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  • Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this beginner lesson on how to talk about yourself.

  • So, like I mentioned, this is a great lesson for beginner students who want to build their confidence in English,

  • and you can do this by learning some of the most common sentences you make when discussing yourself to other people.

  • So, this includes things like giving a greeting, mentioning your name, your age, your nationality,

  • your origin, your profession, your location or where you live, your likes, and your dislikes.

  • So, in this video, I will talk about myself; and in the second part of the video,

  • I am going to introduce one of my special friends, and talk about them.

  • So, to begin, for a greeting, you can just say: "Hi!," "Hello!," or "Hey!."

  • depending on how formal or informal you want to be. So, after, you know, introducing yourself to someone

  • and saying: "Hi!," "Hello!" they will probably ask what your name is,

  • or you can volunteer your name; give your name.

  • So, I would say: "Hey! I'm Alex."

  • Just like I do at the beginning of all of my videos. Or I can say:

  • "My name is Alex." And this is another way to, obviously, mention your name; what you are called.

  • Next, I would mention my age. So, I can talk about how old I am. And in English, we say:

  • "I am," and then you list your age. Personally, I am 34 years old. If this is true, not true,

  • I don't know; up to you to decide.

  • In some languages, you say: "I have" plus your age.

  • In English, use the verb "to be." "I am 34 years old.,"

  • "He is 26 years old.," "She is 37 years old." Okay?

  • Make sure you use the verb "to be" for your age.

  • Next: "I am Polish-Canadian." This is my nationality.

  • So, you can say: "I am Brazilian.," "I am American.," "I am Colombian.," "I am Croatian."

  • You know, whatever your nationality is. "I was born in Poland."

  • This is my origin, so the place where my Mom gave birth to me.

  • So, you can say: "I was born in," maybe your country or a different country.

  • So, I have a friend who is Portuguese, lives in Canada, but he was born in France.

  • It's weird, but, you know, it can happen.

  • Next, my profession. "I am a teacher."

  • It's very important when you talk about your profession in English to use an article before the profession.

  • So, here, you see: "I am a teacher."

  • Not: "I am teacher.," "I am a teacher.,"

  • "I am an engineer.," "He is a professor of psychology."

  • Okay? Always, always, always mention an article with your profession.

  • Next, my location. Where do I live?

  • "I live in Montreal, Quebec." Okay? And you can say:

  • "Hey! I live in Bogotá."

  • Or: "I live in Rio de Janeiro."

  • Or: "I live in Caracas, Venezuela."

  • It's possible, too.

  • Next: "I like reading, photography, and yoga."

  • These are my likes. So, what do you like?

  • You can say: "I like books. I like movies. I like..." I don't know. Painting, maybe.

  • And finally: "I don't like high places." You can also say "heights."

  • So, in general, I don't like heights. I feel very nervous when I go to Toronto, Ontario and I go to the top of the CN Tower, and look down.

  • They have a glass floor. I can't step on the glass floor for very long,

  • because I feel very nervous, very anxious. I don't like high places.

  • Now, if you think that this is something that is easy, that's okay.

  • Even if you're an intermediate or advanced student,

  • using sentences like these can still help you to build your confidence and to improve your pronunciation.

  • Specifically, when you say these things, you're supposed to be focusing on making them fluent and quick.

  • So, now, I'm going to ask you some questions, and I want you to answer-okay?

  • -with your own personal information. For example, I will ask: What's your name?

  • And you will say: "My name is," hmm.

  • You're talking to your computer screen, you're talking to me. Look around.

  • Is anyone watching you? Are you in a computer lab? Are you at home?

  • Are you on the bus?

  • If you're on the bus, maybe don't do this exercise, but if you're in a safe place where

  • people will not look at your... at you weird, come, do this exercise with me.

  • So, let me ask you and you answer clearly, quickly, confidently.

  • What's your name?

  • How old are you?

  • What's your nationality?

  • Where are you from?

  • What do you do?

  • Where do you live?

  • What do you like?

  • What don't you like?

  • Okay, so, when you do this type of activity, like I mentioned,

  • it can help to develop your confidence, your pronunciation, your general fluency in English.

  • Now, I'm going to introduce you to one of my friends,

  • and we'll learn a little bit about him.

  • Come on, Steve, don't be shy. That's it. That's it.

  • Okay, there you go.

  • This is my friend, Steve.

  • Some of you know him from some of my other videos.

  • And today, I'm going to talk about him and tell you a little bit about his past,

  • his likes, his dislikes - the secret world of Steve the spider.

  • So, you know, I can say: "Hey!"

  • If I'm introducing you to Steve, say: "This is Steve." Or: "His name is Steve."

  • So, when you're introducing someone,

  • typically in an informal setting, even in a formal setting, you would say:

  • "This is," "This is my brother," "This is my wife," "This is my friend," and then you give their name.

  • So: This is Steve.

  • He is 28 years old. He's still young.

  • He is Canadian.

  • He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.

  • He is a web designer. This is his profession.

  • He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

  • He moved from Vancouver to Toronto, I think for work, probably.

  • And he likes movies and basketball.

  • His favourite movie is probably Spiderman. I think we saw that one together.

  • Remember that? That was pretty good.

  • The last one not so good. Yeah, I didn't like that either.

  • So, he doesn't like water or flies. Okay?

  • Now, the reason I brought Steve with me for this video... Not because... Only because

  • he's super cute, but you can do this, and you can practice these kind of introductions with other people in your life.

  • If you don't want to talk about someone in your life, in your family or a friend, you can pick a famous person.

  • Go to Wikipedia, do some research,

  • find out about someone, and do it in front of a mirror or do it just by yourself, and say:

  • "This is," hmm; "He is," hmm; "She likes," hmm,

  • depending on who you choose.

  • So again, what I recommend with this video is that you go back, answer the questions that I asked you,

  • and then really focus on getting your answers to be clear, concise, smooth, and easy to understand

  • even if you are not a beginner student.

  • If you are an intermediate or advanced student,

  • it's important to have these phrases memorized,

  • and to have them just be quick and natural.

  • So, if you'd like to test your understanding of this material, as always, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com.

  • And if you enjoyed this video, like it, comment on it,

  • subscribe to the channel, and check me out on Facebook and Twitter.

  • 'Till next time, thanks for clicking.

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this beginner lesson on how to talk about yourself.

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