This study examined the effect of benchmarking and peer-assessment activities on second language (L2) French learners' self-assessments of accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency. The learners, who included 25 L2 French students enrolled in a 15-week university-level French course, recorded two oral presentations at the beginning and the end…

We investigated how native and fluent users of English segment continuous speech and to what extent they use sound-related and structure-related cues. As suggested by the notion of multi-competence, L1 users are not seen as ideal models with perfect command of English, and L2 users not as lacking in competence. We wanted to see how language…

This study investigated phase transitions in EFL students' speech fluency development using a complex dynamic systems perspective. Two students with different proficiency levels were selected from an intact speaking class. These students learned and practiced specific strategies to improve their speech fluency. Phase transitions were analyzed…

Professionalism in English phrases is an indispensable tool for the enhancement of fluency and accuracy in communication. However, English second language learners face redundancy challenges apropos an effective use of phrases. The research investigated strategic intervention for selected deviant English phrases at the University of Venda. A…

A large number of research studies have highlighted the relevance of oral narratives for describing children's linguistic constraints, developmental stages of narrative discourse patterns, and sociocultural identities. Yet, little research has been found on the use of oral narratives as a means to longitudinally improve oral discourse coherence…

Purpose: Bilingual children often demonstrate a high rate of disfluencies, which might impact the diagnostic evaluation of fluency disorders; however, research on the rates and types of disfluencies in bilinguals' two languages is limited. The purpose of this research is to profile disfluencies of two types, stuttering-like disfluencies (SLDs) and…

Interaction has received attention in different fields of applied linguistics. In the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), scholars have perceived interaction as a platform where L2 learners can engage in language experimentation. It has been considered in light of Long's (1981) Interaction Hypothesis, which posits that negotiation of…

This longitudinal case study investigated the developmental trajectories of two participants enrolled in an ITA oral communication course at Purdue University. The course provides language support to the ITA population who play a crucial role in higher education programs in the U.S. (Gorsuch, 2016). Over four months (i.e., one semester), I…

Speech disorders occur commonly in individuals with Down syndrome (DS), although data regarding the auditory-perceptual speech features are limited. This descriptive study assessed 47 perceptual speech features during connected speech samples in 26 children with DS. The most severely affected speech features were: naturalness, imprecise…

The focus of this paper is replication research in pedagogical approaches to spoken fluency and formulaic sequences, and in particular, a call for replication of two often cited studies: Wood (2009) and Boers, Eyckmans, Kappel, Stengers & Demecheleer (2006). We begin by presenting a brief background to fluency and formulaic language, and…

This article investigates the relationship between reading and writing. We assume that these skills share a number of subskills as can be inferred from models of reading and writing. A set of these subskills are studied for the extent to which they can explain the common variance (correlation) between reading and writing. Data from a sample of…

Background: The high prevalence of cognitive dysfunction is well documented in individuals with Down syndrome. However, only a few studies have focused on the effect of exercise on cognitive performance in this population. In particular, verbal fluency has been shown to be relevant to the early onset of Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down…

At Grand Intermediate School, teachers work with a large population of English language learners (ELL). The teachers were all trained to use the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol Model (Echevarria, Vogt, and Short, 2017) to help ELL students increase their English fluency and succeed academically. The instructional strategies in place,…

This study aimed to study the association between diglossic reading skills and reading comprehension in first grade students with and without learning disabilities. In this study population, students presented diglossia in literary and colloquial Arabic: 30 first grade students with learning disabilities and 30 first grade students without…

The attitudes physical education students have about the subject influences their level of engagement in and out of class as well as their overall physical activity, which impacts their health and well-being. This study examined the attitudes of Latino high school students toward physical education, specifically to understand how their attitudes…