534. Tongue twisters to improve your pronunciation: From EASY to HARD

You asked, we answered! In this Q&A, Christina and I answer questions from our Beyond community, Instagram, and YouTube audience. We got questions about pronunciation, fluency, confidence, creativity, and finding your own voice in a second language.

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/relocation-diaries

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 tend to overthink, ramble, go on tangents, freeze when someone asks for your opinion, or feel like only a small part of YOU comes out when you speak English, this training is for you. At the end, I also invite you to join my NEW Challenge: Show Up & Speak Up from October 1 - 7. Sign up TODAY! 🔥 https://bit.ly/4Aj7Qu3

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 going to get you out of your head and get you SPEAKING. The challenge starts October 1st. 👉 Join here: https://bit.ly/4Aj7Qu3 It's time to stop showing up as 20% of yourself in English. Come show us what 100% of you sounds like.

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 one form or another, for about 16 years. Danielle also shares a beautiful exercise for getting started with writing. This is a conversation about books, yes. But really, it's about friendship, identity, dreams, reinvention, and all the unexpected ways our lives unfold. Get the book "This Changes Everything" here: https://www.amazon.com/This-Changes-Everything-Danielle-McKechnie/dp/0063519399

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. Close the door, press play and have some fun with your voice! Get out of your comfort zone! By the end, you might not only sound more powerful in English. You might actually FEEL more powerful, too. Download the script to follow along with me: https://bit.ly/4wKi6Zl  Check out my other shadowing videos here: https://bit.ly/4fx9j4t

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 about confidence, fear, perfectionism, and the idea of being "ready." If there's something you've been waiting to do because of your English, I hope this episode gives you the push to start before you feel ready! ♥️