Greetings (Novice)

Practice on Your Own

• Memorize all the greetings, partings, and related phrases (“My name is…”, “Pleased to meet you,” “How are you?”, etc.) from your textbook. Use the audio recordings to practice your pronunciation.
  • Are there different levels of formality? Do greetings vary depending on age, gender, how well you know a person, whether you are greeting one person or multiple people, etc.? Make sure you are familiar with all the different variations and when they should be used.
  • Pay attention to cultural information about etiquette, appropriate hand and body gestures, etc. Do people usually shake hands, bow, or exchange kisses on the cheek? How far apart do they stand? Some of this information is probably in your textbook and/or online resources, and your conversation partner may discuss this more during the conversation session.
• Practice different greeting situations out loud.
  • Pick a person and practice greeting them over and over again, until you can do it from memory. Can you do that comfortably, without peeking at the textbook? Now try playing both parts.
  • Say hello to inanimate objects. Ask photos of your favorite celebrities how they are.
  • Think about all the people you saw yesterday. Practice how you would greet each person in the language you are studying, and exchange formulaic inquiries of wellbeing (“How are you?”, etc.).
• Keep practicing throughout the week. As you walk through town or across campus, think about how you would greet the people you see.

Practice in Conversation Session

• Be prepared to greet your conversation partner in the language you are studying.
• Your conversation partner may share some cultural information about etiquette, appropriate hand and body gestures, etc. While conversation sessions should generally stay as much as possible in the language being studied, your conversation partner may need to explain this important cultural information in English.
• Be prepared to role play many different greeting situations. In each role play, use all appropriate expressions that you have learned, such as asking and giving names, “How are you?”, “Pleased to meet you”, “Goodbye” or “See you tomorrow,” etc. Possible situations include:
  • Meeting a classmate for the first time
  • Meeting a professor for the first time
  • Meeting your host family for the first time, including host parents, host siblings (older and younger), and host grandparents
  • Greeting a fellow student that you know very well
  • Greeting a teacher that you know very well
  • Greeting your friend’s mother or father
  • Greeting a shopkeeper or bank teller
  • Meeting someone your own age on a bus or train
  • Meeting an older person on a bus or train
  • Greeting an older friend of the family that you have known since you were a child
  • Greeting your boss
  • Greeting a young child
  • Greeting the President
  • Greeting a group of your classmates
  • Greeting a group of professors
  • And anything else you can think of!
• Anything else you have learned (such as saying where you are from or what languages you speak, introducing someone to someone else, etc.) may also be incorporated into role plays.