Learn how to introduce yourself
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Intro |
|---|
| Imagine you're on a plane. There's someone next to you. What do you say? |
| Hi. Alisha here. |
| Introducing yourself in English is easy. In this lesson, you're going to learn how with Gustavo and Henry, who meet on a plane |
| Gustavo's moving to New York. His family is going to join him later in the month. Henry is in the seat when Gustavo gets on the plane. |
| Let's watch! |
| Dialogues |
| Gustavo: Excuse me. |
| Henry: Sorry about that! |
| Gustavo: Hi! How do you do? I'm Gustavo. |
| Henry: Nice to meet you, Gustavo. I'm Henry Eddins. |
| Gustavo: I'm sorry. Can you say that again, please? A bit slowly? |
| Henry: Henry Eddins. |
| Henry: That's it. But please call me Hank. |
| Gustavo: Hank. Nice to meet you. |
| Henry: Nice to meet you, too. |
| Now, with subtitles! |
| Gustavo: Excuse me. |
| Henry: Sorry about that! |
| Gustavo: Hi! How do you do? I'm Gustavo. |
| Henry: Nice to meet you, Gustavo. I'm Henry Eddins. |
| Gustavo: I'm sorry. Can you say that again, please? A bit slowly? |
| Henry: Henry Eddins. |
| Henry: That's it. But please call me Hank. |
| Gustavo: Hank. Nice to meet you. |
| Henry: Nice to meet you, too. |
| Vocab |
| Here are the key words from the scene. |
| Hi (slow) Hi. |
| but (slow) but. |
| Excuse me. (slow) Excuse me. |
| too (slow) too. |
| Nice to meet you. (slow) Nice to meet you. |
| How do you do? (slow) How do you do? |
| Rio (slow) Rio |
| Phrase Usage |
| Alisha: How did Henry apologize when he realized he was in Gustavo's way? |
| Henry: Sorry about that. |
| Brandon: Sor-ry a-bout that. |
| Alisha: In general, this expression, when used to respond to "Excuse me," shows a friendly willingness to help the other person. |
| Alisha: In this case, Henry wanted to show he was happy to move out of Gustavo's way. |
| Alisha: You can also use it to apologize for a small mistake, like bumping into someone on the street, or blocking someone's way in the aisle of a supermarket. |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say Henry's line after Gustavo speaks. |
| (FREEZE and CUE) |
| Henry: Sorry about that. |
| Alisha: Later, Gustavo also used the word 'sorry' to apologize when he didn't understand Henry's name. Which phrase did he use? |
| Gustavo: I'm sorry. |
| Brandon: (slow) I'm sorry. |
| Alisha: This is a very common phrase in English for many situations, but here Gustavo uses it to indicate he didn't understand something. |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say the line after Henry speaks. |
| (FREEZE and CUE) |
| Gustavo: I'm sorry. |
| Alisha: Because Gustavo did not understand something, he asked Henry to repeat what he said. To do this, what polite question did he use? |
| Gustavo: Can you say that again, please? |
| Brandon: (Say this slowly) Can you say that again, please? |
| Alisha: In response, English speakers will usually repeat what they have said, and will use the same words. |
| Alisha: Now you try! Ask the question after Gustavo says "I'm sorry." |
| (FREEZE and CUE) |
| Gustavo: Can you say that again, please? |
| Alisha: Gustavo also wanted Henry to speak more slowly. To do this, what does he ask? |
| Gustavo: A bit slowly? |
| Brandon: (A bit slowly!) A bit slowly? |
| Alisha: This is not a complete sentence, but has a clear meaning when used after "Can you say that again, please?" In response English speakers will slow their speech down. |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say the phrase after Gustavo says "Can you say that again, please?" |
| (FREEZE and CUE) |
| Gustavo: A bit slowly? |
| Alisha: After Gustavo said Henry's name, Henry confirmed he said it correctly. How did he do that? |
| Henry: That's it. |
| Brandon: (slow) That's it. |
| Alisha: This is like saying, "That's correct," but since the situation was friendly, "That's it" sounded more natural. |
| Alisha: Now you try! Say the phrase after Gustavo says Henry's name correctly. |
| (FREEZE and CUE) |
| Henry: That's it. |
| Focus |
| Alisha: Do you remember how Gustavo introduced himself? |
| Gustavo: Hi! How do you do? I'm Gustavo. |
| Alisha: When Gustavo introduced himself, he started with "Hi!" and then used a set phrase |
| Gustavo: How do you do? |
| Brandon: (Slow) How do you do? |
| Alisha: This is a polite expression people often use with an introduction. It sounds like a question, but it has no particular meaning, and there's no expectation the other person will try to answer it. |
| Alisha: Next, he says |
| Brandon: I'm Gustavo. |
| Alisha: The first part of this sentence is a contraction of two words, "I" and "am." The "am" here functions like an equals sign in math. |
| Brandon: I'm |
| Brandon: (slow) I'm |
| Alisha: The next word in the sentence is a name. |
| Brandon: Gustavo. |
| Alisha: Together it's |
| Brandon: I'm Gustavo. |
| Alisha: The structure of the pattern is |
| Brandon: Hi! How do you do? I'm |
| Alisha: PLUS your name |
| Alisha: Now you try! Imagine your name is John. Say "Hi! How do you do? I'm John." |
| Brandon: (PAUSE) Hi! How do you do? I'm John. |
| Alisha: Now, imagine your name is Aiko. Say "Hi! How do you do? I'm Aiko." |
| Brandon: (PAUSE) Hi! How do you do? I'm Aiko. |
| Alisha: Now use your own name. |
| Alisha: Ok, there are two additional things you need to know. First, there's a shortcut for giving your name. |
| Alisha: Just drop the "I'm" from the final sentence of the self-introduction. |
| Alisha: For example, if Gustavo just said |
| Brandon: Hi! How do you do? Gustavo. |
| Alisha: Henry would have understood it was his name. |
| Alisha: This would be especially clear if Gustavo extended his hand for a handshake while saying this. |
| Alisha: In very casual situations you can even drop the "Hi! and the "How do you do?" All that is left would be your name. |
| Alisha: The second thing you need to know is, you can use "I'm" with just the first name, or your first name and last name together. |
| Henry: I'm Henry Eddins. |
| Alisha: Eddins is Henry's family name. |
| Alisha: Using both your first name and your last name is a little more formal. |
| Alisha: It also gives you less privacy. For example, if people know both your first and last name, they can find you on the Internet more easily. |
| Alisha: So it may be MORE common for strangers to say just their first name than people meeting in a more friendly environment. |
| Alisha: Next, you'll learn how to tell people to call you by a nickname, just like Henry did in the scene. |
| Henry: But please call me Hank. |
| Brandon: (slow) But please call me Hank. |
| Alisha: The first word in the sentence is |
| Brandon: But |
| Alisha: This word is not necessary, but it makes the transition to the rest of the sentence smoother. |
| Alisha: Henry uses this to introduce a new piece of information. |
| Alisha: And this information changes something about what he said before. "But" makes this clear. |
| Alisha: The next word introduces a polite request. |
| Brandon: Please |
| Brandon: (slow) Please |
| Alisha: Next is a request to use a certain name. |
| Brandon: call |
| Brandon: (slow) call |
| Alisha: After this is the word |
| Brandon: me |
| Brandon: (slow) me |
| Alisha: Last is a common nickname for men named Henry. |
| Brandon: Hank |
| Brandon: (slow) Hank |
| Brandon: Please call me Hank. |
| Alisha: The sentence structure is |
| Brandon: Please call me |
| Alisha: plus your nick name |
| Alisha: Now you try! Imagine your nickname is Matt. Say "Please call me Matt." |
| [Pause] |
| Brandon: Please call me Matt |
| Alisha: Now, imagine your nickname is Lulu, say "Please call me Lulu." |
| [Pause] |
| Brandon: Please call me Lulu. |
| Alisha: Now use your own nickname. Say "please call me" and then use your nickname. |
| [pause] |
| Alisha: Finally, when you meet someone for the first time, it's polite to say a set phrase at the end. |
| Gustavo: Nice to meet you. |
| Brandon: (Slow) Nice to meet you. |
| Alisha: Usually, both people will say this or something similar to it. |
| Now you try. |
| Brandon: Nice to meet you. |
| Practice |
| Alisha: Let's practice! |
| Alisha: This is your chance to introduce yourself. Try to remember what you learned and practice by speaking aloud! |
| Alisha: It's your first day in the U.S., and you're meeting your new neighbor. Ready? Here we go. |
| Alisha: What's the first thing you say to someone you've just met? |
| (5 second pause) |
| Brandon: Hi! How do you do? |
| Alisha: How do you tell someone your name? |
| (5 second pause) |
| Brandon: I'm [NAME] |
| Henry: Nice to meet you. I'm Henry Eddins. |
| Alisha: How do you tell someone your nickname? |
| (5 second pause) |
| Brandon: Please call me [Your nickname] |
| Henry: Please call me Hank. |
| Alisha: What's the last thing you say to someone you've just met? |
| (5 second pause) |
| Brandon: Nice to meet you. |
| Alisha: Great job! You've just introduced yourself! You'll follow this same pattern many times, so be sure to practice it. |
Outro |
| Well done! |
| Now, watch the scene one more time. After that, |
| go and practice with all your American friends — or with us in the comments! |
| Bye. |
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