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Introducing Yourself

Welcome to Daily English 1 - Introducing Yourself.

This is Daily English number 1. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

This episode is a story about me, introducing vocabulary you need to talk about yourself. Let’s get started.

[ start of story]

Let me tell you a little about myself.

I was born and raised in Minnesota and I’m a native of the city of Saint Paul. I grew up there with my parents and my eight brothers and two sisters. I’m the eleventh child, so you could say I’m the baby of the family, but I swear I wasn’t spoiled.

That’s right, I’m part of a big family, probably the biggest family in the neighborhood, perhaps the biggest family in the state!

I had a happy childhood, for the most part. My father and mother didn’t have a lot of money, but because they both worked hard, we never felt deprived.

I wasn’t much interested in sports, like my brothers were. I enjoyed reading and listening to music while growing up. I went to grade school near my house, and then to high school about two miles away from our home.

After graduating from high school, I went on to the University of Minnesota for my bachelor’s degree. It took me a while to learn the ropes at the university, but I finally graduated about six years later. Better late than never, as my father used to say.

I then went to Mexico for a couple of years to teach English and to study Spanish. When I returned, I decided to become a teacher, so I went back to school to get my master’s degree. After teaching high school for a few years, I was offered a job in California, so I moved to Los Angeles in 1991 . After working here for a few years, I went back to school (again!) to get my Ph.D. I was starting to become a professional student

Well, I completed my Ph.D. in four years and then taught at the university for several years. Now I work at a small research organization here in Los Angeles. I am happily married, and I still enjoy reading and listening to music, and of course, creating ESLPod.com lessons.

[ end of story]

Our story begins by me saying, “Let me tell you a little about myself.” I’m going to give you some information about me. I start by saying, “I was born and raised in Minnesota.” “To be born” (born) means, of course, to come out of your mother, to be separated from your mother’s body. “To be raised” (raised) means to be cared for as a child until you are an adult. We might also use the phrasal verb “to be brought (brought) up.” You may, for example, be “born” in one city and “raised” in another, if your parents moved soon after you were born.

In the story I say, “I was born and raised in Minnesota.” Minnesota is a state in the north-central part of the U.S. on the border of Canada. I continue by saying that I am a “native” (native) of the city of St. Paul. A “native” is a person born in a specific place. I am a native of St. Paul because that’s the city where I was born.

I could also say, “I’m a native of Minnesota,” because I was born in the state of Minnesota. I could say, “I’m a native of the United States,” because I was born in the United States. So, depending on what place you want to use, you can say you are a “native” of that particular place.

Well, I was a native of St. Paul. I grew up there with my parents and my eight brothers and two sisters. I say then, “I am the eleventh child, so you could say” that is, you could call me - “the baby of the family.” The “baby” (baby) here means the youngest person in the family, or the youngest child of your parents.

We call that person “the baby of the family.” The word “baby” usually refers to a child from the time he is born until maybe two or three years old, but if someone says, “he’s the baby of the family” or “she’s the baby of the family,” he means that person is the youngest of the family. We would say the youngest “sibling”

(sibling). Your “siblings” are your brothers and sisters.

Now, in many families, the baby of the family is “spoiled.” “To be spoiled”

(spoiled) is to get whatever you want and often to not behave very well, especially if you’re a child. If parents spoil their children, the children get whatever they want, and because of that, they often don’t behave or act like they should. They don’t act politely. Well, I was not spoiled even though I was the youngest, or baby of the family.

“That’s right,” I say, “I’m part of a big family, probably the biggest family in the neighborhood.” A “neighborhood” is an area inside of the city where you live.

Most cities have several neighborhoods or areas. I say that “I had a happy childhood.” Your “childhood” (childhood) refers to the period during which you were growing up, from the time you were a baby until you became an adult or perhaps a teenager - 13, 14, and so forth. That’s your “childhood.” Some people have a happy childhood. Some people have a sad childhood.

I say that my childhood was happy “for the most part.” That expression “for the most part” means mainly or in most cases - or in this case, perhaps the majority of the time. Sometimes, of course, my childhood was not happy, but usually it was. I explain that my mother and father “did not have a lot of money” - they were not rich - “but they both worked hard,” meaning they worked a lot. Because they worked a lot, they had enough money to give us what we needed as children. Therefore, or because of that, we never, I say, “felt deprived” (deprived).

“To feel deprived” means to not have everything you need to be happy, not have the things that you want to have in order to have a good life.

I say that “I wasn’t much interested in sports.” I didn’t like playing sports, but my brothers did. I instead “enjoyed reading and listening to music while growing up.”

I say that “I went to grade school near my house.” “Grade (grade) school” is also called, in the U.S., “elementary school.” It’s the first five to eight years of a child’s education, depending on the school. Sometimes these are also called, in certain areas, “grammar school,” although that isn’t a term as commonly used now as it was, say, 50 years ago. We usually refer to grade schools as elementary schools, nowadays.

I then went on to high school, which in the U.S. is normally grades 9 through 12, though it might be grades 10 through 12 depending on the school system. My high school was grades 9 through 12. “After graduating” - that is, after completing high school - “I went on to the University of Minnesota for my bachelor’s degree.” “To go on to” means to move to the next level - in this case, the next level of my education, which was college or the university. I went to the University of Minnesota for my “bachelor’s (bachelor’s) degree (degree).” A “degree” is a certificate or recognition of study at a certain school. A “bachelor’s degree” is given after typically four years of study at a college or university.

I say that, “It took me a while” - that is, a long time - “to learn the ropes (ropes) at the university.” The expression “to learn the ropes” is an idiom meaning to learn how things are done in a certain group or organization, or to learn how to do a certain kind of job. In this case, I was learning how things worked at the university. I say that “I finally graduated,” or completed my studies, “about six years later.” That is, instead of taking the normal four years at university, I took six years because, well, I’m just not very smart.

I then say, “Better late than never.” The expression “Better late than never”

means it is better to do something, even if you don’t do it quickly, as long as you are able to complete it or finish it. So, my father used to say, “Better late than never” about my university studies because it took me so long to finish, but I did in fact finish. Well, at least my bachelor’s degree. “I then went to Mexico for a couple of years to teach English and to study Spanish.”

“When I returned, I decided to become a teacher, so I went back to school” - that is, I returned to the university - “to get my master’s degree.” A “master’s (master’s) degree” is a one, sometimes two-year degree that is given for studying about a certain topic after you complete your bachelor’s, or typically four-year, degree. A “bachelor’s degree” is sometimes called an “undergraduate degree,”

and a “master’s degree” is a graduate degree.

There are actually two graduate degrees that are common. One is a “master’s degree,” done immediately after or at least at some point after finishing your bachelor’s degree. There’s also a “doctoral” or “doctorate degree.” That takes longer. There are many different kinds of graduate degrees, however, but “master’s” and “doctorate,” which we also call a “Ph.D.,” are the most common graduate degrees.

“After teaching high school,” I say, “I was offered a job in California,” which is true, “and I moved here in 1991. After working here for a few years, I went back to school again to get my Ph.D.” A “Ph.D.,” as I mentioned, is a graduate degree.

It usually takes somewhere between four and seven years to complete. After you get your Ph.D., you can be called “Doctor.” “I started becoming a professional student,” I say.

I then finish by saying that “I completed my Ph.D. in four years and then taught at the university for several years.” I taught at a couple of different colleges after I got my Ph.D. “Now I work at a small research organization.” “Research”

(research) is used to describe efforts to learn more about something, either in a scientific or other disciplined way. I work at a research organization here in Los Angeles.

I say, “I am happily married.” “To be married” (married) means to have a husband or a wife. “I am happily married, and I still enjoy reading and listening to music, as well as, of course, making these ESLPod.com lessons.”

Now let’s listen to the story again, this time at a normal speed.

[ start of story]

Let me tell you a little about myself.

I was born and raised in Minnesota and I’m a native of the city of Saint Paul. I grew up there with my parents and my eight brothers and two sisters. I’m the eleventh child so you could say I’m the baby of the family, but I swear I wasn’t spoiled.

That’s right, I’m part of a big family, probably the biggest family in the neighborhood, perhaps the biggest family in the state!

I had a happy childhood, for the most part. My father and mother didn’t have a lot of money, but because they both worked hard, we never felt deprived.

I wasn’t much interested in sports, like my brothers were. I enjoyed reading and listening to music while growing up. I went to grade school near my house, and then to high school about two miles away from our home.

After graduating from high school, I went on to the University of Minnesota for my bachelor’s degree. It took me a while to learn the ropes at the university, but I finally graduated about six years later. Better late than never, as my father used to say.

I then went to Mexico for a couple of years to teach English and to study Spanish. When I returned, I decided to become a teacher, so I went back to school to get my master’s degree. After teaching high school for a few years, I was offered a job in California, so I moved to Los Angeles in 1991 . After working here for a few years, I went back to school (again!) to get my Ph.D. I was starting to become a professional student.

Well, I completed my Ph.D. in four years and then taught at the university for several years. Now I work at a small research organization here in Los Angeles. I am happily married, and I still enjoy reading and listening to music, and of course, creating ESLPod.com lessons.

[ end of story]

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on ESLPod.com.

English as a Second Language Podcast was written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. Copyright 2017 by the Center for Educational Development.