Introduce Yourself in English in 30 Minutes
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hi everybody my name is Alisha and
welcome back to top words
today’s topic is ten lines you need for
introducing yourself so let’s go hello
it’s nice to meet you hello it’s nice to
meet you you can only use this the first
time that you meet someone if you say
this to somebody after you have met them
already you’re going to see them either
a like you’ve completely forgotten
meeting them or be like you are a very
strange person for saying it’s nice to
meet you again
so when you use this the first time you
can shake hands with someone and say
hello it’s nice to meet you my name is
the next phrase is my name is blah blah
blah
in my case my name is Alicia you can use
this again when you’re introducing
yourself or if you need to reintroduce
yourself you can use this pattern when
you meet somebody at a party for example
you can say my name is blah blah blah my
name is Barbara my name is Stevens you
can shorten this you can say my names my
name is blah blah blah
I’m from after you’ve said your name
after you’ve shaken hands you can say
I’m from the US I’m from Japan I’m from
Turkey
I am from your mom’s house I’m from I’m
from a cave in southern Europe I’m from
your country or I’m from your city I’m
from the future
I live in I live in blah blah blah you
can use your city you can use your
country you can use even maybe if you
live near a certain station you can use
the name of the station where you live
so for example I live in America it’s
fine I live in Los Angeles it’s fine I
live in New York it’s fine so your
neighborhood is fine if someone says
where do you live and you say I live in
an apartment it’s like what so please
use your the region or the location
where you live not the type of place
where you live i’muh if you hear the
question what do you do it it’s asking
about your job in
people don’t say what is your job that’s
not the question that we ask instead the
question is what do you do and the
correct response to that is I’m a or I’m
n bla bla bla
followed by your job title so if someone
says what do you do you can say I’m a
teacher what do you do I’m an engineer
what do you do
I’m donut shop tester
I’m years old when someone asks how old
are you you can say I’m bla bla bla
years old
don’t forget the S at the end of this if
you like you can shorten this phrase to
just I’m plus your age so I’m 65 I’m 13
whatever I’m this many sometimes
children will say that how old are you
they’ll say I’m this many it’s kind of
cute first time you meet someone you
might not ask how old are you if it’s in
a friendly case like a party after
you’ve spoken to the person a little bit
it’s okay but just try to be sensitive
to the context try to be sensitive to
the people around you and if you sense
that maybe there’s a very large age gap
between you it might be better just not
to ask the question at all I enjoy many
of my students say what is your hobby
but that’s not something that native
speakers will say no native speakers say
what is your hobby instead we ask what
do you like to do or what do you do in
your free time this is a much more
natural question than what’s your hobby
the answer to this then is I enjoy or I
like plus a noun phrase so for example
what do you like to do I like listening
to music or I enjoy listening to music
what are you do in your free time I like
watching movies what are you do in your
free time I like baking cakes what do
you do in your free time I enjoy tap
dancing what do you do in your free time
I enjoy making new friends oh one of my
hobbies is one of my hobbies is blah
blah blah with this one it’s probably
better to use a short easily or easy to
understand hobby if you’re explaining a
hobby people are gonna expect that it’s
gonna be something that they know about
like photography or cooking or dancing
or swimming or whatever
so try to pick something that will allow
you to continue the conversation that’s
why movies are cooking or books or you
know sports are a good thing to share
one of my hobbies is snowboarding I’ve
been learning English for if you are
learning English if you’re studying
English you can use this expression if
someone asks you how long have you been
studying English you can say I’ve been
studying English for amount of time or
I’ve been learning English or I’ve been
practicing English or I’ve been speaking
English for a certain amount of time
I’ve been studying English since
elementary school is also okay to use
I’ve been studying English since I was
in college just be careful for is used
for a length of time and since is used
for a specific point in time at which
you started something so you can try and
mix it up and use a few different
expressions there so I’ve been learning
English for a long time I’m still
learning English you should do that okay
I’m learning English at English class
101.com
this probably could be used in response
to where did you learn English or where
are you studying English or how are you
studying English you can respond with
I’m learning English at English class
101.com or I’m learning English at my
school I’m learning English at my
private teachers house for example so a
little bit of grammar in this sentence
why do we use the progressive tense I’m
learning English if you say I’m learning
it sounds like you’re still continuing
your studies if you say I learned
English in English class 101.com
it sounds like you’re finished like you
you’re finished studying there’s nothing
else for you to study so you’re done so
it’s it’s much much more natural to
actually use the progressive I’m
learning or I’m studying when you’re
talking about your studies when you’re
talking about your hobbies than it is to
say I learned or I studied and and and
and so those are ten lines that you need
to introduce yourself and to help give
the other person a little bit of
information and carry the conversation
forward so please try them please go
crazy with them make them your own
thanks very much for joining us for this
episode of top words and we’ll see you
again soon
I’m from your neighbor’s doghouse fish
glub glub oh yes I’d like to go
spelunking in North Africa every summer
welcome to English class 101 coms
English in three minutes the fastest
easiest and most fun way to learn
English hey everyone I’m Alisha in this
series we’re going to learn some easy
ways to ask and answer common questions
in English it’s really useful and it
only takes three minutes in this lesson
you’re going to learn how to ask a
really basic question in a polite but
natural way how old are you in your
English textbook one of the first
lessons may have been how to ask
someone’s age by saying just how old are
you
however in many English language
cultures asking in adults age directly
particularly a woman’s age is not polite
if you suddenly ask how old are you to
someone you’ve just met they’ll
understand you but they might not be too
happy about answering such a blunt and
direct question so how do you find out
someone’s age without offending them you
just add a magic phrase to the beginning
of the question this phrase is do you
mind me asking this is an incredibly
useful phrase that you should definitely
memorize it comes in handy whenever you
want to ask a question that may be a
little personal or come across as a
little too direct native speakers of
English use it all the time so the full
question would be do you mind me asking
how old you are
be sure to pay attention to the word
order of this sentence rather than do
you mind me asking how old are you it’s
do you mind me asking how old you are
the answer to this can be simple I’m 25
years old or just I’m 25 or it can be a
little more detailed if you’ve just had
a birthday you can say I’ve just turned
25 or if you’re about to have a birthday
you can say I’ll turn 25 this month or
I’ll turn 25 in July it’s more natural
here not to give your exact birthday
like July the 9th but just the month so
again to turn this question back on the
asker and find out his or her age all
you have to do is use that other magic
phrase we introduced in previous lessons
how about you here it’s okay not to
worry about being polite since the other
person asked you the question first now
it’s time for Alicia’s advice we
mentioned that asking someone’s age
might not be polite but if you do decide
to ask this question here’s another tip
some people like to reply with another
question how old do you think I am be
careful if you say an age that’s older
than the person’s true age they might be
very offended so it’s always safer to
say a number lower than what you
actually think so if you think the
person looks 40 say 35 and see how happy
they look see you next time want to
speak real English from your first
lesson sign up for your free lifetime
account at English class 101.com hi
everybody welcome back to English topics
my name is Alicia and I’m joined by baby
hi Davey so today our topic is going to
be how to start a conversation in
English so both of us have tried to
prepare a few tips that might help you
as you try to start conversations in
your English language studies so let’s
begin north start first again okay we’re
giving tips on how to start a
conversation and I will start today my
first tip very important I trying to
follow myself right now don’t be shy
very important tip this isn’t really so
much a language learning tip well it
doesn’t seem like a language learning
tip but I
think it really is because whenever you
communicate in a second language or a
foreign language it can be really
nerve-wracking can make you very nervous
very anxious to try and do that
especially if you’re talking to someone
for the first time and so the first
thing is just to remind yourself that
it’s not a big deal and to not be shy
and be confident and if you can maintain
that attitude as you begin to talk to
talk to someone it will be much easier I
think I agree I agree or even like you
say even if you are shy just pretend
that you’re not shy that’s a good tip
you know it’s like you and if you could
just pretend just for a few minutes just
to start the conversation or to continue
a conversation a little bit it can be
good even if you feel shy I agree and
you might find too oftentimes people who
would say that they are shy when they
talk to someone in another language they
can have a different personality it’s a
chance to have a different personality
in a different language so if you tell
yourself that too when you speak English
when you speak into the language you’re
more confident than you are when you
speak your own language yeah I’ve heard
that before actually people who say that
they feel like they’re more outgoing
when they speak English if that’s the
case maybe that’s good for you also just
in general another point about maybe not
only starting conversations but
continuing them we’re comfortable
English language speakers are with
interruptions to some point like you
shouldn’t always interrupt the other
they aren’t very comfortable with us see
he just did it so we’re kind of we’re
very comfortable with it so you don’t
need to wait for an invitation to speak
in a conversation you can just join in
or maybe agree with the person who’s
speaking or disagree with the person
who’s speaking as a way to join a
conversation that’s already in progress
yeah nice one that’s a good one okay I
will share a tip mine are a little bit I
don’t know they’re very dependent on
maybe who you’re talking to maybe what
your relationship is so let’s say for
this one you are in a place where like I
don’t know a restaurant or a bar
or something and you don’t know the
person you’d like to speak to but maybe
I don’t know there’s someone attractive
you’d like to speak to or maybe you want
to speak with the bartender or something
so maybe okay maybe this is better if
you’re trying to speak to a fellow
customer so I have it’s sort of small
make a simple comment about something
happening in the surroundings so this
should be one simple comment at two
something that the other person can
clearly see and three something that you
can agree on easily so for example if
somebody has just walked by the
restaurant wearing like a crazy hat I
don’t know you could say like oh did you
see that guy something like that
something that it’s easy to agree on to
initiate the conversation or maybe I
don’t know there’s a TV in the bar like
whoa did you see that play or something
that maybe you can identify that you
maybe shared with the other person
during the time you’ve been in that
space together so this should be a very
simple comment don’t make a weird
comment here make it make it very very
relaxed and create a relaxed environment
that the other person feels they can
join in easily mmm that’s a very good
tip I don’t know I’m trying to think of
maybe a time that I used this or maybe I
wanted to make a comment like and there
was another person that happened to be
there and we had a moment where we
agreed on something right but then the
conversation didn’t really continue yes
so it’s kind of a good way to test and
see if that other person wants to speak
to you too yes yeah mmm that’s a good
point and it makes me think this isn’t
one of my tips this is an extra tip
you’re getting a free freebie tip now is
I think they’re ever the flying around
to be be patient wait for your opening
too because you might want to talk to
this person next to you but if you just
butt in with a question out of nowhere
it might seem very strange but if you
wait and have have a moment wait for
that guy with the funny hat to walk yeah
and then you have your opening then you
have a natural point that you can enter
the conversation with someone yeah and I
would be patient totally and going back
to your point about not being shy like
do
don’t be so focused on waiting for that
moment that you just pick something
really strange like if I like walked up
to you I don’t know inna Barnes like did
you hear that noise yes I think that’s a
really strange question maybe he did
hear that noise but that’s a really
strange question to introduce yourself
yeah that’s true actually
this this kind of relates to to my my
second tip that’s very similar to to you
to your tip about making a kind of
comment was ask an indirect question and
I noticed a lot of the comments your
your tip was to make a comment but a lot
of your comments the examples you gave
her questions and importantly I think
that those questions should be kind of
indirect questions for example if I’m
standing at the bus stop and I want to
start a conversation with someone else
standing at the bus stop let’s say it’s
very very hot but if I turn to that
person and say do you think it’s hot
that’s very strange but if I say
something like oh it’s pretty hot today
right you know that’s a little bit more
casual a little bit more informal yeah
you don’t want to scare people with
these very direct questions that’s true
that’s true and even even a question
that’s a great example do you think it’s
hot is a really weird question but but
again keeping or giving people that
opportunity to agree with you yeah
you’re throwing a little opinion out
there it’s hot right oh yeah it’s hot
it’s true that’s a really really good
one I totally agree or and I but I think
for that exact same reason I’ve had some
people come up to me and they try to
begin a conversation with how are you
yeah that’s that’s a–that’s a–that’s–
an introduction that you use for people
that you already know yes so don’t try
to start a conversation with how are you
it sounds too familiar and it’s a little
confusing too strangers don’t always
want to tell you how they are that’s
true what if I’m bad I don’t want to
tell you what if I feel bad that day
yeah so don’t use how are you to
introduce yourself nice one
okay Oh DMX um actually okay maybe this
is somewhat related to the one you just
mentioned okay I’ve got okay this is
maybe in a like a party or a social
events that you
I have energetically introduce yourself
and ask a question about where you are
so this might be a little specific but
if you go to a social event where you’re
there to meet people and to speak to
people if you go up to someone and you
just introduce yourself with a big smile
and say hi my name is Alicia have you
ever been to one of these events before
something like that can get the
conversation started but again this is I
feel like it’s a tip that’s good in a
place where maybe everyone is there for
a similar purpose if you do that like on
to use your example at the bus station
it’s a little bit weird or if you’re if
you’re just in public you pass someone
on the street it’s a little strange to
just walk up and introduce someone
energetically but if you’re in a
location where you have this chance
there are a couple of nice little
introductory questions you could use for
events like I don’t that’s one that I
would I’ve used like hi is this your
first time here or who do you know at
this party yeah how did you find out
about this event that sort of similar
kind of question in those situations is
asking someone for help or for
information because it lets that other
person know that you’re not a a scary or
threatening person in that situation
either if you’re asking for help you
know can you can you tell me where the
kitchen is I need to put this in the
refrigerator something like that and
then that shows the other person that
you’re not you’re not an expert on this
you’re asking for their help and that
kind of gives people an easy thing to
engage you to talk about yeah absolutely
for help can be a nice widget yeah
that’s a good point I think asking for
help it also kind of puts you in a
slightly vulnerable position it makes
you seem a little bit like I need help
so you know please take care of me it’s
a little bit interesting so that’s a
good tip too I think
okay I think we’re on to number three
g-free you are my last one is a very
important one this comes at the end
though is uh don’t take it personally if
the person doesn’t want to talk a lot of
times if you try and start a
conversation with a stranger
they don’t always want to talk to you
people try and talk the stranger tries
to talk to me I might be very busy I
might have had
bad day I may not want to talk to them
that doesn’t mean that they’re a bad
person or they can’t speak English or
anything like that so if you have that
experience you know my first tip was
don’t be shot you might be very nervous
about starting a conversation with
someone and then you work up the courage
you go and you ask them a question and
they don’t want to talk to you that’s
okay don’t take it personally I has
nothing to do with you you know you can
find someone else to talk to
mm-hmm that’s true that’s true and I
think that’s especially important
because especially depending on the
culture that you’re from you might have
heard like Oh English speakers
particularly Americans they’re so
friendly or so outgoing then but you
know if a stranger tries to speak to me
or to you maybe we’re gonna ignore you
on the street because we don’t know who
that person is or you know maybe like
you say we’ve had a bad day or whatever
it is there are so many reasons not to
want to talk to a person that you don’t
know so don’t be offended don’t be sad
don’t be discouraged don’t don’t think
that all my my English is so bad this
person didn’t want to talk to me don’t
think that that it could be any any
other reason why someone doesn’t want to
talk to you mm-hmm that’s true that’s
true
nice tip that’s really important okay
then we will move on maybe to our last
one okay so for my last one this is
maybe among people that you have some
acquaintance with so maybe you’re not
super close to them but you’ve seen them
before
or maybe it’s coworkers you’re not super
close to but anyway you’d like to make
your relationship with those people
deeper you can share a story about
something you did recently something
interesting a small short story
don’t tell a long ten-minute story about
I don’t know going shopping for milk on
the weekend that’s moring but something
interesting that you did relatively
recently that maybe they can find
something of interest or something of
value in so maybe you found a new
restaurant that was good maybe you went
to a concert and that was exciting maybe
you met someone interesting so if
there’s something that you can share
about yourself that the other person
might find valuable that’s a good way to
initiate conversation
on that point if I can add another
another free tip oh my gosh on that note
it made me think you spoke earlier about
being vulnerable asking asking for help
can show that you’re vulnerable tell an
embarrassing story that’s good too don’t
don’t brag don’t talk about this great
new car that you bought no one wants to
hear that talk about how you you lost
your car keys immediately after you
bought your new car tell an embarrassing
story tell something that will make the
person laugh and will make you be
vulnerable and and look like a normal
person that’s true that’s true like
telling actually that’s a good strategy
it’s called self deprecation so making
it means to make yourself look bad or to
put yourself in a lower status a lower
position and it can be very effective
for making friends and like making
people laugh I totally do this it’s it’s
actually a lot of fun when you think
about it like a story about something
bad happening is often times more
interesting than a story about something
good happening it’s true so all the best
comedies are about terrible things
happening yeah so if you have something
like a little yeah like you lost your
car keys or you had some kind of funny
episode where maybe you don’t look like
the hero of the story that’s a really
good one to share have you had anything
happened to you recently oh my gosh I
probably have I lost my bag I just came
back from traveling in Europe and my bag
got lost between Dubai Airport and Tokyo
Airport and so my bag didn’t arrive so I
had to go two days without any of my
clothes or anything and then when I
finally got my bag I was like yeah I got
it from the I got it from the delivery
guy I was so happy I opened it up like
my sunscreen and exploded inside my bag
I was like at least I have my objects
okay I have my clothes and thing and
they don’t get sunburned exactly now I
won’t sunburn any of my clothes so yeah
so I mean it’s like a small relatable
small relatable story that maybe someone
else can identify like oh that happened
to me one time and then the conversation
rolls from there so nice tip nice - okay
are you out of are you out of free tips
are those all your free tips that’s all
for today a conversation started good
today we can’t continue this
conversation that’s a different subject
alright well we’ll finish there for
today thanks very much for joining us
for this episode of English topics AV
thanks very much for joining us you for
having me if you liked this video please
make sure to hit the like button and
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please make sure to check us out at
English class 101.com if you have any
ideas for how to start a conversation
that you use please make sure to leave
it in a comment too so we can check it
out thanks very much for watching this
episode and we’ll see you again soon bye
bye hi everybody my name is Alisha and
today we’re gonna be talking about the
top 25 English phrases so let’s get
started the first phrase is hello hello
of course is used as a greeting you can
greet your friends you can greet your
co-workers your family with this phrase
just by saying hello hey hi what’s up
hello sup yo pretty much any time of day
you can use hello hello the next phrase
is good morning good morning is used as
a greeting in the morning you can kind
of feel when morning ends for you good
morning is nice and polite or even just
morning with your close friends or close
co-workers the next phrase is good night
good night is fine we don’t use this to
greet other people we use it when we’re
saying goodbye to other people at night
family members particularly mothers and
fathers to say good night to their
children before they put them to bed you
can say it to your friend and a text
message or in an email if you’ve been
talking for a while good night so the
next word to talk about is goodbye use
it when you say goodbye to your friends
when you leave your friends good bye bye
of course take care have a nice day
peace out
that’s another way to say goodbye okay
the next phrase is I’m plus your name of
course this is a way to introduce
yourself you can use I’m in my case
Alicia I’m Alicia - introduce yourself
in any situation new friend I’m Alicia
okay the next phrase is what’s your name
what’s
is used to ask someone else what their
name is so what is your name sounds a
bit try to use what’s your name
if you forget someone’s name you can say
sorry what’s your name or sorry what’s
your name again
next phrase is nice to meet you nice to
meet you anytime you meet someone new
nice to meet you is fine good to meet
you is a little more casual great to
meet you sounds very excited pleasure to
meet you sounds like maybe a formal
situation or a business context okay the
next phrase is how are you how are you
is an it’s just a friendly way to check
in with the other person you can use it
with friends your family your co-workers
maybe even your boss to a certain degree
how are you
how you doing the next phrase is I’m
fine thanks and you if you saw English
in three minutes we talked a lot about
this phrase instead of I’m fine thank
you and you say I’m good thanks how are
you just shorten it make it a little bit
more natural how are you good how are
you great how are you not so good how
are you okay and so on so when someone
says how are you offer I usually say I’m
good this week I pop a blog give some
information about what you’ve been up to
maybe a hobby something that you did
recently an event something interesting
you saw whatever people want to make
that connection with you and it’s a good
chance for you to continue speaking the
next word is please please as a polite
phrase used when you want something from
someone else you can use this as a
response when someone offers you
something like in a restaurant for
example would you like more water would
you like something to drink
oh please the next phrase is thank you
thank you is used to express your
appreciation you can use thank you with
everybody the next phrase is you’re
welcome you’re welcome when someone says
thank you you can say you’re welcome
no biggie I use no biggie as in no
biggie is short for a no big problem an
X where it is yes yes of course yes
means is any positive expression someone
asks you a question and the answer is a
positive answer you say yes yep uh-huh
yeah we know
next I’m guessing I knew it yep the next
word is no no is a negative response to
something when you have to give a
negative answer so as you can probably
guess
the long form of no is negative I like
to use nope it’s very very casual not
gonna happen my parents would use that
with me to soften that a little bit if
you want to show a negative response to
something like let’s go for dinner
tonight what do you want to do like do
you want to go out not really
hmm no I don’t think so hmm to soften it
the next word is okay okay this word
comes from copy editors okay when they
had to check a manuscript they had to
label the manuscript all clear
AC but because they were copy editors
and they have a very very sick sense of
humor they thought they would mark it
okay for all clear to make a joke
because o and K do not start all and
clear but it caught on among everybody
in the world anyway okay is used to
agree with somebody else well it can be
used actually to express a positive or
kind of a slight negative I feel
transitioning in your conversation you
can say okay now we’re going to talk
about blah blah okay
the next phrase is excuse me excuse me
it’s used to get someone’s attention in
English when you don’t know the other
person for example in a store a
supermarket maybe a stranger on the
street you need to ask directions you
can use excuse me you can use excuse me
in the supermarket excuse me can you
tell me where the hot sauce is if you’ve
done something rude in public you can
use excuse me I personally do not do
drew things in public ever I’m sorry is
the next word we’re gonna talk about I’m
sorry is used to apologize when you have
made a mistake or someone you know it’s
made a mistake and you’re connected to
it or you just feel bad you can use I’m
sorry you made a mistake at work I’m
sorry
you forgot to feed your cat I’m sorry
sorry about that you bump someone next
to you oh sorry what time is it is the
next phrase when you need to check what
time it is what time is it when you ask
someone else what time it is maybe you
say this to yourself to check your watch
check your phone check a clock pretty
straightforward phrase there aren’t
really any short version so that’s an
easy one
where is that plus a location so you can
use this for a building or a store we
don’t we’re not going to use this where
is the for a place a city name or a
state name or a country name too
that you would need to remove the but
where is the bank where is the post
office you can use this to ask
directions to ask for help in your house
or at work where is the copy machine
where is the file
I need where is the bla bla bla where is
the bathroom is perhaps a very important
question to know the next one is may I
use the restroom may I use the restroom
is a polite and soft expression that you
can use if you need to use the toilet
you need to use the washroom and when
you’re at someone’s house for the very
first time when you’re in a place that
your that is new to you you can ask may
I use the restroom more casually can I
go to the bathroom to be very polite you
could say may I go to the bathroom the
next phrase is I would like to order
something you can use this at a
restaurant probably or in any situation
where you need to place an order I’d
like a pizza I like beer can I get the
check please this will be used at a
restaurant when you’ve finished your
meal and it’s time to go can I get the
check please in a very very casual
situation you can just say check please
that’s fine the next phrase is see you
soon see you soon is used with friends
and family members perhaps when you
expect to see them again
soon after saying goodbye to them this
is used at the end of the conversation
you’re going separate directions you see
you soon seeya is also good or just see
you to make it a little more formal you
can say I’ll see you again soon make a
full sentence out of it that way
the next phrases see you later see you
later is very similar to see you soon
but the point is would see you later is
that you’re probably going to meet that
person again later on in the same day
the last phrase is really really is a
very useful word because you can use it
to show you are interested in a
conversation with upward intonation
really really tell me more or to show
that you’re not so interested in the
conversation with downward intonation
really so there are many other words
that you can use similar to really in
this way like seriously or oh oh and so
on so it’s a really good practice for
your intonation so those are 25 very
common words and phrases in English if
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Oh interesting uh-huh okay I see great
fantastic unbelievable gratitude
subjects what do we having for dinner
tonight pizza affirmative
riff on that I am Chris Hardwick
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