Hello We are delighted to welcome you to our MOOC

Oral Communication for EFL Learners

I am Zhang Wenxia from Department of
Foreign Languages and Literatures
of Tsinghua University
Well as we know
the most fundamental function of language
is to communicate
So in this course
I will lead you to learn how to practice
the most basic communication skills in English
In the first unit
I will guide you in learning
how to greet people in English
We've just listened to Glenn's introduction
to this unit
Now before we start the text
let's think about the following question
How do people in different cultures greet each other
Hello everyone and welcome
I’m Doctor Thomas Piachaud
from Great Britain
I received my PhD
from the University of Cambridge
In today’s lecture
I would like you to
read the text first
Next you can read after me
sentence by sentence
You may want to repeat the text
again and again to make sure
that you understand fully and
can paraphrase anything in English
Let's begin!
Learning a foreign language
is usually tough
but knowing the basic greetings
is a polite and simple thing to do
It shows that you have an
interest in the culture
Each countries has its own customs
and ways of saying hello
For example
British people like me
greet each other by
talking about the weather
while in China they will say
你吃了吗
The most common form of greetings
in many countries
when you are introduced
to a new friend
is a handshake
But shaking hands is rare in Japan
The Japanese greet each other
with a short bow
and not returning someone's bow
is considered very rude
The degree of the bow
is directly related to the difference
in status between the two individuals
Greetings between friends
are just a nod of the head
while a low-ranking worker
should greet a superior
with a long and deep bow
Also
a great first impression
can be important
and once made it's
very difficult to change
To make a good impression
you need to act
as if you are meeting a good friend
This is a pretty good starting point
for developing a good relationship
In daily life
we also need to be careful about
first meetings
For example
someone may phone you to
ask for your personal information
You need to be cautious
because they may ask you
for this in order to
steal your email address
your money your credit
or your identity
So it is important to learn
the proper way to greet people
and make a good first impression
It is equally important
to be careful in giving
strangers your personal information
Now I want you to read
after me sentence by sentence
You may want to read aloud
to yourself at home more than twice
Now I would like to explain
a few words and expressions
After that
my Chinese colleague will explain
in more detail in Chinese
Personal information
What is personal information
We understand what information is
but personal information is things
like your date of birth
or your name or your address
You need to be careful in
giving personal information to people
First impression
When you first meet someone
for the first time
you form what is called
a first impression
your first initial feelings
about this person
These are very key things to master
To be good at making a good first
impression will give you
a good chance
in life of making lots of friends
and getting good jobs