Communicating with tutors: asking for repetition
time to complete: 15-20 minutes
If you did not hear a word or phrase clearly, don’t be shy to say to ask for repetition. It’s important for your tutor to know that there is a gap in your communication. Of course, you need to do that tactfully, so make sure you avoid using informal language, such as ‘What?’,‘Come again?’ or ‘Huh?’
Below is a list of words/phrases you can use when asking your tutor to repeat what they said. As you can see, we usually apologise before asking for repetition.
- Sorry?/ Pardon?/ Excuse me?
- Would you mind saying that again?
- Excuse me, would you mind speaking a little more slowly, please?
- I’m sorry. I didn’t understand what you said…
- I’m sorry. Could you repeat what you said about.. .?
- Sorry, I didn’t quite catch what you said.
- I’m sorry. Could you repeat the last point you made again?
- Sorry, I didn’t hear you.
- Sorry, I didn’t follow what you said about…
Phrases adapted from Huang (2010 p.18)
Task: Group the following ways of asking for repetition. Are they appropriate/correct or inappropriate/incorrect?
Of course, you can use more advanced techniques and indicate which part of your tutor’s sentence you didn’t hear and would like them to repeat. Study the examples below:
Tutor: Professor de C… [inaudible] has written several articles on the topic. You could…
Student: Sorry, who did you say has written articles on the topic?
Tutor: Professor de Coppi. She’s in our department.
Structure
Sorry, question word + did you say + verb + rest of the sentence?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Tutor: Professor de B… [inaudible] has written several articles on the topic. You could…
Student: Sorry, who did you say has written articles on the topic?
Tutor: Professor de Borst. He’s in our department.
Tutor: Overall, your use of sources was fine but perhaps you need to avoid s.. [inaudible] referencing.
Student: Sorry, what did you say I need to avoid?
Tutor: Secondary referencing.
Structure
Sorry, question word + did you say + subject + verb (+rest of the sentence)?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Tutor: Overall, your use of sources was fine but perhaps you need to avoid s.. [inaudible] referencing.
Student: Sorry, what did you say I need to avoid?
Tutor: Secondary referencing.
Now, let’s move on to some listening practice.
Task: Listen to the following extract from a student’s conversation with her tutor and answer the questions. Then, check the answer key below.
- What does the student ask the tutor to repeat?
- What phrase does the student use to ask for repetition?
Audio adapted from Villegas (2021)
Student: I’m so sorry, but I didn’t quite catch the references you recommended just now. Could you repeat them for me, please?
Tutor: Yes, that’ll be Strayer (2007) and Abeysekara and Dawson (2005). If you like, I can send them to you via email after the tutorial.
Student: That’d be very helpful. Thank you.
In the next topic, we will examine situations where you need to seek clarification from your tutor.