Fluency development beyond speech rate: A study on the effects of read aloud protocols on EFL learners

Abstract

Research on the effectiveness of read aloud protocols to develop EFL fluency has mostly had positive outcomes. However, the impact of these types of interventions in intermediate levels of proficiency has yet to be conclusive when measured using speech rate as a dependent variable, e.g., word correct per minute. We studied how a listener's comprehension and intelligibility might change when read aloud protocols are used to enhance fluency. To do so, we used a data set that did not present increasing rates in speech rate after 11 weeks of practice (as reported in Rodríguez-Fuentes et al., 2023). We asked a group of independent raters to rank each participant's three (first, middle, and last) performances to assess if they could find differences in the performances over time. Seventy-nine percent of the raters perceived that the third performances were the best of each set they were provided, and that the second performances were better than the first. There was a consistent positive progression in perceived fluency. Also, a qualitative analysis of students' reflections showed significant gains from using read aloud protocols (RAPs) and increased awareness of key areas of fluency development, such as intonation, speech flow (vs. word-by-word reading), and self-confidence, among others.