View source for Fluency

{{Short description|Ability to deliver information quickly and correctly}}
{{redirect|Fluent}}
'''Fluency''' (also called '''volubility''' and '''eloquency''') refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in [[speech production]].<ref name=aslha/> 
It is also used to characterize [[language production]], language ability or [[language proficiency]].

In [[speech language pathology]] it means the flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly, where fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for [[cluttering]] and [[stuttering]].
{{Reading}}

==Definition==
Fluency is a term concerning [[language production]] on the one hand, which is used in language ability or [[language proficiency]] 
It is also used to characterize [[speech production]] on the other hand with some overlap. 

In [[speech language pathology]] it means the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly.<ref name=harrell>{{cite web |url= http://www.muncie.k12.in.us/shsweb/speech%20and%20language%20pathologist.htm |title = Speech-language pathologist |access-date= 2007-03-28 |author= Harrell, Bruce |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060923064521/http://www.muncie.k12.in.us/shsweb/speech%20and%20language%20pathologist.htm |archive-date= 2006-09-23}}</ref> It refers to "continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in [[speech production]]".<ref name=aslha/> The term fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for [[cluttering]] and [[stuttering]] since at least 1993.<ref name=aslha>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Fluency Disorders |url=https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/fluency-disorders/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=American Speech-Language-Hearing Association |language=en}}</ref>

Fluency is the property of a [[person]] or of a [[system]] that delivers [[information]] quickly and with [[expertise]].{{original research inline|date=March 2023}}

== Language use ==
{{further|Language proficiency}}Language fluency is one of a variety of terms used to characterize or measure a person's language ability,<ref name="Gonzalez">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education|last=González|first=Josué M.|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2008|isbn=9781412937207|location=Thousand Oaks, CA|pages=673}}</ref> often used in conjunction with accuracy and complexity.<ref name="Ellis">{{Cite book|title=Analysing learner language|author=Ellis, Rod|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Barkhuizen, Gary Patrick.|isbn=978-0194316347|location=Oxford|oclc=58970182}}</ref> Although there are no widely agreed-upon definitions or measures of language fluency,<ref name="Gonzalez" /><ref name="Chambers">{{Cite journal|last=Chambers|first=Francine|title=What do we mean by fluency?|journal=System|volume=25|issue=4|pages=535–544|doi=10.1016/s0346-251x(97)00046-8|year=1997}}</ref><ref name=Guillot/> someone is typically said to be fluent if their use of the [[language]] appears ''fluid'', or natural, coherent, and easy as opposed to slow, halting use.<ref name="Chambers" /> In other words, fluency is often described as the ability to [[Language production|produce language]] on demand and be understood.<ref name=Wolfe/>

Varying definitions of fluency characterize it by the language user's automaticity,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schmidt|first=R.|date=1992|title=Psychological mechanisms underlying second language fluency|journal=Studies in Second Language Acquisition|volume=14|issue=4|pages=357–385|doi=10.1017/s0272263100011189|hdl=10125/38649|s2cid=145464772 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> their speed and coherency of language use,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Individual differences in language ability and language behavior|last=Fillmore|first=C. J.|publisher=Academic Press|year=1979|location=New York, NY|pages=85–101}}</ref> or the length and rate of their speech output.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lennon|first=P|date=1990|title=Investigating fluency in EFL: A quantitative approach|journal=Language Learning|volume=40|issue=3|pages=387–417|doi=10.1111/j.1467-1770.1990.tb00669.x}}</ref> Theories of automaticity postulate that more fluent language users can manage all of the components of language use without paying attention to each individual component of the act.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=LaBerge|first1=D|last2=Samuels|first2=S. J.|date=1974|title=Toward a Theory of Automatic Information Process in Reading|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=6|issue=2|pages=293–323|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(74)90015-2|hdl=10818/28193|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In other words, fluency is achieved when one can access language knowledge and produce language unconsciously, or automatically.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Pages/smallbook.aspx|title=Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read|website=www.nichd.nih.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-18|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019055748/https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Pages/smallbook.aspx|archive-date=2017-10-19}}</ref><ref name=Wolfe/> Theories that focus on speed or length and rate of speech typically expect fluent language users to produce language in real time without unusual pauses, false starts, or repetitions (recognizing that some presence of these elements are naturally part of speech).<ref name="Ellis" /><ref name=Wolfe/> Fluency is sometimes considered to be a measure of [[Linguistic performance|performance]] rather than an indicator of more [[Abstract and concrete|concrete]] language knowledge, and thus perception and understandability are often key ways that fluency is understood.<ref name=Guillot/>

Language fluency is sometimes contrasted with accuracy (or correctness of language use, especially grammatical correctness)<ref name="Chambers" /> and complexity (or a more encompassing knowledge of vocabulary and discourse strategies).<ref name="Gonzalez" /> Fluency, accuracy, and complexity are distinct but interrelated components of [[language acquisition]] and [[Language proficiency|proficiency]].

=== Types ===
There are four commonly discussed types of fluency: reading fluency, oral fluency, oral-reading fluency, and written or compositional fluency. These types of fluency are interrelated, but do not necessarily develop in tandem or linearly. One may develop fluency in certain type(s) and be less fluent or nonfluent in others.<ref name=Wolfe/>

In the sense of proficiency, "fluency" encompasses a number of related but separable skills:
* '''Reading fluency''' refers to the link between the recognition of words while reading and [[reading comprehension]],<ref name=Guillot/><ref name=Rasinski/> which manifests itself in the speed and accuracy that one is able to read text.<ref name=Guillot/> Research on reading fluency aligns concepts of accuracy, automaticity, and [[Prosody (linguistics)|prosody]].<ref name=Rasinski/> To achieve reading fluency, readers must have knowledge of the content of the language as well as the [[vocabulary]] being used. Interventions designed to help children learn to read fluently generally include some form of repeated reading, but this process may differ for children with [[Learning disability|learning disabilities]], who may struggle with reading fluency.<ref name=Wolfe/>
* '''Oral fluency''' or '''speaking fluency''' is a measurement both of production and reception of [[speech]], as a fluent speaker must be able to understand and respond to others in conversation. [[Spoken language]] is typically characterized by seemingly non-fluent qualities (e.g., fragmentation, pauses, false starts, hesitation, repetition) because of ‘task stress.’ How orally fluent one is can therefore be understood in terms of perception, and whether these qualities of speech can be perceived as expected and natural (i.e., fluent) or unusual and problematic (i.e., non-fluent).<ref name=Guillot>{{Cite book|title=Fluency and its teaching|author=Guillot, Marie-Noëlle|date=1999|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=978-1853594397|location=Clevedon, U.K.|oclc=44961785}}</ref>
* '''Oral reading fluency''' is sometimes distinguished from oral fluency. Oral reading fluency refers to the ability to read words accurately and quickly while using good vocal expression and phrasing.<ref name=Rasinski>{{cite book |author=Rasinski, T. V. |year=2006 |chapter=A brief history of reading fluency |editor1=Samuels, S. |author2=Farstrup, A. |title=What research has to say about fluency instruction |pages=70–93 |location=Newark, DE |publisher=International Reading Association }}</ref> Oral reading fluency is often linked to Schreiber's Theory of Prosody, which places importance on the [[Tone (linguistics)|tone]], rhythm, and expressiveness of speech.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schreiber|first=Peter A.|date=1991-06-01|title=Understanding prosody's role in reading acquisition|journal=Theory into Practice|volume=30|issue=3|pages=158–164|doi=10.1080/00405849109543496|issn=0040-5841}}</ref>
* '''Written or compositional fluency''' can be measured in a variety of ways. Researchers have measured by length of the [[Composition (language)|composition]] (especially under timed conditions), words produced per minute, sentence length, or words per clause. Ratio measures (e.g., words per clause, words per sentence, and words per error-free sentence) have historically been most valid and reliable.<ref name=Wolfe>{{Cite book|title=Second language development in writing : measures of fluency, accuracy, & complexity|author1=Wolfe-Quintero, Kate|date=1998|publisher=Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa|author2=Shunji, Inagaki |author3=Hae-Young, Kim|isbn=9780824820695|location=Honolulu|oclc=40664312}}</ref>

=== In second-language acquisition ===

Because an assessment of fluency is typically a measure or characterization of one's language ability, determining fluency may be a more challenging task when the speaker is acquiring a second language. It is generally thought that the later in life a learner approaches the study of a foreign language, the harder it is to acquire receptive ([[Hearing (sense)|auditory]]) comprehension and fluent production (speaking) skills. For adults, once their mother tongue has already been established, the acquisition of a second language can come more slowly and less completely, ultimately affecting fluency. However, the [[critical period hypothesis]] is a hotly debated topic, with some scholars stating that adults can in fact become fluent in acquiring a second language.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} For instance, reading and writing skills in a foreign language can be acquired more easily even after the primary [[language acquisition]] period of youth is over.<ref name=harrell/>

So although it is often assumed that young children learn languages more easily than adolescents and adults,{{sfn|McLaughlin|1992}}{{sfn|Dicker|2003|pp=88–92}} the reverse is in fact true; older learners are faster.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} The only exception to this rule is in [[pronunciation]]. Young children invariably learn to speak their second language with native-like pronunciation, whereas learners who start learning a language at an older age only rarely reach a native-like level.{{sfn|Dicker|2003|pp=88–92}}

====Second-language acquisition in children====

Since childhood is a [[critical period]], widespread opinion holds that it is easier for young children to learn a second language than it is for adults.  Children can even acquire native fluency when exposed to the language on a consistent basis with rich interaction in a social setting. In addition to capacity, factors like; 1) motivation, 2) aptitude, 3) personality characteristics, 4) age of acquisition 5) first language typology 6) socio-economic status and 7) quality and context of L2 input play a role in L2 acquisitions rate and building fluency.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://sites.ualberta.ca/~jparadis/Johanne_Paradis_Homepage/Publications_files/P_CSLA_Handbook.pdf|title=Second Language Acquisition in Childhood|last=Paradis|first=Johanne|date=August 2006|website=University of Alberta|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509173500/https://sites.ualberta.ca/~jparadis/Johanne_Paradis_Homepage/Publications_files/P_CSLA_Handbook.pdf|archive-date=2018-05-09|url-status=live}}</ref> Second language acquisition (SLA) has the ability to influence children's cognitive growth and linguistic development.

Skill that consists of ability to produce words in target language develops until adolescence. Natural ability to acquire a new language with a deliberate effort may begin to diminish around puberty i.e. 12–14 years of age. Learning environment, comprehensible instructional materials, teacher, and the learner are indispensable elements in SLA and developing fluency in children. {{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Paradis (2006)<ref name=":5" /> study on childhood language acquisition and building fluency examines how first and second language acquisition patterns are generally similar including vocabulary and morphosyntax. Phonology of first language is usually apparent in SLA and initial L1 influence can be lifelong, even for child L2 learners.<ref name=":5" />

Children can acquire a second language simultaneously (learn L1 and L2 at the same time) or sequentially (learn L1 first and then L2). In the end, they develop fluency in both with one dominant language which is spoken largely by the community they live in.

====Second-language acquisition in adults====

The process of learning a second language or "L2," among older learners differs from younger learners because of their [[working memory]]. Working memory, also connected to fluency because it deals with automatic responses, is vital to language acquisition. This happens when information is stored and manipulated temporarily. During working memory, words are filtered, processed, and rehearsed, and information is stored while focusing on the next piece of interaction.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mackey | first1 = A. | last2 = Sachs | first2 = Rebecca | year = 2012 | title = Older Learners in SLA Research: A First Look at Working Memory, Feedback, and L2 Development | journal = Language Learning | volume = 62 | issue = 3| page = 724 | doi=10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00649.x}}</ref> These false starts, pauses or repetitions found in fluency assessments, can also be found within one's working memory as part of communication.

Those with education at or below a high school level are least likely to take language classes. It has also been found that women and young immigrants are more likely to take language classes.<ref>Adamuti-Trache’ (2012). "Language Acquisition Among Adult Immigrants in Canada: The Effect of Premigration Language". ''Adult Education Quarterly'', 63(2), p. 106.</ref> Further, highly educated immigrants who are searching for skilled jobs – which require interpersonal and intercultural skills that are difficult to learn – are the most affected by lower fluency in the L2.

==Speech-language pathology==
Fluency is a [[speech language pathology]] term which  means the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly.<ref name=harrell /> The term fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for [[cluttering]] and [[stuttering]]. Both disorders have breaks in the fluidity of speech, and both have the fluency breakdown of repetition of parts of speech.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Stuttering and cluttering: frameworks for understanding and treatment|last=Ward|first=David|date=December 9, 2006|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9781841693347|location=Hove [England]|oclc=65617513}}</ref>

== Automatic assessment of language fluency ==

Several automatic systems have been developed to assess speech fluency in children or in second-language learners. The first systems used automatic [[speech recognition]] to compute objective measures such as speech or articulation rate, that were strongly associated with subjective ratings of speech fluency.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cucchiarini | first1 = C. | last2 = Strik | first2 = H. | last3 = Boves | first3 = L. | year = 2000 | title = Quantitative assessment of second language learners' fluency by means of automatic speech recognition technology | journal = Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume = 107 | issue = 2 | pages = 989–999 | doi=10.1121/1.428279| pmid = 10687708 | bibcode = 2000ASAJ..107..989C | hdl = 2066/75034 | s2cid = 15417273 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> More recent studies showed that automatic acoustic measures (i.e., without using any automatic speech recognition system) can also be used to measure speech fluency in second-language learners<ref>{{cite conference | last1 = Fontan | first1 = L. | last2 = Le Coz |first2 = M. | last3 = Detey | first3 = S. | title = Automatically measuring L2 speech fluency without the need of ASR: A proof-of-concept study with Japanese learners of French |date=2018 |book-title= Proc. INTERSPEECH ’18: 19th Proc. Annu. Conf. Int. Speech Commun. Assoc. |pages= 2018–1336|location= Hyderabad, India|conference=INTERSPEECH 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Detey | first1 = S. | last2 = Fontan | first2 = L. | last3 = Le Coz | first3 = M. | last4 = Jmel | first4 = S. | year = 2020 | title = Computer-assisted assessment of phonetic fluency in a second language: a longitudinal study of Japanese learners of French | journal = Speech Communication | volume = 125 | pages = 69–79 | doi=10.1016/j.specom.2020.10.001| s2cid = 225125605 }}</ref> or in children.<ref>{{cite conference | last1 = Fontan | first1 = L. | last2 = Kim |first2 = S. | last3 = De Fino | first3 = V. | last4 = Detey | first4 = S. | title = Predicting speech fluency in children using automatic acoustic features |date=2022 |book-title= Proceedings of 2022 APSIPA Annual Summit and Conference |pages= 2018–1336|location= Chiang Mai, Thailand|conference=APSIPA 2022}}</ref>

== In creativity ==

As of 1988, studies in the assessment of creativity listed fluency as one of the four primary elements in creative thinking, the others being flexibility, originality and elaboration. Fluency in creative thinking is seen as the ability to think of many diverse ideas quickly.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Nature of creativity: contemporary psychological perspectives|date=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|others=Sternberg, Robert J.|isbn=978-0521330367|location=Cambridge|oclc=16354591}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Linguistics]]
* [[Phonics]]
* [[Precision teaching]]
* [[Reading]]
* [[Speech and language pathology]]
* [[Speech disfluencies]]
* [[Synthetic phonics]]
* [[Eye movement in reading]]

==References==
{{Wiktionary|fluent|voluble|loquacious}}
{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

* {{cite book
| title = Languages in America: A Pluralist View
| last = Dicker
| first = Susan J.
| publisher = Multilingual Matters
| year = 2003
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/languagesinameri00dick/page/82 82–114]
| isbn = 978-1-85359-651-3
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7__Bg6IM6RcC
| chapter = Common Misconceptions About Language Learning
| access-date = 2 September 2015
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/languagesinameri00dick/page/82
}}
* {{cite journal
 |title       = Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teacher Needs to Unlearn
 |last        = McLaughlin
 |first       = Barry
 |journal     = Educational Practice Report
 |volume      = 5
 |year        = 1992
 |url         = https://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/FullText/McLaughlinMyths.pdf
 |access-date  = 2 September 2015
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120917003953/http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/FullText/McLaughlinMyths.pdf
 |archive-date = 17 September 2012
}}

{{refend}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Language education]]
[[Category:Oral communication]]
[[Category:Psycholinguistics]]