LESSON TRANSCRIPT

Innovative English #1
How to Introduce Yourself in
English

CONTENTS
2 Intro
2 Dialogues
3 Vocab
3 Phrase Usage
6 Focus
10 Practice
11 Outro

# 1
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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.

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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?

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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?

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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.

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(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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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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