TOPIC Day 1: Meeting New People

OBJECTIVES:

SWBAT greet others and introduce themselves in both formal and

informal settings.
SWBAT respond to greetings and introductions in both formal and
informal settings.
SWBAT use appropriate gestures to accompany meeting new people.

INTRODUCTION: [ 10 minutes ]

Introduce the unit explaining that having full conversations with native
English speakers can be intimidating. This unit will touch on all parts of
having a casual conversation including verbal and nonverbal to-dos
and not to-dos.
Students work in pairs to make a list of questions they might have
about casual conversation with a native speaker. Teacher will collect to
use as a cursory needs analysis.

PREVIEW: [ 5 minutes ]

Introduce the topic for today as Meeting New People so we will be

discussing what happens at the very beginning of conversations greetings. We will cover meeting new people formally and informally.
Explain objectives for the class so students know what they will be able
to do by the end of the class period.

PRESENTATION: [ 15 minutes ]

Pass out handout that includes a list of greetings and introductions for
informal settings on one side and a list of greetings and introductions
for formal settings on the other. (The response column is left blank for
the students to fill in along with the teacher)

Front: INFORMAL
Greetings
Hey.

Hey.

Hi.

Hi.

Whats up?

Nothing
really.
Good.

Hows it going?

Introductions
Hey, Im ________.
(emphasis on the
name)

Im ____, nice
to meet you.

What was your

name?

Its _____. And

your name?

Back: FORMAL
Greetings
Hello, title + last
name.
Good
morning/afternoon.
How are you?

Introductions
Hello.
Good
morning/afternoo
n.
Im fine, thank
you.

I dont think
weve met.
My name is
_______.

No, I dont
think we
have. Im
____.
Nice to meet
you, Im
_____.

Project the front side (Informal) of the handout. Read through each
greeting while class chorally repeats. After each greeting elicit ideas
from the class as to what the appropriate response would be to
greeting. Write the response in the adjacent column.
Do the same for the back side (Formal).
Teacher explains that Whats up/Hows it going can be used in place
of Hi/Hey they do not need to come in sequence. Many people use
these phrases as a way of saying hello and sometimes dont even
expect a response.
Teacher adds that if someone says, nice to meet you you MUST
respond with nice to meet you, too.

PRACTICE: [ 15 minutes ]

Students are given the transcript for a recording that plays three
different greetings. The transcript has the greeting and introduction
functions missing. The first time the teacher plays the recording,
students listen.
The second time the recording is played, students must fill in the
missing functions.
Students compare answers without showing their paper to their
partner.
Teacher calls on a few students to share their answers, asking What
was the greeting? What was the introduction? Was this a formal or
informal situation?

PRODUCTION: [ 10 minutes ]

In pairs, students are given a prompt and must write their own script.
Teacher explains that these scripts will be very short, but next class will
get into where to go from this point.
Students practice their script together.

PRESENTATION: [ 10 minutes ]

Teacher explains gestures associated with greetings:

a. You cue someone that you are about to greet them by moving closer
to them or trying to catch their eye.
b. Put your hand out for a handshake at the same time as you
introduce yourself. Do not stick it out before the introduction
because it feels awkward and forced.
c. When saying your own name, its typical to put your hand to your
chest.
d. If someone has a longer or more difficult name, they might lean in
when they say it.
e. Nice to meet you = nod of the head
f. Nice to meet you, too = head tilt or nod

PRACTICE: [ 10 minutes ]

Students meet with previous partner and add gestures into their script.
Students practice their script with all the parts.

PRODUCTION: [ 10 minutes ]

Partners are called on to perform their skit in front of the class.

Teacher elicits response from class about whether the script is formal
or informal.

CONCLUSION: [ 5 minutes ]

Teacher reinforces main ideas by asking comprehension review

questions and quizzing students on when to use the appropriate
gestures.

This lesson is designed to provide an authentic look at the details that go

into meeting someone for the first time. The topic is relevant as many
students hope to travel abroad or work with native English speakers. The
scripts provided for the students are authentic dialogues created through a
role play in order to give students a look at channel opening signals that are
actually used in different settings. The lesson encourages bottom-up
processing where the students are focused on the very specific language
functions and then listening for them in order to make sense of the wider

dialogue. Students are given time to practice both verbal and nonverbal
aspects of their script before presenting to the class so they can feel
comfortable and work to plan out the necessary language.