Lambert, Craig and Kormos, Judit and Minn, Danny (2017) Task repetition and second language speech processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39 (1). pp. 167-196. ISSN 0272-2631
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Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the repetition of oral monologue tasks and immediate gains in L2 fluency. It considers the effect of aural-oral task repetition on speech rate, frequency of clause-final and mid-clause filled pauses, and overt self-repairs across different task types and proficiency levels and relates these findings to specific stages of L2 speech production (conceptualization, formulation and monitoring). Thirty-two Japanese learners of English sampled at three levels of proficiency completed three oral communication tasks (instruction, narration and opinion) six times. Results revealed that immediate aural-oral same task repetition was related to gains in oral fluency regardless of proficiency level or task type. Overall gains in speech rate were the largest across the first three performances of each task type, but continued until the fifth performance. More specifically, however, clause-final pauses decreased until the second performance, mid-clause pauses to the fourth, and self-repairs decreased only after the fourth performance indicating that task repetition may have been differentially related to specific stages in the speech production process.