Volume 4, Issue 1 April 2021, pp. 1–18

Regular Articles
Interpretations of spoken utterance fluency in simulated and face-to-face oral proficiency interviews

Ethan Quaid ¹, Alex Barrett ²

¹ University of Nottingham Ningbo China, CHINA
² Alasala Colleges, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/lea.v4n1.385

Abstract

Research examining test taker fluency in simulated and face-to-face oral proficiency interview performances has primarily focused on quantitative spoken utterance fluency data alone, with further qualitative investigation of test taker processing fluency’s effect being omitted. This study compared four test takers’ spoken utterance and processing fluencies in output retrieved from a computer-based Aptis General speaking test and a purposively developed identical face-to-face direct oral proficiency interview using a counterbalanced research design. Speed, composite, breakdown, and repair utterance fluency measures were analyzed from test performances using Praat speech analysis software and fully-coded transcribed spoken data, with processing fluency qualitative data retrieved through post-test stimulated recall verbal report interviews and questionnaires, and co-constructed, semi-structured interviews. Macro-level quantitative analysis results demonstrated that test takers’ spoken utterance fluency was broadly similar between delivery modes. The breakdown measures of filled and unfilled pauses were salient devices responsible for the minimal difference encountered between modes. The test takers’ qualitative data reflecting on their performances revealed aspects of processing fluency’s effect on test takers’ utterance fluency. In turn, processing fluency was influenced by both test takers’ cognitive and affective fluencies, through test taking strategy use, test taker characteristics, and the face validity of the test’s delivery mode.

Copyright

© Ethan Quaid, Alex Barrett

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Suggested citation

Quaid, E., & Barrett, A. (2021). Interpretations of spoken utterance fluency in simulated and face-to-face oral proficiency interviews. Language Education & Assessment, 4(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.29140/lea.v4n1.385

Related Articles:

TOEFL iBT Training in the CALL Classroom
Aaron P. Campbell, Richard Silver
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 August, 2011, Volume 7(2), 217–229.

EFL student and faculty perceptions of and attitudes towards online testing in the medium of Blackboard: Promises and challenges
Abdulaziz I. Fageeh
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2015, Volume 11(1), 41–62.

EFL students’ readiness for e-learning: Factors influencing e-learners’ acceptance of the Blackboard in a Saudi university
Abdulaziz Ibraheem Fageeh
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2011, Volume 7(1), 19–42.

Effects of Blackboard on EFL academic writing and attitudes
Abdulaziz Fageeh, Mohamed Amin A. Mekheimer
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 August, 2013, Volume 9(2), 169–196.

Touch the page and mimic me: Evaluation of a talking-pen learning tool
Abigail Odakura
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 December, 2013, Volume 9(3), 287–295.

A survey of Japanese university students' computer literacy skills
Adam Murray, Andrew Blyth
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 December, 2011, Volume 7(3), 307–318.

Negotiating intercultural spaces and teacher identity in an internationalised school in Shanghai
Adam Poole
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 23 August, 2019, Volume 2(2), 59–70.

Designing a course in intercultural education
Adrian Holliday
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 11 August, 2018, Volume 1(1), 4–11.

Encouraging autonomy through the use of a social networking system
Adrian Leis
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2014, Volume 10(1), 69–80.