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.
Do you find it hard to pronounce BIG NUMBERS in English? You're not alone! I'm not talking about our basic 1-100! As soon as we get to hundreds, thousands, or millions - things get a little messy. In this Sprint, we're drilling big numbers together out loud, in real sentences, so they actually stick. We'll practice: ✔️ Three-digit numbers (like 304 and 989) ✔️ Four-digit numbers the natural way (2,462 → "twenty-four sixty-two") ✔️ Numbers with zeros in tricky spots (2,052) ✔️ Five, six, and seven-digit numbers, including millions ✔️ Real sentences you'll actually use such as prices, stats, dates, and more 🔁 Want more sprints like this one? Check out this playlist! https://bit.ly/sprints-playlist 🎯 Want daily Sprints delivered inside my practice community? Join my community Beyond and get a new Sprint each day. https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N
Sometimes the best conversations are like a ping-pong match. 🏓 No awkward silences, no gaps, just fast flowing conversations. Today, we're taking a scene from the TV show, First Dates to practice exactly that. We'll go sentence by sentence: you listen and test your comprehension, then we'll break it down, and shadow it together, paying attention to intonation, rhythm, stress, and pronunciation the whole way through. This is a great exercise for shadowing, but also, if you wanna practice your flirty side in English ;) Watch the full clip here: https://youtu.be/2i5l33TxIpI Join my pronunciation masterclass to learn more: https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
In this episode, I'm breaking down the real difference between three things people often confuse: 1: Reducing an accent 2: Acquiring a new accent 3: Speaking with clear, predictable pronunciation. I'll share my story, why "accent reduction" is actually a myth, and what really matters, depending on your personal goals. If you want to work on your pronunciation with me, join my FREE Pronunciation Masterclass, where I teach you the elements they don't cover in conventional English studies. The ones that actually make your speech clear, expressive, and confident: https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
Who am I? That was the question Glenda kept asking herself when she first moved from Costa Rica to the US. She was not able to communicate and felt terrified to even answer the phone or turn on her camera in a video call. In this conversation, my student Glenda shares her journey from feeling powerless and dependent on her husband for everything, to building her own dog training business, hosting conversation groups and book clubs, and now raising her daughter… all in English :) I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did ♥️ 👉 Join our Beyond community for English learners (Glenda is there too!): https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N
These Sprints are designed to set yourself up for success using daily articulation and speech exercises to make your pronunciation effortless and to be more clear in English! Do this 10-minute pronunciation practice every morning before you start your day, or before an important meeting, and you'll feel the difference. And if you want 30 daily Sprints just like this, get full access in my course, Sprint Master: https://bit.ly/419T61z
Get ready to read Atomic Habits Chapter 2 by James Clear out loud with me! Follow along and improve your vocabulary and pronunciation with an excerpt from Atomic Habits! Personally, I love this book. It's such a great book all about building habits that last (and these tips are great for language learning too!) Check out Chapter 1 here: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/464/ Get a 30-day Audible free trial using my referral code and get Atomic Habits for FREE: https://adbl.co/2ESq3ro
The R is one of the hardest sounds in English…but it doesn't have to be after this episode ;) In American English, there are two R sounds: the strong R (red, around, crazy) and the soft R, or R vowels. That's when the R appears AFTER a vowel (car, here, first). In this focused practice session, we're working through the 5 key R vowel sounds together. For each sound, I'll give you words and example sentences to follow along with. By the end, these tricky words like world, work, word, girl and first won't feel so scary anymore. Want to go deeper into pronunciation? Join my FREE Pronunciation Masterclass! A full hour of everything I know about sounds, prosody, intonation, rhythm, and stress, so you can stop putting so much effort into speaking English. It's completely free, and it's going to be fun. → https://bit.ly/4cUif4r Check out these other R videos to keep practicing: https://bit.ly/4vMcltM
If you've ever felt funny, smart, and expressive in your first language, but timid, or smaller the moment you switch to English, this conversation is for you! In this interview, I spoke with Valentina, a longtime student of mine, to talk about something almost every English learner feels but rarely has the words for: the gap between who you are and how you show up in English. We get into the difference between the language gap (knowing more than you can say) and the identity gap (not feeling like yourself), why your English behaves differently depending on the room you're in, and how letting go of who you "should" be is the thing that finally sets your voice free. This one is tender, honest, and full of permission. I loved every minute of it. 💛 To join our community, check it out here! Beyond Community → https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N
Today's episode is a bit different. That's because today, I am going to talk to you about the 10 reasons why I ABSOLUTELY LOVE being a non-native speaker. From having multiple personalities and voices in different languages, to the personal development journey that language learning truly is…this episode is not about pronunciation or grammar. Just the truth about what it means to speak more than one language. If you've ever felt embarrassed about your accent, guilty about making mistakes, or like you're "not enough" compared to native speakers, this episode is for you.
Want to sound more confident in English? In this video, I'm sharing 4 speech patterns and speaking habits that may be making you sound less confident, less clear, or less certain without you even realizing it. If English is your second language, these patterns may come from your first language or from habits you've built over time. The good news is that once you become aware of them, you can start changing them and sound more clear, natural, and confident in English. In this episode, we'll talk about: how rising intonation can make you sound uncertain why dropping your volume at the end of a sentence affects clarity how separating every word can hurt your flow why speaking too fast can make you sound less confident If you want to go deeper, save your seat to my free Pronunciation Masterclass! https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
Shadowing is a great way to practice your pronunciation, prosody, grammar and so much more, but the key is knowing what to focus on. In this video, we'll practice pitch and rhythm using a scene from Breaking Bad. Download the script to follow along with: https://bit.ly/4v8pa1d Check out my other shadowing videos here: https://bit.ly/4fx9j4t Join my pronunciation masterclass: https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
Do you hear people say words like kitten, Manhattan, forgotten, or written in a way that sounds different from what you learned? In this video, I'll teach you how the T is really pronounced in American English when it appears before a reduced vowel (schwa) and N, like in the words kitten, button, certain, written, and forgotten. Disclosure: This sound is a nuance of American English! It's not necessary for clear pronunciation. This lesson is here to help you notice the pattern, improve your listening, and practice the details of American English pronunciation if that's something you want to work on. If you want to go deeper into pronunciation and learn how it can improve your fluency, clarity, and confidence, join my free Pronunciation Masterclass here: https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
Let's get ready to test your listening skills with a fast, fun clip from The Devil Wears Prada 2! First, you'll listen to the full clip and answer a few comprehension questions. Then, we'll break it down together, fill in the missing words, then uncover the connected speech, rhythm, stress, and intonation, and finally shadow the scene line by line. This episode will help you: - Understand fast English in context - Identify reduced and connected words - Notice pitch, rhythm, and tone of voice - Shadow naturally full of expression Liked this? check out my shadowing episode with The Devil Wears Prada 1: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/482/ Want to improve your pronunciation and understand fast English with more confidence? Join my free pronunciation masterclass here: https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
Looking for new ways to practice your English? In today's episode, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite strategies that can help you improve your fluency, listening, pronunciation, and vocabulary. I've used these myself learning English (and now Spanish!) and I've shared them with my students time and time again. These strategies are simple, powerful, and will help you turn everyday English practice into something more active, consistent, and fun. Do you want to build a consistent English practice routine? Learn more about Beyond, my English practice community: https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N More resources for you to practice with: My shadowing YouTube playlist https://bit.ly/4fx9j4t Vocabulary practice YouTube playlist: https://bit.ly/4cZItm4 Impromptu speaking practice episode: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/510/ My membership Beyond: https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N
If you've been trying to improve your English but still don't feel clear, confident, or fully yourself when you speak, this video is for you! In this lesson, I'm sharing the number one strategy I use to help students improve their pronunciation, speak more clearly, and feel more confident in English. A lot of people think pronunciation is only important if you want to sound more polished, that pronunciation is a 'luxury' problem. But the truth is, pronunciation is a core part of fluency. It affects how clearly you communicate, how easily people understand you, and how confident you feel when you speak. In this episode, we'll talk about: Why pronunciation matters so much for fluency and confidence The difference between sounds and the music of English How pronunciation work can improve clarity, credibility, and ease My step by step method for improving pronunciation effectively How to identify what to practice first so you can get better results faster If you're ready to improve your pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and stress, this will help you build a stronger foundation and start seeing results. Want to go deeper? Join my free Pronunciation Masterclass! https://bit.ly/4cUif4r
In today's episode, I'm introducing you to a dear, long-time student of mine, Elisa! Elisa is Italian, and works in hospitality, but her relationship with English started long before any of that. One day, Elisa found herself stuck in a cycle: consuming English every day through music, YouTube and movies, but terrified to speak a single sentence out loud. In this interview, Elisa will share with us the exact shifts that changed everything for her: how she moved from overthinking every word to focusing on the message and what it felt like to finally become not just a more confident English speaker, but a more confident person. If you have ever told yourself, "I'm not ready yet," this one is for you! ⬇️ Resources mentioned: Free Shadowing Practice Playlist: https://bit.ly/4fx9j4t Read Out Loud With Me Series: https://bit.ly/4cFoiJV New Sound Course: https://bit.ly/4cGxbmC Beyond membership: https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N
Want to speak English without freezing, overthinking, or needing a full script first? In this episode, I'll show you how to practice impromptu speaking in English so you can talk more freely, clearly, and confidently, even when you have little time to prepare. Impromptu speaking is one of the best ways to improve your fluency because it helps you close the gap between the English you know and the English you actually speak. It also helps you think faster, organize your thoughts, build vocabulary in context, and speak with more ease. Check out this website for impromptu speech topics: https://random-topic-generator-woad.vercel.app Here is a list of other prompts for you to practice with: A skill I wish I had Is social media more helpful or harmful? Are people too dependent on technology? Do we have too many choices today? Is working from home better than working in an office? The importance of discipline Should people follow passion or money? Why presentation skills matter
What happens when you prepare for your dream interview for weeks… and then get to the interview and realize you can't actually say what you want out loud? That's exactly what happened to Monica. In this student interview, Monica shares the heartbreaking moment that changed everything in her English journey. After being invited to interview for her dream position, she realized that all her preparation had stayed in her head. The moment she had to speak, she froze. And that painful experience became the turning point that pushed her to finally change the way she was learning English. Since then, Monica has completely transformed the way she speaks, practices, and shows up in English. In this conversation, we talk about: How one difficult interview became her wake-up call, why passive learning wasn't enough, how daily habits helped her become consistent, the role of pronunciation and prosody in building confidence, and how English helped her reconnect with her purpose Monica's story is powerful, honest, and incredibly inspiring. If you've ever felt like English was holding you back from showing the world who you really are, this conversation is for you. I'm so honored to share Monica's story with you. She is thoughtful, brave, and deeply inspiring, and I know you're going to love her. Check out Monica's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/frenchsoundsbeautiful/ Monica discovered me through Luke's English Podcast. Watch that interview here! https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/06/20/831-learning-how-to-learn-with-hadar-shemesh
Learn more about Beyond here: https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N Feeling stuck in English and haven't seen progress, even though you've been working on your English for a while? This is probably because of 1 of 2 reasons: Reason 1: You're not practicing consistently Reason 2: You're learning in a way that is not actually effective This video is focused on how to shift your mindset, build better habits, and create a learning experience that helps you feel more confident, more free, and more like yourself in English. I'm sharing with you 5 powerful values that can completely transform the way you practice English: Action over comfort Practice builds confidence Communication over perfection Lead with care Own your growth These are the same values we use inside Beyond, our English practice community, and they can help you change not only how you learn English, but how you show up for yourself.
In this pronunciation episode, we're breaking down the most common "CH" sounds you'll find in English (hint: there is more than one way to say it!) Follow along and repeat out loud in today's pronunciation practice! Did you enjoy this practice? Want more? Join my free 14-day pronunciation plan! https://bit.ly/3YAWcJ5 * There are two other pronunciations of CH not mentioned in the episode. Ya ch t → the CH is silent Lo ch → in some dialects, it's pronounced as a /x/.
