The InFluency Podcast

Women have been silenced for decades and generations. It's practically in our DNA. We don't live in an equal society and women's voices are still not being heard enough. As a RESULT, women tend to be perfectionist, overly-judgmental, and are required to work harder to prove themselves and to succeed. And when it comes to English, the fear of speaking up becomes paralyzing when you're a non-native...

Taking notes in class, a meeting or a lecture can be a challenge for everyone. So naturally, if you're a non-native speaker, this process can be even more challenging. But! The secret is not in how to understand native speakers better or to write faster. The secret is what SYSTEM you use to take notes, and how to find the CLUES in the intonation of the speaker to write only the important stuff. So...

One question I get asked regularly by learners of English is, "how come I practice a new word and succeed in pronouncing it right but then fail to get it right when using it in a conversation later on?" Has that ever happened to you? In this episode I discuss why it is not enough to improve in English simply by watching a video or listening to a podcast, and what you need to do to really see resul...

When you see the word 'resume' do you know how to pronounce it if it's out of context? I guess it's going to be hard. Because two words (that are pronounced differently) share this spelling! Homographs are words that are written the same but are pronounced differently. And English has lots of them! This is one of the reasons English spelling is so confusing. We see two words that are completely id...

Have you ever felt nervous speaking English, especially around native speakers? If the answer is yes, do listen to this episode. In this episode you will learn: 1. How to turn your thoughts around so you can become a confident speaker 2. How to get past the fear of speaking with native speakers 3. Three things you can do to improve your English performance even if you are afraid If you like this e...

Homophones are words that are spelled differently but pronounced the same. No wonder English is so confusing! When we see the different spelling we assume that it should be pronounced differently, but English is not a phonetic language! So spelling and pronunciation don't match! In this episode, you'll learn about some of the most common homophones in English and how to pronounce them. We'll talk...

To download the practice sheet click here: https://hadarshemesh.com/the-r-in-english-podcast-freebie/ Many non-native speakers of English struggle with the R in English.  Not only that this sound is challenging to pronounce (put the tongue where?!?) and makes us feel like pirates, but it also keeps changing depending on where it's positioned. So even though it might be easy to pronounce in some wo...

A few months ago I invited you to ask me PERSONAL questions. I didn't think I'd get many questions but I was surprised to have received dozens of awesome questions, and in this episode, I'm going to answer a bunch of them:) You'll hear about how I met my husband, my life as a social activist, my biggest failure, my plans for the future, what I do with my hair (not much), if I miss acting and more!...

Taking small actions every day leads to great results. Author Darren Hardy calls it "The Compound Effect", and it holds for a lot of things in life. In this episode, I'll discuss how I've realized it's deeply relevant to English learning and speaking. I experienced it in acting school, in the accent training courses I took, and in the past decade in teaching and building my business. I see it in m...

Download the English contractions practice sheet and the audio: https://hadarshemesh.com/contractions-freebie/ Contractions are words and phrases that are shortened by dropping sounds (in writing and in speaking). Contractions are all the you'd, she'll, we're, isn't etc. These contractions allow us to signal our listeners what is more important and what is less, and that makes our communication in...

In this podcast episode I elaborate on how to practice it effectively and integrate it into your day-to-day speech. Because forming a sentence is not enough. And making the right sounds isn't enough. It's the intonation that determines the meaning of the sentence: is it a question or a statement? Is it a joke and you're just being sarcastic? This is also where culture and your inner feelings are t...

Why is it SO HARD to understand native speakers? And what do you HAVE to know to improve your spoken English and get your point across clearly and confidently? In this episode, you will learn the 3 fundamentals of American intonation: melody, rhythm, and stress. You'll learn how to use melody and rhythm to stress words, you'll learn the difference between content words and function words, why we n...

How does the Impostor Syndrome affect us when speaking English as a second language? And why do we feel that even when we do a good job in English – we, in fact, failed and we can't seem to understand how others haven't noticed just how bad our English is. Thinking that our English is a lot worse than what other people perceive it to be makes us feel like impostors. The Impostor Syndrome is a univ...

In this episode, you'll learn the 10 most common mistakes Brazilian Portuguese speakers make, and understand why these sounds are difficult for you, but more than that – you'll learn how to improve your American English pronunciation. Download the FREE English pronunciation guide for Brazilian Portuguese speakers: https://theaccentsway.com/brazil-freebie/ Not a Brazilian Portuguese speaker? I bet...

I mention the schwa almost every time I speak about American English. That's because this vowel is all over the place, and once you hear it, you never stop hearing it The schwa is a very short and "relaxed" kind of vowel. It's a pretty tricky vowel for non-native speakers but if you get it, you get the secret to American English pronunciation and you become SO much clearer. Also, you will find you...

Learning to speak a new language can be challenging, no doubt about that. Especially English. All those funky words like knight, laugh, paradigm and psychology that have all these letters that are not pronounced. And what about the confusing pairs like celery-salary, back-buck, pool-pull that if we confuse them, we may sound unclear? Or words like beach, focus, spreadsheet and fox that if we mispr...

I've been an accent and fluency coach for over 10 years. It hasn't always been easy but it was always gratifying. I've learned new things about English and about my teaching, and I want to share these things with you. Learn more about my English teaching training .  00:00 – My teaching journey in the past decade 06:30 – Being flexible – there is more than one way to explain something. Follow your...

FREE PDF Download: Download my 8 P's pronunciation teaching framework: https://theaccentsway.com/freebie-8ps/  Whether you're an English teacher (native or non-native) or an English learner, my pronunciation teaching and learning framework will help you understand what are the steps you need to take in order to teach and learn pronunciation in the simplest, most effective way.  This framework has...

Like any other challenge or thing we need to work on, improving your fluency is first and foremost about developing the right mindset. In this video, I'll discuss some of the things that hold you back and that you really need to let go of if you want to achieve a breakthrough in English in 2020.  04:25 – Stop judging other speakers – appreciate what they have to say and that they're doing their be...

Pronunciation is the door to understanding and mastering spoken English. It's the secret of speaking with confidence and communicating clearly. In this episode, I pinpoint the reasons why learning pronunciation is crucial if you want to make an impact and not compromise your message. Because this is really what it's all about. It's not about you sounding more American and losing your identity. It'...

Learning English can easily get boring, and soon you may find yourself doing something else and beating yourself up for not keeping up with your studies. If this scenario rings a bell, this episode is for you so tune in and give yourself a motivation boost! 00:00 – Introduction – comfort zones are great until they're not 03:50 – Remember your WHY – what do you wish for yourself that requires speak...

When I was 21 I moved to NYC dreaming to become a working actress. But I had one BIG obstacle. My English. I had a thick accent and I wasn't fluent. In this episode, I share with you how I transformed from being a timid speaker of English to a pronunciation expert and fluency coach who runs a thriving online business, and how I get to do what I love teaching students from all around the world who...

Welcome to my new podcast, In. Fluency, where I'll discuss English, pronunciation learning and teaching, how to really make a difference and become a fluent and confident English speaker. In this first episode, I'll share with you the reasons why I chose to start my own podcast, who it is for, and what you're gonna find here.  If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better...