything. I can just be myself, relax into the conversation, and help my client on the level that they need.

And the extra bonus for me is that I can work with my friends. Thank you for your trust and for your feedback!

🖤 If Simon's story has inspired you to feel more at ease when speaking English, reach out to me and let's begin your journey together.

If you asked me “Sarah, what would you put on a billboard?”, it would be this.

I really really really wish people knew that “language talent” is not a real thing. This is not my personal opinion, but what we know from research in applied linguistics and neuroscience: there aren’t some people that are born with this amazing capacity to learn languages while others just don’t. It’s not real!

Your capacity to learn languages easily is influenced by many things:
- Your ability to make mistakes and not be afraid.
- How well your learning methods work for you.
- The time you have to practice.
- The level of attention you can pay.
- The priority this project has in your life.
- Your memory (which can be trained!).

All of those things (and many more) will determine if you are successful at improving your language skills.

So if you are struggling to learn English, don’t blame it on your “lack of talent”. As yourself if you have really found the right way for yourself yet.

And if you need help, get in touch with me. 🖤

Do this to focus on what you want to say.

Leave a 🖤 if you liked this post.

To feel at ease with a language, it has to feel like the language is a part of who you are.

That doesn't mean that you need to be able to speak it perfectly or "like a native".

It means that you trust yourself enough to get your thoughts across; because sharing your ideas is more important to you than thinking about if you're making mistakes.⁠

Stop holding yourself back. It's just not worth it.

In coaching, it's very important to connect emotionally with a vision: what would the world look like if your problem was solved? How would you feel? What would you be doing?

Really thinking about this and letting your intuition paint a scene around your wish is a much stronger mechanism to pull you forward and keep you moving than setting a superficial goal like "I want to improve my vocabulary" (though goals are important too!).

The vision is more powerful because it's personal, emotional, and when you realise it, it will really make a difference in your life.

My client Tanja is a perfect example of someone who has fantastic English, but who is also fantastic at telling herself that her English is terrible. :)

Tanja normally works as a newsroom editor and came to me because her news channel told her that she had to jump in for one of the correspondents abroad. Scary. Very scary.

For weeks, we prepared for all of the situations she would have to face: interviewing experts, researching stories, interacting with the English-speaking crew.

When she came back from her 2-week job as the foreign correspondent, I was anxious to hear how it had been. Her first words were "Sarah, it was great – I'll tell you about it in a minute. But first: can you tell me how in the world you order coffee in English?!".

We both broke down, laughing. Tanja told me that the work had been fine, no disasters, no crises, and that it had actually been quite fun. But then she had all of these ordinary, everyday life moments where she didn't know the right way to say something:

"One coffee please?"
"I would like a coffee please?"
"Can I have a coffee please?!"

It's crazy to me: how can powerful, smart, amazing people like Tanja be brought down by questions like that? But that is what happens and how it feels to them: it didn't matter that she had rocked her job and done great all week: one moment like that was enough to shake her confidence again.

Slowly, as we continue to work together, Tanja is starting to see that actually, there is nothing terrible embarrassing about her English. And that if there are moments when she doesn't know the one perfect, most elegant way of saying something, it really doesn't matter.

Whatever you say, as long as you get across what you wanted to say in the end, it should be okay. And, of course, whatever she ended up saying, she did get the coffee :)

🖤 If Tanja's story has inspired you to feel more at ease when speaking English, reach out to me and let's begin your journey together.

If your teachers were like my teachers, they taught you that their methods were the only ones that worked.

If you want to improve your grammar, you need to do these exercises.
If you want to learn vocabulary, you have to revise it like this.
If you want to sound intelligent, here is what you need to say.

Well, I believe that’s really terrible advice and also, it’s really outdated. We know now that there are many different ways to be successful at learning things and improving your skill set.

So stop letting the voice of your old teacher hold you back and start learning English in a way that actually works for you.

Go to the link in my bio to take my quiz and get some great tips for improving your English in a way that works for you and your life.

You hate being told what to do.

How do I know that? Because everybody hates it! If you are ready to take charge and design your own learning journey, you can achieve whatever you set your mind on.⁠

Share your opinion in the comments!

My whole life, I’ve had these two extreme sides: The quiet daydreamer and the extroverted performer.

When I was a kid, I remember that I was praised more for my quiet, sensitive side: teachers said I was "gentle" and "thoughtful" and always kind to others.

But they also warned me that I sometimes went "over the top" or got "carried away", that I was "too loud”, especially when I was playing or telling stories.

This made me feel ashamed, and it began to feel wrong to be loud and outgoing, to be the centre of attention.

As a teenager, I became pretty much completely withdrawn and spent years alone in my room reading, drawing, and writing in my diary. I was happy in a way; it felt safe and familiar to be alone, and to enjoy my imagination only by myself. But I was so, so lonely.

And the performer was still there, trying to find a way out: this other side of me that wanted to show the stories I was writing and the art I was making.

School didn't feel safe enough to share it and so for some years (ca. 13-16), I found friends on the internet that I could "be myself with". I was online after school and at night every day for hours, talking to my online friends about music, books, and films that my classmates only made fun of me for.

I think it’s this time that gave me enough courage to then discover theatre as a place where I could express myself. I started acting in school when I was 17 and then joined several amateur groups in Hamburg.

Here, I felt I could be both as dreamy and as 'extra' as I liked to be, and still connect with people. Everyone there had the same 'problem' after all. All of us were a bit "too much". This is when the theatre became my second home.

Maybe you’re not too much; maybe you’re just in the wrong place. Can you relate?

Leave a comment if you’ve been told you’re too much!

When you're a leader, it's your job to inspire people to take action.

Samir, like many people in managing positions, already had great English skills when he came to me but sometimes felt that there was a part of himself that he couldn't access when he was speaking English, a little bit of himself that was missing.

I'm glad that in our coaching, we were able to uncover what it was that was holding Samir back, which helped us build his range of expression systematically and then witness a gradual change in how he was able to show up.

"Samir, you have been a great support since the very first steps of EDGY with your boundless energy and your positive attitude.

I'm so happy that you can now bring your whole self to your exciting new job at .hero . Delighted to know you!"



🖤 If Samir's story has inspired you to feel more at ease when speaking English, reach out to me and let's begin your journey together.

Does learning ever make you feel small and unsure of yourself?

In school and other places, many of us were taught to use methods that stress the deficits, making us learn from mistakes instead of strengthening us and helping us realise how much we already know.

The second problem is that, as adults, we often hold on to these old methods, even if we know they don't work for us, just because it's what we learned.

But you can change this now. You can let go of your old beliefs about language learning and go forward in a way that is fun and motivating to you personally.

Ready to uncover your unique path to effective, joyful learning?

Click the link in my bio, take the quiz, and explore techniques that work for you, boost your self-assurance, and help you learn English in a joyful way so that you can actually speak more freely and beautifully.

I love to see your results so take a screenshot and share your result in a story! :)

Nobody ever died from using the wrong conditional clause :)

Your grammar is probably just fine.

"Bad grammar syndrome" is psychosomatic.

Just stop thinking about it and focus on communicating instead.

And that is how you heal "bad grammar syndrome". :)

Share your opinion in the comments!

I believe that traditional language courses spend too much time telling you how to speak correctly instead of helping you say what you actually want to express.

This leaves you feeling like you cannot be yourself naturally in a foreign language, even if you have a high level in the language.

I think you have a lot to share and the languages you speak should help you do that and not stand in your way.⁠

If you share my opinion, comment with a 🖤 emoji.

If this sounds familiar, your inner critic needs a mindset intervention.

EDGY is here to help you change your idea of what’s possible.

Imagine speaking English with confidence and joy. I can help you get there.

Message me to start your transformation!

The first time I spoke to Christiane, she told me that she felt so insecure about her English that she often let her colleagues speak for her in meetings – even when she was the expert and the one with the most experience! ⁠
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She just didn't think she would be able to get her ideas across how she meant them. This really pained me because it was clear to me from the first moment that Christiane was full of brilliant ideas and that the world really needed to hear them!⁠
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Christiane did my 1:1 coaching programme "Design your English" over a period of three months. During this time, she was also working on a very demanding English-language project, organising a massive conference for a software company.

This gave us a chance to reflect in real time how Christiane could improve the way she was communicating and gave her tools for how to be more pro-active in meetings: how to get her ideas across, how to say that she disagreed with somebody, how to discuss things diplomatically but also with the necessary clarity.

She made amazing progress and, as she says, is much freer in her expression now. Christiane was my first-ever EDGY client and so I feel especially proud of her stunning development.

If you're looking for an expert for bringing more creativity into your company and team processes – I can give you her contact.

This woman is unstoppable now!

There is a lot of bad advice out there for "Business English" and a lot of it is just marketing.

Mastering Business English is not about memorising long, complicated phrases that sound like something a "native speaker" would say. It's about connecting with your colleagues and collaborators, which you can achieve more successfully by communicating clearly and simply, not by throwing big words and idioms around.

It's not so much about what to say, but about HOW much you manage to connect.⁠

Share in the comments: do you have tips for using English at work?

POV: You’re trying to run a coaching business but you’re also a performance artist and are doing your best but —let’s be honest— right now you’re barely holding on…

Hey gang, sorry if you’ve missed my posts lately. Summer usually means a lot of performance work for me and so between my gig at .hole drag wrestling last week and preparing for my engagement with in July and August, I’ve had very little time for content creation.

That’s why I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be getting some help from Martina at this summer. The posts will still be from me but Martina will help make sure that you still get some regular updates regularly even while I’ll be busy in the theatre :)

Sorry for ghosting you all in the last two weeks. 🖤

From Sarah with Love

This is a question I get a lot and so I thought it would be a good idea to make it a post.
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If you are currently using leo.de or dict.cc... you should know that there are much better alternatives out there!⁠

A good dictionary gives you not only single-word translations but also full, real-life examples in context and information on how to use the words you’re looking up. Some good dictionary and translation sites like Reverso and DeepL also help you rephrase what you want to say. Playing around with these tools is a great way to expand your range of expression in English.
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Check the slides here and let me know what you think! ⁠Do you have a different favourite dictionary? Why do you like it? ⁠
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Something I really hate is how many people feel stupid because their teachers taught them to care about the wrong things.⁠
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Especially in language classrooms, students are afraid of making mistakes and learn that following the rules is more important than expressing your thoughts and connecting with others in your own way. I see it with so many of my clients: smart, impressive people with interesting careers who feel bad when they make tiny mistakes in English.⁠
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Learning should empower you. It should help you feel better, make you grow, let you do things. ⁠
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If your teacher said things to you that are still holding you back, it’s time to let go. ⁠
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Follow for more radically honest tips and creative inspiration that helps you express yourself more freely and beautifully (in English). ☻⁠
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Hi, in case you’re seeing this and you don’t really know who I am or what I do, let me re-introduce myself! :)
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Hi, I’m Sarah and I started EDGY to help creative people like you express themselves more freely and beautifully in English.⁠
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To do this, I combine my skills from Business English training with my experience as a theatre pedagogue and performer to get you to a point where you can feel like you can be yourself when you speak English, anywhere, anytime.⁠
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I live in Hamburg, Germany, where I have a studio for face-to-face meetings but I also love working online with people all over the world. ⁠I work 1:1 with creatives, and also love working with companies such as creative agencies where I offer team coaching and workshops. I also run a semi-regular art event called “EDGY Collaging Night” – a fun social evening designed to help you lose the fear around speaking English and making art!

On my website (link in bio!) you can find my free quiz that helps you find your personal language learning style and many resources that will let you improve your English in a way that inspires and empowers you. You’ll also find information on my 1:1 coaching programme “Design your English” and my other offers there.
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If you want to know more about my work or about my dog, my weird theatre projects, my eclectic fashions, or anything else, just write me a message!

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say! :)

Flying back from another great conference. Feels like it was about three weeks long!

This year was a very different sort of conference for me. It was my 5th IATEFL conference, but the first time that I was also presenting. My workshop “English for Artists” on Tuesday was very well attended and I got so much feedback that my colleagues found it useful and inspiring. It was incredible to also get reviews on Ben Dobb’s blog and on the page! They said that my insight into what creative people need when they’re learning English and how best to support them was new to them and gave them a lot of ideas about how to improve their own teaching practices. Fantastic :)

It was also my first conference since taking over as Joint Coordinator of , the Business English teaching association in IATEFL. It was super exciting to announce that our next annual conference will be held in Malta in November this year. I’ve never worked on a conference this size so it was lovely to see the enthusiasm! Marjorie and I have started talking to sponsors and speakers and will start planning with the rest of the committee with full steam ahead once we all get home!

Can’t wait for the next one. See you in Edinburgh next year! :)

As I’m posting this, I’m sitting at Hamburg Airport, on my way to the Conference. Like every year, I’m looking forward to many inspiring talks by many great presenters. But also, like every year, I will see many presentations that could have been so much better if the presenters had only made a few, simple improvements.

So here are 8 EDGY tips that will improve your English presentations starting ✨today✨.

The beauty of these presenting tips is that they work at any language level. It doesn’t matter if you are an experienced conference speaker with advanced English skills or if you are just starting to give your first mini-presentations at work and you don’t feel very confident about your English yet. 

These tips help you improve your delivery, help make you calmer and more grounded, and ultimately help you be yourself so that you can focus and bring your message across in the best possible way. 

The photo on the first slide is me presenting at the conference last year. Looking forward to the next one already!

Next week is the conference in Brighton – one of the world’s largest and most important conferences for English language professionals. This year, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be speaking at the conference! The subject?

“English for Artists”

Over the past three years of specialising in “Language coaching for creatives who want to express themselves more freely and beautifully in English” (in case you didn’t realise – that’s what I do!) I wanted to see if I had some insights to share with my colleagues from the English language teaching world.

This workshop shows insights into my 1:1 English coaching work with creative professionals such as artists, journalists, agency workers, and IT professionals. Just like other Business English fields like “English for Logistics” and “English for HR”, I believe that “Creatives/Artists” constitute a group of people that need a specialised approach if they want to take their language skills to the next level and gain more confidence in their professional presence.

The workshop uses case studies with which participants can explore how best to work with highly creative people who have very high expectations about the aesthetics, exactness, and finesse of the language they use.

For those of you who are colleagues and will be in Brighton next week, I’d love to see you at my workshop on Tuesday! It’ll be on Tuesday 10.35-11.20 UK time, “Skyline” room at Brighton Centre. I also hope I’ll see you at the Showcase on Wednesday— I’ll be there all day!

For those of you who are artists, creatives, or other beautiful humans and are wondering if and how I could help you, go ahead and drop me a line or book a call with me (link in bio!) so we can talk about what you need.

I’d love to hear from you. ☻

Comparing yourself to native speakers is understandable, but not helpful and here is why:

First of all, what is a “native speaker”? You’re probably thinking about people coming from a handful of countries that have a red-white-and-blue flag, when actually, there are countless more varieties of English spoken by people who grow up using English all over the world, from Ghana to Singapore. So if you’re worried about native speakers judging your English, are you really just worried about Brits and Americans? The world is bigger than that and so is your mind! So stop thinking about native speakers in this limited way. :)

Second of all, there are so many different Englishes in the world, and if your idea of correct English is based on what you remember from your 8th-year schoolbook, it’s time for an upgrade! Go on TED.com or YouTube or anywhere and listen to the great variety of wonderful accents and forms of English all around the world. Can you appreciate how beautiful all of this diversity is? And if yes, can you please stop judging yourself because you don’t have “a perfect British accent”?

And finally, people care about what you have to say, not how you say it. If you can show up fully, freely, happily as yourself and tell us who you are and what you care about? Nobody will be thinking about your grammar mistakes and your pronunciation fails. It’s only if you are unsure and you draw attention to it that people start noticing it. So stop apologising for your “bad English” and connect with the world freely and happily!

If you still suffer from ‘comparisonitis’ after this post, leave a black heart in the comments. I know that this is something that many people struggle with and so it’s nice to connect to others and see that you’re not alone. Let’s beat comparisonitis together!

Does your English feel stuck?

If you use English regularly but feel like you’re not really making progress anymore, it might be time to give your English a little push and some fresh inspiration.

Only until 1 April (Easter Monday), I’m offering a limited 1:1 mini-coaching: three sessions at a discounted rate that will get your English flowing freely (again) and give you the fresh start you need to speak English more joyfully again.

🌸EDGY Essentials🌸
A three-session programme to help you take control of your English and start expressing yourself more freely and beautifully right now.

This is the perfect opportunity for you if you’ve been waiting for the right moment to start working on your English. These three sessions will energise and empower you to rediscover the beauty in your language learning journey and get closer to speaking English with ease.

The three sessions look at the following dimensions of your self-expression:

🌸WHO: Who are you? Learn to talk about yourself and your work with confidence.
🌸WHY: Why are you here? Connect with your motivation for working on your English and focus on what is really essential to you.
🌸WHAT: What are your next steps? Create a plan for how to keep working on your English in a way that empowers you, brings you joy and shows you results.

Package price: 397 EUR

Only available until 1 April (Easter Monday).

Go to the link in my bio, or send me a DM for details!