women smiling in class

Lesson 1

Introductory Lesson

Welcome to EnglishConnect! We are so happy you are here. We are a community of people seeking to expand our opportunities by learning English. We may come from different backgrounds, speak different languages, and have different levels of English ability, but together we can achieve our goals.

EnglishConnect is different than most English learning programs. EnglishConnect is designed to help you develop English skills in an environment of faith, fellowship, and growth. That means you won’t be doing this alone. Each person in your EnglishConnect group will support and encourage each other. It also means that you will be applying spiritual principles of learning as you study and learn.

In this lesson, we will introduce the process you will use for each lesson in personal study and in your conversation group.

Let’s begin!

Conversation Group

Objective: I will learn to introduce myself and others.

Discuss the Principle of Learning: You Are a Child of God

(10–20 minutes)

confident young woman

Each lesson in this manual begins with a principle of learning. These are spiritual principles that can help you improve your learning through study and faith. In each lesson, we will:

• Read the principle of learning for this lesson aloud.

• Discuss the questions.

You Are a Child of God

Did you know that one of the most important things you can do to achieve a goal is to focus on your beliefs about yourself? Your beliefs about your ability will have a significant impact on your effort and outcomes. You may doubt your abilities because of previous failure. The good news is you can change your beliefs! When you change your beliefs about yourself, you can change your results. The power to change your beliefs about yourself comes from understanding your true nature.

You are a child of God. He loves you. As His child, you have eternal potential and purpose. You have the ability to learn and change. You have the ability to grow and improve. God wants to help you progress. He wants to partner with you to help you achieve your potential. Partnering with God in learning English will help you know Him better. He will also help you know yourself better.

You can pray to God. He will hear you. You can ask Him to help you learn English. You can thank Him for your blessings. As you pray, pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. You can know that God is there, He loves you, and He wants to help you. You can choose to believe that you are a child of God with eternal potential, and you can seek His help to learn English.

Ponder

• How does knowing you are a child of God influence your beliefs about yourself?

• How can knowing you are a child of God help you learn English?

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Activity 1: Practice the Pattern

(10–15 minutes)

Part 1: Review the vocabulary list with a partner.

When you learn vocabulary, focus on the meaning and pronunciation of each word.

I/my
you/your
he/his
she/her

What is … ?

name
please
thank you/thanks

Hello/Hi
Goodbye/Bye
Nice to meet you.
See you later!

Part 2: Practice pattern 1 with a partner.

Practice the patterns with a partner. Your goal is to ask and answer questions confidently and understand what is being said.

Practice asking questions.

Create as many questions as you can.

Example 1

What is your name?

pattern question what is your name

Example 2

What’s his name?

pattern question what’s his name

Practice answering questions.

Create as many answers as you can. You can replace the underlined words with your own words.

Example 1

I am Luna.

pattern answer I am Luna

Example 2

His name is Seth.

pattern answer his name is Seth

Practice a conversation using the patterns.

Ask and answer questions using the patterns.

Questions

pattern question what is your name

Answers

pattern answer my name is Seth

Example

two women talking

• A: Hi! What is your name?

• B: Hello! My name is .

• A: Nice to meet you.

• B: What’s your name?

• A: My name is .

• B: Nice to meet you.

• A: What’s her name?

• B: Her name is Rosa.

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Activity 2: Create Your Own Sentences

(5–10 minutes)

The purpose of this activity is for you to use the patterns and vocabulary to build your own sentences.

Look at the pictures. Ask and answer questions about each person’s name. Take turns.

Example: Talia

girl smiling on beach

• A: What’s her name?

• B: Her name is Talia.

Image 1: Marco

man smiling

Image 2: Nat

woman smiling

Image 3: Sam

elderly man smiling

Image 4: Mari

woman smiling

Image 5: Jean

man smiling in purple shirt and tie

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Activity 3: Create Your Own Conversations

(10–15 minutes)

The purpose of this activity is to have a conversation in English.

Part 1

Meet your group. Ask the name of each learner in your group. Be creative! Use as many words as you know.

Example

• A: Hi, what’s your name?

• B: My name is Mei. What is your name?

• A: My name is Sione. Nice to meet you.

• B: Nice to meet you. Goodbye.

• A: Bye!

Part 2

Find a partner and introduce your partner to your group.

Example

• A: Hi, what’s her name?

• B: Her name is Luna. What is his name?

• A: His name is Seth.

Evaluate

(5–10 minutes)

You are a child of God and have unlimited potential to learn and grow. You can learn how to improve by prayerfully evaluating your performance and effort. After each lesson, evaluate your progress in accomplishing each objective. Then, evaluate your effort by using your “Personal Study Tracker” and choosing one way to improve before the next lesson.

Evaluate your progress on the objectives and your efforts to practice English daily.

Evaluate Your Progress

I can:

• Ask for others’ names.

  neutral face, content face, happy face

• Introduce myself and others.

  neutral face, content face, happy face

• Understand how EnglishConnect can help me learn English.

  neutral face, content face, happy face

Evaluate Your Efforts

Evaluate your efforts to:

1. Study the principle of learning.

2. Memorize Vocabulary.

3. Practice the patterns.

4. Practice daily.

Set a goal. Consider the study suggestions in the “Personal Study Tracker.”

Share your goal with a partner.

Preparing for Next Time

(5 minutes)

God is always there to support us. He also expects us to do our best. You will benefit from every effort to prepare for the lesson. Here are three things to do for each lesson before attending your conversation group:

• Study the principle of learning.

• Memorize Vocabulary.

• Practice the patterns.

You can find these three things in the “Personal Study” section at the beginning of each lesson. Remember to study and practice every day.

Act in Faith to Practice English Daily

At the end of each lesson, there is an “Act in Faith to Practice English Daily” section. Spend one minute reading the quote aloud with your group.

“Each of us has a divine potential because each is a child of God. Each is equal in His eyes. The implications of this truth are profound” (Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 94).