The only time you can score more by saying less
This is one of the easiest ways to increase your G.B.C. score. You get penalised for using "non-word sounds". This means saying things like "um" and "ah". All you have to do is stop saying "um" and "ah", but it can be more difficult than you realise. We'll train you in this lesson to be more aware of yourself when you speak.
As we mentioned above, non-word sounds are "um" and "ah" and so on. It also includes words you might say in your first language as you think (e.g. 「えーと」 or 「なんだろう」).
What impression do these sounds make when you speak?
This lesson is about "non-word sounds", like "um" and "ah". Non-word sounds are a great way to look unprepared and stupid—whether you are a native speaker or not. Some people get this straight away. Others pay no attention to what they are saying, and so this is a good way to tell if a learner is listening to her-/himself.
This is a chance for you to be a little bit evil! From the start of the class, count the number of times your student ums and ahs. You'll get to make your point after the warm up, but for now, just make a mental note.
Note After the student has done this class, you should be ever vigilant on this point. In the future, continue to ping them for this bad habit.
Answer the question that your teacher asks you.
Ask this question. It is intentionally difficult and out of left field:
What impact do child care subsidies have on Japanese society?
Count the non-word sounds the student makes, then when they have finished point it out to them.
In that answer, you made X non-word sounds.
This lesson is about increasing the awareness of non-word sounds, and breaking that habit. We'll talk about what to do instead (fillers, thinking out loud) in subsequent lessons.
There are three ways to deal with this issue:
- The first, easiest and most obvious strategy, is to say nothing. If you need to think, stop yourself from saying "um" or "ah".
- Use fillers, like "Let me see" or "That's a good question".
- Slow down a little, so your pauses seem more natural and to give yourself time to speak.
Strategies
- Say nothing—give an example of an answer to the above question, with obvious silences and pauses as you "think".
- Use fillers—repeat the above answer, but in the pauses, use fillers like "let me see", "well" and so on.
- Slow down—repeat the answer above again, but at a slower pace with even pauses and a good rhythm.
Phrases to use as fillers (give this list to your student over Skype and in their lesson record):
- So, ...
- Well, ...
- Let me see, ...
- Let me think, ...
- You know, ...
- I mean, ...
The next lesson will teach more of these.
Point out to your student:
- Speaking too slowly will lose you points on fluency;
- Silence in pauses is no good too—there is a score for "failed to fill pauses naturally".
- It's a matter of balance and practice.
Now, let's do some more practice. Answer some questions from the G.B.C. test without making non-word sounds.