Article published In: Learner Corpus Research for Pedagogical Purposes
Edited by Sandra Götz and Sylviane Granger
[International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 10:1] 2024
► pp. 39–66
Teaching L2 speech fluency with learner‑corpus‑based awareness‑raising activities
Insights from a short-term intervention study
Published online: 28 June 2024
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.00040.pel
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.00040.pel
Abstract
Second language (L2) speech fluency has been found to develop especially in study-abroad contexts, while few
studies have examined fluency development in formal instruction. Furthermore, the instructional approaches have rarely targeted
fluency specifically. The present study examines the effects of a teaching experiment utilizing learner-corpus-based
awareness-raising activities on L2 fluency development in formal instruction. Eighteen Finnish university students of English,
divided into control and experimental groups, provided speech samples at the beginning and end of an L2 English pronunciation
course. The samples were analyzed with a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analyses demonstrated mostly minor differences in
fluency development across the groups. Qualitative analyses demonstrated individual learning trajectories regarding stalling
mechanisms. The findings suggest that while corpus-based awareness-raising activities can be beneficial for supporting L2 fluency
development, a more extensive teaching approach is needed for full effects. The study has implications for L2 fluency research and
pedagogy.
Keywords: fluency, intervention, pedagogy, second language speech, mixed-methods
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Theoretical background
- 3.Methodology and materials
- 3.1Participants
- 3.2Data collection
- 3.3Procedure and data analysis
- 4.Results
- 5.Discussion
- 6.Conclusion
- Notes
References
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