The InFluency Podcast

My students and community members are truly inspiring. In these What's Possible episodes, I'll have a conversation with them about their journey, and in particular what has worked for them and led them to change the circumstances in their lives (for the better!). In this episode, listen as Hernan shares the story of giving a presentation in English and acing it, recording his own online course in...

Is being a basic speaker so bad? This week I interviewed the head of my content team, Christina Hilton. In this episode, we'll get to know her better as we discuss what pisses her off in English content , the misleading videos you might be watching, and what mistakes really mean for learners! Watch the video version of the interview here:  https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/basic-vs-advanced-englis...

My students and community members are truly inspiring. In these What's Possible episodes, I'll have a conversation with them about their journey, and in particular what has worked for them and led them to change the circumstances in their lives (for the better!). In this episode, Szilvia will tell you how she has overcome her fear of speaking and improved her fluency, and eventually started making...

English words with silent letters – like them or not, they're here to stay and you just have to get to know them. But more than that, you have to practice them if you want to get their pronunciation right and use them confidently. Download a FREE practice PDF to practice these words with me:  https://hadarshemesh.com/silent-letters-281-freebie/ In this episode I share some of the most confusing ex...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the word 'opportunity'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Opportunity: aa-p'r-TUW-nuh-dee [IPA: ˌɑːpəɹˈtuːnəɾi] Watch the video version here: https:...

Is English really for everyone? Not according to a YouTube channel named… English for Everyone. The creators of this channel have published a series of critical videos targeting the mistakes of another YouTube creator with millions of followers – Marina Mogilko. Marina, a non-native speaker, immigrant, and a very successful creator and entrepreneur is an example of what's possible when you use Eng...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the word 'sorry'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Sorry: saa -ree [IPA: ˈsɑːɹi] Watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/so...

In this episode, I'll teach you how to pronounce all 12 months in the year, plus, I added a few bonus tips about knowing which prepositions to use when we talk about months and dates (yes, those tricky little prepositions in, on, and at)! What month is the most challenging for YOU to pronounce? Want to keep practicing? Use my pronunciation confidence method! Tune in here:  https://hadarshemesh.com...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the words 'martyr' and 'murder'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Martyr: maar -d'r [IPA: ˈmɑːɹɾəɹ] Murder: m'r -d'r [IPA: ˈmɜːɹdəɹ] Watch the vide...

This October, I was in my beloved New York City, where I had the most incredible meetup with over 50 New Sound and Beyond community members. When I first got the idea for this meetup, I had no clue that it would turn out to be so big, with several students flying from all around the world to come and meet each other! In this episode, tune in to learn about the behind-the-scenes of the meetup, the...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about words and phrases with a V or W sound. Here's a loose transcription of the words and phrases as explained in the episode: Vet: vet [IPA: vɛt] Wet: wet [IPA: wɛt] Why: wai [IPA: waɪ] We...

Can you lose fluency in English? What can you do if you need to get it back? In this episode, I'll talk about how you can measure fluency which will help you know if you've lost it. I also talk about tips for what to do to gain fluency back, and how to prevent it from happening! Research published in 2014 about loss of fluency in the Journal of Cognitive Science: https://bit.ly/3D2A4w9 Want more t...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the word 'frustrating'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Frustrating: fruhs -chrei-ding [IPA: ˈfɹʌstʃɹeɪɾɪŋ] Watch the video version here: https://...

Have you ever had this feeling while reading a book that you're really making progress? That if someone were to start a conversation with you, all those words and grammar structures you've read would be there for you, and come out of your mouth effortlessly? But has that ever happened? Probably, reality hit and you realized that it doesn't work that way! In this episode I explain why reading books...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the words 'forward' and 'backward'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Forward: for -w'rd [IPA: ˈfɔːɹwəɹd] Backward: bak -w'rd [IPA: ˈbækwəɹd] Watch...

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself where the fear of making mistakes in English comes from? We avoid mistakes because making mistakes means that we are "breaking the rules of language". Following the rules – including the rules that society, native speakers, or people in positions of authority have placed on us, has a greater impact on our English than you might realize! In this episode, I talk...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the words 'quit', 'quite', and 'quiet'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Quit: kwit [IPA: kwɪt] Quite: kwait [IPA: kwaɪt] Quiet: kwai-y't [IPA:ˈkw...

Download my FREE L Practice Sheet here . The Dark L is a type of sound that exists at the end of words and before consonants in English, but it may not be in your language! This episode is going to give you all the tips and tricks for knowing how to pronounce the different Ls in English, plus quick tips for how to make this sound easier! Don't forget to download your FREE L practice sheet so you c...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words and common names. This week we're going to talk about words with the A as in 'father' vowel sound, as in the words 'coffee', 'job', and 'office'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Office...

This episode will help you pronounce the English TH consonant sound when there are many in a sentence, and how to make it smoother in sentences and between several tricky consonants. Have a question for me too? Ask me here!  https://hadarshemesh.com/ask-hadar/   If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://had...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the words 'million' and 'billion'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Million: mil-y'n [IPA: ˈmɪljən] Billion: bil-y'n [IPA: ˈbɪljən] Watch the vide...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the word 'spreadsheet'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Spreadsheet: spred -sheet [IPA: ˈspɹɛdʃiːt] Watch the video version here: https://hadarshe...

  If English is not your native language, does that mean you have to compromise on the things you want to achieve in your life? In today's episode, you'll see that the answer is absolutely not! Today, you will hear the stories of my New Sound students. Each of these remarkable people share stories about their English journey, and the success they have achieved! They are the inspiration that show u...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the words 'corporate' and 'cooperate'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Corporate: kor -pr't [IPA: ˈkɔːɹpɹət] Cooperate: kow- aa -puh-reit [IPA: k...

  Have you ever considered giving up on your English practice because you felt it was going nowhere? Or maybe you have been studying for so long, but you don't see any progress, and you wonder why you do it? Learning a language and trying to reach fluency can be a challenging process and sometimes we might lose our hope and motivation. In this episode I talk about this common feeling that creeps u...