Shadowing Practice: English Course for Beginners - Introducing Yourself | Lesson 1/15 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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learning to greet, introduce yourself, and get to know each other in English.
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This is the goal of the first lesson of this A1 level English course for beginners.
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If you're starting from scratch or have a basic knowledge of English, this course is for you.
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Before you begin, I invite you to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any upcoming videos.
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Furthermore, if you subscribe by clicking the join link,
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you'll be able to have access to the lesson PDF and any other additional materials. Are you ready?
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Let's get started.
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Okay, today you will learn first how to say hello,
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second how to tell people your name, how to say where you are from,
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and fourth you will learn how to say how old you are, to your age.
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These are the first steps to speaking English.
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You can do this.
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We can do this.
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Today, the lesson is divided in three parts.
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The first part is about vocabulary.
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We will learn new words together.
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The second part is about grammar.
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We'll see how to make sentences correctly.
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Third is about communication.
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We will practice how to talk to people.
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Let's begin.
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Great.
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Let's start with our vocabulary.
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We have personal information, greetings, countries and nationalities, and polite expressions.
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Let's begin with our vocabulary.
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Okay.
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When we give personal information, the first thing we say is our name.
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So name is the word people use to call you.
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Mine is Maria.
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Surname is your family name.
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In my case, it's McConnell.
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Age is how old you are.
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My age is 43.
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Nationality tells people which country you are from.
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For example, I'm from America, so I'm American.
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If I'm from Italy, I'm Italian.
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And at last, country is the place either where you live or where you were born.
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In this case, I live in Italy.
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Now let's see some expressions that we use when you meet someone or when you say bye to someone.
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The first expression is hello or hi.
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This is an informal greeting.
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You use this when you arrive somewhere.
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And it is a very informal expression, so you say hello or hi.
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Good morning is used before midday.
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Good afternoon is used from noon to around 6pm.
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Good evening is used after 6pm.
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And finally, goodbye is used when you leave a place.
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You could say goodbye or you could say bye.
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Let's go on with our vocabulary.
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Let's look at some countries and some nationalities in English.
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Remember, nationalities always start with a capital letter.
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So repeat after me.
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Italy, Italian.
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England, English.
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France, French.
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Spain, Spanish.
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Germany, German.
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America, American.
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China, Chinese.
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Brazil, Brazilian.
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Now, let's take a look at some numbers.
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Why are numbers important when you start speaking a new language?
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Because thanks to numbers, you could say your age,
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your phone number, or even your address. So count with me.
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One, two, three, four, five,
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six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.
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Excellent.
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numbers 11 to 19 are special listen
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and repeat 11 12
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13 14 15
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16 17 18 and 19
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As you can see, from 13 to 19,
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you need to add the word teen, T-E-E-N, to the number.
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And in this case, I have colored red.
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Now let's learn the tens.
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20, 30, 40, 50, 60,
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70, 80, 90, 100.
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Here, you must be very careful because most of students have a hard time catching the difference between teen and teeth.
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For example, students have a hard time saying 13 or 30.
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Saying and understanding. So be careful.
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So let's see how to make other numbers.
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It's very easy.
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Use this formula and you will not make a mistake.
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You need to say the 10 plus the unit with hyphen.
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For example, 20 plus 1.
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So you say 21.
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30 plus 2.
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So you say 32.
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40 plus 3.
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43. Keep practicing.
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We have 50 plus 4 is 54,
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65, 76, 87, 98, and 99.
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Now it's your turn.
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Practice on your own.
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Now let's move on and look at some polite expressions.
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What are polite expressions?
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These are used to make a request sound more polite and more kind.
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And some of them show gratitude to someone.
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The first one we need to have a look at is please.
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Please is used to make a request more polite.
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For example, one coffee please.
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Thank you or thanks, as I said, is used to show gratitude to someone.
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So for example, here's your coffee and you say thank you.
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You're welcome.
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You're welcome is used to reply to a thank you.
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For example, if someone says thank you for something,
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you answer yes, you're welcome or just you're welcome.
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Excuse me.
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Excuse me is used to get someone's attention.
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Excuse me or to pass by.
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For example, excuse me, can I pass?
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The last polite expression that we are taking a look at is sorry.
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Sorry is used to apologize.
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I'm sorry.
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I've made a mistake.
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Now let's review all the polite expressions together.
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Repeat after me.
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Please.
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Thank you.
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Thanks.
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Thanks.
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You're welcome.
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Excuse me.
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Sorry.
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Great.
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Fantastic.
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Now, let's do an exercise together.
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You need to match the country with the flag.
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So draw a line to connect each country to the correct flag.
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Ready?
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Pause the video, do the exercise and then we'll correct it together.
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Ready?
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Okay, let's see.
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Yes, France.
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So France is the country and the flag is French.
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We have a French flag.
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China is the country and it's connected to the Chinese flag.
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Italy is connected to the Italian flag.
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And Spain is connected to the Spanish flag.
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Here, you just need to continue the exercise.
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Do the same thing.
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So pause the video and do the exercise.
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Ready?
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Germany.
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Germany is connected to the German flag.
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Brazil to the Brazilian flag.
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USA to the American flag.
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And England to the English flag.
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Very good.
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Okay, this is exercise number two.
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You need to write the correct nationalities next to the country.
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Ready?
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Just pause the video, take your time, do the exercise, and then we'll correct it together.
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Okay, Italy is the country.
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And what's the nationality?
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Italian.
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Be careful with the spelling.
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Very good.
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England is the country.
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The nationality is English.
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France, French.
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Spain, Germany, German.
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America, American.
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China, Chinese.
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and brazil brazilian very good i am sure you got them all correct right now look at the picture
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what greeting do you use choose the right greeting for each situation so what greeting do we use at nine o'clock a.m.
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What greeting do we use at seven o'clock p.m or at three o'clock p.m.
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It's your turn.
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Pause the video and do the exercise.
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Are you ready?
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Let's begin.
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So at nine o'clock in the morning
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so nine o'clock am we use good morning at seven o'clock pm we use good evening
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and at three o'clock pm we use good afternoon great job excellent now let's continue with exercise three.
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In this exercise, you need to write the correct greeting under the picture.
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So choose the greeting that's right for you for each situation that you see in the picture.
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For example, in the first picture, what is the man doing?
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What should he be saying?
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Yes, he's leaving.
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So, he is probably saying goodbye or bye.
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How about in the other picture?
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Yes.
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Hello.
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Hi.
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Good job.
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Okay.
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Now you need to write the numbers as words next to the numbers.
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For example, seven.
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How do we spell seven?
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How do we write it?
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Do you remember?
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Try your best pause the video, write the numbers on a piece of paper, and then wait for me.
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We'll correct them together.
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Ready?
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Go.
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Okay.
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First number.
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First number is seven, but how do we spell seven?
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Let's have a look.
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Seven.
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S-E-V-E-N.
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Okay.
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Here is the number that could confuse you, but I'm sure it didn't confuse you.
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We have 13.
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And how do we spell it?
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Thirteen.
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With a T-E-E-N at the end.
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Okay.
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18, 20, 5, 32,
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and this is 50, 48, 75, and 66.
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Excellent work.
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Exercise number five.
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Let's see if you remember.
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Fill in the blank with the correct polite expression.
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So if you bump into someone by accident, what do you say?
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Do you say please?
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Do you say thank you?
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Do you say you're welcome?
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Do you say excuse me?
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Or do you say sorry?
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Yes, you say sorry.
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Very good.
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How about if you want to ask someone a question in a classroom, what do you say?
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You raise your hand and you say, excuse me.
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Okay.
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If someone gives you a gift, you answer, you say, thank you.
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And you do this to show gratitude.
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If a friend says thank you to you, what do you answer?
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What do you reply?
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You're welcome.
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Exactly.
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Let's go on.
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You ask for a glass of water in a restaurant.
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What do you say?
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You say, a glass of water.
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please.
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Okay, now let's continue with part two.
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We have our grammar section, okay?
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And what we're going to see today is the verb to be.
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To be is one of the most important verbs in English.
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Why?
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because we use the verb to be to introduce ourselves,
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to describe the people, and to give personal information about us and about others.
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In this lesson, we are going to study the affirmative form of present simple to be.
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Okay, before we look at the verb to be,
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we need to learn how to use subject pronouns properly.
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These replace the name of a person or a thing when they are the subject of a sentence.
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I is used for the speaker or me.
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You is used for the person you are speaking to.
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He is used for a male person or animal.
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She is used for a female person or animal.
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And it is used for a thing,
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a place or an animal when we do not know if the animal is female or a male.
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We is used for the speaker plus other people.
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You is used for the people you are speaking to and they is used for other people.
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Okay, now we're ready to take a look at the verb to be.
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Let's see the full form and the contraction, the short form.
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I am becomes I'm.
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You are becomes your.
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He is, he's.
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She is, she's.
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It is, it's.
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We are, where.
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You are, your.
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They are there.
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Let's see some examples.
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I am Maria.
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If we use the short form or the contraction, we will say, I'm Maria.
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You are Italian is the full form.
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Your Italian is the short form.
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He is 20 years old.
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He's 25.
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She is from Spain.
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She's from Spain.
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We are students.
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We're students.
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You are Americans.
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You're Americans.
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And they are from Brazil.
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The short form is they're from Brazil.
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When do we use the full form?
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or the contraction, the short form.
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Remember that contractions are very common in spoken and informal written English.
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So if we're speaking to a friend, we usually use the contraction.
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Even if you're writing to a friend, to someone that you know in an informal way, we use a contraction, okay?
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Whereas in formal, oral, and written English, we use the full form.
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Okay, let's take a look at the indefinite articles, A and N.
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In English, we use a or an before singular nouns.
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Use a before a word that begins with a consonant like a student,
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a doctor, a book, a teacher.
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We use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound.
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an English teacher, an Italian, an apple, an umbrella.
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Example.
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She is an English teacher.
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He is a doctor.
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They are an Italian family.
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So here you have some more examples.
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And you have the articles in a sentence.
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Now it's your turn.
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Let's see if you have paid enough attention.
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You could always go back to the explanations, but if everything is clear,
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just pause the video and do the exercise and after We'll correct it together.
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Okay, your turn.
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You need to complete the sentences with the correct form of to be.
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Am, is, or are.
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Ready?
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I, I am Maria.
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She, she is from France.
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He, he is 19 years old.
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We, we are students.
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They, they are Italian.
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It is a big country.
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You are my friend and you are my parents.
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Good job.
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Excellent.
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Exercise number two.
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Rewrite using contractions.
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I'll give you one example.
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I am Anna becomes I'm Anna.
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Now it's your turn.
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Pause the video, do the exercise, and then we'll correct it together.
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Ready?
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Three, two, one.
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She is from Germany becomes She's from Germany.
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He is a student becomes He's a student.
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We are happy becomes We're happy.
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They are Brazilian becomes They're Brazilian.
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You are teachers becomes Your teachers.
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It is a big dog becomes it's a big dog.
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I am not tired becomes I'm not tired.
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She is my sister becomes she's my sister.
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You are late becomes you're late.
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Three.
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Now exercise three.
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Here you need to choose A or N.
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Which article do we use?
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Ready?
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Again, pause the video and do the exercise.
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Three, two, one.
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She is an Italian.
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He is a doctor.
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I am an English teacher.
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She is a student.
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He is an American.
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It is an Italian car.
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I am an artist.
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She is a university student.
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It is an Indian film.
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I am a musician.
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Exercise number five.
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Find and correct the mistake in each sentence.
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Ready?
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So take a look at this and see if you find a mistake and correct the mistake.
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Ready?
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Your turn.
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three two one she am from Spain this sounds weird what's the correct phrase she is from Spain
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because am is used for the first person I am I is a student where's the mistake
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exactly is I am a student.
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He are 20 years old.
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Pretty weird.
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He is 20 years old.
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We is Italian becomes we are Italian.
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They am from China.
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The mistake is there.
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They are from China.
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You is my friends.
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You are my friends.
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And she are a doctor.
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She is a doctor.
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They is at home.
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They are at home.
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I are happy today becomes...
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I am happy today.
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We am tired.
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Very strange.
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Yes, am is the mistake and it's the correct sentence is we are tired.
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Now let's pass to the last part of the lesson.
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Communication skills.
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Introducing yourself.
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Now, you will learn how to put vocabulary and grammar together to introduce yourself in English.
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This is one of the most useful and common conversations you will have.
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Let's see how to introduce yourself.
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First, we need to say the name.
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We need to say our name.
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And if you're introducing someone, you need to you need to say their name.
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So first, my name is or I'm.
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For example, my name is Maria.
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I'm a real you could say it in both ways.
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Either my name is Maria or I'm Maria.
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How do we?
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Tell others about our national.
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To say where you are from, you say I'm American, so you use the verb to be.
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I'm from America.
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age.
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How to tell someone your age.
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We already took a look at numbers and that's what you need to say your age.
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So to say your age, you say I'm 40 years, I'm 43 years old.
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So you need to know the verb to be I'm
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and the numbers 43 I'm 43 years old and how old is she the woman in the picture
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yes she's 45 okay so let's recap to introduce yourself you need to say your name your nationality and your age.
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To say your name, you could say, my name is, or I'm.
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To say your nationality, or the country you come from, you say, I'm, or I'm from.
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To say your age, you use, I'm plus the number years old.
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Let's make it my example again.
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My name is Maria or I'm Maria.
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I'm American.
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I come from America or I live in Italy, for example.
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My age.
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I'm 43 years old.
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Got it?
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Okay, let's make an example of a dialogue.
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Read this short introduction.
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Hello, my name is Anna.
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I'm Italian.
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I'm from Rome.
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I'm 28 years old.
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This is an example of a dialogue used to introducing yourself.
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Now it's your turn.
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Make a similar dialogue, okay, to introduce yourself.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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Now let's read a longer dialogue between two people meeting for the first time.
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Anna says, Hello, I'm Anna.
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What's your name?
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Marco says, Hi, Anna.
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My name is Marco.
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Nice to meet you.
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Anna, nice to meet you too.
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Where are you from?
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Marco says, I'm Italian.
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I'm from Milan. And you?
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Anna answers, I'm Italian too.
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I'm from Rome.
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I'm 28 years old.
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How old are you?
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Marco says, I'm 30 years old.
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Now, you're going to act it out.
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So, who wants to be Anna?
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Who wants to be Marco?
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Try to practice saying this dialogue out loud.
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And here are some useful extra phrases.
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For example, nice to meet you is used when you meet someone for the first time.
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Nice to meet you too is used to reply,
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to answer back to someone that has said nice to meet you for the first time.
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You say nice to meet you too. Where are you from?
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This is a question to ask about nationality or country the person is from.
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How old are you?
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This is also a question to ask someone else's age.
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And you is used to ask the same question back.
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All right, now we have read the short dialogue, the long dialogue too.
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Now it's your turn.
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Read this dialogue and put the sentences in the correct order.
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Okay, so write the correct order using the numbers from one to five.
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Ready?
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Pause the video and let's do the exercise.
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3, 2, 1.
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Let's see if these numbers are the same numbers you have written.
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Exactly.
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So the dialogue is, hi, I'm James.
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What's your name?
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Hello, my name is Sarah.
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Nice to meet you, Sarah.
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Where are you from?
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How old are you?
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I'm from Rome, Italy.
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I'm 20 years old And you, nice to meet you too.
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I'm from London.
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I'm 22.
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Let's do exercise number two.
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Complete the introduction with the words from the box.
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You have name, old, from, I'm, and meet.
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Okay, so complete the dialogue using these words.
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Ready?
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Three, two, one, your turn.
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That's correct.
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Hello, my name is Pedro.
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I'm Brazilian.
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I'm from Brazil.
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I'm 17 years old and nice to meet you.
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Now, exercise number three, write four or five sentences to introduce yourself.
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Use the model below to help you.
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So you could use this model to help you write your own introduction.
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Let's see.
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Hello.
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My name is Maria.
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I'm American and Italian.
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I'm from Chicago.
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I'm 43 years old.
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So I can't correct this exercise.
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So I'm curious to know.
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Write your own introduction in the comments so I could read about you.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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Exercise number four, question and answer practice.
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Read the question and write an answer about yourself. So, what's your name?
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Where are you from?
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What is your nationality?
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How old are you?
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And are you a student?
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okay i will show you my answers
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but they're not the same as your answers
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so you could correct your answers using the model of my
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answers okay for example what's your name my name is sofia
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my name is maria where are you from i'm from madrid spain what is your nationality i'm spanish How old are you?
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I'm 18 years old.
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Are you a student?
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Yes, I'm a student.
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So here, I'm also curious to see your answers.
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Let me see in the comment if you have written the correct answers.
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And here we are at the end of our lesson number one.
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Congratulations, Congratulations, you have finished lesson number one.
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Let's review what you learned.
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You learned how to greet people.
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You learned how to say your name, country, nationality, and age.
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You learned the verb to be.
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You learned how to introduce yourself in English.
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And I am very proud of you.
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See you in the next lesson, lesson number two.
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Bye-bye.
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KidsTeensDaily Conversation
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 514 sentences and 3355 words to shadow. The speech runs for 39:36. The speaker talks slowly, about 85 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nationality noun | /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/ | Legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise. |
| introduce verb | /ˌɪntɹəˈdus/ | To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else). |
| dialogue noun | /ˈdaɪəˌlɑɡ/ | A conversation or other form of discourse between two or more individuals. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| pause noun | /pɔːz/ | A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation. |
| greet verb | /ɡɹiːt/ | To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing. |
| polite adjective | /pəˈlaɪt/ | Well-mannered, civilized. |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| connect verb | /kəˈnɛkt/ | To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| informal adjective | /ɪnˈfɔɹ.m(ə)l/ | Not formal or ceremonious. |
| spell noun | /spɛl/ | Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers. |
| goodbye | /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ | Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| gratitude noun | /ˈɡɹæ.tɪ.tud/ | The state of being grateful. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have colored · I've made · have paid |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is divided · were born · is connected |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | start speaking · Keep practicing · practice saying |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most important · the most useful |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 87 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, we'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: furthermore /ˈfɜː(ɹ).ðə(ɹ)ˌmɔː(ɹ)/, thirteen /ˌθɝtˈtin/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: nationality /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/, contraction /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/
- Long words — get the stress right: nationality /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, affirmative /əˈfɝməɾɪv/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like nationality, introduce, dialogue.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.