Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Gorden]

Dear teachers:

There is one thing that confuses me. When I listen to someone, I always give
some response to them. Sometimes I say "Mmm.." or "You said it." to let them know that I agree with their opinion. In fact, I want to use more vocabularies or sentences. Could teachers give me some suggestions?
Thanks for your help.

Best wishes,

Gorden Peng

[Mister Micawber]

.
Languages vary, Gorden. A silence longer than a millisecond during a Japanese phone call creates panic at the other end of the line, but in English you are not expected to maintain a string of utterances in order to express your attention. Eye contact is more important. The occasional 'Oh', 'Ah' or 'I see' are adequate to satisfy the person who has the floor.
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_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[jinti]

You can also say:

Mmm-hmmm.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Right.
I see what you mean.
That's what I think, too.