This study examines the relationship between the repetition of oral monologue tasks and immediate gains in L2 fluency. It considers the effect of aural-oral task repetition on speech rate, frequency of clause-final and midclause filled pauses, and overt self-repairs across different task types and proficiency levels and relates these findings to…

This paper reports how robot-assisted language learning (RALL) impacts Japanese adults' English speaking skills. With existing research on RALL focusing on children, there is little evidence indicating RALL's effects on adults. We developed a RALL system comprising a robot, a tablet, and designed learning materials for speaking practice. To…

This study examined how longitudinal interaction impacts the development of second language (L2) oral proficiency in relation to learners' different experience and proficiency levels. Japanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) participated in weekly conversation exchanges with native speakers (NSs) in the USA via videoconferencing…

We advocate the in-depth integration of information technology and education in the digital age, and we also encourage teachers of all disciplines to actively carry out online and offline blended learning. This study attempts to use an empirical research to apply the Blended Learning to the oral English teaching in the first year of senior high…

The purpose of this study was to investigate practices of teaching early reading, and challenges teachers face in its implementation at the Ethiopian primary schools. The study was carried out in 224 grade two government primary schools found in the Amhara National regional State, west Gojjam zone, Ethiopia, in 2019/2020 academic year. To attain…

This paper reports the findings of a study investigating the relationship of executive working memory (WM) and phonological short-term memory (PSTM) to fluency and self-repair behavior during an unrehearsed oral task performed by second language (L2) speakers of English at two levels of proficiency, elementary and lower intermediate. Correlational…

The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and accompanying proficiency guidelines have become a mainstay in academic foreign language assessment. In 2006, an asynchronous electronic interface of the OPI was made available in which candidates are asked to record themselves responding to questions delivered aurally via computer, labeled the Oral…

Activities that promote fluency development or the automatization of speech are often ignored in second language classes because they do not teach new things; instead, they focus on speeding up language use (Nation & Newton, 2008). Anxiety also decreases chances for fluency development, as learners are less willing to produce output (Gregersen…

As a second-year English teacher at Nakhonphanom University, it has become important to put more emphasis on the student's ability to understand and speak the English language. The main objective as a teacher is to help the students learn the English language by utilizing the best methods. Thailand is rapidly becoming part of the global economy…

This study investigated the interactive effects of English-speaking anxiety and strategy use on oral English test performance of high- and low-proficient Chinese university EFL learners. In total, 1092 first-year undergraduates answered the English-speaking Anxiety Scale (ESAS), the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI) and other…

High-stakes tasks may prevent language learners from performing successfully due to factors of "communicative stress" (Skehan, 1996, p. 52). Little research, however, has directly examined phonological patterns in learners' performances on low-stakes, medium-stakes, and high-stakes classroom tasks. The current study investigated the oral…

We take a multidimensional perspective on the development of second language (L2) speaking ability and examine how changes in the underlying cognitive variables of linguistic knowledge and processing speed interact with complexity, fluency, and accuracy over the course of a 3-month Spanish study abroad session. Study abroad provides a unique…

This study investigates how the use of discourse markers reflects speaking fluency in Chinese learners. In this study, 220 min of online Chinese courses were transcribed, with 17 Chinese learners and 5 native Chinese teachers as participants. Half of the transcribed data were drawn from students living in Taipei, Taiwan, a Chinese-speaking…

This paper presents a study that looked into the structuring of tasks that may foster oral fluency in an intensive eight-week course with 25 young adult and adult learners of English as a foreign language in a format of tutoring sessions for conversation. The action research involved two teachers and a research advisor, coauthors of this paper.…

Flipped instruction has become a hot issue in foreign language teaching technology. In this study, we tracked learners in a beginner-level Chinese Foreign Language classroom to see if flipped teaching based on a MOOC made a difference to their oral proficiency development and rate of progress compared to a baseline group. Language development was…