Speak English with Confidence | More Than Words

Have you ever stayed quiet in English because you felt you’d never sound as good as a native speaker?
I know that feeling, only for me it was podcasting. I recorded this conversation with English teacher Alba Guerrero González in 2024 and sat on the footage for over two and a half years. I was comparing myself to slick, bilingual podcasters with polished intros and telling myself that my podcast wasn’t good enough, so the perfectionism and imposter syndrome we talk about in this part of our conversation kept me from pressing publish. I was saying all the right things on the recording while doing the opposite myself.
Alba didn’t wait though. She had around 150 followers on TikTok when we spoke, and she’s kept posting, in one take, day after day ever since. Along the way she’s built a big following and a successful business helping people pass their English exams.
Her first appearance on the show was an episode called ‘How to Speak English with Confidence’. It became the podcast’s most listened-to episode, and its title gave the show its new name. Back then it was ‘From Lost to the River’, aimed mainly at Spanish speakers. Today it’s ‘Speak English with Confidence’, with listeners all over the world. I honestly have Alba to thank for how things have turned out.
In today’s clip, Alba talks about what it’s like to teach English as a non-native speaker in a world that often puts native speakers on a pedestal. She opens up about the imposter syndrome that followed her for years and the need for validation that came with it.
This is Speak English with Confidence, a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About AlbaAlba Guerrero González is an English teacher and content creator who helps people pass their Aptis English exams. She shares daily English tips and speaking strategies with a large following on TikTok and Instagram.
Find AlbaInstagram: @albaenglishteacherTikTok: @albaenglishteacher
Connect with me on substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Do you treat every conversation in English as if one mistake could ruin everything?
In this episode, I’m joined by Alberto Rodríguez, a corporate aviation captain who has flown in more than 140 countries, to talk about fluency, accuracy and knowing which one really matters when you speak English at work. When he’s talking to air traffic control, one wrong number could mean a disaster, so pilots rely on a simple habit called read-back: repeating every instruction with the exact numbers so nothing gets missed. But when he’s telling passengers about the weather in London, a small mistake makes no difference at all. And in the middle of explaining all this, Alberto can’t find the word “read-back”, apologises and keeps going, which is exactly what confident English sounds like. If you’re a non-native English speaker who feels anxious about making mistakes, ask yourself how many of your meetings and calls are really air traffic control. Most of them are the passenger announcement.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
About Alberto:Alberto Rodríguez is Chief Pilot at Global Jet, where he captains the Bombardier Global 6000. A former Spanish Air Force officer with more than 8,000 flying hours, he has flown for the Spanish Royal Family and the government, led EU air operations against piracy in the Indian Ocean, and flown humanitarian and medical evacuation missions around the world.
Find Alberto:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alberto-rodr%C3%ADguez-a37986a7/
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Have you ever told yourself it’s too late to learn a language properly, that you should have done it as a child and now the moment’s gone?
In this conversation, I’m joined by Quang Dang Tran, a professional writer whose Substack, ‘Late Learning Vietnamese’, follows his own journey back into his family’s language as an adult, to talk about the years he spent trying to fit in and the moment everything changed at home. For a few years he also performed stand-up comedy, joking about not speaking Vietnamese, until he realised the joke was the thing he needed to change.
If you’ve ever believed adults can’t really learn a language, or let the fear of looking foolish keep you doing the same safe thing, Quang’s story will feel very familiar. So will the moment he finally decided to do something about it.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously ‘From Lost to the River’, a show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
This clip comes from a longer conversation, and you can watch the full version with subtitles on my YouTube channel, Richard Marshall | English Confidence Coach (@procoachenglish).
If you’re reading this on a mobile device, click here to go straight to the video.
Find Quang on Substack: Late Learning Vietnamese

Do you ever wish you could switch off your accent before you open your mouth in English?
In this short clip, I talk with English teacher Verónica Vitale, founder of Vital English, about why your accent is something to embrace and how it can help you speak English with confidence. I share the moment I went back to England, heard myself speaking English in a shop and realised I’d lost my superpower, because nobody noticed me anymore. Verónica talks about being asked where she learned her English in the US and in Denmark, why getting your message across matters more for non-native English speakers than ever sounding native, and how the accent you’re trying to hide is often the first thing people find interesting about you. 
This extract is taken from a longer conversation, where we switch between Spanish and English. Click HERE to watch it on YouTube with subtitles. 
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence. More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Find Verónica:
Instagram: @vitalenglishorg
TikTok: @veronicavitale01
YouTube: Verónica Vitale
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Do you get nervous before you speak English in a meeting, worrying about every word before it leaves your mouth?
Today I’m joined by author, speaker and former HR executive Ben Eden. I ask him how he’d help a senior professional who leads with confidence in their own language but freezes when they have to run a meeting in English. Ben admits he still gets nervous before big talks himself, and shares what a 'Hall of Fame' speaker once told him: if you’re nervous before you speak, it’s because you still think it’s about you. When your attention moves from how you sound to how you can help the people in front of you, the grammar stops being the point. And the people listening remember how you made them feel.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously ‘From Lost to the River’, a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About Ben:
Ben Eden, MSHR, SHRM-SCP, is a keynote speaker, leadership strategist and the author of 'How We See Ourselves: The Model for Lasting Results and Fulfillment'. As an HR executive in his twenties, he helped grow a company from fewer than 75 employees to almost 2,000 across five countries. He went on to create the Eden Model, which puts identity at the foundation of lasting success, and he co-created HR Wellbeing Week. Today he works with high-achieving leaders and their teams to replace self-doubt with clarity and self-belief. His book is available in paperback, ebook and audiobook.
Find Ben:
LinkedIn: Ben Eden, MSHR, SHRM-SCP | LinkedIn
Website: LifeGuides: Posts | LinkedIn
Book: How We See Ourselves
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Have you ever been the most senior person in the room and the quietest one in English?
In today’s clip, I talk about why so many successful professionals freeze when speaking English at work, even when their English is better than that of the people around them.
Your experience and authority don’t disappear when you switch languages, but it often feels that way. I look at where perfectionism and the fear of making mistakes in English really come from, why executive English confidence has more to do with identity than grammar, and a simple technique I use to help my clients speak English with confidence when it matters most.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com

Have you ever told someone your English isn't very good, in perfectly good English?
Today I'm joined by Ángel Gabaldón Ortega, Relationship Manager for Large Corporates at Bankinter, to talk about imposter syndrome, self-doubt and the fear of making mistakes in English.
Ángel calls his English "pichí pichá", though by any honest measure it's excellent, and he speaks it confidently at work every day. As he puts it, we forgive foreigners' mistakes in our language, so "why don't we judge ourselves by the same criteria?" The person most convinced their English isn't good enough is usually the last to see how good it actually is.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Ángel posts regularly on LinkedIn about finance and geopolitics, and in April 2026 he won the Spanish Masters National Powerlifting Championship, so he knows a thing or two about strength, resilience and persevering when things get tough.
Find Ángel:LinkedIn: Ángel Gabaldón Ortega
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Do you wish you could get rid of your accent when you speak English?
Today, I'm joined by Stefy Vaclavikova, an ICF-accredited coach who has helped thousands of teachers build their own businesses, to talk about her non-native English accent and the school director who wouldn't let her appear in promotional videos because of it. Stefy explains how she let go of trying to sound like a native speaker and made clarity her goal, which changed how she felt every time she spoke. Then we get into the moment that knocks so many people's confidence: someone saying "Sorry, can you say that again?" Stefy hears that question very differently. When someone asks you three times, it might have nothing to do with your English. They just really want to know what you've got to say.
This is the Speak English with Confidence podcast, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About Stefy VaclavikovaOriginally from Slovakia, Stefy works with successful professionals as an Inner Wealth Coach, helping them build the confidence, clarity, emotional control and self-worth to handle pressure more easily. Her background brings together language and psychology: she has coached mental health professionals to run therapy sessions and give presentations in English, and supported young people's emotional development under the supervision of educational psychologists in London. She also co-founded the Bowei Strategy Teacher Academy, which helps language teachers become thriving entrepreneurs.
Find Stefy:
LinkedIn: Stefy Vaclavikova | LinkedIn
Get her FREE e-book: Grow Your ESL Teaching Career
YouTube: Bowei Strategy Teacher Academy
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Do you ever feel like a smaller version of yourself when you speak English?
In this seven-minute extract from a longer conversation (which you can watch HERE on YouTube), I'm joined by English coach Daniele Ponzo, originally from Italy, to talk about language identity and the thirteen years he spent in Ireland learning to speak English confidently at work. From the fear of making mistakes in English to a funeral where he had no idea what to say, he's been exactly where you are. And nobody was judging him. They were just glad he tried.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a weekly show about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak at procoachenglish.com.
About Daniele PonzoAfter 13 years working in IT in Ireland, Daniele now helps IT professionals worldwide build their language confidence and English communication skills with his HACK system, featured in his book 'Easy English for IT'. Find his daily tips on LinkedIn and his podcast, The Non-Native Leader, on YouTube.
Find Daniele:
LinkedIn: Daniele Ponzo | LinkedIn
Website: https://danieleponzo.com
Book: Easy English For IT
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak

Have you ever stopped yourself halfway through a sentence in a meeting because you weren't sure the grammar was right?
In this short clip from a longer conversation, I'm joined by Lauren Martin, a language expert and copywriter who runs Simply Copy and helps language teachers, coaches and schools with their marketing, to talk about why so many capable professionals freeze when speaking English at work.
We talk about how grammar-heavy schooling leaves people so worried about getting every sentence perfect that they won't open up at all, and how quieting the inner critic and accepting that mistakes are fine is what actually helps you overcome English anxiety.
Lauren also makes a point I loved, that people want confidence for what it unlocks, getting on at work and connecting with people, and the fear of making mistakes in English is what's standing in the way. And those little slips you're so worried about? They're far louder in your head than in the mind of the person listening.
This is Speak English with Confidence, previously 'From Lost to the River', a podcast about language, identity, and what it really takes to speak with confidence.
More conversations, coaching options, and my new book 'More Than Words: Essays on Language, Identity, and the Courage to Speak' at procoachenglish.com.
Find Lauren:
Instagram: @simplycopy_co
LinkedIn: Lauren Martin
Website: https://simplycopyco.com/
Connect with me on Substack: https://substack.com/@thecouragetospeak