Do you have
a “verbal crutch”? All of us do, but
some of us have crutches that are bigger than others. What is a verbal crutch, you ask? A verbal crutch is a word, noise, or phrase
that we use while we are forming ideas in our mind. Some examples are:
“Uhhhh”,
“Ahhhh”, “You know?”, “At the same time”, “Like”, “Ummm”
Some of our
verbal crutches are our attempts to check for understanding from students, or
to make sure that our message is getting across. Examples of this type of verbal crutch are:
“You know
what I’m saying?”, “Does that make sense?”, “O.K.?”, “Ummmmkay?”, or just
“Kay?”
One of the
most famous verbal crutches is used by Mr. Garrison from the show “
Many people
do not know that they have a verbal crutch.
In fact, when you bring it to someone’s attention that they have a
particular crutch, they will probably deny it.
“Really? Ummmm…..no way!” they
will reply. The reason they do not
notice the crutch is because they are deep in thought when their mouth is
saying the word, noise, or phrase. Their
brain is processing what they are saying, and formulating their next thought.
This is not
a phenomenon that is exclusive to new teachers!
Many veteran teachers have verbal crutches, and have made no attempt to
identify it or reduce its frequency.
What most people do not know is that the crutch can be a barrier to
learning if not addressed. Students
begin focusing on the crutch instead of focusing on your content.
How do you
get rid of the crutch? You most likely
will never be able to get rid of it entirely, but there are steps you can take
to greatly reduce its frequency:
*Identify the crutch – Videotape your
lesson, and count the number of times you use a particular crutch term. Believe me, it will become obvious within a
few minutes what your “pet” crutch term is.
Most people do not like to watch themselves on video because they
realize what their voice really sounds like.
They also discover their crutch…which makes them uncomfortable. That’s O.K., because admitting you have a
problem is the first step to solving it!
*Get an “Uhhhhh” count – If you don’t
want to video yourself, assign a student to mark down every time you say “Uhhhhh”
or whatever your crutch is. You won’t
have any problem finding volunteers! You
will be surprised how many times you use the crutch during a typical class
period. Set a goal to reduce the use of
your crutch by 50% at the end of one week.
*Talk from a script – One reason for
using a crutch is that you don’t know what you are going to say next. You are doing what is known in the profession
as “ad libbing”. Country singer Mel Tillis
stutters when he talks, but doesn’t stutter when he sings. The reason?
He knows what he is going to “sing” next. Script your lessons if you have to in order
to develop a “crutchless” way of communicating to your students.
* “Thumbs up!” – Instead of saying
“Ummmkay?” at the end of important points to check for understanding, try
mixing in something else. Maybe you
could say “Thumbs up if you know what I’m talking about!”, or “You dig?” every
once in a while. Students will
appreciate your effort to give them some variety. You could even make a poster (or have
students do it) that gives you ideas about what to say when checking for
understanding…and post it on the back wall of your room.