Second language (L2) utterance fluency is crucial for speaking proficiency assessment. The measurement of L2 utterance fluency relies heavily on silent pause identification. However, empirical studies establishing specific silent pause thresholds for L2 monologic speaking are scarce, and even fewer exist for L2 dialogic speaking. This study thus…

Purpose: Bilingual children's speech often contains high percentages of disfluencies in both their languages; however, the distribution of disfluency types and the difference across bilinguals' two languages have received insufficient and inconsistent empirical support. The present research aims to profile "typical" bilingual disfluency…

The relationship between foreign language anxiety (FLA) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) experienced during a creative collaborative oral English-as-a-foreign-language task, and the relationships between FLE/FLA and task speech fluency were investigated. The task was performed by mid-intermediate/high-intermediate English learners (N = 43) in…

English is especially challenging for English second language (ESL) learners because of its significant cultural and societal implications. For example, idioms--multiworded expressions with multiple meanings--are problematic for ESL learners because of ambiguity in literal translation and reliance on the societal context. This quantitative…

Lexical proficiency in a second language (L2) has long been effectively assessed through the measurement of various lexical indices, or textual characteristics that act as observable indicators of such conceptual categories as lexical richness, diversity, sophistication, and fluency. While many studies have established links between these lexical…

This study investigates the impact of Filipina domestic workers (FilDWs), a marginalized group in Hong Kong (HK), on HK children's language development. It focusses on FilDWs' influence on the second language (L2) English of bilingual HK primary school children attending an English Medium of Instruction school. The elements investigated are L2…

Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) technology has revolutionized the landscape of oral English education, offering new possibilities for improving learning efficiency and experiences. This paper presents an innovative teaching system that integrates real-time speech recognition and feedback capabilities with advanced natural language processing (NLP)…

Amid globalization, the demand for English oral proficiency continues to grow. This study employs a quasi-experimental design to investigate the integration of an AI chatbot into the mobile-assisted blended learning (MABL) framework. It examines the impact of this approach on the spoken English abilities of Chinese non-English major university…

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of an AR application (Civilisations AR) on EFL learners' oral proficiency in the dimensions of content, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar, as well as their attitudes and perceptions toward AR technology. Design: Utilizing a quasi-experiment, twenty-four EFL learners engaged in a…

The current study examined the extent to which first language (L1) utterance fluency measures can predict second language (L2) fluency and how L2 proficiency moderates the relationship between L1 and L2 fluency. A total of 104 Japanese-speaking learners of English completed different argumentative speech tasks in their L1 and L2. Their speaking…

This study explored the impacts of translingual practices on English as an additional language (EAL) writing education in a non-English as a medium of instruction (non-EMI) context at a Chinese university. The findings highlighted the benefits of translingual practices in enhancing students' comprehension, easing cognitive challenges, and…

The current study investigates how second language (L2) learners' metacognition integrates practice strategies in self-regulated learning to develop speaking abilities. A Metacognitive Practice Speaking Strategy (MPSS) model was developed to explore specific configurations of metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive strategies, and practice…

Developing emotional competence during childhood is critical because it is a significant resource for building psychological well-being, social relationships and even school achievement. Language plays an important role in fostering emotional competence among monolingual children but for bilingual children, the relationship between culture,…

This study explored the effectiveness of integrating peer assessment (PA) and non-scripted role-play (NSRP) activities in enhancing the oral performance of Thai EFL high school students. Conducted at a public secondary school in Bangkok, the research involved 31 Grade 12 students and utilized a mixed methods approach. Over nine weeks within the…

Within the same learning context, learners' outcomes in terms of oral fluency vary greatly. This study tracked the relative contributions that first language (L1) and initial second language (L2) fluency skill and working memory (WM) made to L2 fluency development. We assessed the performance of French-speaking Grade 6 learners' (n = 47, mean age:…