Cognitive processes during mid‐clause and between‐clause disfluencies in L2 English oral production

Abstract

AbstractThe present study explored the cognitive processes during which disfluency markers occur in second language (L2) oral production and the factors that cause them. Fukuta and Tamura (2017) reported that L2 learners focus more on grammatical than conceptual aspects during between‐clause pauses, and on both conceptual and grammatical aspects during mid‐clause pauses. The picture description tasks used in their study required a limited amount of conceptualizing, and it is assumed that, when learners are given a task with a high conceptualization demand, as is often required in an authentic language use, they would focus more on the conceptual aspect. To investigate the cognitive processes when there is a higher conceptualization demand, this study gave 24 English learners a direction‐giving map task in English, followed by a stimulated recall interview in their L1. The frequency of disfluency markers (pauses, self‐corrections, and repetitions) between and within clauses and the results of stimulated recall interview were analyzed. The results indicated that learners produce more disfluency markers at mid‐clause than at between‐clause and that they engage in both conceptual and formal processes at between‐clause and mid‐clause disfluency markers. Little attention to phonetics is paid at both locations.