Words that help fill up oral exam

EDITOR'S note: Two weeks ago, Professor Yang Zhizhong of NanjingUniversity started giving tips on how to improve your oral English to prepare for the CET-SET. The August 14 issue had specific suggestions on how to make meaningful conversation. Additional suggestions are provided this week and in next week's issue.

1. Use appropriate gestures

Gestures carry meaning and lend force and colour to our speech. As occasion requires, we might need some kind of gesture, for instance, to tell someone to come over to us, to wave goodbye to someone, to form a thumb-forefinger circle to indicate OK, to give a V-shape finger sign for victory, to offer someone a flying kiss, .... Facial expressions also carry meaning. Winking, for one, suggests that what is being said is a secret or a mere joke.

2. Use conversational fillers when necessary

Conversational fillers are words or phrases that don't have much meaning in themselves but help to fill in pauses during conversation. When we talk, we don't always talk continuously. We often need time to think, to search for ideas or appropriate expressions. Sometimes we need to elaborate on, reiterate or modify our viewpoints. Occasionally we may need to interrupt others speaking. In all these situations, conversational fillers may prove useful and indispensable.

The following are some typical conversational fillers:

A. Delay words: These are used when we hesitate or want to gain time. They include "Hmm," "Mm," "Um," "Well," "Ye-e-s-s," "And," "Let me think," "Let me see," or "Let's see."

B. Expectation words: Words such as "Yes?" "So?" "But ...," "And?," "Oh?," "What?," or "Like ..." are used when we expect a response from the conversation partner or expect the partner to continue.

C. Explanation words: We use explanation words often to correct ourselves or to further explain something. They include expressions like "I mean," "that is," "that is to say," "namely," "to be exact," "if you like," "in other words," and "in fact."

D. Echo words: We usually use echo words to express approval of or appreciation for a person's statement. These words or expressions include "Yes," "Yeah," "Yeh," "Right," "Sure," "Exactly," "Indeed," "Of course," "Absolutely," "Definitely," "Certainly," "No problem," "Um," "Hmm," "You bet," and "True," "Sounds good," "Good idea."

E. Concession words: Words such as "I think," "I guess," "I suppose," "I'm afraid," "Most probably," "It could be," "I'd say," "Perhaps," "Maybe," "Should be," and "I figure" are used to show uncertainty, tentativeness, or lack of confidence.

F. Evasion words: These are used when we want to avoid making comments or stating an opinion, or to express disagreement indirectly. These words and expressions include "I don't know," "I wonder," "You think so?," "Is that so?," "Would you say that?," "Indeed?," "Not exactly," "I'm afraid not," "It's hard to say / explain," "Really?," "It (all) depends," and "That's interesting."

G. Enhancing words: We use words like "Don't you think?," "Believe me," "Of course," "Sure," "Listen," "Look," and "See" when we want to emphasize a point, to draw attention, to deepen impression, or to be more convincing.

H. Conversation introducers: These are used when we want to change a subject, introduce a new topic, or carry on the conversation. Expressions like "By the way," "You know something?," "Let me tell you," "You know what?," "Guess what?," "I want you to know something," "You see" fit in this category.

I. Pause fillers: These simply fill in conversational pauses or gaps. They include "OK," "And," "Oh," "Now," "I know," "Well," "All right" "kind of," "sort of," "You know," or "You see."

Conversational fillers, if used properly, can make the conversation sound natural, smooth and fluent. However, they should not be overused or abused. Overuse or abuse of conversational fillers may make the statements loose, less convincing, or even result in undesirable speech habits.

3. Choice of words —appropriateness

When speaking, we should always bear in mind whom we're talking with or speaking to and choose words and expressions appropriately. We should pay attention not only to what we can say, but to what we are not supposed to say.

For instance, when we want to know whether someone speaks English, we may say, "Do you speak English?" and we are not supposed to say, "Can you speak English?"

Instead of bluntly asking "What is your name?," we might well say "Your name, please.," "May I know your name?," "So your name is ...."

Westerners often don't wear much clothing, even in cold weather. Even if we think they should wear more when it's cold outside, our advice should not be "Put on more clothes.," but rather something like, "Hope you're warm enough." or "Keep yourself warm."

4. Cultural awareness

We all know that there are a lot of cultural differences between Chinese and Westerners. Westerners, for instance, attach great importance to privacy. Therefore, in our conversations with them, we are not supposed to be curious about things related to a person's privacy, like their age (esp. a lady's age), income, or marital status.

Although "Where are you going?" or "Have you eaten?" are common Chinese greetings, they sound strange to Westerners. Their familiar greetings are "Hi!," "Hello!," "Good morning!," "Nice day, isn't it?," "How're you doing?," "How're you today?."

Another important tip is to learn to say "Thank you!." Always remember to say "Thank you" when somebody praises you, when somebody has given help or offered a service, after receiving a gift or a prize, and after giving a talk or delivering a speech.