L2 Fluency Research Articles

How does maternal education influence the linguistic environment supporting bilingual language development in child second language learners of English?

Aims: In monolingual situations, mothers with higher levels of education are more likely to provide their children with enriched linguistic input. However, in bilingual situations, the relationship between maternal education and input is more complex because education may have occurred in one, but not both, of the languages. This study details this complexity by examining the relationship between maternal education and linguistic input in a group of children learning English as a second language (L2). Method: Participants were 89 immigrant/refugee children, living in Canada with diverse first languages (L1s). They completed a story-telling task in their L2 and parent reports provided a measure of L1 development. Parents also answered detailed questionnaires about family demographics and linguistic input within the family. Results: Regression modeling revealed that cumulative exposure to the L2 in school, maternal L2 fluency, relative quantity of L1/L2 use by the mother (input) and by the child (output) all influenced children’s L1 and L2 development. Relative quantity of input and maternal L2 fluency were, in turn, influenced by the amount of education mothers had completed and the language in which that education occurred. In instances where mothers were educated primarily in the L1, higher levels of education were associated with relatively more L1 input. For mothers who were educated predominantly in the L2, higher levels of education were associated with relatively more L2 input. Across both groups, mothers with higher levels of education had higher L2 fluency. Conclusion: This study revealed a complex relationship between the amount of education a mother has, the language in which that education occurred and the linguistic input she provides to her children. This complexity highlights that monolingual studies about input and environment may not offer a sufficiently nuanced perspective to account for the greater levels of variability found in bilingual situations. Originality: Previous research has offered valuable insights into the relationship between individual difference factors and bilingual acquisition. This study moves the field forward through the consideration of the interaction between factors in shaping bilingual acquisition.

The role of memory updating in shallow native and opaque second language learning

The current study investigates the relation between working memory updating and second language learning (L2) outcomes in typically-developing fourth grade children. Our primary aim was to replicate and extend previous findings on the relationship between updating and low-level reading skills, i.e. fluency. Our second objective was to examine possible updating transfer effects across languages, from the native language (L1) to L2 learning. The languages considered have different orthographic features; shallow for L1 (Italian), and opaque for L2 (English). Mediation analyses were tested using the bootstrapping method; we found that updating was directly related to reading fluency in L2 learning. Moreover, we showed evidence of the mediating role of L1 fluency in the relation between memory updating and L2 fluency. Our findings suggest that updating processes may act at a low level for reading, and are potentially independent from specific language features, both for opaque and regular orthographies.

DOES HAVING GOOD ARTICULATORY SKILLS LEAD TO MORE FLUENT SPEECH IN FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGES?

AbstractSpeaking fluently requires three main processes to run smoothly: conceptualization, formulation, and articulation. This study investigates to what extent fluency in spontaneous speech in both first (L1) and second (L2) languages can be explained by individual differences in articulatory skills. A group of L2 English learners (n = 51) performed three semispontaneous speaking tasks in their L1 Spanish and in their L2 English. In addition, participants performed articulatory skill tasks that measured the speed at which their articulatory speech plans could be initiated (delayed picture naming) and the rate and accuracy at which their articulatory gestures could be executed (diadochokinetic production). The results showed that fluency in spontaneous L2 speech can be predicted by L1 fluency, replicating earlier studies and showing that L2 fluency measures are, to a large degree, measures of personal speaking style. Articulatory skills were found to contribute modestly to explaining variance in both L1 and L2 fluency.

What Features Best Characterize Adult Second Language Utterance Fluency and What Do They Reveal About Fluency Gains in Short-Term Immersion?

This study reports on how one can examine a second language (L2) speech corpus in order to define which of many possible features of L2 utterance fluency (i.e., speech fluidity) should be the focus of an L2 fluency gains investigation. Participants were 100 adult English-speakers enrolled in a French immersion program. Data from 50 randomly selected participants were assigned to Sample A for Analysis 1 and the remainder to Sample B for Analysis 2. In Analysis 1, 23 candidate speech features, drawn from the literature at large, were examined in Sample A through a series of logical and statistical steps and systematically reduced to four features as constituting a core set of L2 utterance fluency features. In Analysis 2, these four features were examined in the Sample B corpus for gains after 5 weeks of immersion. Results indicated strong gains on all four. In Analysis 3, by way of replication, we reversed the process by using the Sample B data to first define the target fluency features and then the Sample A data to test for fluency gains. The main results replicated those of Analyses 1 and 2. The four features that emerged as core L2 utterance fluency features were mean syllable run length and mean phonation run length between silent pauses, and mean syllable duration and mean silent pause duration. Mean filled pause duration did not meet the criteria for belonging to the same fluency construct. Overall, the results showed that it is possible (a) to operationally define L2 fluency markers without reference to fluency gains, and (b) to then use these fluency markers to study L2 fluency gains without the gains data having shaped the operational definition of fluency in the first place, thereby avoiding the circularity of post hoc identification of relevant variables.

The effect of pause location on perceived fluency

ABSTRACTSpeech disfluency in first language (L1) and second language (L2) is not only quantitatively different (e.g., number and length of pauses) but also qualitatively different (e.g., distribution of pauses); however, how pause distributions in L1 and L2 affect judgments of perceived fluency is unclear. The study examined the relationship between pause phenomena and perceived fluency using two experiments. Experiment 1 investigated the relative contributions of frequency, length, and distribution of silent pauses to perceived fluency of L2 speech. Experiment 2 tested causal effects of pause location on perceived fluency of L1 and L2 speech using phonetic manipulations. Findings suggest a significant role of pause location in perceived fluency. In Experiment 1, silent pause rate within a clause demonstrated the strongest correlation with L2 fluency ratings, and in Experiment 2, perceived fluency of L1 and L2 speech was influenced by pause location. The findings suggest that listeners seem to be sensitive to pause location and to understand that pauses within clauses tend to reflect reduced cognitive fluency.

Commentary 3: Case studies of study abroad: Making sense of developmental trajectories

Second language (L2) speech fluency has mostly been studied from monologues with temporal measures. In the present study, dialogue data are examined with a new framework that links (temporal) fluency analysis to a broader problem-solving perspective, offering a unique approach to examining the resources learners have for maintaining fluent speech despite problems. Dialogues based on a pairwise problem-solving task from 42 Finnish learners of English at two school levels were analyzed quantitatively for temporal fluency, dialogue fluency, stalling mechanisms, and communication strategies (CSs). A complementary qualitative analysis of selected productions was also conducted. The results indicate that temporal and dialogue fluency measures differentiate learners at different school levels, but the relationship between CSs and fluency is complex. While correlations between mid-clause pauses and certain strategies were found, the qualitative analysis indicated that stalling mechanisms and CSs can compensate for local dysfluencies and even contribute to temporal fluency. The results highlight the importance of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis in L2 fluency studies. Conceptually, L2 speech fluency should include collaborative aspects (dialogue fluency) in addition to individual, temporal fluency, and cover resources for maintaining fluency.

Temporal fluency and problem-solving in interaction: An exploratory study of fluency resources in L2 dialogue

Second language (L2) speech fluency has mostly been studied from monologues with temporal measures. In the present study, dialogue data are examined with a new framework that links (temporal) fluency analysis to a broader problem-solving perspective, offering a unique approach to examining the resources learners have for maintaining fluent speech despite problems. Dialogues based on a pairwise problem-solving task from 42 Finnish learners of English at two school levels were analyzed quantitatively for temporal fluency, dialogue fluency, stalling mechanisms, and communication strategies (CSs). A complementary qualitative analysis of selected productions was also conducted. The results indicate that temporal and dialogue fluency measures differentiate learners at different school levels, but the relationship between CSs and fluency is complex. While correlations between mid-clause pauses and certain strategies were found, the qualitative analysis indicated that stalling mechanisms and CSs can compensate for local dysfluencies and even contribute to temporal fluency. The results highlight the importance of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis in L2 fluency studies. Conceptually, L2 speech fluency should include collaborative aspects (dialogue fluency) in addition to individual, temporal fluency, and cover resources for maintaining fluency.

Repeats in advanced spoken English of learners with Czech as L1

The article reports on the findings of an empirical study of the use of repeats – as one of the markers of disfluency – in advanced learner English and contributes to the study of L2 fluency. An analysis of 13 hours of recordings of interviews with 50 advanced learners of English with Czech as L1 revealed 1,905 instances of repeats which mainly (78%) consisted of one-word repeats occurring at the beginning of clauses and constituents. Two-word repeats were less frequent (19%) but appeared in the same positions within the utterances. Longer repeats are much rarer (<2.5%). A comparison with available analyses show that Czech advanced learners of English use repeats in a similar way as advanced learners of English with a different L1 and also as native speakers. If repeats are accepted as fluencemes, i.e. components contributing to fluency, it would appear clear that many advanced learners either successfully adopt this native-like strategy either as a result of exposure to native speech or as transfer from their L1s. Whilst a question remains whether such fluency enhancing strategies ought to become part of L2 instruction, it is argued that spoken learner corpora also ought to include samples of the learners’ L1 production.

Effects of pushed production of single words and multiword patterns on L2 oral fluency: Some evidence from temporal measurements

AbstractThe contribution of formulaic sequences (FSs) to native speaker fluency is uncontroversial, but their contribution to L2 fluency is often assumed. These units package both meaning and form in an entire unit and facilitatebothconceptualization and formulation of speech. These are the ‘fluency assumptions’ of these FSs. This study asks if the ‘fluency assumptions’ of FSs can be imitated in classroom settings by pushing learners to use common multiword (MW) patterns to achieve a kind of ‘instruction-enhanced L2 fluency’. It also compares the outcome with the teaching of single words (SWs). Learners’ (a) temporal fluency and (b) fluency at the levels of conceptualizing and formulating speech were assessed. Towell, R., R. Hawkins &amp; N. Bazergui. 1996. The development of fluency in advanced learners of French.Applied Linguistics17 (1). 84–119, avant-garde approach to analyzing fluency was drawn on in the discussion of the results. Broadly, instructing MW patterns and SWs sped up formulation processes but made demands on speech conceptualization, and there existed other subtle differences.

A Study of Korean Production and Fluency as a Foreign Language.

The study investigated what variables affected more on Korean raters` production and fluency judgement to the Korean speakings of the advanced foreign learners. Nine professional Korean raters assessed sixty Korean learners` oral performance. The results are as follows: (1) fluency judgement for the Korean speaking follows the cross-linguistic trends, (2) the principal variables in judging L2 fluency include speech rate, F0 range, and pause frequency, (3) mean length of runs (number of syllables) - representing how many words the subjects express within the given time - comparatively lower effect in judging the fluency. The study also found that the wide range of F0 causes the higher scores of the fluency marks. The result could support the evidence that F0 - exerting how the subjects express the active intonation - is one of the important production and fluency cues, regardless of the spectrum structure of the target language. The result implies that Korean speaking education should focus more on the active intonation. (Konkuk University, Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul National University, Seogang University, Seoul National University, Seoul National University)

Impact of Timed Reading on Comprehension and Speed: A Study on Turkish EFL Learners

Reading process has always been one of the most significant and debatable topics in the area of learning and teaching languages. Reading process in mother tongue (L1) and in a foreign language (L2), the association of these processes, variables affecting reading and the qualities of good and poor readers in L1 and L2 have been investigated greatly. Developments in the area of reading in L1 have frequently raised questions about reading in L2 and a variety of theories have been proposed to account for the relationship between L1 and L2 reading. One of the most fundamental questions raised is related to “reading fluency”. Even though the importance of reading fluency in both L1 and L2 has been emphasized, studies on fluency in L2 are still scarce if we think about its more complicated and multifaceted nature when compared to reading fluency in L1. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of timed reading practices on the comprehension level and reading speed of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Turkish context. A total of 74 students were the participants, who were randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control group. Experimental group received timed reading activities while the control group did not. Pre-test was applied on the 1st week and post-test was applied on the 7th week. Results illustrated that timed reading intervention positively affected EFL students’ comprehension level and reading speed. Implications for teaching reading in a foreign language were discussed in relation to a number of important details in the findings.

Processing limitations in L2 fluency

Oral fluency is widely included in second language assessments, but its relationship to language proficiency is not straightforward. In the current study, data gathered in an experimental setting were examined with an exploratory fluency analysis. The aim was to examine the relationship between fluency of lexical access and proficiency in foreign language (L2). Fluency of the lexical access was studied by analysing inaccuracies in one word recognition and one word retrieval task. To see if proficiency had an effect on the number and the type of inaccuracies, lexical access tasks were carried out for 563 Finnish school children from grades 4, 8, and 11 in their L2 (English). Proficiency in L2 was expected to develop during school education. The inaccuracies were proposed to stem from processing limitations in language use, i.e., inefficiency of lexical access, or from control of attention. The hypothesis was that if lexical access is not automatized, there are less resources for attention-control in recognising and retrieving words. Therefore, the inaccuracies in L2 relating to inefficiency were hypothesised to decrease with proficiency, whereas the ones relating to control of attention were proposed to be more stable or to increase. Furthermore, the fluency of L1 lexical access was used as a control measure. The results offered some confirmation to these hypotheses. For example, some evidence for more available resources in correcting and monitoring speech was found for the older students. The overall results highlight caution in assessing L2 fluency, as not all types of inaccuracies were connected with lower proficiency.

The Effects of Different Planning on Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in L2 Written Tasks

This study investigates the effects of different planning variants on syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in L2 written tasks. Within the cognitive informationprocessing approach of SLA, it was motivated by vague usage and inconsistent effects of planning on L2 performance. First, 459 undergraduate students performed two written narrative tasks. The first task was a proficiency task and the second, main one had three different planning conditions: no planning, pre-task planning, and online planning. The participants were divided into intermediate and advanced levels by the proficiency task results. After the data of 38 subjects were excluded through screening by the main task, writings of the final 421 participants were then evaluated in terms of CAF. Findings revealed that the intermediate learners’ planning benefits CAF enhancement, but the advanced learners’ planning is less beneficial, which indicates that planning is a compensating strategy for L2 learners’ limited attentional resources. Specifically, no planning led to greater accuracy, pre-task planning enhanced fluency, and online planning improved greater syntactic complexity. The results of this research will hopefully aid to understand how L2 performance is controlled by the attentional manipulation of planning, depending on L2 proficiency. The study also suggests that online planning in L2 written tasks might be empirically different compared to that in L2 spoken tasks.

Understanding second language fluency behavior: The effects of individual differences in first language fluency, cross-linguistic differences, and proficiency over time

ABSTRACTThis study examined the extent to which first language (L1) fluency behavior, cross-linguistic differences, and proficiency can predict second language (L2) fluency behavior over time. English L1 Spanish (n= 24) and French (n= 25) majors completed a picture-based oral narrative in the L2 before and after 5 months residing abroad and later in the L1 after returning home. Data were coded for seven measures of speed, breakdown, and repair fluency. The results from multiple regressions indicated that L1 fluency behavior, cross-linguistic differences, and proficiency differentially contributed to explaining L2 fluency behavior prior to and during immersion. These findings suggest that when investigating L1–L2 fluency relationships considerations of mitigating factors such as cross-linguistic differences are necessary, and it is worthwhile to focus on how the contributions of these factors shift during development.

The Effect of Working Memory on EFL Learners’ Oral Fluency

&lt;p&gt;Speaking is the primary objective of most L2 instructional programs and stands as one of the major factors in the evaluation of L2 learners’ competence. The present study sought to investigate how preparation and task complexity can affect L2 learners’ oral fluency in speech production with respect to individual differences in working memory capacity. The participants of the study consisted of 61 advanced L2 learners. The data collection consisted of two phases: a working memory test (reading span test) and a picture description task. Speaking was elicited through speech generation task in which the individuals were asked to discuss four topics emerging in two pairs. Also, each topic was accompanied by several relevant pictures. L2 fluency was assessed based on task complexity and preparation. The data were then analyzed in terms of the number of syllables, the number of silent pauses, and the mean length of pauses produced per minute. The statistical findings revealed that working memory, as a cognitive factor, played a significant role in L2 oral fluency accounting for variation in L2 performance. In addition, the variables &lt;em&gt;Complexity&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Preparation&lt;/em&gt; turned out to have a significant effect on the span groups’ L2 oral performance. The study offers implications on strategies to improve learners’ both fluency and working memory.&lt;/p&gt;

The Development of L2 Fluency During Study Abroad: A Cross‐Language Study

Examining speech samples from 75 American university students learning 1 of 3 languages (Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish), this article reports on a study of second language (L2) learners’ oral fluency development and its relationship with their gains in holistic proficiency ratings during a semester abroad. In study abroad research, there is a need for large‐scale studies that systematically investigate learners’ L2 development (Kinginger,; Rees &amp; Klapper,). To address this need, the project used a quantitative design involving learners of 3 languages from multiple cohorts and diverse sending and destination institutions. Results from an analysis of 600 speech samples from 150 pretest and posttest Simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews (SOPIs) showed significant increases in speech rate as well as differences between the 3 language groups. The study also investigated the relationship between holistic oral proficiency ratings and fine‐tuned fluency measures and found some limited relationships between them. These findings can provide methodological suggestions for researchers interested in L2 fluency development among study abroad students and implications for foreign language educators and policy makers to promote study abroad and language learning.

Speed, breakdown, and repair: An investigation of fluency in long-term second-language speakers of English

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: The present study investigated which factors would best predict second-language (L2) fluency in a group of long-term L2 speakers of different English varieties with German as their first language. Design/methodology/approach: L2 fluency was conceptualized in terms of utterance fluency for which speed, breakdown and repair fluency were distinguished. Data and analysis: Multiple measures of utterance fluency were applied to four-minute speech fragments originating from 102 spontaneous oral interviews. Interviewees’ ages of onset ranged from 7 to 17, whereas their ages at interview ranged from 57 to 87. Multifactorial analyses yielded significant effects of age at interview. Findings/conclusions: Whereas the mean number of silent pauses and repairs increases, syllable duration decreases. This leaves room for interpretation as to why we find an aging effect. Overall, the evidence suggests that the usual, L2 acquisition-specific factors, such as age of onset or length of residence, are no longer at play to predict L2 fluency. Originality and significance/implications: To this point L2 fluency in very advanced, highly proficient L2 speakers has received little attention. The results point to the need for more research into highly proficient L2 users.

Exploring the relationship between productive vocabulary knowledge and second language oral ability

ABSTRACTThe current study investigated the extent to which L2 learners’ productive vocabulary knowledge could predict multiple dimensions of spontaneous speech production. A total of 39 English as a foreign language (EFL) participants with varying L2 proficiency levels first completed a productive vocabulary knowledge task (Lex30). Their spontaneous speech, elicited via a series of picture description tasks, was then assessed for comprehensibility (i.e. ease of understanding), accentedness (i.e. linguistic nativelikeness) and fluency (i.e. speech rate). The findings showed that the productive vocabulary scores significantly correlated with L2 fluency, but not with comprehensibility or accentedness. These results suggest that more proficient L2 learners, as measured by productive vocabulary scores, may speak spontaneously with fewer pauses and repetitions, and at a faster tempo. Finally, future research directions are discussed with a focus on the relationships between vocabulary knowledge and speaking.

English

Prosody has been emphasised in second language (L2) pedagogy as a strong contribution to successful intercultural communication. As English and Chinese are typologically different languages (Chinese is a syllable-timed language while English a stress-timed language), many differences in stress and rhythmic patterns trouble Chinese learners of English. This study analy s es acoustic speech samples for 13 prosodic features collected from 16 Chinese L2 learners and examines the relative importance of various prosody features on language attitudes that native and non-native English listeners hold towards Chinese-accented speech . The results revealed that Chinese speakers have a relatively slow speech rate and produce more stressed words in their English speech compared with native English speakers. W hen listeners heard long and inappropriate silent pauses in the speech, the integrity rating of the speakers decreased. The speech rate contributed significantly to both attractiveness rating and competence rating. That is , listeners evaluated speakers as more competent and attractive if the latter spoke faster. Keywords : L2 fluency; rhythmic patterns; foreign accent; pronunciation learning; language attitudes DOI: http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2016-2202-07

L2 fluency as influenced by content familiarity and planning: Performance, measurement, and pedagogy

This study investigates how second language (L2) fluency is influenced by two factors: Pre-task planning and content familiarity. Planning was adopted as a between-participant variable, combined with content familiarity as a within-participant variable, in a 2 × 2 split-plot factorial design. Nineteen measures of fluency phenomena, constituting eight categories, were used. Both planning and content familiarity were found to enhance fluency, but the positive effects of planning were stronger and noticeable on a wider range of measures. The availability of planning time also helped to compensate for lack of content familiarity. Implications for pedagogy and L2 fluency measurement are discussed.