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The fluency of second language (L2) speech can be influenced by L2 proficiency, but also by differences in the efficiency of cognitive operations and personal speaking styles. The nature of cognitive fluency is still, however, little understood. Therefore, we studied the cognitive fluency of Finnish advanced students of English (N = 64) to understand how the efficiency of cognitive processing influences speech rate. Cognitive fluency was operationalised as automaticity of lexical access (measured by rapid word recognition) and attention control (measured by the Stroop task). The tasks were conducted in both L1 (Finnish) and L2 (English) to examine the (dis)similarity of processing in the two languages. Speech rate in a monologue task was used as the dependent measure of speaking performance. The results showed that after controlling for the L1 speech rate and L1 cognitive fluency, the L2 attention control measures explained a small amount of additional variance in L2 speech rate. These results are discussed in relation to the cognitive fluency framework and general speaking proficiency research.
The fluency of second language (L2) speech can be influenced by L2 proficiency, but also by differences in the efficiency of cognitive operations and personal speaking styles. The nature of cognitive fluency is still, however, little understood. Therefore, we studied the cognitive fluency of Finnish advanced students of English (N = 64) to understand how the efficiency of cognitive processing influences speech rate. Cognitive fluency was operationalised as automaticity of lexical access (measured by rapid word recognition) and attention control (measured by the Stroop task). The tasks were conducted in both L1 (Finnish) and L2 (English) to examine the (dis)similarity of processing in the two languages. Speech rate in a monologue task was used as the dependent measure of speaking performance. The results showed that after controlling for the L1 speech rate and L1 cognitive fluency, the L2 attention control measures explained a small amount of additional variance in L2 speech rate. These results are discussed in relation to the cognitive fluency framework and general speaking proficiency research.
Repairs (including false starts, repetitions, and different types of self-corrections) have been examined in second language (L2) speech fluency research as one dimension of (dis)fluent speech. However, in contrast to other dimensions of L2 speech fluency (speed and breakdown), repair fluency is not equally well understood: the results are mixed, and more research investigating the factors behind L2 repair fluency is needed. While some previous studies suggest links between first language (L1) and L2 repair fluency, to what extent L2 repairs are connected with cognitive and affective factors is less understood. To achieve a comprehensive view of the factors behind L2 repair fluency, we combine perspectives of L1 repair fluency, attention control, and language anxiety (LA) that have individually been shown to potentially affect L2 repairs but have rarely been examined together. We analyzed data from L1 Finnish and L2 English monologue speech tasks, a Stroop task in L1 and L2, and surveys for general and task-specific LA from 59 advanced users of English to investigate how L1 repair fluency, cognitive fluency, and LA are related to L2 repair fluency. Correlational analyses revealed that task-specific LA and certain Stroop measures were connected with L2 repair measures, while correlations between L1 and L2 repair fluency measures were weak. An analysis of repair profiles of participants displaying the highest levels of L2 repair fluency revealed that, overall, repairs are more common in the L2 than in the L1, but patterns regarding preferences for repair types vary across individuals. The study has methodological implications for psycholinguistic and SLA research into L2 repair fluency and broader implications for L2 classrooms and assessment.
This study examines the role of prior processing (understood as L2 use earlier in discourse) in moderating the contributions of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and proficiency to L2 utterance fluency. Two groups with comparable FLCA and proficiency scores performed the same narrative task. One group completed it in the absence of any other L2 task, and one group completed it immediately after responding to a similar but not identical prompt. The participants’ speech was analyzed using breakdown, speed, and repair fluency measures. Results showed that prior processing can reduce FLCA’s interference during L2 production. Unexpectedly, prior processing did not produce significant fluency gains associated with lexical retrieval and syntactic encoding. Instead, the patterns of variation revealed that more attention was paid to message conceptualization. This finding implies that prior processing can moderate FLCA’s role in L2 production because it alters the way attentional resources are allocated in subsequent performance.
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