The InFluency Podcast

How do you pronounce the -ED ending in English?

In this pronunciation lesson, I'll break down the 3 ways to pronounce -ED endings in English and show you how to know which pronunciation to use.

We'll practice words like:

👉 needed, ended, decided, waited
👉 played, enjoyed, called, loved, cleaned
👉 worked, watched, washed, laughed, asked

You'll also learn what happens to these sounds in connected speech, how to pronounce difficult consonant clusters, and why dropping the final sound can sometimes make it sound like you're using the wrong tense

It's been nearly two years since I last shared a Relocation Diaries episode. In January of 2024, I relocated to Barcelona, Spain with my family. A few months later, my content-marketing director, Christina, moved to Spain, too!

In this video, we share our experiences about how life has been now that we are more settled in the country, what it feels like to integrate into a new country, the challenges we've overcome, and the challenges we're still facing, and of course…updates about my language journey 😉

Check out more Relocation Diaries episodes here: https://bit.ly/reloc...

Have you ever been asked a question in English and suddenly realized you have NO idea how to organize what you want to say?

You know you have thoughts. You know you have opinions. But when it's time to speak, you start thinking about your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, whether you sound smart enough, whether people understand you… and suddenly your point disappears.

In this training, I'll show you how to think faster, organize your ideas, and get to the point when speaking English.

If you te...

Sign up for the Show Up and Speak Up 7-day Challenge, here! https://bit.ly/4Aj7Qu3 

You know English. Maybe you even use it every day.

But when you speak English, how much of YOU actually shows up?

Because there's a big difference between speaking English and speaking UP in English.

If you're ready to stop waiting until you feel ready, join me for SHOW UP & SPEAK UP, my 7-Day Speaking-Power Challenge.

For seven days, we're g...

Let's practice tongue twisters! These exercises are aimed at improving your pronunciation and clarity in English. These aren't easy, but hang in there ;)

Want more tongue twisters? Check out this episode: https://hadarshemesh.com/podcast/458/

This conversation is a very special one for me.

Danielle and I met many years ago when we were both studying acting in New York, long before either of us knew where life would take us. We were young, ambitious, certain about some things, completely lost about others, and both trying to figure out who we were going to become.

And now, all these years later, I got to sit down with her and talk about her first adult novel, a story she has been carrying with her, in...

Want a quick, effective TH practice? Do this every day for 2 weeks and I promise, you'll feel the difference! Practice words, phrases, sentences and minimal pairs.

Want to sound less monotone, more powerful and more expressive when you speak English?

Then come shadow this scene!

In this week's episode, we're practicing with a scene from The Morning Show, featuring Jennifer Aniston as Alex Levy.

We'll break it down together and play with prosody, reductions and focus on how to use your voice to sound more powerful and expressive

I'll walk you through it line by line, and then we'll shadow the scene together.

...

How many things have you NOT done because you felt like your English wasn't ready yet?

Applied for that job.
Started creating content.
Spoke up more.
Started a business.

There were three big things I postponed because I kept telling myself I wasn't ready: teaching in English, starting my YouTube channel, and starting my podcast.

And looking back, I wish I hadn't waited.

Because waiting didn't make me more ready, taking action did.

In this episode, I'm sharing these three stories and what they taught me...

In this episode, let's practice common irregular verbs according to sounds!

When you organize irregular verbs by how they sound instead of how they're spelled, everything starts to click. And saying them out loud, in groups, in sentences is how pronunciation actually sticks.

This episode is the intersection between pronunciation and grammar, and I hope you enjoy it!

Want to keep going? My free Pronunciation Masterclass will show you exactly which sounds to focus on and how to use rhythm, stress, and intonation to sound...

What does it take to become fluent in English when there is no one around you who speaks English?

Meet my student, Gilbert. He's from Guinea, living in Morocco, studying engineering in French, and one of my New Sound Scholarship winners. 

In this conversation, Gilbert shares how he went from silent, afraid and unable to open his mouth to someone who speaks English with confidence, teaches others, and is now building a public speaking club in his own community.

I hope you enjoy this interview!

You can spend hours practicing pronunciation and still feel like you're not making progress. And sometimes, it's not because you're not practicing enough. It's because of how you're practicing.

There are things musicians know about practice that most English learners have never been taught, but they still apply to language learning just the same!

In this episode, I'm sharing 3 of them with you.

🎹 Get it in your body (repetition is not optional)
🐢 Go slower to go faster (yes, really)
🧠 Manage your brain when people ar...

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 number

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 ful...

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...

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 ♥️

👉...

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/2ESq3r...

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...

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...

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:

<...

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/3UUR9Vj 

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 o...

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
...

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/4...

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...

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 n...

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...

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 poi...

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 li...

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.

Yacht → the CH is silent

Loch →  in some dialects, it's pronounced as a /x/.

Improve your vocabulary, pronunciation and pace while reading a story out loud with me! We're reading a part from The Housemaid by Frida McFadden. 

Download the PDF to read along with me and learn the vocabulary from the episode! https://bit.ly/4sqQeb7 

#readaloud #readoutloud #thehousemaid #reading 

Want more reading practice? Check out my read along playlist! https://bit.ly/4dcJedr

Have you ever listened to a native English speaker and thought… wait, that sounds funny! 

You HEAR one thing, but you SEE  something completely different when it's written.

Today, I'm going to share with you a linguistic feature of English called coalescence (also known as fusion). 

It's one of the most common processes in spoken English. Once you understand it, a lot of things that used to sound confusing will suddenly make perfect sense, AND know this will help you understand native speakers so. much. bette...

In this interview, I'm bringing Jelena to the stage! Jelena is one of my New Sound and Beyond students from Serbia, who now lives in the US.

When she arrived, she could barely leave her apartment. She avoided grocery stores, doctor's appointments, and meetings with her supervisor. Today? She's a research fellow, teaches salsa in English, and has a thriving social life she once thought to be impossible.

In this conversation, she shares:

What it really felt like to be isolated and dependent on her...

Are you actually learning vocabulary the right way? Most English learners aren't, and it's holding them back from real fluency!

In this episode, I break down the vocabulary groups every English learner has, why your passive vocabulary is secretly your biggest asset, and the #1 mistake people make when trying to memorize new words (hint: it's all about quantity vs. quality)!

If you've ever felt like you know a word but can't find it when you're speaking… this episode is for you! ♥️

Download my FREE vocabulary planne...

Take the quiz and find out your stage: https://bit.ly/3PbGOl0

Want to move up and need a boost to make it happen? Join Beyond Community? https://bit.ly/4nrfM5N

For years, we've been told that fluency is measured from A1 to C2.

But those levels measure grammar and comprehension.
They don't measure how you show up when you speak.

You can be "B2" and still avoid conversations.
You can understand everything… and still feel anxious when it...

Get ready to practice with me!

In this lesson, we're going to train our pronunciation and vocabulary by shadowing an iconic scene from The Matrix.

Shadowing is one of the most effective ways to improve rhythm, stress, intonation, and connected speech. Instead of just listening, we repeat with the speaker in real time. We copy the melody, the reductions, and the flow.

In this episode, we will:

Have you seen that trend going around on social media where native speakers share a word they mispronounced once… and it still haunts them years later? Today we're turning those viral confessions into a pronunciation lesson 🙈

You'll learn how to pronounce Hepatitis, chihuahua, paradigm, fatigue, stomachaches, Yosemite, Arkansas, Connecticut, chaos, elbow, and manslaughter. 

I'll explain where the primary stress goes, why some letters are silent, how American pronunciation changes certain sounds, why English spelling can be so confusing and why even native speakers get it wrong!

Here...

Are you ready for another read out loud practice? In today's episode, we're reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This is an excellent way to grow your vocabulary, practice your pronunciation, and improve your flow while reading. 

Download the book excerpt with vocabulary definitions and audio: https://bit.ly/4tzLMYQ 

Liked these? Check out more videos like these:

Read along with Harry Potter: https://bit.ly/401eST4 

Read along with Let Them: https://bit.ly/4tldKHs 

Read alon...