Introductory Word

Dear friends,

First of all let us congratulate you on entering Belarusian State University! You did it! You are students! Each of you can proudly tell your friends and former classmates: “I’m a student of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences!” or “I’m a student of the Institute of Journalism!”

We are sure that these faculties tend to attract better-than-average students as they provide excellent training for a wide variety of careers. We firmly believe that good knowledge of English will increase career prospects of a specialist in any field.

We hope that the course of English at University will help to improve your ability to communicate in English in a wide range of everyday and professional situations.

In this book you are offered a variety of interesting activities in which you develop your communication skills, reading and listening skills, learn essential vocabulary and review key grammar items.

To succeed in learning English you certainly need to work hard as the teaching outcome greatly depends on your efforts and motivation. We hope you’ll find helpful the Phrasebook, the Tips for Writing an Essay, the Tips for Making Presentations and other materials given in Appendices. Self Assessment Test and Self-Assessment Checklist will give you the opportunity to evaluate your progress.

The authors

Symbols used in the book

	Listening
	Reading
	Speaking in pairs or small groups
	Writing
	Reviewing grammar and vocabulary
	Project work
	Portfolio
	Keys

UNIT 1

Introducing Yourself and Others. Starting a Conversation

Listen, read and talk about...

• yourself and others

• rules of introducing people

• good manners

• culture of communication

Learn how to...

• introduce yourself and others in a formal situation

• introduce yourself and others in an informal situation

• ask questions

• start a conversation

Practice...

• in introducing yourself and others

• in asking questions

• in having ‘small talk’

Revise...

• vocabulary and speech patterns

• basic word order

• word order in questions

Part A. Skills Development

Communication Starter
Answer the questions. What do you say introducing yourself? Do you often take initiative in getting acquainted with people? How do you greet someone you know well? Are personal questions appropriate when you first meet a person? What are ‘safe’ questions? What sorts of hand gestures are common? What do they mean? Do people from different cultures have different rules of greeting and introducing themselves and others?
Speaking and Listening

D eveloping Communication Skills: Introductions
1 Are these greetings formal (F) or informal (I)? 1. Hello. I’m Carol Brown.  2. Hello there!  3. How do you do?  4. Hi! Nice to meet you.  5. Ladies and Gentlemen! It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the Faculty meeting.  6. Good morning, Mr. Brown. 
2 Choose suitable responses for these expressions. 1. Nice to meet you. a. Pleased to meet you too. b. Hello! 2. How do you do? a. Hi! Haven’t seen you for a long time! b. How do you do? 3. Hello, Jane. How are you? a. Nice to meet you. b. Fine! And how are you? 4. Allow me to introduce Prof. Brown to you. a. Hello. b. How do you do? 5. Hi, mom. This is my fellow student Alex. a. Nice to meet you, Alex. b. How do you do? 6. Miss Follet, let me introduce my colleague, Mr. Brown, to you. a. How do you do? b. I’m glad to see you.