The InFluency Podcast

Do you sometimes have trouble understanding native speakers and non-native speakers on television, movies, or in real life? Are you afraid of going into a conversation and not understanding the person you're speaking with? Well, you're not alone. When learning and speaking a second language, one of the biggest challenges we face is being able to understand the speakers of that language. In this episode, I'm gonna share with you strategic tips to improve your listening comprehension and practice active listening in your day-to-day life. Using these tips will allow you to develop your listening skills and feel much more confident when communicating in English. Visit this page to learn more about Beyond and join my English practice community: https://hadarshemesh.com/join-beyond/ Here are some episodes for practicing your English sounds: Understanding American English Vowels https://youtu.be/9E6F57s-V7U American T https://bit.ly/36dfRDN 'A' as in 'cat' https://bit.ly/3qQfwk7 'A' as in 'father' https://bit.ly/3dOWYvd Sheep-Ship Vowel Pair https://bit.ly/3wnqQoS Most mispronounced words https://bit.ly/3dII3Ti More videos on Listening skills: How to Understand Native Speakers Better https://youtu.be/XSn0vk1uSFI How to Make Everyone Want to Talk to You https://youtu.be/FZdF_32EpCU

English words and phrases can be really challenging sometimes. In these how-to-pronounce episodes published on Fridays, I'll help you with the pronunciation of challenging words and common names. This week we're going to talk about how to pronounce "there are" and "they are", as well as the challenging TH-S transition. Here's a loose transcription of the phrases as explained in the episode: They are = They're = There: ther [IPA: ðer] There are: the-r'r [IPA: ðerər] Is the: iz-thuh [IPA: ɪzðə ] Has them: haz-th'm [IPA: hæzðəm] With some: with-s'm [IPA: wɪθsəm] 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/

Are you a lawyer? Or do you like legal drama in TV or movies? If yes, you must be familiar with words you rarely hear in the 'real world' – like 'attorney' or 'warrant'. Since I love 'Law and Order', 'Better Call Saul' and any other show that has the phrase 'Objection, Your Honor' at least once every episode – I decided to devote one podcast episode to talking about legal vocabulary. In this episode I've compiled just for you some of the most common terms in the field of law so you'll know how to pronounce them effortlessly and confidently the next time you're in court, or…just…the next time you want to impress your friends! What is your favorite legal word? Is it on the list? Do you know how to pronounce it? You can look for more legal terms here: https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ 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/

In this episode, you'll learn about language learning from AI (Artificial Intelligence) linguist and English teacher, Yazzy Ares. In this podcast we'll talk about the field of NLP (Natural Language Processing) and AI, and the difference between humans and computers when it comes to language processing and language acquisition. We also talked about biases and discrimination when it comes to language learning and what we can learn about it from computers. And if you are an English student or teacher, you'll also understand how to use this AI to improve your pronunciation! To watch the video interview with Yazzy and see her presentation go here: https://youtu.be/7FP5ikdqlCs Check out Yazzy's website: https://www.yazzyares.com/ Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yazzy.ares/ If you are doing linguistic research and need a hand with your data, you can contact her there.

Are you pronouncing these names correctly? Barbara? Arthur? Siobhan? Not sure how to pronounce these names or you find it really challenging with all the R's and TH's?! This episode is for you. Join me on an 11-minute journey through these 11 challenging names to pronounce if English is your second (or third, or fourth) language: Arthur Rory Cory Jonathan Carl Ethan Barbara Aaron and Erin Joaquin Deirdre Siobhan The Schwa: How One TINY Sound Can Make a HUGE Difference https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/09/ 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/

Long words can be really challenging to pronounce and we sometimes find ourselves trying to avoid them, especially if we're not sure how to stress them. But there's actually a good way to know where to place the primary stress in such words. And it's all about the suffix. In this episode, I'm going to talk about some common suffixes and how to stress words that have them. Want to practice? Here's a list of words with the most common suffixes + audio: http://theaccentsway.com/long-words/ Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: possibility: paa-suh-bi-luh-dee [IPA: pɑːsəˈbɪləti] activity: ak-ti-vuh-dee [IPA: ækˈtɪvəti] responsibility: ris-paan-suh-bi-luh-dee [IPA: rispɑːnsəˈbɪləti] alphabetical: al-fuh-be-duh-k'l [IPA: ælfəˈbetɪkəl] political: puh-li-ti-k'l [IPA: pəˈlɪtɪkəl] psychological: sai-kuh-laa-dji-k'l [IPA: saɪkəˈlɑːdʒɪkəl] biology: bai-aa-luh-djee [IPA: baɪˈɑːlədʒi] technology: tek-naa-luh-djee [IPA: tekˈnɑːlədʒi] sociology: sow-see-aa-luh-djee [IPA: soʊsiˈɑːlədʒi] kilometer: ki-laa-muh-d'r [IPA: kɪˈlɑːmətər] parameter: puh-ra-muh-d'r [IPA: pəˈræmətər] thermometer: th'r-maa-muh-d'r [IPA: θərˈmɑːmətər] 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/

In this episode, I'll talk about phrases and how the stress and rhythm in a phrase may CHANGE based on the function of the phrase in the sentence. For example, if you take a phrase like 'last minute', then in a simple sentence like "They finished their project at the last minute", MINUTE is usually stressed in a neutral intonation. But if you take the phrase and use it before a noun, as in "a last-minute decision", LAST will be stressed more than 'minute'. Listen to the episode and find out about more examples like this, and find out why we don't put the plural 's' in phrases like "3-year-old boy". Also, have you ever noticed this change in stress and rhythm in English? Let me know in the comments below. Check out this episode to learn how to find the primary stress in words: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/110/ Join our Facebook community to connect with non-native English learners from all over the world: https://theaccentsway.com/influency-community/ 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/

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 how to pronounce the words 'recipe' and 'receipt'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Recipe: re-suh-pee [IPA: ˈresəpi] Receipt: ri-seet [IPA: rɪˈsiːt] or ruh-seet [IPA: rəˈsiːt] 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/

What if I told you there was one thing you could do daily that would improve everything about your English communication: how you organize your thoughts, how to think in English, how to quickly find the words, your pronunciation, your vocabulary, your voice, your public speaking skills, your confidence and your overall flow. It's absolutely free and all you need is your phone, 2 minutes of your day, and your commitment. I have talked about it many times before, but if you're not YET doing it – maybe you will after watching this video. Watch to find out what is the BEST ENGLISH COMMUNICATION TIP that has helped thousands of my students. Join the InFluency community today: https://hadarshemesh.com/influency-community/ More episodes about developing speaking skills: How to stop translating in your head: 5-steps to get stuck LESS and speak FASTER in English https://theaccentsway.com/stop-translating/ How to sound Smart In English? Watch this. https://theaccentsway.com/how-to-sound-smart-in-english/ What to do when you get stuck in English? https://theaccentsway.com/GETTING-STUCK/ Want to practice your English with REAL people? Here's how: https://theaccentsway.com/find-conversation-partners/

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 how to pronounce the words 'angry', 'hungry', and 'hangry'. Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode: Angry: ang-gree [IPA: ˈæŋɡri] or eing-gree [IPA: ˈeɪŋɡri] Hungry: huhng-gree [IPA: ˈhʌŋɡri] Hangry: hang-gree [IPA: ˈhæŋɡri] 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/