In this lesson, we have tried to heighten your awareness of the clarification and confirmation cycle, and arm you with some strategies for achieving mutual understanding, specifically in situations that take place in academic settings.

In clarifying, the most important step is to convey to the other person that you don’t understand something (Box 1 of the process diagram/flowchart). This step almost always begins with an “attention-getter” which alerts the other speaker to your problem. In these exercises, simple words like Wait… or So… or I’m sorry… perform this function effectively. Then, you can continue with one of the three strategies we mentioned for expressing non-understanding. (We mentioned only three—there could be more.)

It is also very important to confirm that you have made yourself clear (Speaker 2, Box 4), or, as the listener, that you now understand (Speaker 1, Box 2). Again, in these excerpts very simple words accomplish this: Exactly or OK or Alright. 

We hope that this lesson will help keep your conversations moving and on track, and that you won’t be afraid to jump in when you don’t understand something. You may want to begin to “get the hang of it” by just listening and observing conversations around you. See if you can recognize some clarification/confirmation cycles and strategies other speakers use. You can also explore the transcripts and sound files in MICASE for additional examples. 

If you have any feedback for us about this lesson, feel free to contact us.