Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Daniel: Daniel here.
Jessi: Jessi Here. Beginner Series Season 1, Lesson 2 - Nice to Meet You! Hello and welcome to the Beginner Series, Season 1 at EnglishClass101.com, where we study modern English in a fun, educational format.
Daniel: So, brush up on the English that you started learning long ago, or start learning today.
Jessi: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson. Daniel, what are we looking at in this lesson?
Daniel: In this lesson you will learn how to introduce people and what to say when you are introduced.
Jessi: This conversation takes place on a college campus.
Daniel: The conversation is between Mike, Vicky, and Oksana, an international student from Ukraine.
Jessi: The speakers are friends, therefore the speakers will be speaking casual English. If you don’t already have one, stop by EnglishClass101.com
Daniel: And sign up for your free lifetime account. You can sign up in less than 30 seconds.
Jessi: Alright. now let’s listen to the conversation. The role of Vicky will be played by myself, the role of Mike will be played by Daniel. And the role of Oksana will be played by Roxanna, a guest from RussianPod101.com.
DIALOGUE
Vicky: Hi, Mike!
Mike: Hey, Vicky! How’s it going?
Vicky: Not bad. How about you?
Mike: Never been better!
Vicky: Oh, this is my roommate, Oksana. She’s from Ukraine.
Oksana, this is Mike.
Oksana: Hi, Mike. Nice to meet you.
Mike: Hi, Oksana. Nice meeting you.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Jessi: So Daniel, where did you go to college?
Daniel: I went to college at UCI, the University of California, Irvine.
Jessi: Irvine, is that near Disneyland?
Daniel: That's right, it's in Orange County, also known as the OC. How about you, Jessi? Where did you go to college?
Jessi: I went to UCLA, that is, the University of California, Los Angeles and I also went to ICU, the International Christian University in Japan.
Daniel: You must have met a lot of international students at those schools.
Jessi: Yeah. I met a lot.
Daniel: Any from Ukraine?
Jessi: No, but actually there was a student at my high school who was from Ukraine.
Daniel: Wow.
Jessi: Yeah.
Daniel: Did you know that Roxanna from RussianPod101.com is from Ukraine?
Jessi: I didn't, actually!
Daniel: Yeah, me neither, I just found out today.
Jessi: Interesting. Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Jessi: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Daniel: never been better [natural native speed]
Jessi: a phrase to show that your health and situation are very good
Daniel: never been better [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Daniel: never been better [natural native speed]
Next...
roommate [natural native speed]
Jessi: a person living in the same room, apartment or house roommate [slowly - broken down by syllable] roommate [natural native speed]
Next...
Daniel: this [natural native speed]
Jessi: the person, thing or idea that is present or near
Daniel: this [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Daniel: this [natural native speed]
Next...
Nice to meet you! [natural native speed]
Jessi: polite formula used when introduced to someone Nice to meet you! [slowly - broken down by syllable] Nice to meet you! [natural native speed]
Next...
Daniel: hi [natural native speed]
Jessi: hello (casual)
Daniel: hi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Daniel: hi [natural native speed]
Next...
hey [natural native speed]
Jessi: hey
hey [slowly - broken down by syllable] hey [natural native speed]
Next...
Daniel: How's it going? [natural native speed]
Jessi: an expression to ask about someone's health or situation
Daniel: How's it going? [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Daniel: How's it going? [natural native speed]
Next...
not bad [natural native speed]
Jessi: acceptable, fairly good
not bad [slowly - broken down by syllable] not bad [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Daniel: In the previous lesson we looked at how to ask about someone's health using "How are you doing?" and "How's it going?" We also looked at a few ways to answer these questions. One way was "not bad", which we used again in this conversation. In this lesson we were also introduced to another way to answer the questions, "never been better". "Never been better" is an expression that means "great" or "very good". It's short for "I've never been better than
now". It's like saying "this is the best feeling in my
life!" Let's see an example. Imagine that I just won the lottery. Jessi, please ask me how I'm doing.
Jessi: OK. Daniel, how's it going?
Daniel: Never been better! I just won the lottery!
Jessi: That's great! Now you can buy me lunch.
Daniel: Well, OK. As you can see, "never been better" is a fun expression that will impress your English-speaking friends if you use it, so try it out!
Jessi: Sounds good.
Daniel: Jessi,what's the next phrase?
Jessi: The next phrase we will look at in this lesson is "nice to meet you". "Nice to meet you" is a polite set expression, used when you are introduced to someone. Usually, after the introduction, the first person will say "Nice to meet you", and the second person will usually say "Nice to meet you too". And even though this expression is polite, it is often used in casual situations too. Daniel, what other expressions do we have?
Daniel: In this lesson, the second speaker, Mike, uses a different expression, "Nice meeting you". This expression has the same meaning as "nice to meet you", but it sounds a little more casual. It is short for "It is nice meeting you" or "It was nice meeting you." Be sure to try these expressions when you introduce someone or are introduced.

Lesson focus

Jessi: Definitely! OK, let's look at the grammar point for this lesson.
Jessi: The focus of this lesson is the words "this" and "that".
Daniel: This and that are called determiners. They're used to make clear which objects are being talked about, especially when there is more than one choice. They can be used on their own, without the nouns they modify (kind of like he, she, and it). "This" is used to talk about objects that are close-by, and "that" is used to talk about objects that are not so close-by and are a little far away. The phrase "this is so-and-so" is used as a formula when introducing people to each other.
Jessi: Right. "So-and-so" is where you put the person's name. Here's an example that was used in the dialog - This is my roommate, Oksana.
Daniel: Vicky said that to Mike, didn't she?
Jessi: That's right. We also heard "Oksana, this is Mike."
Daniel: Vicky said that to Oksana. In a future lesson, we will take a look at how to use "that" to talk about someone who is not near the speakers.
Jessi: Yes we will! Now let's look at a Language Tip.
Daniel: In English-speaking countries, the use of gestures is very important. In America, when we introduce someone saying This is so-and-so, we often will point at the person we are introducing as we say the person's name. Usually this gesture is done with the palm of the hand facing up and with all fingers touching each other.
Jessi: Using this gesture when introducing someone will look very natural. Well, that just about does it for today.

Outro

Daniel: Don’t forget you can leave us a comment on this lesson.
Jessi: So if you have a question or some feedback, please leave us a comment.
Daniel: It’s very easy to do. Just stop by EnglishClass101.com.
Jessi: Click on comments.
Daniel: Enter your comment and name.
Jessi: And that’s it.
Daniel: No excuses. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
Jessi: See you next time.
Daniel: Bye.

Grammar

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