The InFluency Podcast

Latest Episodes:

136. Legal Vocabulary: 10 Words You Need to Know (and How to Pronounce Them) Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

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/

135. What can we learn about language from computers? Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

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.

134. 11 VERY Challenging English Names to Pronounce Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

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/

133. How to Find the Stress in Long Words Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

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/

132. Who Moved My Word Stress?!?! ? Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

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/

131. How to pronounce 'Recipe' vs. 'Receipt' Jun 11, 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 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/

130. This will skyrocket your English communication skills [with only 2 minutes a day] Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

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/

129. How to pronounce Angry, Hungry & Hangry Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

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/

128. How Can Intonation Help You Become A Better Speaker Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

Do you want to become a great public speaker like Shonda Rhimes? Avoid sounding monotone? Are you interested in learning more about American intonation, American rhythm, and stress? Good. Because this episode is all about that.

In this episode, I analyze a TED talk called "My year of saying YES to everything" by the wonderful Shonda Rhimes. This talk is not only great for learning American intonation, but also inspiring – inspiring to take action and to dare say YES to things we usually say no to.

And when it comes to your English journey, you should definitely say YES to this video. Download the script and practice with me: https://bit.ly/3c4AKo8

Check out more episodes with speeches analysis here: https://bit.ly/3c7A7dz

Get a 30-day Audible free trial and get Shonda's book 'YEAR OF YES' for FREE: https://adbl.co/2ESq3ro Here's the link to the book on Amazon https://amzn.to/2RD74UM Watch Shonda's TED talk: https://bitlylink.com/ISHbM

127. How to pronounce 'meme' May 28, 2021

Show notes

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

Meme: meem [IPA: mi:m]

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/

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