(How to use this website)
  Unit 1. Getting to know each other.
  Unité 1: Faisons connaissance!
Build your vocabulary
Click on this icon to see all the vocabulary
Construis ton vocabulaire! Clique sur l'image. Clique sur le pingouin pour entendre la prononciation de tous les mots compris dans les fiches de vocabulaire

  1. A. Greetings. Formal and informal.
Formal greetings are for people you do not know well or wish to show respect to. Examples are people you meet for the first time or a doctor or teacher. Some greetings are really questions asking people how they are.
 Hello.
 Good day.
 How are you?
 Fine, thank you. And you?
                  
To hear the dialogue, click on the penguin.
Clique sur le pingouin pour entendre la prononciation du dialogue.
Informal greetings are for people you meet your own age and for anyone else you call by a first name.
 Hi.
 What's new?
 Not much. How about with you?
                  
To hear the dialogue, click on the penguin.
  1. B. Greetings at various times of the day.
These are more formal than informal. You would use this when entering a shop or seeing a teacher in the hallway.
Good morning (Good day)
Good afternoon
Good evening
Good night

Good night is used with your family, friends and most everyone before going to bed or leaving a place late at night.

  1. C. Introducing yourself.
 -Hi. My name is Oscar. What is your name? (What is yours?)
 -Elly. Pleased to meet you.
 -Nice to meet you, too. Where are you from?
 -I am from the U.S. And you?
 -I am from England but I live in the U.S.
In the U.S.A. and other English-speaking countries when older people meet, they often exchange handshakes. Children sometimes wave in the air and say hi as they meet. It is very common to say something nice such as pleased to meet you or nice to meet you whether you are young or old.
However, people in the U.K. are not as formal as they used to be. Nowadays they sometimes just say hi or hello rather than shaking hands. Women sometimes kiss each other on the cheek instead of shaking hands, as people do in continental Europe.
                  
To hear the dialogue, click on the penguin.
When Australians meet, they often shake hands. Australians are usually less formal than people in the U.K. and the U.S.A. Two Australians meeting might say something like this.
 -Hi, I'm Tony.
 -How are you,, Tony? I'm Sam.
 -Good to meet you, Sam.
When Australians meet and don't know each other's names, it is common for them to refer to each other as mate. An Australian might say How are you, mate? to someone they've just met.
  1. D. How you are feeling.
How are you?
Fine, thank you. And you?
I am okay but a bit ill/sick today.
Oh, I'm sorry. Feel better!

British people usually use the word ill instead of the American English sick.

Feelings can span a broad range.
Very well - Fine - Okay - Not so good - Bad - Sick/Ill
                  
To hear the dialogue, click on the penguin.
  1. E. Common names.
There are many popular names in English. Here is a list of the most common names of children your age right now in the U.S.A., according to the government. The most popular are given first.
Girls

Ashley
Jessica
Emily
Sarah
Samantha
Amanda
Brittany
Elizabeth
Stephanie
Kayla
Megan
Lauren
Jennifer
 		Boys

Michael
Christopher
Matthew
Joshua
Jacob
Andrew
Daniel
Nicholas
Tyler
Taylor
Joseph
David
Brandon
Click here to see a list of common names in the U.K.
Click here to see a list of common names in Australia.
Constructing New Meanings
A la recherche de nouveaux sens Tu trouveras cette partie appelée "A la recherche de nouveaux sens" dans chaque unité. Cela t'aidera à consolider ce que tu apprends dans chaque leçon. Tu combineras des mots nouveaux avec des mots déjà connus pour développer rapidement ta capacité de parler immédiatement!
Juggling Your New Knowledge
Jongle avec tes nouvelles connaissances Cette partie appelée "Jongle avec tes nouvelles connaissances" se trouvera dans chaque chapitre. Elle contiendra des activités amusantes pour t'aider à classer ce que tu as appris. C'est une façon amusante de mesurer tes progrès! Ne t'inquiète pas si tu ne trouves pas toujours la bonne réponse. Cela fait partie de l'apprentissage.
  Before you move on to Lesson 2, read some tips.
Click here to read them in Spanish or German or Italian or French.
Clique ici pour lire les Français.
  Try to keep an open mind when learning a new language. What is an open mind?
Keeping an open mind means that you accept new ideas without questioning everything. Sometimes people say things in one country and not in another, even in the same language. There may be a fruit that you like that does not even exist in another country. Cultures are also very different and often influence language. It is a big task to learn a new language. Don't worry too much about details. For now, just try to get the big picture.


For example, it is just as important that you learn about the culture involved in greetings and good-byes as it is to know the words.


This is the same with watching and listening to video. Be easy on yourself. First, just watch a scene. Look at the emotions on the faces of those speaking. Look at their gestures (hand, face and body movements). Although you may not understand the use of some gestures in some cultures, you may be able to guess at the context of what is being said.


Look at the background. Where are the people? What is happening around them? Then, watch a second time and listen. Try to get the gist of the idea by hearing the words and then guessing based on gestures, facial expressions and voice level (called intonation). At first you will only understand a word or two. Come back to the video later and watch it again.


You will be surprised how much you learn about language (pronunciation, intonation, sounds) by simply watching video. Secondly, you will learn a lot about the culture. For example, are there taxicabs in the background? What color are they? Are many people riding bikes or walking? Are they in cars? Are families together or are there only children in groups of friends? Watching video is a great and fun way to learn language and culture!

For more ideas and help on using the web site and learning a new language, please go to our Website Usage Tips for Kids section.
Culture Reading. Click here!
La lecture de culture. Clique ici !
Geography Reading. Click here!
La lecture de géographie. Clique ici !
Writing Activity
Activités d'écriture
  You did a great job. Now you are ready to move on to Lesson 2. See you later!
  Tu as fait du bon travail! Maintenant, passe à l'unité 3. A plus tard!
Go back to English index page

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