Students’ Filler in Academic Presentation

Abstract

This research was aimed to identify which filler that used by the students during the thesis proposal presentation seminar, what factors can cause the filler, and the audience's perception through the use of filler in thesis proposal presentation. This research is a descriptive qualitative study. The sample was taken from the English department students of Universitas Negeri Makassar by using snowball technique sampling. The sample was six students who present their thesis proposal to full fill the magister study. The instruments used in this research were interviews and questionnaires. The data showed that the filler used mainly by the students was filler 'Ee' and "Aa,' and lots of factors caused the use of filler, such as the frequency, duration, function, and the main reason for the filler. The questionnaire was used to identify the audience's perception of the use of filler in the presentation. From the audience's perception, we find out that many participants cannot understand the presentation well. It can be caused by filled pauses in the presentation or caused by another factor such as connection. Even though some of the participants can notice that the presenter uses filled pauses in the presentation. Furthermore, the researcher finds out that the filled pauses in the presentation are bothered the participant if they use the filled pauses often in the middle of the presentation because it can distract the meaning of the presentation