Unscripted Story
“Last year, I think this was, actually, this was December, 2023. Um, and my husband and I and a few of our friends decided to travel to Pakistan together. So we all booked the same flight and got our seats together, and then, um, we flew to Pakistan. This was really exciting because we were taking such a long international flight together for the 1st time. And We were really excited, looking forward to it because usually, uh, during long haul flights, um, You’re really lost as to what to do, especially with this airline because, um, the airline that we flew, uh, did not have any in-flight entertainment. Um, and so we were like, okay, we’ll have each other and each other’s company. So we packed a few board games in our carry-on so we could play during the flight and it was really fun. We could also talk to each other easily. Um, And yeah, it was a really pleasant flight and then when we reached Pakistan, we um, had so many weddings to attend. Um, One of my friends who flew with us, he also had his wedding. Um, so it was a really packed trip. Um, I remember we had to attend this one day we had to attend 3 weddings at the same uh, during the same day. 2 of which were also in the same time slot. Um, and so I I wanted to spend more time with my family, so I told my husband, I can’t do this. Um, especially because it was, um, weddings were of his friends. And so I said, I’m not going to attend. I instead spend time with my family and you can go ahead. And, you know, attend for the both of us. And so then what he did was he, um, drove to the 1st wedding of the people who knew, um, who he knew would start their, um, Pentagon time, and then he drove to the 2nd one and he changed his clothes in the car, and then he attended the 2nd wedding, and then at night he ended 3rd, and by the end of the day, he was so exhausted. And I was glad that I didn’t do that. Um, and then there were a lot more, um, weddings and we got to socialize with so many people. December and January is usually the time when all immigrants are usually visiting back home, Pakistan, and so we’re all able to sort of get together from different parts of the world. And um, yeah, just talk about life and it’s, it’s a very nice break. It’s also a very nice break from Um, the really, really cold Canadian winters. Um, because over here we usually feel the absence of family more during winters. Um, with the days being really short and um, People just preferring to, you know, stay at home, um, do their own thing, and then with like, um, during winters, the energy is also really like low and people are just, um, generally not up for making plans. Um, So yeah, um, this year I am looking forward to winters because now I have a baby and his uh, birthday falls uh, in January. And I’m also like determined to make this winter a lot of fun. Maybe plan a trip or do more activities and it’s also a lot of fun to plan the day with my kid because it’s lovely to see the world from his eyes. Um, And the way that he’s experiencing things for the 1st time. really makes me happy and excited to do things with him. Um, and he’s just so entertaining. So I really enjoy his company. So yeah, that’s my plan for the winter.”
My Observations
This was a very interesting task. I was unsure how I would speak unscripted into a microphone for five minutes but once I got going, I started linking things together and made it to the end. After I was done and I saw the written text, I was pleasantly surprised by the small number of errors. I used the voice memo application on my phone. Usually when I receive a voicemail which is converted into text, it is almost completely incorrect, so I was expecting something similar. But this was different. It was not 100% correct but it got pretty close. I have been an English speaker since the very beginning so I think that plays a critical role in this. I believe my accent is also not too heavy. I have been around English speakers for forever and living in a country where it is spoken daily so naturally I have a lot of practice.
The written text however does have some deviations from a text that may be typed out. There are random capitalizations of words, numbers are mentioned numerically instead of in words, some words are repeated, all the things that make it easy to identify that it was not typed out thoughtfully. I know these things because as a student who has studied in English all her life, I have been made to follow very specific grammatical guidelines for the submission and acceptability of my work. So it is easy for me to identify when it deviates from the norm I have been taught.
The text also reflects the mistakes I made while speaking and then how I corrected them. It also shows the many ‘um’ and ‘uh’ I say while speaking. In a way, reading back my mistakes and their correction looks like it may be helpful in some cases where I need to look back at my thought process. But the repetition of some words and unnecessary pauses as well as ‘ums’ would affect my reading speed and overcrowd the text.
I think if the story was scripted, or I had done a few takes of the same story, or even was reading off of something, the errors would almost be non-existent. There may be some words that may be incorrect such as spend may be spelt as ‘spent’ or vice versa.