spanish speaking and pausing to think

hello everyone!!
i'm revising for my spanish speaking and i'm just wondering, do you have to respond immediately to a question?
what's the maximum amount of time you could have to collect your ideas before you respond (obviously not much longer than a few seconds i assume, but is it better to just start talking immediately or take a second to think about what i would say?)
...and would it provide any benefit to say something like 'lo siento, dame un minuto' (sorry, give me a minute) to the examiner?

sorry if this is confusing, this is my first post!
any replies are appreciated :smile:

Reply 1

SNOWPUPPY

11

You can take up to like 30 seconds to answer a question and it’s your teacher so you can signal hand gestures. You can hesitate in Spanish too

Reply 2

shiftycatz

8

Original post by littlefarmee

hello everyone!!
i'm revising for my spanish speaking and i'm just wondering, do you have to respond immediately to a question?
what's the maximum amount of time you could have to collect your ideas before you respond (obviously not much longer than a few seconds i assume, but is it better to just start talking immediately or take a second to think about what i would say?)
...and would it provide any benefit to say something like 'lo siento, dame un minuto' (sorry, give me a minute) to the examiner?

sorry if this is confusing, this is my first post!
any replies are appreciated :smile:

Yes, I'm pretty sure you're allowed to pause to think- but in some cases, like with my friend, my teacher removed a lot of marks from their communication section, because their eyes would go upo, trying to remember what they wanted to say- I think in scenarios like that, it takes away the role-play aspect from the speaking, so yea stuff like 'lo siento', or fillers in Spanish, like 'mm' 'dejame pensar' 'emm', are all good indicators that you know how to communicate, to ensure you get those marks.

Reply 3

mpoc321

1

Original post by littlefarmee

hello everyone!!
i'm revising for my spanish speaking and i'm just wondering, do you have to respond immediately to a question?
what's the maximum amount of time you could have to collect your ideas before you respond (obviously not much longer than a few seconds i assume, but is it better to just start talking immediately or take a second to think about what i would say?)
...and would it provide any benefit to say something like 'lo siento, dame un minuto' (sorry, give me a minute) to the examiner?

sorry if this is confusing, this is my first post!
any replies are appreciated :smile:

don't worry about pausing to think, I didn't get any marks taken away for this. I did pause quite a bit in my actual exam but as long as you use filler words you should be fine. they are a lot more concerned with your use of complex vocab and phrases, so I would say focus more on those. Also, you could as them to repeat the question, 'puedes repetir la pregunta por favor' also buys some time. hope this helpss

Reply 4

littlefarmee

OP

1

thank you so much to everyone who answered!!! super helpful :smile:

Reply 5

subbhy

18

Original post by littlefarmee

hello everyone!!
i'm revising for my spanish speaking and i'm just wondering, do you have to respond immediately to a question?
what's the maximum amount of time you could have to collect your ideas before you respond (obviously not much longer than a few seconds i assume, but is it better to just start talking immediately or take a second to think about what i would say?)
...and would it provide any benefit to say something like 'lo siento, dame un minuto' (sorry, give me a minute) to the examiner?

sorry if this is confusing, this is my first post!
any replies are appreciated :smile:

Hi, I would definitely pause to think about what you would say but don’t stay silent for long!

Search for great phrases to use as fillers as you buy time to think: “que buena pregunta”

Try and have some phrases ready that you could use for any question: “diría que” “a mi modo de ver” “desde mi punti de vista”

And after you’ve been asked a question, ask the same question back / “y tu? Que piensas?” Because it’s meant to be a conversation between you and your teacher! I remember reacting to my teachers response and making her laugh by saying “no te lo creo ni tantito” (I don’t believe you one bit!)

Hope this helps!

spanish speaking and pausing to think

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