The InFluency Podcast

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 'her' and 'hair'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: hair: her [IPA: heəɹ] her: h'r [IPA: hɜːɹ] or h'r [IPA: həɹ] hurt: h'rt [IPA: hɜːɹt] Y...

Do you use shadowing when practicing English? Shadowing is one of the best ways to improve your English speaking skills as it helps improve pronunciation, intonation, and vocabulary. It can also help you improve *unconsciously* things like rhythm, stress, grammar, and more. Sounds like fun, no? But, it can also be a WASTE OF TIME! Without proper guidance, it's easy to fall into the trap of practic...

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 'particularly'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: particularly: p'r-ti-kyuh-l'r-lee [IPA: pərˈtɪkjələrli] or puh-ti-kyuh-l'r-lee [IPA: pəˈt...

Tongue twisters can be a pain in the b**t in ANY LANGUAGE! They can be frustrating, discouraging, and you may even think they're pointless. So why am I obsessed with tongue twisters?!? Listen to this episode to find out, as I try to make a case for tongue twisters. Maybe I'll even convince you Once you're convinced, go to my website to access my tongue-twister playlist! Something fun to add to you...

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 minimal pair, 'pool' and 'pull'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: pool: puwl [IPA: puːl] food: fuwd [IPA: fuːd] you: yuw [IPA: yuː] who'd: huw...

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 'luxury'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: luxury: luhg-juh-ree [IPA: ˈlʌɡʒəri] You can watch the video version here:  https://hadarshemes...

Every immigrant has a story. A story about their journey and the place of English in it. Many of my students are immigrants, I was an immigrant myself. There are commonalities, for sure, but each story is unique, a story worth telling and listening to. In this episode, I'll be interviewing Rita Ramirez. Rita is a real estate salesperson, originally from Colombia, now residing in the US. Rita was a...

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 minimal pair, 'bed' and 'bad'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: bed: bed [IPA: bɛd] red: red [IPA: rɛd] head: head [IPA: hɛd] set: set [IPA: s...

Download Free English Pronunciation Guide + audio practice here:  https://hadarshemesh.com/english-for-arabic-speakers-pdf/ In this episode, I'm going to talk about the biggest English pronunciation challenges for speakers of Modern Standard Arabic – all broken down and explained. You'll learn what those main challenges are, why they are difficult, but more than that – you'll learn how to overcome...

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 'months'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Months: muhnths [IPA: mʌnθs] or muhns [IPA: mʌns] You can watch the video version here:  https:...

What happens when you're choosing not to speak? When you feel limited by a language? Maybe you've gotten used to avoiding speaking so much that you feel people don't really know the REAL you. When you constantly feel like your voice is not heard – whether it's because of others not listening to you or because you're not speaking enough, especially when it matters – you might feel you're invisible....

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 'girl'. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: girl – g'rl [IPA: ɡɜːrl] You can watch the video version here:  https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine...

Do this English pronunciation practice every day, and improve your clarity, intonation, pronunciation, and confidence. Ready to kick off the New Year with a healthy habit? This episode will help! You can do it in the morning, in the evening, before an important meeting, or whenever you feel it's right. Set yourself up for success using these articulation and speech exercises and you'll feel how yo...

English words can be really confusing sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing words and common names. This week we're going to talk about the minimal triplet, 'cap', 'cop', and 'cup'. You can watch the video version here:  https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/cap-cup-cop/ Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: ca...

Download FREEBIE – A list of the 10 tips, PLUS links to videos and resources to go deeper: https://bit.ly/3Eysic2 Ready to make a change in 2022? ??? The end of the year is always a good time to set goals for the new year. And if improving your English is on that list, you'll definitely need the right strategy for it! So I got you covered! In this episode, I collected for you 10 of my best tips to...

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, Vladimir will tell you how he got the job of his dreams that allows him to travel around the world, simply by being pre...

Every immigrant has their own story to tell: a story about the circumstances that led them to move to another country, a story about the life they're building in that new country; The things they left behind, the things they brought with them, the things that they left behind and brought with them. And in their story, you would often find English. One of the things I would like to focus on this ye...

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, Tomasz will share with us how consistent practice (15 min a day) has helped him do business in English, broadcast live...

Do you feel exhausted after speaking in English? Do you feel fake? Almost like – it's not really YOU who's doing the talking? The reason for that could be simpler than you think. In this episode I share with you one thing my students do that makes them feel incredibly uncomfortable and self-conscious in English, and they don't even know they're doing it! Best part – it's super easy to fix! If you...

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 'low' and 'law' and focus on other words that are spelled with AW . Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: law: laa [IPA: lɑː] or law [IPA: lɔ...

Free Download: Clear&Easy English consonants chart https://bit.ly/3lLC2Jy English consonants can be confusing! Whether it's understanding the difference between the different consonants, or producing them. In this consonant masterclass, I'll teach you the three elements that you need to take into consideration when pronouncing consonants (hint: it's all about place of articulation, manner of artic...

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, Lucrécia will tell you how to let go of the impostor syndrome and harness the power of the compound effect, and transfo...

Download the PDF with the script here https://hadarshemesh.com/freebie-ferrera Being good at telling a story is a skill. And that skill can be learned. In this episode, we'll watch America Ferrera as she masterfully builds her speech, and learn how emphasizing operative words is key to a good speech. We'll also pay attention to the way she uses her pitch and tone of voice to convey her feelings, a...

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 'want' vs. 'won't'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: want: waant [IPA: wɑːnt] or wawnt [IPA: wɔːnt] or whunt [IPA: wʌnt ] won't: wownt [...

How do you feel about grammar? For some of us, grammar can sometimes be pretty overwhelming. It has been for me, but in my years of using and teaching English, I've realized something crucial about it. We can't build grammar just by learning grammar rules. We have to build 'Grammar muscles', and in order to do that, we need to have the right strategy and focus on what matters. That's always the ca...