Meet My Family

Hi, everyone. Take a breath. I'm Bella.

And I'm Leo. Let's learn together.

Leo, I have a small problem. And it starts in ten minutes.

Ten minutes? Okay, tell me fast.

I'm at my mother's house today. Eight people are at the table.

Eight? That's a big table. Who is there?

I have two brothers. And my mom, my aunt, and three cousins.

That's a full house. So what's the problem?

One more person is coming. My friend from work.

He's from Canada, and he knows nobody in that room.

Ah. So you open the door, and then what?

Then I walk him around the table. In English.

Go around the table. That means you start at one person, then the next.

Yes. One by one. And my head is empty.

I have the name cards in my hand. I can smell the soup.

Your head is not empty. You know these words already.

Do I? Honestly, I always say the wrong thing.

What do you say?

I say, "Let me introduce my family members. My family are four."

Ah. I hear that a lot. But we don't really say it that way.

So what do people say?

It's much shorter. You point, and you say, "This is my mom."

That's it? Three words and a name?

That's it. This is my mom. This is my brother.

Wait. You're teaching me today.

I know. It feels a little strange for me too.

Why do you know this so well?

Because my family is small. I'm an only child.

An only child. So no brothers and no sisters.

None. Just me, my mom, and the cat.

Does the cat get a name card?

Of course. He is family too.

So my tour is very short. This is my mom. She is a nurse.

Two sentences. And you're done.

But I have eight people. My tour is long.

Is it long? Or is it the same two sentences, eight times?

Oh. Say that again, please.

The same two sentences. Eight times. Only the name changes.

Okay. Let me try. This is my mom. She is a teacher.

Perfect. Now your brother.

This is my brother. He is a cook. His name is Dan.

Nice. My mom, my brother, his name. Those small words do a lot.

And "she is" for my mom. "He is" for my brother.

Right. In Korean that word doesn't change. So it's easy to mix up.

I mix it up every time. She is my sister. He is my father.

That was clean. Say it slowly and it stays right.

And listen to this. We say "she's" very fast.

This is my mom. She's a nurse.

She's. It sounds like one short word.

So my ear hears one word, not two.

Yes. That's the real sound. Now you know it.

Now the numbers. There are a lot of cousins at that table.

Then keep it simple. I have two cousins here.

I have two brothers. Is that enough?

That's enough. I have two brothers, and their names are Sam and Dan.

Oh, that feels light. I have two, and then the names.

So my door plan is three small things.

Tell me the three.

This is my mom. She is a nurse. I have two brothers.

That's the whole tour. Big family, small family, same words.

The doorbell is ringing. I have to go.

Go. Open the door and start with the first person.

This is my mom. She is a teacher.

Perfect. And your friend will remember two things about each person.

The name, and one small thing. That's kind.

Eight people isn't harder. It's eight times easy.

Thank you, Leo. Today you were the teacher.

Good work today, everyone.

See you next time on Bileo English.

Bye-bye.