um

Do you get irritated by people on television who keep on saying um? I do. It's one of my pet peeves. I really hate television hosts, news anchors and celebrities who never fail to say um during interviews and shows. (A lot of Filipinos do this, I've noticed)

I try not to say um as much as possible and instead I use fillers such as: you know, it's like this, I'm not sure and other phrases while I am still composing thoughts in my head. When I talk in English, I often say it straight. The key is in always reading and watching English language shows, I guess. Besides, I get a lot of practice talking with the baby. I talk to him like an adult and I talk in straight sentences, not baby talk.

I remember taking IELTS a couple of years ago. I was nervous for the SPEAKING portion but my reviewer told me that any answer will suffice as long as it's being said in straight English. So there I was blabbing and yakking to the interviewer, not minding whether the answer was right or not. At the end of the interview, she was all smiles and so was I. After all, for me it was finally over. I was confident that I'd get high marks for LISTENING AND READING because those were very easy. I did, but what was most surprising was that I got a perfect score in SPEAKING too. Hahaha! My reviewer was most impressed with me, I tell you.   

If I had to give advice on speaking English, practice is important. Keep talking in English and you're bound to get the hang of it. Also, try not to say um!!!