The InFluency Podcast

Latest Episodes:

146. What To Do When People Don't Understand You In English Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

What do you do when people don't understand you? Do you repeat what you said? Do you stop speaking? Do you feel bad? When we speak a second language (and even in our first language), people may not understand us 100% of the time. This can be because of pronunciation, sentence structure, choice of words, and many other reasons. There's no reason to feel bad about it – it's part of speaking a second language. Yet, it's always a learning opportunity.

In this episode, I'll share some tips to help you deal with this communication barrier and know what to do when it happens, so you can be better understood and feel good about yourself all at the same time!

More helpful episodes for you:

How to Use Your Voice in ENGLISH to Sound Powerful and Confident https://theaccentsway.com/improve-your-speaking-voice-in-english/
Do you change your voice when you speak English? Here's why https://theaccentsway.com/change-your-voice-in-english/
How to sound interesting in English https://theaccentsway.com/intonation-pitch/
Boost PRONUNCIATION, GRAMMAR and VOCABULARY https://theaccentsway.com/sprint-with-hadar/
Improve Your Pronunciation With These Effective Exercises https://theaccentsway.com/english-pronunciation-exercises/

145. How to pronounce 'toward' Jul 30, 2021

Show notes

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 different ways to pronounce the word 'toward'.

Here's a loose transcription of the words as explained in the episode:

toward: tuh-word [IPA: təˈwɔːrd] or tword [IPA: twɔːrd] or tord [IPA: tɔːrd]

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/

144. What Makes a GOOD English Teacher? Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

What makes a good English teacher? So many people settle for English teaching that's not right for them because it's comfortable and they don't believe they can find something better. They keep taking English lessons with the wrong teacher for them because it's either close to home, it's familiar, it's cheap, they feel bad leaving the teacher, it doesn't require them to do any research, or it simply allows them to stay in their comfort zone.

Have YOU ever taken English classes with a private teacher or in a group, but still felt STUCK?
Are you learning English and wondering how you can improve your training?
Are you teaching English and looking to take your work to the next level?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this episode is a must-watch for you!

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/

143. The Power of Storytelling with Sun Yi Jul 23, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, you're going to learn how storytelling can be interesting, relatable and effective, and why it is important if you're a speaker of English as a second language. With us in this episode is Sun Yi, the founder of Night Owls, a digital branding agency headquartered in NYC. If you're a teacher, an artist, or a business owner, you definitely don't want to miss this conversation.

Here's what we're going to talk about:

Impacting people's lives with one's own story
The power of showing vulnerability.
How to become a great storyteller
Creating compelling posts on social media

With over 20 years of experience working in digital branding, Sun has helped brands go from virtually zero in revenue to $1 billion. Sun has a passion for personal brands and has worked with bestselling authors as well as world-renowned public speakers and entrepreneurs. He also loves to help personal brands grow by creating content on Instagram. In his personal time, Sun enjoys yoga, audiobooks, YouTube, and motorcycles.

For more on Sun Yi, visit: Instagram: @Sun.Yi Authentic as F*ck Podcast/YouTube: nightowls.co/podcast Website: https://www.nightowlinteractive.com/

142. 10 Pronunciation challenges for Urdu and Hindi Speakers | English for Urdu and Hindi Speakers Jul 20, 2021

Show notes

Download Free English Pronunciation Guide + audio practice for Hindi and Urdu speakers: https://bit.ly/3iqN0BU

In this episode, I'm going to talk about the biggest English pronunciation challenges for Urdu and Hindi speakers – 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 Urdu or Hindi 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!

Don't forget to download your Pronunciation Guide here https://bit.ly/3iqN0BU

See American English pronunciation guides for Spanish, Russian, Brazilian, Chinese, and Korean speakers.

Additional episodes I mentioned:

Are you struggling with understanding word stress? Watch this https://theaccentsway.com/how-to-find-the-primary-stress-in-words/
Intonation, Stress, Rhythm & Connected Speech [YouTube Playlist] https://bit.ly/3eB2EJK

141. How to use IN, ON, and AT, without getting confused! [PART 2 – PLACE] Jul 16, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, I'm sharing with you a super helpful way to understand and use the prepositions 'in', 'on', and 'at' correctly when you talk about places. If you missed the episode about prepositions of time, you can find it here: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/140/

To watch the video version of the episode go here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/on-in-at-place/

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/

140. How to use IN, ON, and AT, without getting confused! [PART 1 – TIME] Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

On Wednesday or at Wednesday? In the summer or at the summer?

In this episode, I'm sharing with you a super helpful way to understand and remember how to use the prepositions 'in', 'on', and 'at' correctly. This episode will focus on time. In the next episode we'll talk about using these prepositions when we talk about place. Stay tuned for part 2!

To watch the video version of the episode go here: https://hadarshemesh.com/magazine/on-in-at-time/

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/

139. Can English learners become English teachers? Jul 09, 2021

Show notes

In this 'Ask Hadar' podcast episode I'm answering Silvana, an English learner from Brazil, who wants to become an English teacher. Silvana isn't sure she can do it, because she still has a lot to learn herself. I get asked this question a lot – whether non-native speakers of English should teach the language. And I always say – absolutely. If pursuing a teaching career is what you want, don't let anyone – teachers or colleagues – put you down because you're not a native speaker of English. Because teaching is so much more than transforming knowledge, especially in this day and age. In this episode, I share some thoughts on how to know you're doing a good job teaching English, whether you're a native speaker or not.

Want to ask me a question on the podcast? Submit your audio recording here: https://hadarshemesh.com/ask-hadar/

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/

138. How to Improve your listening skills in English – 9 tips for English Learners Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

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

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