Lesson 2: Beating Hesitation (Fluency)
you stop freezing mid-sentence and keep talking smoothly, even when you don't have the perfect word.
Why this matters
At band 5 the examiner hears "frequent pauses, self-correction and repeated words to buy time"; at band 7 you "speak at length without noticeable effort," and any hesitation is to find a better word, not any word Fluency & Coherence). This lesson trains you to keep the flow going.
The Tip/Trick
Use a "stall phrase" instead of silence. When Vietnamese learners get stuck, they go quiet, repeat the question word in Vietnamese rhythm, or restart the sentence — all of which read as low fluency. Native speakers buy the exact same thinking time out loud with a natural filler, then continue.
- Before: "My hometown is… is… my hometown… [silence] …is big city." (3 dead seconds, restarts)
- After: "My hometown? Well, let me think — it's a fairly large city, and the thing I love most is that there's always something going on." (the stall phrase buys time fluently)
Keep 3 stall phrases ready: "Well, let me think…", "That's a good question…", "I suppose the main thing is…". They are tools, not cheating — examiners use them too.
Grammar Focus — There is / there are + prepositions of place
Rule (plain English): use "there is" + a singular noun and "there are" + a plural noun to say what exists in a place, and add a preposition of place (in, on, near, opposite, in the middle of) to locate it. This is the engine of describing a hometown. Reference: the "There is / there are + prepositions of place" section.
Three examples on today's topic (hometown):
- "There are several markets near the city centre where I grew up."
- "There's a beautiful old temple in the middle of my town."
- "There aren't many green spaces on my street, which is the one thing I'd change."
Vocabulary Cluster — Hometown & places
Add these to under "Hometown & places".
- a close-knit community — people who know and support each other — "I grew up in a close-knit community where everyone knew each other."
- off the beaten track — away from busy tourist areas — "My village is a bit off the beaten track."
- a stone's throw from — very close to — "My house is a stone's throw from the beach."
- the hustle and bustle — busy, lively activity — "I love the hustle and bustle of the old quarter."
- a sleepy little town — a quiet, slow-paced place — "It used to be a sleepy little town before tourism took off."
- well connected — easy to travel to/from — "The area is well connected by bus and train."
- to be steeped in history — full of historical character — "The town is steeped in history."
- a residential area — a place where people live (not shops/offices) — "I live in a quiet residential area."
Drill these as flashcards — flip, then grade yourself.
Answer Outline
A reusable hometown skeleton:
- Name + type: "I'm from ____, which is a ____ (small town / coastal city / capital)."
- Locate it: "It's located in the ____ of Vietnam, about ____ from ____."
- One vivid feature: "The thing I like most is that there's/there are ____."
- A feeling word + reason: "I'm really fond of it because ____."
- Stall-and-extend if needed: "Well, let me think — another thing worth mentioning is ____."
Model Answers: 5.0 vs 7.0
Question: Can you describe your hometown?
Band 5.0 answer: "My hometown is… is Can Tho. It is in the south. It have many river. Is big. I like it because… because is my home. [pause] Yeah, many people."
Band 7.0 answer: "Well, let me think — I'm from Can Tho, which is a fairly large city right in the heart of the Mekong Delta. The thing that makes it special is that there are canals and floating markets all over the place, so there's always a real sense of hustle and bustle by the water. It's also a close-knit community where neighbours genuinely look out for one another, and that's probably why I'm so fond of it."
What changed:
- Stall phrase: opens with "Well, let me think" instead of repeating "is… is."
- Complex clause: "which is a fairly large city right in the heart of the Mekong Delta" (relative clause adds detail with no pause).
- Grammar fix + structure: "there are canals and floating markets" (correct there are + plural).
- Collocation: "hustle and bustle," "a close-knit community," "look out for one another."
- Linker + reason: "so there's always…", "and that's probably why I'm so fond of it" (joined, not stopped).
- "It have / it has" confusion and dropped -s: "It have many river" → "It has many rivers." Use there are for existence: "There are many rivers." Pronounce the plural /z/ section 2).
- Silent pausing instead of filling: dead silence is penalised; a spoken stall phrase is not. Replace the gap with sound.
- Restarting the whole sentence: "My hometown… my hometown is…" wastes time and signals struggle. Move forward with a linker ("…and another thing is…") instead of going back.
Your Turn (Record)
Task: Record three 45–60-second answers (≈3 min total) on your phone, one for each: (1) Describe your hometown. (2) What do you like most about it? (3) Has it changed much since you were young? Rule: no silent pauses longer than 2 seconds — if you feel stuck, use a stall phrase and keep going. Transcribe at least one answer.
Your turn — record & get scored
Part 1- Describe your hometown.
- What do you like most about it?
- Has it changed much since you were young?
Self-Check + Spaced Review
Done when:
- I recorded three hometown answers with no silent pause over 2 seconds.
- I used at least two different stall phrases naturally.
- I used "there is/there are" + a preposition of place correctly at least 3 times.
- I added 6+ phrases to the vocab bank and ran the Part 1 examiner.
Spaced review:
- From Lesson 01: in one hometown answer, slip in a self-intro collocation like "I'm originally from…" or "a people person."
- From Lesson 01: re-check your present simple vs continuous — "I live in Can Tho" (permanent) vs "I'm staying here this year" (temporary).