The InFluency Podcast

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 inspiration, she didn't learn English until she came to the US, at 26 years old! I hope you will see this as a true example of what is possible in a second language, as we'll practice Ana's speech and see how she uses her voice to deliver lines that are both funny, charming, and inspiring. Video version of the episode: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/shadowing-with-ana-de-armas/ Watch the original monologue here: https://youtu.be/MTJK-4Eu4r8

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 wait for you to listen to this episode Read the article about Mariana: https://bit.ly/3ng2YFu Follow Mariana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dlanguages/ Follow Mariana on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dlanguages Subscribe to Mariana's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dlanguages

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 life, and what to do about the gap between what you know and how you speak. Join the InFluency Community to practice your English with people all around the world for FREE: https://bit.ly/3Nqwd35 Did you know you can ask me a question too? Submit it here: https://bit.ly/3L71bu8

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 InFluency Community, a community of non-native speakers around the world, and we came up with this list together! (P.S. Have you joined the free community? You're invited! https://bit.ly/3Nqwd35) Watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/confusing-word-pairs/

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 to help students and teachers battle this phenomenon. Marek runs TEFL Equity Advocates and Academy, where he helps teachers tackle native speakerism and teach English for global communication: https://teflequityadvocates.com/ TEFL Equity Advocates and Academy YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/TEFLEquityAdvocates He also helps university students and researchers write better theses and papers on Academic English Now: https://academicenglishnow.com This episode was originally aired on October 1, 2020. See the video version here: https://bit.ly/3KUbiCl

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 more about why we need subtitles in movies and TV from this video by Vox: https://youtu.be/VYJtb2YXae8 Improve your listening comprehension with these episodes: Schwa – the BEST vowel sound in English https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/schwa/ How to Improve Your Listening Skills in English – 9 tips for English Learners https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/how-to-improve-english-listening-skills/ How to pronounce AND, OF, OR and FOR in a sentence | Reductions in English https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/reductions-in-english/

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, click here: https://youtu.be/F4Htgb6JJAM

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 I highly recommend to also download my FREE memorization guide so you could see the script written out phonetically: https://hadarshemesh.com/memorizing-a-text-freebie/ On our very first day at Harvard, a very wise professor quoted Aristotle: 'The law is reason free from passion.' Well, no offense to Aristotle, but in my three years at Harvard I have come to find that passion is a key ingredient to the study and practice of law – and of life." If you are an InFluency Community member, I'm challenging you to memorize this text with me, and upload your video in the community! Not a member of the InFluency Community? Join my FREE speaking community today: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/ Want to improve your speaking vocabulary? Check out this episode: https://bit.ly/3mnoDea

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 new method for learning with us in New Sound Ibrahim's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ibrahim.umulu/ Want to know more about New Sound? Get on the waitlist and be the first to hear when doors open next time! https://hadarshemesh.com/join/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/