Packed with easy-to-use tools and resources, this book presents intensive intervention strategies for K-5 students with severe and persistent reading difficulties. Filling a key need, the authors describe specific ways to further intensify instruction when students continue to struggle. Chapters address all the fundamental components of…

Much pronunciation research critically relies upon listeners' judgments of speech samples, but researchers have rarely examined the impact of methodological choices. In the current study, 30 German native listeners and 42 German L2 learners (L1 English) rated speech samples produced by English-German L2 learners along three continua: accentedness,…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of simplified habit reversal in reducing filled pauses that occur during public speaking. Filled pauses consist of "uh," "um," or "er"; clicking sounds; and misuse of the word "like." After baseline, participants received habit reversal training that consisted of…

The study aims to identify the compensatory strategies predominantly used by fifty-four ESL High school student, its relation to language proficiency level in terms of accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility and to its role in academic performance of the participants. Two oral task namely oral interview and pictured-cued narration were used as…

This study critically examined the previously reported partial independence between second language (L2) accentedness (degree to which L2 speech differs from the target variety) and comprehensibility (ease of understanding). In prior work, comprehensibility was linked to multiple linguistic dimensions of L2 speech (phonology, fuency, lexis,…

This article considers the construct of fluency in second language assessment and how it might be informed by research in applied linguistics. It briefly describes the way fluency is conceptualized in four language tests, as embodied in their respective assessment criteria, to show where the field is at present. The article then takes into account…

This article reports on a study examining second language (L2) teachers' understanding of speech fluency and their self-reported classroom practices for promoting it. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from 84 L2 teachers in England were analysed to answer the research questions. In addition to the descriptive statistics and lexical…

Background: Individuals with dyslexia demonstrate syntactic difficulties on tasks of language comprehension, yet little is known about spoken language production in this population. Aims: To investigate whether spoken sentence production in college students with dyslexia is less proficient than in typical readers, and to determine whether group…

Learning to speak a foreign language (L2) can be a challenging feat, made all the more challenging when done in only 50 minute, daily increments in class. Oral asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) provides learners with opportunities to practice spoken communication and evaluate their practice outside the classroom. In this…

Purpose: Coverbal gesture use, which is affected by the presence and degree of aphasia, can be culturally specific. The purpose of this study was to compare gesture use among Cantonese-speaking individuals: 23 neurologically healthy speakers, 23 speakers with fluent aphasia, and 21 speakers with nonfluent aphasia. Method: Multimedia data of…

Background: Social communication problems are common in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly problems in spoken discourse. Social communication problems are thought to reflect underlying cognitive impairments. Aims: To measure the contribution of two cognitive processes, executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM), to the…

The purpose of English language education is to provide students with the capabilities to understand the language in appropriate way and to have good ability in written and oral (Richard, 2008). If students are not able to speak English fluently and clearly, this purpose will be hard to achieve. So, it is essential to study this phenomenon in…

This study aims to generate an analysis of how to encourage extensive listening in an English Preparatory Program with listening worksheets in an enjoyable way, to identify the learners' responses, and to establish the feedback from students which could provide more productive activities. For many of the students listening in target language is a…

One of the tasks for language teachers is to create an interactive environment to help learners communicate globally in the 21st century. Employing a case-study design, this research is aimed to explore how far using the target language (L2), as the main language of classroom interaction, can affect students' oral fluency through the technique of…

The purpose of this study is to explore the employment opportunities and challenges facing Lao graduates who studied abroad in China and returned home after graduation. A qualitative method was employed by utilizing semi-structured interviews with 17 Chinese-educated Lao graduates who now live in Laos. The findings revealed that although returning…