Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-bt4hw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-31T16:18:08.200Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Oral fluency in a second language: A research agenda for the next ten years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2020

Pauline Foster
Pauline Foster*
Affiliation:
St. Mary's University, London, UK
*
E-mail: pauline.foster@stmarys.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper reviews how the construct of oral fluency in a second language (L2) has been defined and researched over the last twenty-five years. The emerging picture is somewhat kaleidoscopic, as domains of cognitive, social, individual and linguistic influences on L2 speech have been opened up for study. L2 fluency research presents a wealth of directions for future exploration, five of which have been laid out here as an achievable, though not comprehensive, agenda for the coming decade. Four of these studies focus on the relationship between variables such as perceived fluency, utterance fluency, idiomaticity, task familiarity, vocabulary size and learner self-reflection, while the fifth focusses on supporting fluency development in the L2 classroom. As an aid to prospective researchers, the five studies are laid out in practical detail, together with suggestions on how these might need to be altered to fit the local context in which the research is undertaken.

Information

Type
Thinking Allowed
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , October 2020 , pp. 446 - 461
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Baba, K. (2002). Test review: Lex 30. Language Testing Update, 32, 68–71.Google Scholar
Bauer, L., & Nation, I. S. P. (1993). Word families. International Journal of Lexicography, 6, 253–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boers, F., Eyckmans, J., Kappel, J., Stengers, H., & Demecheleer, M. (2006). Formulaic sequences and perceived oral fluency: Putting a lexical approach to the test. Language Teaching Research, 10, 245–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bui, G., & Huang, Z. (2018). L2 fluency as influenced by content familiarity and planning: Performance, measurement, and pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 22(1), 94–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butcher, A. (1980). Pause and syntactic structure. In Dechert, H. W. & Raupach, M. (Eds.), Temporal variables in speech: Studies in honour of Frieda Goldman-Eisler (pp. 85–90). The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton.Google Scholar
Bybee, J. (2002). Word frequency and context of use in the lexical diffusion of phonetically conditioned sound change. Language Variation and Change, 14, 261–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cambridge First Certificate in English. (n.d.). Assessing Speaking Performance – Level B2. Retrieved February 20, 2020 from https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/168619-assessing-speaking-performance-at-level-b2.pdfGoogle Scholar
Committee of Revising JACET Basic Words (Ed.). (2003). JACET list of 8000 basic words. Tokyo, Japan: Japan Association of College English Teachers.Google Scholar
Common European Framework of Reference. (2001). Language Policy Unit, Strasbourg. Retrieved February 20, 2020 fromhttps://rm.coe.int/16802fc1bfGoogle Scholar
Dechert, H. W., & Raupach, M. (Eds.) (1980). Temporal variables in speech: Studies in honour of Frieda Goldman-Eisler. The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Jong, N. H., Groenhout, R., Schoonen, R., & Hulstijn, J. H. (2015). Second language fluency: Speaking style or proficiency? Correcting measures of second language fluency for first language behavior. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36(2), 223–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Jong, N. H., Steinel, M. P., Florijn, A. F., Schoonen, R., & Huilstijn, J. H. (2012). Facets of speaking proficiency. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34, 5–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Jong, N. H., Steinel, M. P., Florijn, A. F., Schoonen, R., & Huilstijn, J. H. (2013). Linguistic skills and speaking fluency in a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 34, 893–913.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Jong, N. H., & Wempe, T. (2009). Praat script to detect syllable nuclei and measure speech rate automatically. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 385–390. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.2.385CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Derwing, T., Munro, M., Thomson, R., & Rossiter, M. (2009). The relationship between L1 fluency and L2 fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(4), 533–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Silvio, F., Diao, W., & Donovan, A. (2016). The development of L2 fluency during study abroad: A cross-language study. The Modern Language Journal, 100(3), 610–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, N. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R. (2009). The differential effects of three types of task planning on the fluency, complexity and accuracy in L2 oral production. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 474–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erman, B., & Warren, B. (2000). The idiom principle and the open choice principle. Text, 20(1), 29–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fillmore, C. J. (1979). On fluency. In Fillmore, C., Kempler, D. & Wang, W. (Eds.), Individual differences in language ability and language behavior (pp. 85–102). New York, NY: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzpatrick, T., & Clenton, J. (2010). The challenge of validation: Assessing the performance of a test of productive vocabulary. Language Testing, 27(4), 537–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzpatrick, T., & Meara, P. (2004). Exploring the validity of a test of productive vocabulary. VIAL: Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1, 55–73.Google Scholar
Foster, P. (2001). Rules and routines: A consideration of their role in the task-based language production of native and non-native speakers. In Bygate, M., Skehan, P. & Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language teaching, learning and testing (pp. 75–93). London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Foster, P. (2013). Fluency. In Chapelle, C. A. (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Foster, P., & Hunter, A. (2016). When it's not what you do but the way that you do it: How research into second language acquisition can help teachers make the most of their classroom materials. In Tomlinson, B. (Ed.), SLA and materials development for language teaching (pp. 280–292). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Foster, P., & Skehan, P. (1996). The influence of planning time on performance in task-based learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18, 299–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garner, J., & Crossley, S. (2018). A latent curve model approach to studying L2 N-Gram development. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 494–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2000). Stimulated recall methodology in second language research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Gregory, M., Raymond, W., Bell, A., Fosler-Lussier, E., & Jurafsky, D. (1999). The effects of collocational strength and contextual predictability in lexical production. Chicago Linguistic Society, 35, 151–166.Google Scholar
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In Cole, P. & Morgan, J. (Eds.), Studies in Syntax and Semantics III: Speech Acts (pp. 183–98). New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Guz, E. (2015). Establishing the fluency gap between native and non-native speech. Research in Language, 13(3), 230–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hern, A. (2018). Becoming fluent in another language as an adult might be impossible – but I'm still going to try. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/education/shortcuts/2018/may/02/fluent-another-language-adult-impossible-tryGoogle Scholar
International English Language Testing Suite. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 July, 2019, from https://www.ielts.org/-/media/pdfs/speaking-band-descriptors.ashx?la=enGoogle Scholar
Koizumi, R., & In'nami, Y. (2013). Vocabulary knowledge and speaking proficiency among second language learners from novice to intermediate levels. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(5), 900–913.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J. (1999). Monitoring and self-repair in L2. Language Learning, 49(2), 303–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J. (2000). The timing of self-repairs in second language speech production. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 22(2), 145–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J. (2006). Speech production and second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Kyle, K., Crossley, S., & Berger, C. (2018). The tool for the automatic analysis of lexical sophistication (TAALES): Version 2.0. Behavior Research Methods, 50, 1030–1046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laufer, B. (1998). The development of passive and active vocabulary in a second language: Same or different? Applied Linguistics, 19(2), 255–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lennon, P. (2000). The lexical element in spoken second language fluency. In Riggenbach, H. (Ed.), Perspectives on fluency (pp. 25–42). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Levelt, W. (1989). Speaking: from intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Lynch, T., & Maclean, J. (2000). Exploring the benefits of task repetition and recycling in classroom language learning. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 221–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, T., & Maclean, J. (2001). A case of exercising: Effects of immediate task repetition on learners’ performance. In Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 141–162). Harlow: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Marriott, H. (1995). The acquisition of politeness patterns by exchange students in Japan. In Freed, B. (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 197–224). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meara, P., & Fitzpatrick, T. (2000). Lex30: An improved method of assessing productive vocabulary in an L2. System, 28, 19–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehnert, U. (1998). The effects of different lengths of time for planning on second language performance. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 83–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Möhle, D., & Raupach, M. (1983). Planen in der Fremdsprach. Frankfurt, Germany: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Morrison, A. (2018). Fluency in the EFL Chilean classrooms. British Council ELT Masters Dissertation Award: Winner. https://englishagenda.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/attachments/astrid_morrison_university_of_reading_dissertation.pdfGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nattinger, R., & DeCarrico, S. (1992). Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Nativelike selection and nativelike fluency. In Richards, J. C. & Schmidt, R. W. (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 191–226). Harlow, UK: Longman.Google Scholar
Préfontaine, Y. (2013). Perceptions of French fluency in second language speech production. Canadian Modern Language Review, 69(3), 324–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raupach, M. (1980). Temporal variables in first and second language speech production. In Dechert, H. W. & Raupach, M. (Eds.), Temporal variables in speech: Studies in honour of Frieda Goldman-Eisler (pp. 263–270). The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton.Google Scholar
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riazantseva, A. (2001). Second language proficiency and pausing: A study of Russian speakers of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 497–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossiter, M. (2009). Perceptions of L2 fluency by native and non-native speakers of English. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue Canadienne des Langues Vivantes, 65, 395–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossiter, M., Derwing, T., Manintim, L., & Thomson, R. (2010). Oral fluency: The neglected component in the communicative language classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue Canadienne des Langues Vivantes, 66(4), 583–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50(4), 696–735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Ilkan, M., Magne, V., Tran, M., & Suzuki, S. (2018). Acoustic characteristics and learner profiles of low, mid and high-level second language fluency. Applied Psycholinguistics, 39, 593–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1983). Interaction, acculturation and the acquisition of communicative competence. In Wolfson, N. & Judd, E. (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language acquisition (pp. 137–174). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Schmitt, N. (2014). Size and depth of vocabulary knowledge: What the research shows. Language Learning, 64(4), 913–951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schnadt, M. J., & Corley, M. (2006). The influence of lexical, conceptual and planning based factors on disfluency production. Language, 212(2), 8–13.Google Scholar
Segalowitz, N. (2016). Second language fluency and its underlying cognitive and social determinants. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 54(2), 79–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegal, M. (1995). Individual differences and study abroad: Women learning Japanese in Japan. In Freed, B. (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 225–244). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P. (2003). Task-based instruction. Language Teaching, 36, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P., & Foster, P. (1997). Task type and processing conditions as influences on foreign language performance. Language Teaching Research, 1(3), 185–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P., & Foster, P. (1999). The influence of task structure and processing conditions on narrative retellings. Language Learning, 49(1), 93–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spoken Learner Corpus Project. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 20, 2020 from www.cass.lancs.ac.uk/css-projects/the-spoken-learner-corpus-slc-project/Google Scholar
Stengers, H., Boers, F., Housen, A., & Eyckmans, J. (2011). Formulaic sequences and L2 oral proficiency: Does the type of target language influence the association? International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 49(4). https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.2011.017CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tavakoli, P. (2016). Fluency in monologic and dialogic task performance: Challenges in define and measuring L2 fluency. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 54(2), 133–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tavakoli, P., & Hunter, A.-M. (2018). Is fluency being ‘neglected’ in the classroom? Teacher understanding of fluency and related classroom practices. Language Teaching Research, 22(3), 330–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tavakoli, P., & Uchihara, T. (2019). To what extent are multiword sequences associated with oral fluency? Language Learning, 70(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12384Google Scholar
TEEP (n.d.). Test of English for Educational Purposes. Retrieved February 20, 2020 from https://www.reading.ac.uk/ISLI/study-in-the-uk/tests/isli-test-teep.aspxGoogle Scholar
Towell, R., Hawkins, R., & Bazergui, N. (1996). The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied Linguistics, 17(1), 84–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, A., Derwing, B., Libben, G., & Westbury, C. (2011). Processing advantages of lexical bundles: Evidence from self-paced reading and sentence recall tasks. Language Learning, 61(2), 569–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uchihara, T., & Clenton, J. (2018). Investigating the role of vocabulary size in second language speaking ability. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818799371Google Scholar
Uchihara, T., & Saito, K. (2017). Exploring the relationship between productive vocabulary knowledge and second language oral ability. Language Learning Journal, 47(1), 64–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Hest, E. (1996). Self-repair in L1 and L2 production. Tilburg, Netherlands: Tilburg University Press.Google Scholar
Wigglesworth, G. (1997). An investigation of planning time and proficiency level on oral test discourse. Language Testing, 14(1), 85–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zuniga, M., & Simard, D. (2019). Factors influencing L2 self-repair behavior: The role of L2 proficiency, attentional control and L1. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 48, 43–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed