Basic English Lesson: How to Talk about Yourself

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 Columbian.",

"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.