Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Second Language Acquisition

Housen, Alex; Kuiken, Folkert

doi:10.1093/applin/amp048

Cited by 595 publications

(363 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Fluency, together with complexity (with respect to syntax and lexis) and accuracy in L2 speech (with respect to morpho-syntax, lexis, and pronunciation), is one of the three perceptual dimensions of speech that develop as L2 learners' proficiency progresses (Housen and Kuiken 2009). It is therefore no wonder that fluency in speech is used as a diagnostic in second language (L2) assessment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting pauses in L1 and L2 speech: the effects of utterance boundaries and word frequency

Jong

2016

International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching

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This paper compares the distribution of silent and filled pauses in first (L1) and second language (L2) speech. The occurrence of pauses of 52 L2 and 18 L1 Dutch speakers was evaluated with respect to utterance boundaries and word frequency. We found that L2 speakers paused more often than L1 speakers within utterances; but not between utterances. Similarly, only within utterances, L2 pauses were longer than L1 pauses. Regarding word frequency, both L1 and L2 speakers are more likely to pause before lower frequency words as compared to higher frequency words. These findings imply that L1 and L2 speakers' production processes may be similar in that (1) pauses at utterance boundaries are used for conceptual planning mostly and (2) lexical retrieval difficulties are comparable for L1 and L2 speakers. These findings furthermore imply that when using fluency for L2 testing, pause locations must be taken into account.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting pauses in L1 and L2 speech: the effects of utterance boundaries and word frequency

Jong

2016

International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching

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“…(as cited in Gilabert, 2004) While they speculated about the possible causes of increased complexity (either the consequence of reduced cognitive load or cognitive effects that pushed learners to try out more complex language) the lack of effects for accuracy was attributed to trade-off effects between accuracy and complexity. 'Complexity and accuracy are seen as relating primarily to L2 knowledge representation and to the level of analysis of internalized linguistic information' on the contrary fluency is primarily related to learner's control over their linguistic knowledge and is reflected in the speed and ease with which they retrieve information to communicate meaning in real time (Housen & Kuiken, 2009). Skehan's 1998 Limited Attentional Capacity Model suggests that human attentional capacity is limited and selective, and focusing on one area may take attentional resources from others and may lead to fluency/ accuracy competition (Housen & Kuiken, 2009) therefore our result is compatible with Skehan's model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'Complexity and accuracy are seen as relating primarily to L2 knowledge representation and to the level of analysis of internalized linguistic information' on the contrary fluency is primarily related to learner's control over their linguistic knowledge and is reflected in the speed and ease with which they retrieve information to communicate meaning in real time (Housen & Kuiken, 2009). Skehan's 1998 Limited Attentional Capacity Model suggests that human attentional capacity is limited and selective, and focusing on one area may take attentional resources from others and may lead to fluency/ accuracy competition (Housen & Kuiken, 2009) therefore our result is compatible with Skehan's model. Despite this Skehan (2003) mentions that interactive work of the learners will lead to more advanced and accurate language but a less fluent one that is in contrast with the results of the current research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Lecturing in Student-generated Photomontage on EFL Learners’ Fluency, Accuracy and Complexity

Hassaskhah

Barekat

Asli

2015

JLTR

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Abstract-This study examines if the two tasks exploited, model-based lecture and the photomontage one, have been effective in upgrading students' speaking skills in CAF domain. From a methodological point of view an independent samples t-test design is used to obtain data from 33 subjects consisting of both male and female studying EFL in Guilan University. Group one and two are Oral II students and group three are Oral I, each consisting of 11 members. The video recorded data are transcribed and coded for later analysis. Measures include areas of CAF. Results of t-tests show that lecturing on photomontage generated higher fluency and some trend in accuracy with no effect on complexity. The results are discussed in the light of Skehan's CAF triad, as well as competing theories of attention allocation during task performance. The findings provide insight into impact of task use and present suggestions for EFL/ESL teachers and materials developers.

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“…One of the very first scholars who introduced this dichotomy was Brumfit (1984) who made a distinction between fluency and accuracy oriented activities. The former are expected to encourage voluntary oral production of a second language, while in the case of the latter the emphasis is on the linguistic form and they supervise learners' production of language structures that need to be grammatically correct in the second language (Housen & Kuiken, 2009). The attainment of accuracy denotes the capability to speak correctly without errors (Lennon, 1990), and it usually requires explicit learning.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The assessment of Bosnian EFL learners’ knowledge by two different measures: test and writing assignment

Tankosić

Dubravac

2016

ExELL

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English is taught as a foreign language in elementary and high schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH). However, since the number of English classes per week is very limited they should be utilized in the best possible way to produce proficient users of English. Nowadays, when language proficiency is viewed as one's ability to speak and write in the target language and not about it, the need for the proficiency evaluation in schools arises. The present study attempts to shed a spot of light on this issue, investigating two very common ways of assessing students' knowledge in schools, namely tests and writing assignments. Hence, through the interviews with English teachers and the analysis of students' tests and writing assignments, the current paper explores the ways in which these two measures are realized, the tasks they consist of, the type of linguistic knowledge they are used to evaluate, their levels of difficulty, and the type of corrective feedback teachers provide on both of them. The results suggest that teachers on both measure rather students' explicit than their implicit knowledge, focusing much more on accuracy than fluency development.

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Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Second Language Acquisition

Cited by 595 publications

References 26 publications

Predicting pauses in L1 and L2 speech: the effects of utterance boundaries and word frequency

Predicting pauses in L1 and L2 speech: the effects of utterance boundaries and word frequency

The Effect of Lecturing in Student-generated Photomontage on EFL Learners’ Fluency, Accuracy and Complexity

The assessment of Bosnian EFL learners’ knowledge by two different measures: test and writing assignment

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