IELTS Speaking advice for using fillers and saying Umm and Ahh.. Learn how it will affect your score if you say umm and ahh. Learn what “fillers” are and how to use them to boost your IELTS speaking score.
Do you think you will get a lower score if you use “umm” or “aahh” in your IELTS Speaking Test? Are fillers ok to use?
Find your answers below:
For a quick answer – fillers are useful to use in IELTS speaking, but “umm” and “ahh” are not fillers. Umm and ahh will lower your score. Learn more about this below:
Fluency is 25% of your marks for IELTS Speaking. There are a number of aspects relating to this marking criterion and one of them is the ability to speak without hesitation. It is about a natural flow of language. Umm and Ahh disrupt the flow of speaking and lower your score for Fluency.
Fillers are words that we can use to fill gaps while we think. It means that we can continue speaking by filling in gaps. Here is an examples of a filler:
Q. Do you think men and women like the same kinds of holidays.
A. Well, to be honest, it isn’t something I’ve thought about before. Let me see… I guess men and women do like different kinds of holidays. I suppose that on the whole men prefer more active holidays etc etc…..
I have underlined the fillers. When you use fillers, it means you are still using words to fill in the space while you think of an answer. Your language does not stop, it doesn’t breakdown and your fluency continues strong. This is good for IELTS speaking.
These are not words. Umm and Ahh are sounds. They represent a breakdown in language. It shows the examiner that you are not able to continue speaking. Now let’s look at two possible answers to a question, which answer do you think shows the best English?
Q. How would you improve your home if you had the chance?
A. Ummmm, ahhhh, ummmm, I supposed that ummm ahhh I think ummm ahhh well, I guess I would add a garden outside or a balcony for outside space.
A. Well, let me see…I haven’t actually considered improving my home before. I’m not exactly sure what I would do to be honest. But I guess, if I had to choose, I would add a garden or a balcony so that I had some outdoor space.
As you can see, the second answer contains lots of language. The examiner isn’t actually interested in your plans for your home. Your ideas are not marked in IELTS speaking. All the examiner wants is to hear your English language. You can also see that the second answer contains a bigger range of tenses, grammar features and vocabulary.
It is true that it is natural to produce the “ummm” sound while we are thinking, and even native speakers will do so. However, this should be avoided as much as possible in the test because you want to show that you can maintain an almost constant flow of speech. The examiner will allow for a couple of ummms, but only in relation to ideas, and even then, you can still fill gaps with language – it is a language test after all, not an ideas test. If you are using “ummm” because you are stuck for a word and need to think more about language, it will definitely lower your score. Any pauses which are language related will lower your score. So, learn to use fillers or ask the examiner to repeat the question so you have thinking time.
If you need thinking time in part 1, ask the examiner to repeat the question. You can do this a couple of times and it won’t affect your score.
In part 3, you can ask the examiner to repeat or explain the question (one is probably enough) and it won’t affect your score.
To help avoid ummms and aahhs, prepare ideas for more topics. The more prepared you are, the more you have to say. The more you have to say and the more you practise the questions, the fewer ummms and aahhhs you will produce.