A Study on the Use of Hesitation Markers in Varied-Level EFL Learners’ L2 Speaking Process

This article investigates hesitation markers used by EFL learners at different proficiency levels in L2 speaking process, taking examinees in the IELTS Speaking Test as examples. The hesitation markers, such as silent/filled pauses and other lexical fillers (e.g., repetitions, self-repairs, smallwords, and reformulations), in transcribed speech data are qualitatively analyzed. By comparing the low-proficiency and the high-proficiency speakers’ performance, this study aims to provide some enlightenments to language educators and researchers engaged in teaching and learning, as well as help students improve their oral proficiency. In foreign language teaching, the teaching of smallwords should be strengthened, so as to help students achieve the coherence and fluency.