Week 3: Introduction--how to make friends

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 1,2

Week 3: Introduction--how to make friends

Learning goals

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. apply useful vocabulary and expressions to describe interesting personality traits.

2. make conversations more engaging in three different ways. 

Task 1: Think-pair-share

"What makes a person interesting?"

* THINK about what makes a person or you interesting?

* PAIR: Discuss with your partner your answer

* SHARE with everyone what you discussed.

Words to
describe someone

Name 3 personality traits that you know (eg, funny, boring)

Task 2: expanding vocabulary

1. Search online for 10 positive and 10 negative adjectives for personality traits. Note it down in your document/notebook.

2. Use these in your introduction for yourself.

Some more suggestions:

Practice 1: Choose at least three traits that fit you.

Use them in your introduction. Give an example of each of these traits. 

E.g., Honesty: It is true that I'm an honest person. Once, I picked up €100 from the ground and gave it to the police.

Challenge 1

Use a variety of sentence structures, instead of "I am...", "I have...". Eg: "My friends often say that I am an extrovert. However, I also enjoy being alone. <Give an example of it>"

Pair with a partner and introduce yourself in 2 minutes. When your partner starts the sentence with "I am...", you get a point. The person with the higher point, wins the game!

Task 3: 3 linking words and 1 idiom

Write your introduction down in your notebook or type in your laptop. Now, add 3 linking words and 1 idiom into your introduction. 

Practise this with your partner. Give each other feedback:

1. what went well, 

2. how it can be better

Level Up Your Conversations: Engaging Others with Intent

What do most people love most?

1. To talk about themselves.
2. To know about you.
3. To talk about religion and politics.
4. To compare salaries.

An easy way to get people to keep talking, is to... (multiple answers)

1. Talk about them!
2. Let them talk about themselves!
3. Ask open-ended questions about them!
4. Ask for their opinions!

1. Active Listening & Asking Follow-Up Questions
2. Sharing Relevant Personal Anecdotes (stories)
3. Focusing on Shared Interests & Finding Common Ground

Engage in each others' small talk & introduction using:

Three main ways of engaging others in conversations:

1. Active Listening & Asking Follow-Up Questions
2. Sharing Relevant Personal Anecdotes (stories)
3. Focusing on Shared Interests & Finding Common Ground

Which option would you like to try?

"Hi, nice to meet you. What made you come here?"

"Hasn't it been just lovely? What do you like about it?"

"You fell flat on your face? Oh, no! Who came to help you?"

"You fell flat on your face? Why weren't you more careful?"

"You must be exaggerating." *scoffs*

"New things can be tough. How are things difficult at work?"

"It is quite high. How did you manage it the previous time?"

"Hi, I'm Jim." 

"We have been having excellent weather lately."

"...and I fell flat on my face."

"This new job is killing me."

"There's no way that I can jump over that fence."

1. Active listening: paying full attention, nodding, maintaining eye contact, and providing verbal cues.

Ask open-ended follow-up questions to demonstrate interest and encourage deeper conversation. 

• "How did you manage that?"
• "Can you tell me more about that?"
• "What made you feel that way?"
• "How did you come to that conclusion?"
• "Why is that important to you?"

2. Sharing Relevant Personal Anecdotes (stories)

Situation:

• When someone says about Topic A, use your experience about Topic A and join in. 
• Do not go into big details (again, people like to talk about themselves)
• Use only relevant parts to tell

3. Shared Interests & Finding Common Ground

Situation:

• You meet someone who seems to be total opposite of you. [You like apples, they like pears. You like to stay home, they are always outdoors.]
• Find something you both like--e.g., watching a movie at the drive-in.
• Find common ground: agree on something [Agreeing to disagree is fine.]

Find a partner and use your new-found knowledge of Introduction and speak for 5 minutes without pausing. 

Learning goals

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. apply useful vocabulary, linking words and idioms to describe interesting personality traits.

2. make conversations more engaging in three different ways.