Social Programme

Conversation in The Grand Union

Last week about 30 students and three teachers from the Westcroft Square School visited some local pubs. We left school at 4.30 and walked through Ravenscourt Park to a pub called, The Grand Union. This pub has recently been refurbished and has modern decoration and some slightly crazy artwork. As we arrived quite early and most people in London hadn’t finished work we were able to take over a large section at the back of the pub. The students were able to relax after school and practise using their English in a more natural setting than the classroom.

Teachers Howard and Raphael

Howard, a teacher from the school, was in charge of the event and I attended to take photos, along with another teacher Raphael. There were students from over 11 different countries and there was a lot of discussion about culture, customs and places from various countries. Sometimes students become a bit more fluent after a couple of drinks but it can mean they lose some accuracy. The important thing is that English is being practised in a relaxed environment.

Students and the pub artwork

After about an hour and a half in this pub Howard and the students moved to another more traditional pub called The Goldhawk on Goldhawk Road. This pub is a little more old fashioned but still has a relatively modern feel. Some of the students tried some traditional English ales, while others drank wine and soft drinks. Some even had a snack or some dinner there. There was a band playing later on in this pub and a few of the students were happy to stay there for the evening although some left to do their homework. Overall it was a successful event, everybody enjoyed themselves and a lot of English was spoken and heard.

Glossary
has recently been refurbished - has been redecorated and modernised

to take over - to take control of something
a more natural setting - a a place and situation which is more normal than the classroom
customs - traditional habits in a country or culture
a relatively modern feel - having modern look compared to siome other pubs

Lost for words 2

Lost for words 2
Fillers
Learn useful words for spoken fluency and speaking examinations.

Here is the reduced text from the post on fillers. Were you able to get the basic message? Remember the text was exaggerated and no body would really use that many fillers altogether in such a short piece of speaking, but they are used regularly in everyday English conversations. See the notes below taken and adapted from the Longman Exams Dictionary (Pearson Longman 2006) for more information on the fillers.


There are lots of times in our daily conversations when we use unnecessary words. It’s like, what we say has no real meaning and sometimes we just need to keep on speaking while we’re trying to think about what we want to say and how we’re going to say it. Being able to use these unnecessary words can help with spoken fluency, which improve our speaking by filling the gaps we would leave if we didn’t use these words.

Actually - Used to add new information to what you have just said, to give an opinion or to start a new conversation. Also used to emphasize the real truth of something.

Sometimes - on some occasions not always.

Well - Used to emphasize what you are saying or used to pause to give yourself time to think.

In a manner of speaking - in some ways but not exactly.

If you catch my drift - used to check if someone understands the general meaning of what you have said or if they are following the conversation.

At the end of the day - used to give your final opinion after considering everything.

The bottom line is - used to tell someone what the most important part of a situation is or what the most important thing to consider is.

A bit - slightly, to a small degree.

Whatchamacallit - a word used when you can't remember the name of something.

In some way - used to say there is a fact or feature of something that makes a statement true.

In fact - used to add something or to emphasize what you just said.

From time to time - sometimes but not very often.

To be honest - used to say what you really think.

Maybe - not certain, possible

I hope these are helpful, try to notice native English speakers using fillers to develop your knowledge of how they are used. Being able to use fillers in you speaking will help you to become fluent and as i said in the previous post they are useful and positive in all English speaking exams.

Lost For Words -
Fillers
Learn useful words for spoken fluency and speaking examinations.

I'm currently teaching the IELTS course at The London School of English at our Westcroft Square school and I have been talking to my class about how to use fillers. These are spoken words we use to fill the gaps that we leave when we are thinking about what to say. They are helpful for all speaking exams because they help to give you some time to develop your ideas, while keeping the conversation going. They can make you sound fluent and more natural, as well as help you to avoid long pauses when you are speaking.

Have a look at the following text which uses a large number of fillers. Can you reduce the text to it's most basic meaning?

Basically, like, there are lots of times, kind of, in our daily conversations, when we, sort of use, a lot of unnecessary words, if you know what I mean, and, y’know it’s a bit like, what we say has no real meaning, and, um, actually, sometimes, well, it’s like we just need to keep on speaking, while, we’re trying to, kind of, think about, what we want to say, and, in a manner of speaking, how we’re going to say it, if you catch my drift? At the end of the day, the bottom line is, being able to use these unnecessary words, a bit, can, kind of help a bit, with whachamacallit, spoken fluency, which, in some way, can, in fact, improve our speaking, from time to time, and, to be honest, by, sort of, filling the gaps, we would, sort of leave, if we, maybe, didn’t use these words.

I'll post up the reduced text next week. In the meantime,how many of the fillers do you know and use when you are speaking?