Learn how to use one of the most powerful words in English or any language: "please"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sadia: Hello, everyone. Thanks for tuning in. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: Hi, and I’m Keith. “How to make a Good First Impression.” Alright, so Sadia, what are we looking at in this lesson? |
| Sadia: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and make new friends. |
| Keith. Right. This conversation takes place on a Wednesday flight, just after boarding. |
| Sadia: The conversation is between the main character, Zo, and the person sitting next to him. |
| Keith: Alright, well let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Michelle: (humming a pop song) |
| Zo: Excuse me. May I pass you? My seat is next to yours. |
| Michelle: Oh, sorry! Go ahead, please. |
| Zo: Hello. How are you? I'm Zo. |
| Michelle: Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Michelle. |
| Zo: I'm sorry. Your name again, please. Slowly. |
| Michelle: Michelle. |
| Zo: Michelle. |
| Michelle: That's it. But please call me Shelly. |
| Zo: Shelly. Nice to meet you. |
| Michelle: Nice to meet you too. |
| Keith: One more time slowly. |
| Michelle: (humming a pop song) |
| Zo: Excuse me. May I pass you? My seat is next to yours. |
| Michelle: Oh, sorry! Go ahead, please. |
| Zo: Hello. How are you? I'm Zo. |
| Michelle: Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Michelle. |
| Zo: I'm sorry. Your name again, please. Slowly. |
| Michelle: Michelle. |
| Zo: Michelle. |
| Michelle: That's it. But please call me Shelly. |
| Zo: Shelly. Nice to meet you. |
| Michelle: Nice to meet you too. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sadia: Alright, so even though Zo and Michelle are meeting for the first |
| time, their conversation sounds pretty casual-- it's pretty |
| informal. |
| Keith: Yes, that’s right. I think it's a very casual conversation. |
| Sadia: Yeah, so I’m thinking they’re probably around the same age, |
| which brings them closer together even though that, for now |
| they’re complete strangers. |
| Keith: Definitely. They don’t know each other, but they’re using casual language, probably because they’re close in age. |
| Sadia: Mm-hmm. |
| Keith: So notice that Michelle has given Zo, whom |
| she has never met, a stranger, permission to call her by |
| her nickname. In some cultures, only family and close friends use nicknames. |
| Sadia: Right. But in America, for some reason, I’m not really sure why. It's not uncommon for some people to be known only by their nicknames. |
| Keith: That’s right. Some people, they have a real name, but I don’t know their real name. I just know their nickname. |
| Sadia: Yeah, exactly, and there are some funny ones too, like Bubba and Jimbo. |
| Keith: I like them, they’re fun. |
| Sadia: Ha, ha. |
| Keith: Fun nicknames. |
| Sadia: Do you have a nickname? |
| Keith: Me? Now, but you know what, I always wanted one. I always feel like it would be a lot of fun to have a nickname. |
| Sadia: Yeah, I agree, I agree. |
| Keith: But how about yourself? Do you have a nickname? |
| Sadia: Well, not really, I mean... |
| Keith: You do have one, but you don’t want to tell us! |
| Sadia: Well, some family and some friends tried to |
| experiment with a nickname, but didn’t really stick. |
| Keith: What does that mean? “To stick”? |
| Sadia: “To stick” means “to stay” or “to last,” so when I say my nickname never really stuck, or it didn’t stick, that means that, you know, it didn’t last a very long time. |
| Keith: Well, why? Is it embarrassing? Is that what it was? |
| Sadia: Let’s just say that I don't think I could have gone through |
| my adult life being called, "Poochie." |
| Keith: Poochie?! That’s really cute. I like it a lot, actually. |
| Sadia: Really? Well maybe I should reconsider! |
| Keith: Well maybe I should call you Poochie from now own. |
| Sadia: Oh, boy. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Keith: OK, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is... |
| Sadia: seat [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a place for sitting, a thing on which to sit |
| Sadia: seat [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: seat [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| next [natural native speed] |
| Keith: immediately following, adjacent, future |
| next [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| next [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: your [natural native speed] |
| Keith: belonging to you |
| Sadia: your [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: your [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| name [natural native speed] |
| Keith: word or phrase referring to a person or thing |
| name [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| name [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: slowly [natural native speed] |
| Keith: without speed or in a slow manner |
| Sadia: slowly [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: slowly [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: me [natural native speed] |
| Keith: myself [direct object] |
| Sadia: me [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: me [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Sadia: OK. The first phrase we’ll look at is, “Excuse me.” |
| Keith: "Excuse me," and this of course is a very, very useful phrase. |
| Sadia: Mm-hmm. |
| Keith: It's typically used |
| when you want to pass someone and when they’re in your way, or when you want to get someone's attention. |
| Sadia: Right. So for example, I was walking through Bryant Park the |
| other day. I was exhausted. I was running around, I had done a lot of shopping. And I spotted a woman who was sitting on a bench by herself, so I thought I need to sit down. |
| Keith: I want to sit down. |
| Said: I WANT to sit down, so I walked over to her and I said, "Excuse me-- is anyone sitting here?" |
| Keith: Or, you also could say something else, right? |
| Sadia: I could’ve also asked, "Excuse me-- do you mind if I sit here?" |
| Keith: Right, and I think that’s a very good phrase. We’re in New York, and we ride the subway pretty often. |
| Sadia: Ahh yes. |
| Keith: But sometimes people take up a lot of space, a lot of room. So if you want to sit, you can say, “Excuse me.” |
| Sadia: Exactly. “Excuse me” is particularly helpful during rush hour. |
| Keith: That’s right. In this dialogue, Zo, she says, "Excuse me." He and his new friend Michelle are on a plane-- and probably Michelle is sitting on the outside, and Zo has to go inside. So he says, "Excuse me." So he can sit down. |
| Sadia: Right. Excuse me. |
| Keith: OK, so the second phrase that we’re going to take a look at is, "I'm sorry..." |
| Sadia: So Zo doesn't understand Michelle when she tells him her name, so he asks her to repeat it by saying, "I'm sorry, your name again?" |
| Keith: It sounds like he's apologizing, though. He’s saying, “I’m sorry, I did something wrong.” Why? |
| Sadia: Well, he is, really apologizing. He's sort of saying, "I'm sorry to have to ask you to repeat yourself, but could you?" |
| Keith: Ah, that’s right. It's a polite way of asking someone to repeat themselves. |
| Sadia: Right. So, "I'm sorry, could you say that again?" |
| Keith: Or, "I'm sorry, once more please?" |
| Sadia: Precisely. So, “I’m sorry” is used when you want someone to repeat themselves. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sadia: The focus of this lesson is making a request or asking for something using "please." |
| Keith: In this dialogue, Michelle makes a request of Zo. She says, "Please call me Shelly." |
| Sadia: That's right. “Please call me Shelly.” |
| Keith: Making a request or asking for something in English is very, very simple. Say, "please," followed by your request. |
| Sadia: Instead of saying, “Call me when you get home,” which sounds kind of rude, really. |
| Keith: Yeah. |
| Sadia: You can say “Please call me when you get home.” |
| Keith: Sadia, you’re so nice. Or if your mom says, “Please don't leave your dirty dishes on the table.” |
| Sadia: Instead of “Don’t leave your dirty dishes on the table,” your mom is nice, and she says, “Please don’t leave your dirty dishes on the table.” |
| Keith: That’s very, very nice. |
| Sadia: Or “Please come with me to the doctor.” |
| Keith: Or you can also say, “Please don't do that.” |
| Sadia: So "please" turns a command into a polite request. |
| Keith: Sometimes the teachers are really mean, and they say, “Sit down!” |
| Sadia: But instead, they could say, “Please sit down.” |
| Keith: And, "Hand me that book" becomes |
| Sadia: Please hand me that book. |
| Keith: And finally, "Stop!" becomes |
| Sadia: Please stop. |
| Keith: Sadia, you get all the nice lines. I get all the mean ones. |
| Keith: Well, "Please" can also be placed at the end of a sentence. |
| As in, "I'd like two tickets, please." |
| Sadia: Right or, "Sit down, please." |
| Keith: Keep studying English, please! |
| Sadia: Yeah. Keep tuning in, please! |
| Keith: Exactly. So, making a request is very, very easy-- |
| Sadia: It is. Just use PLEASE! |
Outro |
| Keith: Please. Alright, well, that’s going to do it for this lesson. Thanks for listening. |
| Sadia: Thanks for listening, Buh-bye. |
312 Comments
HideThis Gengo English lesson is all about making a good first impression-- in other words, meeting someone and making them interested in getting to know you better! In the dialogue, Zo and the girl sitting next to him introduce themselves to one another. Will they make good first impressions and become friends? Keep listening to the lessons and find out! What are some things you do to make a good first impression?
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Hlw
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