Is nonverbal behavior during conversation related to perceived fluency?

Abstract

Second language (L2) students typically aim to be effective language users, which involves learning both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication. One aspect of effective language use is fluency, which Segalowitz (2010) described in three ways. The first is cognitive fluency, which is efficiency in a speaker's operation of underlying production processes, for example, at the level of planning, monitoring, and executing an utterance. The second is utterance fluency, which refers to the observable speech features produced by a speaker, such as their pauses or repetitions. Finally, defined as "a judgment made about speakers based on impressions drawn from their speech" (Segalowitz, 2010, p. 48), perceived fluency concerns how a speaker's speech, such as its fluidity or smoothness, impacts the listener. Our focus is on perceived fluency and its previously underexplored link with L2 speakers' nonverbal behavior.When it comes to observable dimensions of L2 performance that contribute to a speaker's perceived fluency, listeners tend to primarily rely on temporal dimensions of speech such as articulation rate, pausing, and repair in the form of repetitions and self-corrections (