Alex is a talented engineer who currently works on promising technology for a small startup in Los Angeles. Previously he had experience working in Germany and South Korea. We talked about his insights into the language and cultures of those countries. Welcome to the 13th episode!

Meet Azhar Imanakunova. Like many of my guests, she has her own ESL story which has started in Kazakhstan not so many years ago. Azhar is a persistent and patient person and rationale in a good way. No surprise that she reaches her goals and follows her path.

Dmitry Larionov’s ESL story as well as his approach to studying are fascinating. We were talking about history and literature, culture and language. Welcome to the 11th episode!

Cyril Lumboy is one of the most talented people I know. She is a student and staff member at Saddleback College, as well as a filmmaker, producer, and fashion designer. Right now she is working on her project Oh My SAI where she sews face masks and she is very creative with it. Join us for this fun episode!

This week Rimma interviews Vera, a brand new mom who shares about learning English as a child, including having an English speaking pen pal. Vera discusses her job as an interpreter and translator, living in Texas when she first moved to the U.S., and raising a child of two cultures.

Tatiana is a video editor for commercials, music videos and documentaries. Singer, cat lover, wine lover, Tatiana shares her journey in improving her English speaking skills, Russian idioms versus American idioms, and how wearing masks and face shields makes communicating difficult for non-native English speakers.

Victor Gorelov has a very colorful cultural background. He is Russian who was born in Kazahstan and moved into the U.S. at the age of 9. We have an interesting conversation about bilingualism and about how it is to be a child of three cultures and how to keep the language alive.

Mikhail Panin is a person I always admire of: he is smart, intelligent, hardworking and passionate. Also, he is my husband and ESL speaker. In this episode he talks about his experience of studying and using English at work. Our cat tried to participate as well, so you can hear his “meopinion” as well.

We met at Saddleback College CTVR 202 class about two years ago, since then we collaborate for Breaking Bread with Lydie Denier and other projects. Right now we are working on our first short documentary Unforgotten Box. English for her as well as for us is not her first language. She has a fascinating story about her career and what role the English language played in it. Let’s hear it.

This week I am going to tell you my personal ESL story, giving you useful tips found on the Internet and some from personal experience as well.