16 INTRODUCE YOURSELF - my American friend

M - Hello! My name is Marta, nice to meet you! C - Hi, I'm Cindy, nice to meet you too! M – and this episode is about how to... INTRODUCE YOURSELF ! C - We know that this podcast is for intermediate and advanced English learners, but even the easiest things can get difficult sometimes, for example when you're nervous for a job interview, or excited to join a new class of complete strangers, or you don't feel comfortable for any reason. M - Yeah, every time I have a new class at school for one of my English+Music lessons and I ask the students to introduce themselves it seems that... well... they just don't know where to start from. C - Yeah, that can be intimidating... M - You know, it should be the easiest thing on Earth, I mean, just go ahead, say your name, your age, where you're from, tell me something about your family, your career, your hobbies. C - You feel under pressure, everyone's looking at you, you may have studied English for years but in that very moment you just can't remember the difference between “how do you do?” and “how are you” ! I remember being introduced to a woman who told me : “it's a pleasure to meet me” ! M - Really? It's a pleasure to meet me instead of it's a pleasure to meet you?! C - She just got confused, and she was probably a bit nervous, it happens! And local accents can be a big problem too. M - That's why we are going to listen to a few special guests now introducing themselves. C - I'm so happy when we have guests here at my American friend! M - So am I ! Let's start with some Scottish accent ! Let's listen to Adrian ! Adrian : Hi, my name’s Adrian and I was born in Liverpool from Scottish parents. I spent most of my childhood in England but moved back to Scotland for job reasons in my 20s. I’m an industrial chemist and I’ve been living in Italy for 6 years. I’m married and I’ve 2 daughters. I like sports and I’m a keen amateur skier and windsurfer. I decided to come to Italy because I was interested in getting to know a new culture and language and of course… cause the girls are nicer! C - Wow! I love his accent ! Ok, let's practice questions and answers a little bit. Where was Adrian born? M - He was born in Liverpool but his parents are Scottish. C - What does he do for a living? Or, I could also say: what is his job? M - He's an industrial chemist. C - Where does he live? And who does he live with? M - He lives in Italy with his wife and his two daughters. C - What are his hobbies? What does he like doing in his free time? What is he interested in? M – He likes skiing and windsurfing and he's interested in getting to know new cultures. C - Great, let's move on to a new accent. Our next guest comes from Australia! Oh, and by the way, shall we revise how to introduce people? M - Why not? C - So, I could say: Marta, let me introduce you to my friend Kate from Australia. Or: Marta, I'd like you to meet Kate, she's a friend of mine, she's Australian. M - Ok, let's listen to Kate. Kate : Hi, my name is Kate and I’m an 18 year old girl from Melbourne, Australia. I live with my parents in a little town just out of the city, which is right near the beach. In the summer, this is where I spend most of the time with my friends, usually followed by a barbeque in the evening. We also have lots of music festivals which are great fun! The biggest ones are over New Year’s Eve, when it’s really hot. It’s a great way to welcome in the New Year, listening to some awesome local Australian acts, as well as some big international artists. It was a pleasure talking to you all, thanks for listening to this little snippet of the laidback Aussie culture! M - Thank you Kate! Great, now let's go back to the States. C: Hi, Britney! Thanks for being here today. Could you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself? Britney: Hi! My name is Britney I am 19 years old and I am from North Carolina. I have a son named Jaden, he is 10 months old. My husband’s name is David, he was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 5 years old. My grandparents came from Poland. I’ve never been to Poland, but I would love to visit one day. In my spare time, I like to go to the movie theater plus I really hate to cook but I like going to restaurants. I love music and the radio is always on at my house. Well, I was nice talking to y’all. Have a nice day. M - That was great. Thanks a lot to our special guests: Adrian, Kate and Britney, thank you. All right, listeners, why don't you try and write down your self-introduction? Just a few lines to be prepared to talk about yourselves and to be sure you can relate to other people quickly and in a pleasant way. C - You don't have to LEARN IT BY HEART, that means to memorize it word by word. But it will certainly help you in avoiding those uncomfortable moments of silence and panic next time you're asked to say something about yourself. This is especially useful when you're not dealing with a new group of friends but with an interviewer who has to decide to hire you or not and it's the job opportunity of a lifetime! M - Ooooh, job interviews are so difficult when you have to speak a foreign language! C - That's why you'd better prepare your answers before. Because, of course the interviewer is not interested in your whole life story, the question “tell me something more about yourself” actually means : “why do I have to choose you for this position? Give me a good reason.” So you have to mention a few good points about your education and previous career related to the job you're applying for. M - You have to bear in mind what the interviewer is after and focus only on that. C - No hesitations, proper language. You definitely have to prepare the answer to that question before you enter the room for that job interview! M - Let's pretend you're applying for a job, Cindy, mmmm, ok. The host for a tv program about international recipies. C - Oh, that sounds like fun ! M - I'm the interviewer. So : tell me something more about yourself. C - I've studied the cuisines of many different cultures. I've lived in America and Europe and still continue to travel the world with every chance I get. I love to cook and I love meeting new people. As an English language podcast professional and teacher I believe I possess many essential qualities that would be an asset to your program. M - Wow, this is how to talk about yourself in order to make an impression! Ok, let's shake hands and leave me your business card, I'm quite sure you're going to be chosen for this job! C - And...thank you for your time! C - Hey everyone! We have some great news! We've been preparing our brand new blog !! M – myAmericanfriendblog.com It's going to be constantly updated with new material regarding the English language, the States, pictures, idioms, travel suggestions, songs, anything to help you improve the language and to better know the American culture and everyday life. C - And of course you'll also find all the episodes of our podcasts with accompanying transcripts. And you will be active part of our blog ! So, everyone who has been following our podcast on facebook, twitter, podomatic.com, martainnocenti.com and iTunes... M - ...come visit us at : myAmericanfriendblog.com ! C - And enjoy all the new pictures and content. M - Let's create the myAmericanfriend-community. You will make new friends from all over the world to practice the English language with ! And before we go, I want to thank some of our listeners for contacting us on our facebook page: Shin San, Viswashakti, Angela, Ayad. And also Hikari and Giorgio who are following us on podomatic. Thank you. C - Thanks for you support everyone and we'll see you soon! M - Bye bye! ************************* Let's sum up INTRODUCTIONS: let me introduce you to... / I'd like you to meet …. nice to meet you / how do you do / it's a pleasure to meet you SELF INTRODUCTIONS: your name, your age, where you're from, your family, your career, your hobbies QUESTIONS: Where were you born? What do you do for a living? / what is your job? Where do you live? who do you live with? What are your hobbies? What do you like doing in your free time? What are you interested in? *********** To LEARN something BY HEART : to memorize it word by word.