1. Introducing Yourself - Review

Episode Retell Targets

• Core facts to keep The speaker grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in a family with eleven children. He preferred reading and music to sports. His life story then moves through university, Mexico, more study, California, and his current research job.
• Main speaker pattern Tell the story as a simple life timeline with past tense verbs and connectors like after high school, then, when he returned, and after working there for a few years.
• Most common trap Mixing up the education and career order, especially the bachelor’s degree, Mexico, the master’s degree, the move to California, and the Ph.D.

Chronology Map

1. He was born and raised in Minnesota and grew up in Saint Paul in a very large family.
2. After high school, he went on to the University of Minnesota and finished his bachelor’s degree about six years later.
3. Then he went to Mexico for a couple of years to teach English and study Spanish.
4. When he returned, he went back to school for his master’s degree and taught high school for a few years.
5. He moved to Los Angeles in 1991, later got his Ph.D., taught at the university, and now works at a small research organization.

High-Value Retell Phrases

• grew up in Use: Use this for the place where someone spent their childhood.
• went on to Use: Use this to show the next stage after finishing school.
• went back to school Use: Use this when someone returns to studying later in life.
• work at Use: Use work at for an organization or company.

First Retell Review

Accuracy and Coverage

• Kept well: You remembered the big family, his lack of interest in sports, his reading habit, his trip to Mexico, and the idea that he kept going back to school.
• Missing or changed: The life sequence became mixed in the second half. He got his bachelor’s degree before Mexico, then his master’s degree after Mexico, and only later his Ph.D. Also, he did not move to California to do ESL Podcast; he moved there for a job and now works at a research organization.
• Timeline note: The first half is fairly clear, but the education and career order drifts after university. For this episode, keeping the timeline straight is more important than remembering every detail.

Language Patterns

Life-story verbs and prepositions

• He was grow up at Minisota. → He grew up in Minnesota. For a life story, use the simple past verb grew up, not was grow up. Use in with cities, states, and countries.

• After his graduated from university... → After he graduated from university... After after, use a full clause with a subject and verb. Do not use his before graduated.

Plurals and subject-verb agreement

• There're eleven child at home → There were eleven children in the family. Watch count nouns and verb agreement together: eleven children, not eleven child. In a past retell, there were is the safer choice.

• His parents works very hard → His parents worked very hard A plural subject needs a plural past verb form: parents worked.

Natural school and career framing

• went to school to study to get his bacholer → went on to the University of Minnesota for his bachelor's degree Use the episode’s stable chunks when possible. Went on to and for his bachelor's degree sound much more natural in a biography-style retell.

• he went to Canifornia to do the ESL Podcast → he moved to California for a job, and now he works at a research organization This is both a fact issue and a phrasing issue. Keep the career step simple and accurate before adding extra detail.

Better Retell Model

The speaker was born and raised in Minnesota and grew up in Saint Paul in a very large family. He was the youngest of eleven children, but he says he was not spoiled. He was not very interested in sports and preferred reading and listening to music. After high school, he went on to the University of Minnesota, and it took him about six years to finish his bachelor’s degree. Then he went to Mexico to teach English and study Spanish. When he returned, he went back to school for his master’s degree, later moved to Los Angeles, got his Ph.D., and now works at a small research organization.