Listening: Understanding Natural Connected Speech B1 - Lesson 2: Understanding Speech with Some Hesitations and Fillers
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand that hesitations and filler words are a normal part of natural spoken English.
- Recognize common English filler words (e.g., "um," "uh," "er," "like," "you know," "well").
- Identify when a speaker is pausing to think (hesitating).
- Improve your ability to understand the main message even when speech includes these natural features.
- Feel more comfortable listening to spontaneous, less perfectly structured English.
💡 Key Concepts: The Real Sound of Talking
Hello B1 learners! When people talk in real life, their speech is not always perfect like in a textbook. They might pause to think, or use small words or sounds to fill the silence while they are thinking. These are called hesitations and filler words (or just "fillers").
Hesitations: These are short pauses a speaker makes when they are thinking of what to say next, or searching for a word. It's completely normal!
Filler Words: These are words or sounds speakers use to "fill" pauses while they think. They don't usually add much meaning, but they make speech sound more natural than long silences. Common English fillers include:
- um / uh / er
- well
- like (used as a filler, e.g., "It was, like, really good.")
- you know
- actually / basically / sort of / kind of
Learning to recognize these, and not get distracted by them, will help you understand natural, spontaneous English much better.
🇰🇭 Cambodian Context: Pausing and Thinking in Conversation
Sua s'dei! When you speak Khmer, sometimes you pause to think, right? Or you might use little words like "អឺ..." (er...) or "ហ្នឹងហើយ..." (heung haey - like "that's it" or "so" used as a connector/filler) while you are thinking about your next idea. This is normal in all languages!
English speakers do this too. If you are listening to a conversation, perhaps with a visitor in Battambang or in an English class, you will hear these "ums" and "uhs." It doesn't mean the speaker doesn't know English well; it just means they are thinking! This lesson will help you get used to hearing these so you can focus on the main message.
🎧 Pre-Listening Activity: Recognizing Fillers
Look at these sentences. The filler words are in italics. Click "Listen" to hear how they might sound in a sentence.
"I think, um, we should go to the market."
"Well, it was like, a really interesting movie, you know?"
"She was, er, a bit late for the meeting."
Notice how these little words give the speaker a moment to think.
🔊 Listening Tasks: Understanding Through the Fillers
Important Note for Learners: This lesson uses your browser's Text-to-Speech (TTS) to "speak" sentences with fillers. TTS will read the fillers as written. Real human speech has more natural pauses and intonation with fillers. For the best learning, listen to authentic conversations where people naturally hesitate and use fillers.
Task 1: Listen and Understand the Main Idea
Click "🔊 Listen" to hear a short utterance that includes some hesitations or fillers. Choose the sentence that best expresses the main idea of what the speaker said, ignoring the fillers.
What is the speaker's main suggestion?
What is the main information about the weather in Battambang in April?
Task 2: Identifying Filler Words
Listen to the sentence. Which common filler word do you hear most clearly?
Which filler word did you hear?
📝 Post-Listening Activity: Your Own Fillers!
Think about when you speak Khmer. What little words or sounds do you make when you are thinking? ("អឺ..." - er... "ហ្អ៎?" - huh? or maybe "គឺថា..." - keu tha... meaning "that is to say..." or "like...").
It's interesting to notice that all languages have these! Knowing them in English helps you understand that it's a normal part of speaking.
Try to tell a short story (2-3 sentences) about your favorite food, and use one English filler word like "um" or "well" naturally if you need to pause and think. For example: "My favorite food is, um, Kuy Teav. Well, I like it because it's delicious!"
🚀 Key Takeaways & Listening Strategies
- Hesitations and fillers are normal in spoken English – don't let them confuse you.
- Try to listen "through" the fillers to get the main message.
- Focus on the keywords that carry the most important information.
- Recognizing common fillers helps you understand that the speaker is just thinking or pausing naturally.
💬 Feedback & Learner Tips (Self-Assessment)
After the exercises:
- Could you still understand the main idea even with the fillers?
- Which filler words are easy for you to recognize?
- Remember, even if there are many "ums" and "uhs," the speaker is still trying to communicate something important!
🇰🇭 Tips for Cambodian Learners:
When you are speaking English and need time to think, it's okay to use a small, natural pause or a simple English filler like "um" or "well." This is better than using a Khmer filler if you are trying to speak only English in a conversation. But don't use too many fillers all the time!
Listening to English speakers in Battambang who might be tourists or foreign teachers will help you get used to these natural speech patterns. You'll notice they use fillers too!
📚 Further Practice & Application
- Listen to unscripted English conversations, like interviews or casual chats in podcasts for English learners (B1 level). Notice the hesitations and fillers used.
- Watch informal English vlogs or YouTube videos. These often have very natural speech with fillers.
- When you speak English, if you need to pause, try using a simple "um" or "well" instead of a long silence or a Khmer filler.