Learn two phrases that will help you make polite conversation when visiting somebody's home
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sadia: Hi, from New York. Thanks for joining us today. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: And I’m Keith. “The Best American Dish You'll Ever Have” |
| Sadia: In our last lesson, Lesson 24, you learned how to talk about ongoing action using the present progressive tense. |
| Keith: And also you learned about the words, "here" and "there." |
| Sadia: In this lesson you’ll learn about visiting a home and talking about family. |
| Keith: This conversation takes place at Zo's homestay family's home. |
| Sadia: The conversation is between Zo and his homestay mother and father. |
| Keith: Let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Host Mother: Welcome to our home! Please come in! |
| Zo: Thank you very much. I'm Zo. It's nice to meet you! |
| Host Mother: Nice to meet you, too! I'm Sandy, and this is my husband, Bob. |
| Host Father: Great to meet you, Zo. |
| Host Mother: Please come in, and make yourself at home. How about something to drink? |
| Zo: Oh...yes, please! |
| Host Mother: I'll bring you some lemonade. |
| Zo: This is a lovely house. Is this a picture of your family? |
| Host Father: Yes, this is my son, and these are my two daughters. They all live in Boston. |
| Host Mother: [wistfully] Ahh, our babies. Zo, how many people are there in your family? |
| Zo: There are 5 people in my family, including me - my mother, father, sister and brother. |
| Keith: One more time, slowly. |
| Host Mother: Welcome to our home! Please come in! |
| Zo: Thank you very much. I'm Zo. It's nice to meet you! |
| Host Mother: Nice to meet you, too! I'm Sandy, and this is my husband, Bob. |
| Host Father: Great to meet you, Zo. |
| Host Mother: Please come in, and make yourself at home. How about something to drink? |
| Zo: Oh...yes, please! |
| Host Mother: I'll bring you some lemonade. |
| Zo: This is a lovely house. Is this a picture of your family? |
| Host Father: Yes, this is my son, and these are my two daughters. They all live in Boston. |
| Host Mother: [wistfully] Ahh, our babies. Zo, how many people are there in your family? |
| Zo: There are 5 people in my family, including me - my mother, father, sister and brother. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sadia: Sounds like Zo has left his hotel and will be staying with a homestay family. |
| Keith: It should, since the dialogue takes place during his arrival at the homestay family’s home |
| [laughs]. |
| Sadia: The mother and father are very welcoming—and Zo is very polite! And the mother even offers Zo some lemonade! |
| Keith: She does! He "lucked out" with this family! And to luck out means to be lucky. They |
| seem like a happy couple too! |
| Sadia: They do! Zo compliments them on their “lovely home,” and he asks about a family photograph. |
| Keith: And the father points out his children in the photograph. He tell Zo that “they all live in Boston.” |
| Sadia: Right-- Boston, in Massachusetts. |
| Keith: And the whole conversation is a very simple one, but one that’s really important to study. |
| Sadia: I agree. I think as with most cultures, being invited to someone’s home in America—especially the home of a family—is kind of an honor. |
| Keith: Yeah, I would say so too. And Zo shows his gratitude and respect by complimenting the home-- |
| Sadia: And more importantly, by inviting the couple to talk about their children. American parents (usually) love talking about their children! |
| Keith: I don’t think it’s just American parents. I think all parents. |
| Sadia: Yeah, actually, yes. |
| Keith: Well there is no better way to get into a friendly conversation with a parent than by |
| asking about his or her children! |
| Sadia: No doubt about that-- even when their children are adults! Anyway, Zo tells his homestay mother and father a little about his family, which is a great way for them to get to know Zo. |
| Keith: Alright, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Sadia: home [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the place where one lives |
| Sadia: home [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: home [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: husband [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the male partner of a married couple |
| Sadia: husband [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: husband [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: wife [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the female partner of a married couple |
| Sadia: wife [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: wife [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: to come in [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to enter |
| Sadia: to come in [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to come in [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: to bring [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to take with |
| Sadia: to bring [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to bring [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: lovely [natural native speed] |
| Keith: pleasant; nice |
| Sadia: lovely [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: lovely [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: house [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a dwelling for a family |
| Sadia: house [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: house [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: apartment [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a rented room or set of rooms to live in within a larger building |
| Sadia: apartment [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: apartment [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: picture [natural native speed] |
| Keith: an image |
| Sadia: picture [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: picture [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: son [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a male child |
| Sadia: son [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: son [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: daughter [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a female child |
| Sadia: daughter [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: daughter [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: all [natural native speed] |
| Keith: everything |
| Sadia: all [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: all [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: baby [natural native speed] |
| Keith: an infant |
| Sadia: baby [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: baby [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: how many [natural native speed] |
| Keith: what number |
| Sadia: how many [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: how many [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: people [natural native speed] |
| Keith: group of human beings |
| Sadia: people [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: people [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: family [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a group of people usually related by blood |
| Sadia: family [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: family [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: mother [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a woman who has given birth to a child |
| Sadia: mother [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: mother [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: father [natural native speed] |
| Keith: male parent |
| Sadia: father [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: father [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: sister [natural native speed] |
| Keith: female sibling |
| Sadia: sister [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: sister [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: brother [natural native speed] |
| Keith: male sibling |
| Sadia: brother [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: brother [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: OK, let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Sadia: The first phrase we’ll look at is, “Please come in.” |
| Keith: “Please come in” is used as a welcoming phrase. |
| Sadia: It means that the speaker is inviting you into his or her space, usually a home. |
| Keith: OK, our next phrase is, “Please make yourself at home.” |
| Sadia: Sure. Zo’s homestay mother says to Zo, “Please make yourself at home.” What does this mean, Keith? |
| Keith: This means, “Make yourself as comfortable as you would be in your own home.” Be comfortable like it’s your house. |
| Sadia: Next up is, I'll bring you some lemonade. After inviting Zo inside, the mother tells Zo that she’ll “bring [him] some lemonade.” |
| Keith: She's offering him lemonade. |
| Sadia: You can use the phrase, “I’ll bring you some…” for just about anything—“I’ll bring you cookies.” |
| Keith: Or if we’re in the office, “I’ll bring you some paper." |
| Sadia: And we'll look more closely at this phrase a little bit later in the lesson. What's next? |
| Keith: Our next phrase is, “a lovely house.” |
| Sadia: Zo tells his homestay mother and father that they have “a lovely house.” Why? |
| Keith: Well, this is a polite compliment to give when someone has invited you to their home— Well, you should say it even if you don’t think it’s true! |
| Sadia: [laughs] That is terrible! |
| Keith: It’s polite. |
| Sadia: It is very polite. The next phrase is, “Is this a picture of your family?” |
| Keith: What happens is, Zo sees a photograph of a group of people and asks, “Is this a picture of your family?” That means, “Are the people in this photograph your family members?” |
| Sadia: And in response, the father says the next phrase, “This is my son.” |
| Keith: Zo’s homestay father explains the photograph of his family to Zo; he points to one young man and says, “This is my son.” |
| Sadia: Then he says, "These are my daughters." |
| Keith: This time the father points to two young women in the photo and says, “These are my daughters.” |
| Sadia: After pointing out his son and daughters in the photo, the father then says, “They all live in Boston.” |
| Keith: And that means all of my children—my son and two daughters—they live in Boston.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sadia: The focus points of this lesson are the phrases, "How many people are there in your family?" |
| Keith: And the phrase, "I'll bring you some...something" |
| Sadia: Let's start with, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE IN YOUR FAMILY? |
| Keith: Well, Zo’s very warm homestay mother asks him, “How many people are there in your family?” |
| Sadia: Yes. Asking about someone’s family is a great way to get to know the person—a great way to break the ice. And Zo's homestay mother does just that. |
| Keith: Ask “how many” when you’d like to know the number of people or things in a group. |
| Sadia: Let's talk about some more ways to use “how many." |
| Keith: To start, How many brothers and sisters do you have? |
| Sadia: I have one brother. And what about, “How many people are going to be at the party next week?” |
| Keith: You’re always talking about parties. [laughs] |
| Sadia: [laughs] I can't help myself. Here's one I always get asked at home-- How many cookies did you eat? |
| Keith: Your mom says that? |
| Sadia: My boyfriend. |
| Keith: Are you having some trouble staying out of the cookie jar? |
| Sadia: Always. |
| Keith: [laughs] Listeners, now you know what to offer |
| Sadia: when she comes to your house! |
| Sadia: [laughs] That's right! Good point. [laughs] |
| Keith: After the homestay mother asks Zo how many people he has in his family, Zo responds by saying - There are 5 people in my family. |
| Sadia: Right. There are five people in Zo's family, including Zo-- there's his mother, his father, his sister and his brother. |
| Keith: Oh OK, well while we’re at it, why don’t we review family members? |
| Sadia: There's father, mother, sister, and brother. |
| Keith: And don’t forget grandmother and grandfather-- |
| Sadia: Your parents' parents. And we can’t forget about uncle-- a parent's brother-- and aunt, or sometimes, “ont” right? |
| Keith: Yeah, sometimes you can say “ant” and sometimes “ont.” It’s your choice |
| Sadia: And your “ant” or “ont” is your parent's |
| sister. One of your parents’ sister. |
| Keith: We also have the niece, which is the female child of a sibling. And nephew, the male child of a sibling. |
| Sadia: So if Zo were a little older and maybe if he were married with children, he might say, "There are four people in my family, including me - myself, my wife, my daughter, and my son. And all of these are explained in the lesson notes. |
| Keith: Listeners, How many people are in YOUR family? We want to know. |
| Sadia: We do want to know. Are you married? Do you have any children? How many brothers and sisters do you have? |
| Keith: Let's move right along to our next grammar point, I'LL BRING YOU SOME... something |
| Sadia: So Zo’s homestay mother says to Zo, “I’ll bring you some lemonade.” |
| Keith: And you probably know that lemonade is a popular drink all over the world. And in America, lemonade is usually served during the spring or summer months. |
| Sadia: That’s right. The homestay mother is kind enough to offer some to Zo. She says, I’ll bring you some lemonade. |
| Keith: “I’ll bring you some…” is a phrase you can use when someone visits your home and you’d like to give them something. |
| Sadia: As in many other countries, probably most, it is considered polite to give your guests with some food or drink—or both! It’s especially nice if what you offer is homemade—or, made by you in your home. |
| Keith: And some other ways to use, “I’ll bring you some…” are maybe, I’ll bring you some coffee. Or-- Sadia, you'll like this one-- I’ll bring you some cookies. |
| Sadia: What about, I’ll bring you some tea? Or, I’ll bring you another glass of water? |
| Keith: Listeners, what do you give your guests when they come to your house in your country? We want to know. Well, that just about does it. Thanks for listening. |
| Sadia: Thanks for listening. Bye-bye. |
| Keith: Bye. |
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