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The study of any foreign language begins, as a rule, with a story about yourself (about myself). Indeed - what do we most often talk about in our native language? About family, work, friends, vacation plans, etc. Even when applying for a job, they ask you to briefly introduce yourself. All these topics directly or indirectly relate to the story about yourself. Let's highlight the main components of a "complex" story about yourself:
Table 1. Telling about yourself in English
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Of course, such a set of components is minimal. At the same time, if you say at least a couple of sentences on each of the listed questions, consider that you have given the interlocutor a clear picture of your life. On the other hand, if you take each of these topics separately, you get a completely complete story. Let's start with the "minimum".
Short introduction in English
- Hello / Hi / Good morning / Good day / Good afternoon / Good evening - greet the interlocutor.
- My name is I / I am… / Alexander Petrov - introduce yourself.
- I am 30/ I am 30 years old/ I am 30 years of age/ I am aged 30 - indicate your age (if necessary).
- I am a programmer / I work as a programmer / My job is a programmer / I am occupied as a programmer - name your profession.
- I work for Microsoft/ I work with Microsoft/ I do my job at Microsoft/ My place of work is Microsoft/ I am occupied at Microsoft - indicate the organization in which you work.
- I… - Describe what exactly you do at work: for example, I write press releases; I write programs; I edit scientific articles, etc.
- Apart from work/ besides work/ outside my work I… - name the activities you do outside of work.
- I enjoy/ like/ am fond of/ am keen on… - list your hobbies.
- It is a good way to relax/ have fun/ have a rest/ get unstressed - so that your story does not look like a business report, insert remarks: for example, about a hobby, this is a good way to relax.
- Apart from me, there are 2/ 3/ 4 people in my family. They are:… - since you started talking about NOT working life, mention the family. Tell me how many people are in your family and who they are (brothers, sisters, wife, husband, etc.)
- My brother is… - list who is who in your family. In short, everything you said about yourself, tell about others. A mention of their occupation will suffice.
- Usually we … together with my family - to finish the story of your personal life with dignity, mention what you usually do with your family: for example, meet on Sundays, go fishing every Tuesday, etc.
Example of a story about yourself
Table 2. An example of a story about yourself in English
| Let me introduce myself. | Let me introduce myself. |
| Hello, my name is Anna Fedorova. | Hello, my name is Anna Fedorova. |
| I am twenty-eight and I work as public relations specialist at “Learnathome”. | I am twenty-eight years old and I work as a PR-specialist in the company "Learnathome.ru". |
| In this position I am responsible for keeping in touch with mass media, such as television and radio channels as well as written media – newspapers and magazines. | In this position, I am responsible for liaising with the media, such as television and radio channels, as well as print media such as newspapers and magazines. |
| Apart from work, I am involved in a charity organization “Nochlezhka” which helps homeless people get food and shelter every day. | In addition to work, I am a member of the Nochlezhka charity organization, which helps homeless people find food and shelter every day. |
| As for my hobbies, I enjoy skating in winter and roller-blading in all the other seasons. | As for my hobbies, I like skating in winter, and inline skating in all other seasons. |
| It is a good way both to relax and to keep fit. | This allows me to relax and keep fit. |
| I love having a good time in such a way with my family. | This is how I relax with my family. |
| It consists of my parents, my husband and my son. | It consists of my parents, husband and son. |
| My parents are retirees, my son goes to school and he is in the 1st year. | My parents are pensioners, my son goes to school - he is in the first grade. |
| My husband is the head of human resources department at “Learnathome.ru”. | My husband is the Human Resources Director at Learnathome.ru. |
| Being involved in family, professional and charity life requires from me such personal qualities as ambitiousness, energy, leadership and communicative skills. | Family, work and charity require qualities such as ambition, energy, leadership and communication skills. |
| They help me cope with all the tasks in my daily life. | They help me get things done every day. |
Additional materials:
Phrase constructor for the story "About myself" in English
Adjectives that describe a person
You can describe the character of a person in English with the help of adjectives. Below is the most commonly used list of adjectives that can be used to describe a characteristic in English.
Table 3. English adjectives to describe a person
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*active*adaptable*ambitious*broadminded*cheerful*competitive*cooperative*creative*curious*determined*eager*easygoing*energetic*enthusiastic*entrepreneurial*flexible*friendly*generous*good natured*hardworking*helpful*honest*imaginative |
*independent*industrious*intellectual*leader*mature*motivated*optimistic*organized*original*outgoing personality*patient*progressive*purposeful*quick*reliable*resourceful*self-confident*self-sufficient*serious*sociable*successful*supportive*tactful |
