From Beginner to Job Interview in 8 Months: Kateryna's Story

Kateryna Marchenko grew up in Kyiv, where she worked as a graphic designer at a small agency. She was talented, ambitious, and fluent in Ukrainian and Russian. The one thing standing between her and the international career she wanted was English.

"I had maybe A2 level when I started," she recalls. "I could say hello, introduce myself, that's it. The idea of having a job interview in English felt completely impossible."

Eight months later, she had the interview. And she got the job.

Finding the Right Teacher

Kateryna tried apps. She tried group classes. She tried YouTube. Nothing stuck — not because those resources are bad, but because she was inconsistent. "I would study for a week, then not study for three weeks," she says. "Apps are too easy to ignore."

When she found Luluclass, she booked a first lesson mostly out of curiosity. "It was only $1, so the risk was nothing. I was nervous but also thinking — what's the worst that can happen?"

She was matched with a teacher — James, based in New Zealand — who specialised in helping non-native speakers prepare for professional settings. From their first conversation, he understood exactly what she needed.

"Kateryna was completely capable — she just needed to trust herself. My job was to create a space where she could make mistakes without fear, and then slowly raise the stakes." — James, Luluclass teacher

The First Two Months: Foundations

In the early weeks, lessons focused on building confidence rather than grammar. James encouraged Kateryna to speak at length about topics she knew well — her work, her city, her interests. The goal was fluency over accuracy: getting her comfortable producing language, even imperfect language, without freezing.

"I made so many mistakes. James would correct me but in a nice way — he'd just repeat the sentence correctly and move on. It didn't feel embarrassing. It felt like learning."

She also started watching English-language design content on YouTube — deliberately. "I would watch the same video three times. First with subtitles, then without, then I'd try to explain what I'd watched to James in our next lesson."

Months Three to Five: Professional English

As her general fluency grew, the lessons shifted toward professional vocabulary and scenarios. Business emails. Presenting ideas. Giving feedback on design work. Handling disagreements politely.

James introduced mock scenarios — playing the role of a client, a stakeholder, a difficult colleague. "It was uncomfortable at first," Kateryna says. "But that discomfort was the point. By the time I got to a real situation, I had already rehearsed something similar with James."

She was having two 60-minute lessons per week. On her own, she was doing around 20 minutes of daily practice — review notes, shadow clips from YouTube, journal in English before bed. The habit was small but consistent.

Months Six to Eight: Interview Preparation

By June, Kateryna had started applying for roles at international companies with offices in Europe. She was nervous about interviews but James was methodical. They covered common interview structures, how to talk about her portfolio, how to answer behavioural questions using the STAR method.

"We did probably fifteen mock interviews. James was strict in these ones — he told me what I did wrong, what sounded unclear, where I went too quiet. It was intense but I needed that."

She had three real interviews in July. The third one — at a design agency in Warsaw with an international client base — went to final round.

"I remember after the call thinking: I did that. I talked for an hour about my work and my ideas, in English, and they understood me. It felt like something huge had shifted." — Kateryna

She got the offer in August.

What Made the Difference

Kateryna is clear about what worked. It wasn't magic, and it wasn't talent. It was showing up consistently, having a teacher she trusted, and being willing to be uncomfortable.

"The app thing — I don't think it works because there's no one watching, no one who cares whether you do it or not. With James, I didn't want to show up unprepared. That accountability changed everything."