

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

Oct 2, 2020 • 5min
67. How to pronounce Can and Can't
English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the pair "Can" and "Can't". Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Can: kan [IPA: kæən] or k'n [IPA: kən] Can't: kant [IPA: kænt̚] 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://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Sep 29, 2020 • 8min
66. Want to be specific in English? No need for new words. Just say something TWICE! ?
Trust me, you're gonna LIKE-like this episode Do you know this feeling when you're looking for a word so you can be really specific – but you can find the exact word? Here's a little simple, efficient, and intuitive tip that will help you – >>> It's called Lexical Cloning or Reduplication, which is repeating a word or phrase twice to convey a different meaning than one word or phrase alone would convey. Some of you may already be familiar with this phenomenon as it happens in other languages as well, not just in English. But the WAY we stress the words might be a little different. Cool, right? Do you do that in your native language too? What other examples in English can you think of? Come on over to Instagram @hadar.accentsway and let me know what you think. Read more about Lexical Cloning: https://bit.ly/33cSdGR If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.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://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

Sep 25, 2020 • 3min
65. How to pronounce 'though', 'thought', 'tough'
English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the triplet "Though", "Thought", and "Tough". Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Though: thow [IPA: ðoʊ] Thought: thaat [IPA: θɑːt] Tough: tuhf [IPA: tʌf] 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://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Sep 22, 2020 • 16min
64. 3 Tips for Sounding Clear and Expressive While Wearing a Mask
It's been about 6 months since the Coronavirus took over our lives and we had to learn to communicate with a mask on. You have probably noticed how it compromises your clarity – it muffles the voice, and people can't read your lips or see your facial expressions. If you feel like you're already putting too much effort into speaking, and speaking becomes too challenging with a mask – this episode is for you. In this episode, I'll share with you a few tips about how to communicate more effectively with a mask, focusing on three elements: pronunciation, energy, and voice. Try these tips and come on over to Instagram @hadar.accentsway and let me know what you think. And remember, no matter what, don't let this mask hold you back. Speak up (with a mask) because your voice matters. Learn how to talk about Coronavirus in English: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/24/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://theaccentsway.com/audio-accent-course/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

Sep 18, 2020 • 3min
63. How to pronounce 'literally'
English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the word "literally". Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Literally: li-duh-ruh-lee [IPA: ˈlɪɾəɹəli] 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://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Sep 15, 2020 • 28min
62. Why Perfectionism Will KILL Your Fluency
Having PERFECT English may sound like a dream come true, but what does it really mean to have perfect English? Is it even a THING? Is there such a thing as perfect English? And even if there was (and there isn't) – do you think it serves you to strive for perfection, or does it get in your way? In this episode I'll discuss why striving for perfection when communicating in English (which means working relentlessly on your pronunciation and never feeling satisfied, beating yourself up on small and big mistakes, not speaking when you're not sure what words to use) is a potential death threat to your fluency. You don't believe me? Listen to the episode and come on over to Instagram @hadar.accentsway and let me know what you think. Download for free 30 Most Powerful English Speaking Affirmations – https://bit.ly/32tNekW More episodes on the topic: The Compound Effect – https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/15/ The Imposter Syndrome – https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/11/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/

Sep 11, 2020 • 4min
61. How to pronounce 'water'
English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the word "water". Here's a loose transcription of the word as explained in the episode: Water: waa-d'r [IPA: ˈwɑ:ɾəɹ] or waw-d'r [IPA: ˈwɔ:ɾəɹ] 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://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Sep 8, 2020 • 24min
60. How I Found my Voice in English | Celebrating 200 Episodes
In this episode, I'm going to talk about how I evolved from the very first video I created on YouTube to the 200th episode of the Accent's Way magazine that was released last week. To watch the episode on my video magazine (and get the links to all the videos mentioned) go here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/how-i-found-my-voice-in-english/ Just like with everything in life, my journey has started with insecurity, fear, and the need to please everyone, and continued with a profound understanding of who I am and what I have to give to the people that can serve them. I always compare my business journey to my journey as a non-native speaker (and the journey of my students and followers). To find your fluency and voice in English you have to KEEP SHOWING UP. And to be okay with making mistakes. And to trust that no matter how awkward it feels or how long it takes – you have to keep speaking up because more than anything else – your voice matters. Thank you so much for being here. I promise to keep on serving you to the best of my ability! Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/ If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course: https://hadarshemesh.com/

Sep 4, 2020 • 4min
59. How to pronounce 'except', 'accept', and 'expect'
English words can be really confusing sometimes. In the how-to-pronounce episodes released every Friday, I'll help you with the pronunciation of confusing or challenging words. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce the triplet "except", "accept", and "expect". Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Except: ik-sept, or uhk-sept [IPA: ɪkˈsept] Accept: ak-sept, or uhk-sept [IPA: əkˈsept] Expect: ik-spekt [IPA: ɪkˈspekt] 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://hadarshemesh.com/50-most-mispronounced-words/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/

Sep 1, 2020 • 15min
58. Boost your PRONUNCIATION, GRAMMAR and VOCABULARY with this 10-min daily exercise | Hadar's #SPRINT
If you liked this Sprint, you're probably going to like the SPRINT MASTER – 30 different Sprints for a powerful daily practice: https://hadarshemesh.com/sprint-master As an English learner, you probably already know that speaking is a big part of improving EVERYTHING about your English. And if you don't speak English on a daily basis, when you DO speak, it may seem like you're only using about 25% of what you know whether it's grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation. As a result, you get stuck, seem to forget words or how to form a grammatical sentence (have? has?), mispronounce words, and get way too self-conscious and insecure about speaking. So – how can you overcome this? How can you create the speaking experience and muscle memory of correct sounds, grammatically correct sentences and new words WITHOUT the opportunity of using it all in context day in and day out? Exactly for that reason I created these daily sprints. The sprints are a sequence of pronunciation drills aimed at building pronunciation confidence in new sounds, new words and common grammar structures. The repetition builds muscle memory so it becomes easier to use these sounds, retrieving the words and internalizing the grammar rule used. All while working from the outside IN. I've been using the sprints in my programs and my students tell me this is HANDS DOWN the most effective exercise they've ever done. Today, I wanted to share it with you too. Get ready…. Set…. SPRINT! Download the pdf of the sprint: https://theaccentsway.com/sprint-freebie/ Watch it in the video episode: https://theaccentsway.com/sprint-with-hadar/ Get on the BEYOND waitlist and be the first to know when we open doors again! https://hadarshemesh.com/beyond-early-bird/


