SURVIVAL ENGLISH FOR THE CLASSROOM

“ When you go to a country, you must learn how to say two things: how to ask for food, and to tell a woman that you love her. Of these the second is more important, for if you tell a woman you love her she will certainly feed you. ” -- Louis L'Amour

If you want to follow Louis L ’ Amour ’ s advice, there are websites that can help you, such as : How to say I Love You in 100 Languages English - I love you Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief Albanian - Te dua Arabic - Ana behibak (to male) Arabic - Ana behibek (to female) Armenian - Yes kez sirumem etc.

But what about asking for food? … “ Many people study a language for years and still can ’ t use it to order a pizza. ” HOW ABOUT YOU?

GETTING STARTED: INTRODUCING YOURSELF Hi! My name is ____________. What ’ s your name? Nice to meet you, __________. (REPEAT THE NEW NAME) Important: Close your lips on the final m: “ name ” Blend initial vowel with preceding consonant: “ my namiz …”

Repeating the name is important because it helps you remember the person’s name. This is an important conversation skill in any language. Try to say the other person’s name three (3) times in your first conversation. What’s your name?

Where are you from? OR Where do you come from? I ’ m from ________.ORI come from ______. (DO NOT SAY: “ I AM COME FROM ________ ” ) Important: Close your lips on final m ’ s: “ I ’ m ” “ from ” “ come ”

If you don ’ t understand, DON ’ T PANIC!

If you want the person to repeat, begin with a simple but fluent Excuse me? OR Pardon me?

If that doesn ’ t work, try these phrases: Sorry, I don ’ t understand. One more time, please. Could you say that again?/ Could you repeat that?

How to Be Ignorant in Ten Languages 我聽不懂。 gua2 thian-bo0. I don ’ t understand. Je ne comprends pas. Wakarimasen 모르겠습니 (Morugessumnida.) No entiendo. Non capisco. Ich verstehe nicht. Ya ne ponimayu.

Here are some more phrases that will help: More slowly, please. Could you speak more slowly, please? How do you spell that? Could you write that for me?

Know these two phrases well: What does __________ mean? How do you say __________ in English?

Don ’ t apologize too often! However, you may want to use one of these phrases: Apologies Answers: Sorry, I don ’ t speak English very well. No problem. Sorry, my English is terrible. Don ’ t worry. You ’ re doing fine. [DO NOT SAY: “ My English is not very well. ” ]

After you ’ ve made a new friend, you can begin your next conversation with some variety of “ Hi, how are you? ” But be careful, English speakers like variety.

Don ’ t let the native speaker ’ s first question “ stump ” you. If it ’ s not “ Hi, how are you?, ” it ’ s probably a similar question like: Hey, how have you been lately? ( “ How ’ ve ya been? ” ) How are you doing? (Many students hear “ What are you doing? ” ) How ya doin ’ ? How ’ s everyone doing this morning? How have you been doing? ( “ How ’ ve ya been doin ’ ? ” ) Hi, how ’ s it going? ( “ Howzit goin ’ ? ” ) How are things going these days?

You don ’ t always have to answer “ Fine, thank you. And you? ” Here ’ s a list of some other possibilities: Great. Super. Fantastic. Wonderful. Good. Fine. Pretty good. Not bad. Can ’ t complain. Okay. So-so. Same as usual. Not so good. Not so great. I ’ ve been better. Terrible. Horrible. Awful. Rotten.

小心 ! Be careful … Don ’ t confuse the HOW question for the WHAT question. When the native speaker asks, “ How ya doing? ”… Many students hear, “ What are you doing? ” and answer, “ I ’ m studying ” or something similar. ?????

OR The native speakers asks, “ How ’ s it going? ” And students hear “ Where are you going? ” and answer, “ To the library ” or something similar.

Tune in to the first word. The first question is usually a HOW question …

But sometimes the “ starter ” question begins with “ What ” : What ’ s up? Whatcha been doin ’ lately? What ’ s going on? What ’ s happening, man?

If you don ’ t want to explain in detail, just say: Nothing much.

How you do end your conversation? Here are some ways: Well, I should be going./ Sorry, I ’ ve gotta go now! I ’ m running a little late. Nice talking to you. I ’ ll catch you later. Bye!

When your friend needs encouragement: Hang in there. Things will get better. Hey, you ’ re gonna make it. Don ’ t give up. Don ’ t let a little thing get you down. Look on the bright side. Cheer up. Tomorrow is another day. (Encouraging someone to try something) Go for it!

When you see a friend sitting somewhere: Mind if I join you? — No, please do.

When you ’ re going out with a group of friends : Ready? Let ’ s go. We ’ re going (WHERE)--Wanna come along? Hey, wait up. I wanna come, too …

Emergency phrases: Help! Fire! Call the police! Call an ambulance.

And of course: Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom. Where’s the [restroom]?

Talking about tests: Way to go!/ You really aced that test. I really bombed that test.

Don ’ t be too “ uptight. ” Be prepared to laugh at yourself. So what ’ s so funny? Why are you laughing? What did I say wrong?