This study examined the impact of a form-focused intervention during repetitive tasks on students’ oral fluency development over 13 weeks. Forty-eight Japanese university students were divided into three groups based on the degree to which they received an intervention focused on formulaic language. The participants’ fluency development was statistically analyzed.
This study examined the impact of a form-focused intervention during repetitive tasks on students' oral fluency development. In second language speaking research, one common method of analysis is using CALF (complexity, accuracy, lexis, and fluency) indices. Among the indices, fluency has been considered as an important factor for successful communication (Revesz, Ekiert & Torgersen, 2016). One effective way to develop oral fluency is the 4/3/2 task (e.g., Boers, 2014; de Jong & Perfetti, 2011; Nation, 1989). Students talk about the same topic for 4 minutes, then 3 minutes, and finally 2 minutes. Although the 4/3/2 and 3/2/1 tasks have been investigated by several researchers, it is uncertain what linguistic forms are proceduralized through the task because no intervention has been provided. Therefore, this presentation is guided by the following research questions:
1.To what extent do the Japanese university students develop their oral fluency through form-focused instruction in a repetitive task?
2.How did the Japanese university students develop their usage of formulaic language?
The participants were 48 Japanese university students. The participants completed a monologue 3/2/1 task for 13 weeks. They were divided into three groups; no-intervention, input enhancement, and peer feedback groups. In the no-intervention group, the participants started the 3/2/1 task immediately. The participants in the input enhancement group read a teacher-modeled passage with the target formulaic language highlighted prior to engaging in the task. In the peer feedback group one student in the pair engaged in peer monitoring while the other student was talking. The listener checked the see whether the speaker was using the following target formulaic language: stating an opinion, giving reasons and giving examples. The students' oral fluency was analyzed statistically two times in a semester (Week 2 and 14). Implications for classroom teaching will be discussed during the presentation.
