Lesson 01

Self-Introduction

Turning what you already know into fast, confident, personal self-introduction — and keeping the conversation going.

Adult Speaking English · Arc 1: Foundation

By the end of this lesson

Today's Goals

You will be able to:

The student can introduce themselves fluently in under 30 seconds without long pauses or translating in their head.
The student can give personal information (name, hometown, job, hobby, reason for learning English) using natural spoken patterns, not textbook order.
The student can ask a partner the same questions back and react to their answers instead of just waiting for their own turn.
The student can keep a short introduction exchange going for at least 4–6 conversational turns (not a one-shot monologue).
The student can self-correct common word-order mistakes in these patterns without teacher prompting by the end of the lesson.

Lesson flow — 45 min

Warm-up5 min

Input8 min

Controlled Practice8 min

Listening7 min

Role-play10 min

Free Speaking5 min

Review/Homework2 min

Lesson 01 — Self-Introduction3

Stage 1

Warm-up

55 min

Goal

Activate existing knowledge — quick free-recall of anything the student already knows about introducing themselves in English.

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Authentic input

Video — Street Interview

Unscripted, real speakers — not a textbook recording.

Real people introducing themselves. Play once for gist, then again for the exact words.

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High-frequency words

Key Vocabulary

Press C to show or hide the Chinese.

introduce (oneself)

自我介绍

Let me introduce myself.

hometown

家乡

My hometown is a small city near Shanghai.

nice to meet you

很高兴认识你

Nice to meet you, [Student Name].

single / married

单身/已婚

I'm married with one kid.

co-worker

同事

She's my co-worker, not my boss.

work in / work for

从事…／在…工作

I work in sales. / I work for a tech company.

free time

空闲时间

In my free time, I usually watch movies.

mostly

大部分时候

I mostly work from home these days.

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High-frequency words

Key Vocabulary (cont.)

Press C to show or hide the Chinese.

get to know

了解，熟悉

I want to get to know more foreign friends.

improve

提高

I'm learning English to improve my career.

a bit

有一点

My English is a bit rusty.

keep in touch

保持联系

Let's keep in touch!

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2 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 1–2

My name is... / I'm...

我叫...

My name is [Student Name], but you can just call me [nickname].

I'm [Student Name] — nice to meet you.

Your turn: Say your own name and the short version you want people to use.

I'm from... / I live in...

我来自... / 我住在...

I'm from [City], but I live in [City] now.

I'm originally from a small town, but I live in the city center.

Your turn: Say where you're originally from and where you live now — are they the same place?

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4 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 3–4

I work as... / I work in...

我从事...工作 / 我在...行业工作

I work as a [Job] for a small company.

I work in marketing, mostly on social media.

Your turn: Describe your actual job title and, briefly, what you actually do day to day.

I like... / I'm into...

我喜欢...

I like [Hobby] — I do it almost every weekend.

I'm into hiking, actually. I go almost every month.

Your turn: Name a hobby you genuinely spend time on, not just one you think sounds good.

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6 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 5–6

I usually...

我通常...

On weekends, I usually stay home and read.

After work, I usually go straight home and cook dinner.

Your turn: Add one "usually" sentence about your typical week.

I'm learning English because...

我学英语是因为...

I'm learning English because I want to travel more confidently.

I'm learning English because my company works with foreign clients.

Your turn: Give your real reason — this will come up in almost every future lesson.

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8 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 7–8

What about you?

那你呢？

I'm from Chengdu — what about you?

I work in finance. What about you, what do you do?

Your turn: Practice attaching this to the end of any answer you just gave.

Oh really? / That's cool! / Me too!

是吗？/ 真酷！/ 我也是！

Oh really? I've always wanted to visit there.

Me too! I love hiking as well.

Your turn: Pick the reaction phrase you find easiest to say naturally, and practice using it before asking your own question.

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Stage 4

Listening

77 min

Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Mark.

Hi Mark, I'm Yuki. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too. So, are you from around here?

Not originally — I'm from a small city in the south, but I live here now, close to downtown. What about you?

I'm actually from here. Born and raised. So, what do you do, Yuki?

I work as a graphic designer for a small studio. It's pretty creative, I like it. What about you?

I work in finance, it's a lot more boring than design! What do you like to do outside of work?

I'm really into photography, actually. I take my camera out almost every weekend.

Oh really? That's cool. Where do you usually go?

Just around the city, mostly. Parks, old streets, that kind of thing. Do you have any hobbies?

I play basketball a couple of times a week — nothing serious, just for fun.

Nice! Well, it was really nice meeting you, Mark.

You too. Let's keep in touch.

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Comprehension & discussion

Listening Check

Before listening

Look at the two names, Mark and Yuki — where do you think they are meeting for the first time?
Guess: what two topics do you think they'll talk about besides their names?

While listening

Listen and write down each person's job.
Listen and check: does Yuki live in her hometown, or somewhere else?
Listen for both hobbies mentioned — what are they?
Listen for the phrase they use to end the conversation politely.

After listening

In your own words, tell me one thing you remember about Mark and one thing about Yuki.
Whose hobby sounds more interesting to you — Mark's or Yuki's? Why?
If you met Yuki at a party, what question would you ask her next?

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Stage 5

Controlled Practice

88 min

Model

Teacher says a full, natural example first: "My name's [Teacher Name], I'm from Beijing, and I work as an English teacher."

Repeat

Student repeats the exact sentence 2–3 times until the rhythm feels natural, not word-by-word.

Substitute

Teacher gives new slot-words, student swaps them in on the spot:

"I work as a ___." (teacher, nurse, engineer, designer...)
"I'm from ___." (Xi'an, Chengdu, a small town near...)
"In my free time, I ___." (cook, play games, watch dramas...)

Personalize

Student now answers with their own real information for all 8 core patterns, one at a time, teacher only nudges if stuck.

Remove prompts

Teacher stops giving sentence starters and only asks natural questions ("So, what do you do?" / "Where are you from?"), student must produce the full pattern from memory unprompted.

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Stage 6

Role-play

1010 min

Situation

You're at a casual networking event (a work mixer, a class, a friend's party) and you meet someone new.

Teacher

Play a stranger at the event. Introduce yourself first, ask 3–4 natural follow-up questions, and react genuinely to the student's answers (don't just move to the next question mechanically).

Student

Introduce yourself, answer the stranger's questions, and ask at least 2 questions back to keep the conversation balanced.

Useful language

My name is... / I'm...

I'm from... / I live in...

I work as... / I work in...

I like... / I'm into...

What about you?

Oh really? / That's cool! / Me too!

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Make it unpredictable

Challenge Cards

Drop one of these in mid-role-play.

The mishearing

The teacher mishears the student's job or hometown and repeats it back wrong ("Oh, you're a nurse?" when they said "teacher"). Student must politely correct it.

The surprise connection

The teacher reveals they're also from the student's hometown, or also have the same hobby — student must react and extend the topic naturally, not just say "cool."

The unexpected question

The teacher asks something not on the pattern list, e.g. "Do you live alone or with family?" or "How long have you worked there?" — student must answer spontaneously.

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Stage 7

Free Speaking

55 min

Task: "Tell me about yourself." Without looking at any notes, the student speaks for 30–60 seconds covering at least: name, where they're from/live, job, a hobby, and why they're learning English. After they finish, the teacher asks 1–2 natural follow-up questions based on what the student actually said (not a scripted question) to push it into a real exchange rather than a memorized speech.

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Error correction

Review & Common Mistakes

Correct immediately

Any error that blocks the listener from understanding (wrong word entirely, unclear meaning).
Misuse of this lesson's core patterns (e.g. "I am work as a teacher" instead of "I work as a teacher").
Missing or wrong use of "What about you?" when it clearly should be used to hand the turn back.

Note & correct later

Minor article errors (a/an/the) that don't block meaning.
Small pronunciation slips that don't cause confusion.
Slightly unnatural but understandable word choice — note it, correct briefly at the end of the lesson.

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Before next lesson

Homework

22 min

Speaking

Record a 45–60 second voice memo introducing yourself as if meeting a new foreign colleague for the first time. Send it to the teacher before the next lesson.

Review

Review the 8 core patterns and this lesson's vocabulary list for 5 minutes before the next class — say each pattern out loud once with your own information.

Real life

This week, if you meet someone new (in person, online, or even in an English app/chat group), try using at least one full pattern from this lesson in real life, and notice what question they ask you back.

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Lesson 01 complete

Nice work.

Next up: Lesson 02

Adult Speaking English