

The InFluency Podcast
Hadar Shemesh
The InFluency podcast is your go-to resource for learning, speaking and teaching English.
Hadar Shemesh is a pronunciation expert and fluency coach with thousands of students around the world, though she herself was an intermediate speaker of English once.
In this podcast she will share her best strategies for learning English, speaking English with confidence and mastering the American accent.
Discover how becoming fluent has everything to do with acquiring the right mindset, setting goals and learning how to overcome challenges.
Hadar will also share her teaching philosophy and techniques to support English teachers looking to help their students become fluent.
Hadar Shemesh is a pronunciation expert and fluency coach with thousands of students around the world, though she herself was an intermediate speaker of English once.
In this podcast she will share her best strategies for learning English, speaking English with confidence and mastering the American accent.
Discover how becoming fluent has everything to do with acquiring the right mindset, setting goals and learning how to overcome challenges.
Hadar will also share her teaching philosophy and techniques to support English teachers looking to help their students become fluent.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 11, 2022 • 5min
202. How to pronounce ‘Figure it out’
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, common names, and expressions. This week we’re going to talk about the saying ‘figure it out’. Here’s a loose transcription of the saying as explained in the episode: Figure it out: fig-yuh-ruh-dawt [IPA: ˈfɪɡjər əɾ aʊt] or [IPA: ˈfɪɡjər əɾ æʊt] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/figure-it-out/ 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/

Mar 8, 2022 • 28min
201. How to go from Fixed to Growth mindset in English (and reach limitless fluency)
This podcast explores the significance of mindset in achieving English fluency and how it impacts language learning. It discusses the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and provides resources to develop a growth mindset for English fluency.

Mar 4, 2022 • 26min
200. The 10 most downloaded episodes (And what I think about them) | 200 episode special!
Episode 200! Woo-hoo! In this podcast-convo, I’ll share with you what I loved most about making the previous 200 episodes and what I’m hoping to do more in the next 200 episodes! I’ll also share with you a list of the 10 most downloaded episodes of the InFluency podcast, and what I think about them! And here they are!! The Schwa: How One TINY Sound Can Make a HUGE Difference How to effectively practice your intonation in English Why I Quit Acting and Became an Accent Coach | My story 10 Things You Should Stop Doing if you Want to Speak English Fluently American Intonation: What They Don’t Teach You In School How to Stay Motivated When Learning English Why pronunciation is important when learning a language Why Perfectionism Will KILL Your Fluency How Small, Smart Choices Can Transform Your English | The Compound Effect Why do I feel like a fraud every time I speak English? | The Impostor Syndrome 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/

Mar 1, 2022 • 44min
199. Battling Discrimination and Discovering Self-Worth in a New Country
In this Immigrant Experience interview, we’ll hear the story of Marcelo Silveira, who moved from Brazil to the U.S. for work. In this interview Marcelo openly talks about his experience as an immigrant and the rough start he had when he first moved to the U.S. He talks about the loss of identity as an immigrant and the need to reinvent himself. He also talks about what it was like to be facing small incidents of discrimination, that affected his self-worth and confidence. But most importantly he will tell us about overcoming all obstacles and reinventing himself in this new country. Marcelo is an inspiration and an active member in our community, and I’m proud to call him our student. Every immigrant has a story. A story about their journey, their identity, their accomplishments and struggles, and of course, the place of English in it. 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. If you’d like to share your English story as an immigrant, we’d be happy to hear it (click here https://bit.ly/3GSp6d4). During the next few 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. Some videos on the things we talked about with Marcelo: How to gain confidence in your English https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/confidence-in-english/ Why it’s not cool to talk about people’s accents https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCErfFCplG/ DON’T ASK me about my ACCENT https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/dont-ask-about-my-accent/ Other guests of the Immigrant Experience Series: Rita’s Immigration journey https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/192/

Feb 25, 2022 • 3min
198. How to pronounce HER vs. HAIR
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 words ‘her’ and ‘hair’. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: hair: her [IPA: heəɹ] her: h’r [IPA: hɜːɹ] or h’r [IPA: həɹ] hurt: h’rt [IPA: hɜːɹt] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/her-hair/ 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/

Feb 22, 2022 • 21min
197. Shadowing Technique in English: are you wasting your time?
Do you use shadowing when practicing English? Shadowing is one of the best ways to improve your English speaking skills as it helps improve pronunciation, intonation, and vocabulary. It can also help you improve *unconsciously* things like rhythm, stress, grammar, and more. Sounds like fun, no? But, it can also be a WASTE OF TIME! Without proper guidance, it’s easy to fall into the trap of practicing it in an ineffective way! And then you won’t be seeing the results you COULD be seeing. ? If you’ve been using the shadowing technique for a while, in this episode you’ll discover the biggest mistake people make when shadowing, and also learn a bunch of other tips to optimize your practice ? ? If you have no idea what shadowing is – this episode is definitely for you as you’ll learn about one of the best practice techniques, and how to do it right! ??I collected a list with all the best apps and resources for shadowing, for you! You can get it (and watch the video version) here >> https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/shadowing-in-english/ ?? Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Feb 18, 2022 • 3min
196. How to pronounce PARTICULARLY
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 ‘particularly’. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: particularly: p’r-ti-kyuh-l’r-lee [IPA: pərˈtɪkjələrli] or puh-ti-kyuh-l’r-lee [IPA: pəˈtɪkjələrli] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/particularly/ 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/

Feb 15, 2022 • 15min
195. Tongue Twisters… Do we really need ‘em?
In this podcast, the speaker discusses the benefits and importance of tongue twisters in language learning. They explain how tongue twisters can improve speech clarity and pronunciation while highlighting the learner's responsibility in using them. The podcast also emphasizes the significance of challenging oneself and pushing personal limits. Listeners are encouraged to join the In-fluency Community and participate in a tongue twister challenge.

Feb 11, 2022 • 8min
194. How to pronounce PULL and POOL
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, ‘pool’ and ‘pull’. Here’s a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: pool: puwl [IPA: puːl] food: fuwd [IPA: fuːd] you: yuw [IPA: yuː] who’d: huwd [IPA: huːd] kook: kuwk [IPA: kuːk] Luke: luwk [IPA: luːk] fruit juice: fruwt djuws [IPA: fruːt dʒuːs] pull: pul [IPA: pʊl] foot: fut [IPA: fʊt] cook: kuk [IPA: kʊk] look: luk [IPA: lʊk] book: buk [IPA: bʊk] cookie: ku-kee [IPA: kʊki] hood: hud [IPA: hʊd] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/pool-pull/ 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/

Feb 4, 2022 • 4min
193. How to pronounce LUXURY
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 ‘luxury’. Here’s a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: luxury: luhg-juh-ree [IPA: ˈlʌɡʒəri] You can watch the video version here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/luxury/ 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/