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The InFluency Podcast

Latest episodes

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Jan 28, 2022 • 4min

191. How to pronounce BED vs. BAD

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: sɛt] left: left [IPA: lɛft] send: send [IPA: sɛnd] bad: bad [IPA: bæd] cat: cat [IPA: kæt] happy: ha-pee [IPA: hæpi] that: that [IPA: ðæt] sat: sat [IPA: læft] had: had [IPA: hæd] sand: sand [IPA: sænd] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/bed-bad/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/
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Jan 25, 2022 • 23min

190. The BIGGEST Pronunciation Challenges Arabic Speakers Face (and how to overcome them)

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 them and become a more confident and clear speaker of English. Not an Arabic speaker? I bet that as a non-native speaker of English you can still find at least one challenge that is relevant to you Let me know what it is in the comments below! I also created for you a free pronunciation guide with 5 MORE challenges to practice that are not discussed in the video. Download the guide here: https://hadarshemesh.com/english-for-arabic-speakers-pdf/ Video about English Consonants: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/english-consonants/ Video about English Vowels: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/english-vowels/ Check out my SPRINTS – Effective Practice to boost your vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation: Sprint #1 https://hadarshemesh.com/spr1 Sprint #2 https://hadarshemesh.com/spr2 Sprint #3 https://hadarshemesh.com/spr3 Morning Pronunciation Routine https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/pronunciation-practice-english/ Daily Pronunciation routine https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/english-practice/
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Jan 21, 2022 • 3min

189. How to pronounce MONTHS

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://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/months/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/
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Jan 18, 2022 • 27min

188. Feeling Invisible

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. There’s nothing worse than feeling that people don’t REALLY see you. Join me for a conversation about feeling invisible, how that’s connected to speaking a second language, and what you can do to stop feeling invisible and start feeling more natural, authentic and present when speaking: https://www.instagram.com/hadar.accentsway/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/
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Jan 14, 2022 • 6min

187. How to pronounce GIRL

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/girl/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/
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Jan 11, 2022 • 14min

186. 10 min English Pronunciation Practice for the New Year

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 your English becomes effortless with time! Watch the video version of the practice here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/english-practice/ Click here for the Morning Pronunciation Routine. Want more practice? Try these super effective drills: A List of Short & Sweet daily pronunciation exercises https://bit.ly/3pQPvAV Sprint #1 https://hadarshemesh.com/spr1 Sprint #2 https://hadarshemesh.com/spr2 Sprint #3 https://hadarshemesh.com/spr3
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Jan 4, 2022 • 6min

185. How to pronounce CAP, COP, and CUP

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: cap: kap [IPA: kæp] cop: kaap [IPA: kɑːp] cup: kuhp [IPA: kʌp] cat: kat [IPA: kæt] hat: hat [IPA: hæt] last: last [IPA: læst] stack: stak [IPA: stæk] backs: baks [IPA: bæks] father: faath’r [IPA: fɑːðər] lost: laast [IPA: lɑːst] hot: haat [IPA: hɑːt] stock: staak [IPA: stɑːk] box: baaks [IPA: bɑːks] love: luhv [IPA: lʌv] hut: huht [IPA: hʌt] fun: fuhn [IPA: fʌn] lust: luhst [IPA: lʌst] month: muhnth [IPA: mʌnθ] country: kuhn-chri [IPA: kʌntʃri] stuck: stuhk [IPA: stʌk] bucks: buhks [IPA: bʌks] If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/audio-accent-course/ You can also download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/
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Dec 29, 2021 • 25min

184. 10 AMAZING TIPS that’ll SKYROCKET your English fluency

Learn 10 tips to improve English fluency, including mindset and communication abilities. Develop a growth mindset and prepare for communication situations. Focus on important aspects for effective improvement and use the pronunciation confidence method. Explore how perfectionism hinders effective communication and celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities.
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Dec 24, 2021 • 28min

183. Real Stories About What’s Possible | Interview with Vladimir

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 prepared when the opportunity came. Watch the video version of the interview here. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when we open doors to New Sound (Hadar’s signature program): https://hadarshemesh.com/join/ Download an interactive list of 50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words: https://theaccentsway.com/mispro-signup/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/
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Dec 21, 2021 • 8min

182. The Immigrant Experience | Saying goodbye & learning to belong again

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 year is exactly that, the place where English intersects with the immigrant experience. 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. And English had – and for some of us still has – a big part in our story. If you’d like to share your English story as an immigrant, I’d be happy to hear from you (click here – https://bit.ly/3GSp6d4). During the next months I’ll share some of your stories, answer questions you might have, and host immigrants as well as people whose work involves English and the immigrant experience. For now, you can watch these videos where I discussed the experience of being an immigrant with guests and students: The Power of Storytelling with Sun Yi A conversation About Culture, Identity and Language Success Stories of My Students

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