Hello my dear EC friends,
Do you have any ideas how to avoid the fillers such as umh, hmm, so, alright.
Could you please tell me how to improve these and how we can actually say more useful words instead of saying these all the time? I have a habit of saying fillers like these and I think it's time to improve it. Saying lesser of these fillers is I think is one way of speaking properly and a way to speak much livelier and interesting. So, do you have any ideas? Please, share them here through recording if you want or through writing if you like..:)
Happy learning!
Comments
Hope that you will be successful.
Hello my lovely Sahar,
Oh! I'm so glad to have you on this discussion..Thank you dear!
One thing I really like with your comment is that...to talk without paying attention to what other's judgement. It's also what I believe in practising spoken English. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. For me, speaking is the ultimate test of what we have accumulated in our reading and listening. And to put it in practice it takes a great deal of patience (and courage..hehhe talking from my own experience).
I have observed from myself, a lot of times my thoughts are disorganized and so when I speak, words are in rumble order too LOL! Are these happening to others too?
So what might be the reasons? Perhaps..
1. Subject is stranger to me.
2. I think the whole sentence before actually speaking it and so I speak slowly and unnatural.
3. Perhaps I just don't have opinion about the topic.
4. Yes maybe I mind too much what others might say (especially in public outside). Hands, knees are shaking. Blood rushing to my face. Voice is trembling. You can't imagine how much I become nervous when it's my time to speak in English, LOL! :)) Thanks, God! There is MyEC. It's like my training ground for my speaking.
5. etc.
* Solution? I might perhaps realizing it through this discussion.
Dear Grace,
As from you said, we can say that 'fillers' are actually there to buy us time to think more. And practising more is the way to lower their frequency..Thus, fillers are friends not enemy if we just use it properly. :)
Thank you, Grace. Have a nice weekend!
Dear Ate Anele,
I got it now. :)
---In informal conversation it's fine to say the 'fillers'. On the other hand, in formal talk, as much as we can, we have to lessen it.
---In time, as we get familiarized with the language so does our speaking will get a natural flow--without thinking the next words, thus less fillers.
--We have to surround ourselves with English (creating one's own English environment) if we want to speak fluently.
**For a non-native speaker fillers are understandable but keep it minimal as much as we can and aim to improve it more as we go along with our practice.
Thank you very much for your answers, Ate Anele. Have a great day!
Very good question!
I've found something about it:
*How to Stop Saying Um, Uh, and Other Filler Words
**How to Stop Saying the Word "Like"
And also I think that we must talk more and more without paying attention to thinking about others' judgement.
It is a way that allows us to have more time to think what we will say next. It would also happen sometimes when speaking our native language. I think it's natural... I agree with Anele. Practice more may lower its frequency..