Fluency: fillers and discourse markers

Sound smoother and more organised by replacing long pauses and 'um' with natural thinking phrases, and by linking ideas with spoken discourse markers.

Level B2 20 min5 exercisesLesson 2 of 12 in Speaking B2

Trains: IELTS Speaking Part 3, TOEFL iBT Speaking – Take an Interview, TOEIC Speaking – Express an opinion

What you'll learn

Understand what examiners mean by fluency and coherence
Use natural phrases to buy thinking time instead of silence or 'um'
Link ideas with spoken discourse markers for adding, contrasting, giving examples and summing up
Rephrase smoothly when you make a mistake

Lesson content

10 steps · 5 exercises · 20 min total

1. Warm-up2 questions
2. LearnThe skill and the strategy
3. ModelSee how it's done
4. Practice 1Complete the spoken answer
5. Practice 2Fluency check
6. Practice 3Say it smoothly
7. Practice 4IELTS Speaking Part 3
8. Exam tips3 tips
9. Key vocabulary11 words
10. SummaryReview and finish

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