The InFluency Podcast

In today's episode, I'm showing you the different ways you can pronounce the word ENVIRONMENT. Check out these other lessons to keep practicing your pronunciation: The R in English: The most in-depth lesson you'll ever hear: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/17/ The American 'R': https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/the-american-r/ How to pronounce 'Iron':  https://hadarshemesh.com/articles/iron-pronu...

Chiara from Italy asks: Is shadowing enough to make me fluent? Today I'll share my thoughts about shadowing, and the impact it has on your fluency. Do you have a question to ask me? Submit it here! https://bit.ly/3L71bu8 Want weekly bite-sized lessons from me in your inbox every week? Sign up here! https://bit.ly/3MNyEfn

Practice your anger with me in this episode! It can be hard to express anger with our voice, especially in a second language. But today I want to show you how you can tap into a different side of English! Your voice and your thoughts deserve to be heard, regardless of the language you're using and that's why today, we'll practice 3 different techniques for expressing anger. See the script and watc...

In this episode, (part 2 of 2), I share with you the last half of my coaching call, where I work with three more students 1:1 and talk with them about their challenges and training process, and give coaching and feedback on their pronunciation. Listen to part 1: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/318/ This episode was originally published on July 9, 2020. To see the video version, click here:  https...

  If I began learning English starting TODAY, this is what I would do! In this episode, I'm sharing with you the top tools I would use if I started learning English in 2023. Things are pretty different than it was when I first started learning English back in the day. Now, there are so many awesome tools we can use that make life so much easier! Here are some of the resources mentioned in the vide...

In this episode, (part 1 of 2), you'll get to hear me as I work 1:1 with two of my students and talk with them about their challenges and training process, and give coaching and feedback on their pronunciation. Listen to part 2:  https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/320/ This episode was originally published on July 9, 2020. To see the video version, click here:  https://youtu.be/ZQNEZlzG004 Join the...

Download the free PDF to practice your shadowing and see the full transcript: https://bit.ly/3NN1cq9 In this episode, shadow a scene with me by the Cuban actress, Ana de Armas! Not only is Ana an incredible actress, but she's also a great example of how to use voice, humor, and intonation to make an audience laugh – and she does that in her second language. Ana's story of learning English is an in...

In this episode I had the opportunity to interview a fellow English teacher, Mariana Plesco from DLanguages. Mariana is originally from Moldova, and now teaches English…in Spanish! Mariana will share her story of learning four languages, and how she went from not speaking any English, to now teaching it to her platform of hundreds of thousands of learners, in her second language, Spanish. I can't...

The way you THINK about your English has a big impact on how you SPEAK! In this video, I'm sharing my 3 favorite daily habits that will transform your English so you can speak with clarity, confidence and freedom. Do you have a habit that helps you? Download 30 more English affirmations:  https://bit.ly/41UMrpr Join My English Mindset: https://bit.ly/3VdK0eW

Join my 30-day mindset training and transform the way you feel and think about your English:  https://bit.ly/3VdK0eW "Why is English easier in class, but when I speak with real people, it becomes so much harder?" This is the question I got from Mayu in Japan, and I thought it was such a great question that many other people struggle with! Today I'll answer why things feel so much harder in real li...

The most confusing word pairs EVER! If you've been speaking English for a while, you probably know how complicated the spelling can be. But how about words that are spelled differently, but sound soooo similar? These word pairs I'm going to teach you today are common pairs that people confuse, and can lead to misunderstanding. But don't just take my word for it, I asked this question to my InFluen...

In this episode, I talk with Marek Kiczkowiak about native speakerism in the ELT (English Language Teaching) industry and how it promotes discrimination and inequality suggesting that native speaking teachers are more qualified and skilled to teach English as a second language as they represent the standard of English speaking and teaching. Marek shares his story as well as some tips and resources...

Do you ever feel like you understand most everything when you watch your favorite YouTuber, or have a conversation with others in English, but when you watch a movie or TV show, you suddenly start to question how much you really know and understand!? You're not alone! In fact, today I share with you 3 reasons why it's hard to understand TV and movies with subtitles, and what to do about it! Learn...

In this episode, I talk with public speaking coach Helena Bowen about the work she does with TED speakers and how she helps them deliver a compelling message in an interesting way. You'll get to hear some stories, mindset tips, and practical tips to improve your speaking skills, in general and on video in particular. This episode was originally published on Jul 16, 2020. To see the video version,...

Memorizing a text can be really useful for your English practice! It can help you learn words in context, new grammar structures and help you use your voice in English more confidently. And most important, it's SO MUCH FUN! In this episode I share with you the technique I used to memorize monologues when I was an actress, and then – we'll put it into practice together! Here's the text I used, but...

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, Ibrahim, a New Sound student of mine, shares his story of how he transformed his experience and started developing a ne...

Welcome to another Tuesday episode By the way, do you say TYOOZ-day or TOOZ-day? If you're not sure how to pronounce it, this episode is for you. Join me as I go over the pronunciation of the days of the week and learn how you can practice so you feel natural when saying them. Learn how to pronounce the months of the year:  https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/266/

This Friday is a bit different from what I normally post on the InFluency Podcast. In this episode, I have the absolute privilege of sharing with you something very special from my students, Vanessa Castillo and Soraya Carvajal, members of my Beyond Community. Today, you will hear from Vanessa and Soraya, as Vanessa shares her journey of overcoming limiting beliefs, sharing awareness about her con...

Want to know how to pronounce the NG sound in English, and common exceptions for this sound? Join me in today's episode! To practice with more words and sentences, read the full blogpost here:  https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/ng-sound-in-english/

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, Jacqueline, a New Sound student of mine, shares her story of transformation from feeling stuck in English for many year...

  What does it look like to transform from feeling insecure to feeling expressive and confident in English? In today's episode, I'm interviewing 6 of my New Sound students as they share their experience inside New Sound, and what has become possible for them during and after New Sound. They'll share what are the things that they needed to learn, and the things they needed to let go of to speak Eng...

New Sound is the ONLY program for speakers of English as a second language that focuses on EVERYTHING you really need to own your voice in English and find the freedom you deserve. New Sound offers a holistic approach to teaching pronunciation and prosody that will help you overcome your limitations and find your unique, powerful voice. I've integrated elements from my theater training (I bet you...

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, Tram, a student of mine, shares how she completed her 90-day goal she set at the beginning of the course, and is now fe...

  In this episode, I'm taking things in a bit of a different direction than normal! This week, I wanted to share the things I've had to overcome in English, and what that has allowed me to do in my personal life and business. As I mentioned, here are some of my old original YouTube videos: And my videos after I made the decision to start showing up authentically:

In this episode, I'll teach you how to pronounce the words Were, Work, and World. I call this sound the STIR sound. There are a LOT of words in English with this sound, and once you master it, these words are going to feel so much easier! Practice along with me in this episode today.