Faculty of Education Projects (Master's)

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Browsing Faculty of Education Projects (Master's) by Author "Ascione, Marguerite E."

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    Fluency development in second language teaching
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 1993, 1993) Ascione, Marguerite E.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Heffernan, Peter
    Al though students may spend several years (up to 12 years) in learning a second language, we must recognize the fact that a great number of these students are still not proficient and fluent in speaking the foreign language. Since the actual trend in learning second languages is directed toward the development of oral proficiency, and since oral fluency is one of its components, students need to speak with a certain degree of fluency in order to demonstrate their oral proficiency. The purpose of this study was to describe factors or conditions which contributed to the development of oral fluency in selected, fluent grade 12 students. The first step was to define oral fluency, followed by the development of an appropriate device to evaluate it. The selected fluent students were interviewed. The interviews were later analyzed in order to determine the preponderant factors or conditions contributing to oral fluency, and to find the answers to the following questions: 1. Is there a pattern or are there similar factors/conditions among the students that have contributed to their oral fluency development? 2. What are specific ways to promote oral fluency development in a second language? The main findings of this study were that oral fluency was acquired as a result of several factors: students who are positive and self-motivated, a learning experience which has been positive and enjoyable for the students, parents as well as teachers who have been positive and supportive, teachers who were proficient in the second language, and its having taken place within a second language immersion learning environment. This study provides a list of requirements and factors that will help to promote oral fluency in a second language.