Do your students say “I” when they are introducing a friend?
“They’re introducing a friend, but they keep saying ‘I’…”
“Somehow ‘she’ and ‘he’ always get mixed up…”
Do you run into these problems when teaching students to introduce other people?
Thank you for all your hard work preparing lessons every day!
I’m Gem-emon, the development partner of Deji-Lab!
Memorizing “I, you, she, he” as words isn’t enough. Students need to connect each word to who they are talking about. That’s why the best shortcut is to feel the distance—”me,” “the person in front of me,” and “that person over there”—through rhythm and gestures!
So I made this song: “Who Is It? I, You, She, He!”
3 Key Features of This Video
1. Learn pronouns by distance: “me,” “in front of me,” and “over there”!
The song introduces each pronoun together with the person it refers to.
Me is “I,” the friend in front of me is “you,” that girl is “she,” and that boy is “he.”
The screen always shows who is being talked about, so students naturally link each word to a person. The Japanese meaning also appears in the captions, so students who are less confident in English can follow along easily.
2. Bonus: “we” and “they” are included, all in one song!
In the second half of the song, “you and me” becomes “we,” and “everyone over there” becomes “they.”
Students can compare “one person” and “a group” using the same distance rule, building a strong foundation for pronouns in junior high school.
3. About 1 minute! Plays directly, even where YouTube is blocked!
The song is about one minute long—just right for a class warm-up.
Just like our “12 Months Rap” and “Go! Gem-emon!”, the video plays directly on the Deji-Lab website, so it works on school tablets even where YouTube is blocked. And there are no ads at all!
Screenshots
How to Use It
It’s super easy! Just click the “Open the Video” button above and press play!
My recommendation is to play it twice.
- 1st time: Students stay seated, watch, and listen to get the flow of the song.
- 2nd time: Everyone stands up! Students face a partner and sing while gesturing.
Here are gestures that match the song perfectly:
- I: Put your hand on your chest.
- You: Gesture toward the partner in front of you.
- She / He: Gesture toward a friend a little farther away.
- We: Gesture to yourself and your partner, back and forth.
- They: Open your arms wide toward a group far away.
If pointing at people feels impolite, have students use an open palm facing up instead. It keeps the mood friendly.
After singing, try moving on to an introduction activity, such as “This is ___. He is my friend.”
主語の使い分け、いくよー！
(Let’s learn how to use pronouns!)
大きな声で！
(In a big voice!)
自分は？ 私は I（アイ）
(Me? I am “I.”)
目の前の君。あなたは You（ユー）
(The one in front of me. You are “you.”)
あの女の子、彼女は She（シー）
(That girl over there. She is “she.”)
あの男の子、彼は He（ヒー）
(That boy over there. He is “he.”)
I, You, She, He!
(Watch the video and sing the rest together!)
👇 Try singing it in your classroom! 👇
🎵 Open “Who Is It?”Connection to the Japanese National Curriculum (2017)
- Grades 5 & 6, Foreign Language (English): Knowledge and Skills — Sentences and sentence structures: sentences including basic pronouns such as I, you, he, and she
- Grades 5 & 6, Foreign Language (English): Language Activities — Listening / Speaking [Presentation]
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