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“I think I don’t speak English as good as others. I feel they are better than me and I am not good enough. What will they think of me?” - Rohit Singh Naruka, Software Engineer at Microsoft.
Rohit was scared of being judged when he was about to join Microsoft as a Software Engineer on his first day.
In May 2022, Rohit came to BBR English with a common problem most engineers face. He was set to join Microsoft next month and dreaded the day of judgement (literally!)
Why? Because he had to stand up to give introduction to his colleagues and bosses on his orientation.
He was scared he won’t able to look them in the eyes. Again, why? Because the expectant eyes of everyone loaded with eagerness and curiosity make him nervous and anxious.
And the nervousness leads him to make silly mistakes like…
“I thank all the peoples for giving me this opportunity…”
He didn’t want to make a fool of himself by committing such a silly grammar mistake. He knew English grammar pretty well.
It was because he had to face people whom he THOUGHT were better than him in spoken English.
It made him nervous because he thought what would they think of him. It made him feel insufficient when he wanted to perform his best.
It can be devastating to feel judged on your first day at office. You definitely don’t want to continue feeling this as you take your duties and responsibilities.
And Rohit also didn’t want to feel this way when he had to join one of the top 10 MNCs in the world, Microsoft, in a month.
Read how Rohit’s journey with BBR English made him a confident man in the next SIX weeks!
Rohit Singh Naruka is a Software Engineer from Kota, Rajasthan. He joined BBR English in May 2022 as a student to improve his fluency and confidence while conversing in English.
In May 2022, Rohit thought his world was an oyster when he passed out after completing his Masters in Computer Science from IIT Delhi.
He was about to embark on a new journey as a software engineer in Microsoft. He had worked hard to secure his position in one of the most renowned companies in the world, and he was excited to start his new role.
However, there was one thing that was bothering him - his English communication skills.
Rohit had always been a studious person, and he had excelled in academics throughout his life. He had completed his B.tech in Electric Engineering from MNIT Jaipur and had secured a placement in a steel plant company in for a year.
In September 2020, he decided to switch from electrical to computer science and pursue a Masters in Comp Science from IIT Delhi.
Why? Because the work profile and job responsibilities of Electric Engineer was not something he wanted to do.
He was a bright student and had secured a placement in an Microsoft as a software engineer the following month.
But despite his academic excellence, Rohit had always struggled with English communication. He had grown up in Rajasthan, where he had studied in Hindi until the fifth grade.
From the sixth grade, he started studying in English, but most of his teachers spoke and taught in Hindi. Rohit's b.tech was in English, but he still struggled to make proper sentences and express himself fluently.
As he was about to start his new role in Microsoft, Rohit knew that he needed to improve his English communication skills. Rohit's struggle with English communication had been particularly acute in the last three years.
Rohit used to read self-help books by Dale Carnegie, including How to Influence People, to improve his communication skills. His psychology had changed, which made him want to improve his English speaking skills even more.
Despite his efforts, Rohit still felt inferior to others when it came to English communication. He believed that he was not as good as his colleagues, and he was afraid of what they would think of him. He was disappointed that he couldn't express himself fluently, and he was anxious about his new role in Microsoft.
He was looking for mentorship and more practice time to improve his grammar, fluency, and pronunciation. One day, while browsing the internet, Rohit came across a Facebook ad for BBR English communication courses.
The courses promised to help students suffering from low confidence, public speaking phobia, and difficulty talking to office people in English. Rohit was intrigued, and he decided to enroll in the courses to improve his English communication skills.
He attended the foundation session where the mentor evaluated the gaps in his communication. He knew that he needed more practice to be able to speak confidently.
The foundation session generated his calibration report that cleared his ideas even further.
It showed him a learning track that he would be able to follow by choosing the course for English for Technology and Product Leaders.
The courses at BBR English were intensive and focused on helping students speak confidently in English. Rohit was amazed at the progress he made in just a few weeks.
He had more practice time, and the mentors at BBR English helped him identify his weaknesses and work on them. He started to feel more confident and less nervous when speaking in English.
Rohit was determined to overcome his struggles with English communication, and he worked hard to achieve his goals.
His transformation process took only SIX sessions which made him feel proud of himself and thankful to BBR English.
Here’s what Rohit and his mentor Manpreet brought to the table together:
Sessions 1 and 2:
The first and second sessions focused on Grammar, Vocabulary, and free speaking. It involved narrating activities and put them into practice in assignments. Rohit’s fluency was quite controlled and fine as per his mentor’s observations. He only needed to work on his Grammar and pronunciation of a few words.
Rohit continued with his practice of reading books to leave no stone unturned in his efforts. He put special focus on not making mistakes in Grammar as he tends to forget sometimes. When he delivered a speech in the second session, he could see he was able to use pauses correctly wherever necessary. He was also able to use his voice efficiently to express his ideas with more structure.
Sessions 3 and 4
The third and fourth sessions focused on prepositions and articles for public speaking. These were the areas where Rohit needed guidance on structuring proper sentences with parts of speech and Articles. The mentor also have more speaking topics to keep increasing his usage of new vocabulary.
The activities helped Rohit improve a lot in speaking on a topic. In fact, his mentor observed he spoke almost committing no mistake whatsoever! It was a drastic improvement in Rohit’s speaking from the last time to now. It was commendable to see the improvement. However, he still needed to keep in mind the usage of fillers.
Sessions 5 and 6
The fifth and sixth sessions had more focus on using the concepts of tenses and pronouns. It was important from the perspective that Rohit learns structuring ideas and forming opinions correctly. The mentor gave him more topics to speak because he still makes mistakes in structuring sentences and tenses.
With presentation skills as one of the last topics on his journey, Rohit became even better in expressing himself. He had enough content to share with massive improvement in grammar and pronunciation. Apart from that fillers also reduced because his content got enough.
In the end, Rohit's transformation was remarkable. He was able to speak fluently in English, and he had overcome his fear of speaking in front of others. He had a good rapport with his team at Microsoft, and he was confident in his ability to perform his best.
He was grateful to BBR English for helping him achieve his goals, and he recommended the courses to anyone struggling with English communication.
Like Rohit, several other engineers face the struggles of feeling underconfident and inferior while speaking English at their workplaces.
Do you also suffer from building good rapport with your team because of improper pronunciations and conversing in English?
And do you also want to improve your English communication skills with LIVE mentorship and daily practice sessions?
Then, you’re on the right track! Sign up for a foundation session with BBR at only Rs. 499!
