Exploring the evolution in oral fluency and productive vocabulary knowledge during a stay abroad

Abstract

In a recent publication, Foster (2020) identified several promising directions for second language (L2) oral fluency research, including explicit attention to the parallel development of fluency and productive vocabulary knowledge. The present paper focuses on this issue and proposes an analysis of longitudinal data collected from five Francophone learners of L2 English before and after a nine-month stay in an Anglophone environment. The analysis focuses on speed fluency and breakdown fluency as well as on both free and controlled measures of productive vocabulary knowledge. Results point to clear evolution in speed fluency for all five participants and different individual trajectories for breakdown fluency after a stay abroad. Change with respect to productive vocabulary knowledge, as measured by three measures, was mixed. Findings are interpreted in light of previous research. In particular, we argue that the current results do not provide strong evidence for a clear relationship between productive vocabulary knowledge and oral fluency development.

Keywords

• fluency
• productive vocabulary knowledge
• stay abroad
• l2 english
• case study