The InFluency Podcast

In this episode, you'll learn how to speak fast in English WITHOUT compromising your clarity. I will also talk about the difference between GOOD fast and BAD fast speech, and how by applying the three points I teach you in this episode you'll be able to master the American rhythm and intonation. To watch the full video click here: https://theaccentsway.com/speak-faster/ If you want to improve your...

In this episode, I'm hosting Ethan from RealLife English and Learn English with TV Series. Here's what we talked about: • How to identify your motivations for learning • How to build strong learning habits • Speaking and practicing with native vs. non-native speakers • The challenges and advantages of cross-cultural communication. Ethan is passionate about innovative learning strategies, and is de...

What do you do when people don't understand you? Do you repeat what you said? Do you stop speaking? Do you feel bad? When we speak a second language (and even in our first language), people may not understand us 100% of the time. This can be because of pronunciation, sentence structure, choice of words, and many other reasons. There's no reason to feel bad about it – it's part of speaking a second...

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 different ways to pronounce the word 'toward'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: toward: tuh-word [IPA: təˈwɔːrd] or tword [IPA: twɔːrd] or tor...

What makes a good English teacher? So many people settle for English teaching that's not right for them because it's comfortable and they don't believe they can find something better. They keep taking English lessons with the wrong teacher for them because it's either close to home, it's familiar, it's cheap, they feel bad leaving the teacher, it doesn't require them to do any research, or it simp...

In this episode, you're going to learn how storytelling can be interesting, relatable and effective, and why it is important if you're a speaker of English as a second language. With us in this episode is Sun Yi, the founder of Night Owls, a digital branding agency headquartered in NYC. If you're a teacher, an artist, or a business owner, you definitely don't want to miss this conversation. Here's...

Download Free English Pronunciation Guide + audio practice for Hindi and Urdu speakers: https://bit.ly/3iqN0BU In this episode, I'm going to talk about the biggest English pronunciation challenges for Urdu and Hindi speakers – 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 them and become a more...

In this episode, I'm sharing with you a super helpful way to understand and use the prepositions 'in', 'on', and 'at' correctly when you talk about places. If you missed the episode about prepositions of time, you can find it here: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/140/ To watch the video version of the episode go here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/on-in-at-place/ If you want to improve your a...

On Wednesday or at Wednesday? In the summer or at the summer? In this episode, I'm sharing with you a super helpful way to understand and remember how to use the prepositions 'in', 'on', and 'at' correctly. This episode will focus on time. In the next episode we'll talk about using these prepositions when we talk about place. Stay tuned for part 2! To watch the video version of the episode go here...

In this 'Ask Hadar' podcast episode I'm answering Silvana, an English learner from Brazil, who wants to become an English teacher. Silvana isn't sure she can do it, because she still has a lot to learn herself. I get asked this question a lot – whether non-native speakers of English should teach the language. And I always say – absolutely. If pursuing a teaching career is what you want, don't let...

Do you sometimes have trouble understanding native speakers and non-native speakers on television, movies, or in real life? Are you afraid of going into a conversation and not understanding the person you're speaking with? Well, you're not alone. When learning and speaking a second language, one of the biggest challenges we face is being able to understand the speakers of that language. In this ep...

English words and phrases can be really challenging sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of challenging words and common names. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce "there are" and "they are", as well as the challenging TH-S transition. Here's a loose transcription of the phrases as explained in the episode: They a...

Are you a lawyer? Or do you like legal drama in TV or movies? If yes, you must be familiar with words you rarely hear in the 'real world' – like 'attorney' or 'warrant'. Since I love 'Law and Order', 'Better Call Saul' and any other show that has the phrase 'Objection, Your Honor' at least once every episode – I decided to devote one podcast episode to talking about legal vocabulary. In this episo...

In this episode, you'll learn about language learning from AI (Artificial Intelligence) linguist and English teacher, Yazzy Ares. In this podcast we'll talk about the field of NLP (Natural Language Processing) and AI, and the difference between humans and computers when it comes to language processing and language acquisition. We also talked about biases and discrimination when it comes to languag...

Are you pronouncing these names correctly? Barbara? Arthur? Siobhan? Not sure how to pronounce these names or you find it really challenging with all the R's and TH's?! This episode is for you. Join me on an 11-minute journey through these 11 challenging names to pronounce if English is your second (or third, or fourth) language: Arthur Rory Cory Jonathan Carl Ethan Barbara Aaron and Erin Joaquin...

Long words can be really challenging to pronounce and we sometimes find ourselves trying to avoid them, especially if we're not sure how to stress them. But there's actually a good way to know where to place the primary stress in such words. And it's all about the suffix. In this episode, I'm going to talk about some common suffixes and how to stress words that have them. Want to practice? Here's...

In this episode, I'll talk about phrases and how the stress and rhythm in a phrase may CHANGE based on the function of the phrase in the sentence. For example, if you take a phrase like 'last minute', then in a simple sentence like "They finished their project at the last minute", MINUTE is usually stressed in a neutral intonation. But if you take the phrase and use it before a noun, as in "a last...

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 how to pronounce the words 'recipe' and 'receipt' . Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Recipe: re-suh-pee [IPA: ˈresəpi] Receipt: ri-seet [IPA: rɪˈs...

What if I told you there was one thing you could do daily that would improve everything about your English communication: how you organize your thoughts, how to think in English, how to quickly find the words, your pronunciation, your vocabulary, your voice, your public speaking skills, your confidence and your overall flow. It's absolutely free and all you need is your phone, 2 minutes of your da...

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 how to pronounce the words 'angry', 'hungry', and 'hangry'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Angry: ang-gree [IPA: ˈæŋɡri] or eing-gree [IPA: ˈeɪŋ...

Do you want to become a great public speaker like Shonda Rhimes? Avoid sounding monotone? Are you interested in learning more about American intonation, American rhythm, and stress? Good. Because this episode is all about that. In this episode, I analyze a TED talk called "My year of saying YES to everything" by the wonderful Shonda Rhimes. This talk is not only great for learning American intonat...

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 how to pronounce the word ' meme '. Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Meme: meem [IPA: mi:m] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoke...

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 how to pronounce New York as well as its five boroughs . Here's a loose transcription of the names as explained in the episode: New York: nuw-york [IPA: nu: jɔ:rk] Manhattan: m'n-HA-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. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the word " bourgeois ". Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Bourgeois: bur-jwaa [IPA: ˈbʊrʒwɑː] If you want to improve your accent and understand spok...

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. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the words "length" and "strength". Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Length: lengkth [IPA: leŋkθ] or lenth [IPA: lenθ] Strength: strengkth [IPA: str...