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Seminar I Understanding and examining second language oral fluency

Seminars / Lectures / Workshops

Prof Parvaneh Tavakoli_1000x540
  • Date

    13 Feb 2023

  • Organiser

    Department of English and Communication

  • Time

    17:00 - 18:00

  • Venue

    Zoom  

Speaker

Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli

Summary

The increasing interest in examining the construct of oral fluency in the field of second language acquisition is primarily attributed to the crucial role fluency plays in successful communication. From a research perspective, fluency is also important as it helps researchers understand how L2 speech is produced and what factors promote or inhibit the speech production process. From a professional practice perspective, fluency attracts attention since it is considered as the ultimate goal of language learning for many L2 learners and is typically examined as one of the key aspects of the communicative ability by many international language test providers. As such, teachers and language teaching institutions feel committed to helping learners promote their fluency for communication and/or certification purposes. Given this broad interest and significance, fluency has become a progressive area of research with findings that shed light on its complex and multidimensional construct, offering ground-breaking implications for professional practice. Such findings, however, are not often translated into practice or used by the relevant practitioners. In this talk after providing a background to L2 fluency research, I will discuss the findings of three recent studies I have been involved in. Discussing the results and underlining the contributions these studies have made to the field, I will discuss how professional practice in applied linguistics can benefit from the findings of this body of research.

Keynote Speaker

Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli

Professor Parvaneh Tavakoli

University of Reading, United Kingdom

Parvaneh Tavakoli is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Reading. Parvaneh's main research interest lies in the interface of second language acquisition, language teaching, and language testing. She is specifically interested in task-based language teaching, task design and development of oral fluency in second language acquisition. Parvaneh has led several international research projects investigating second language performance, acquisition, assessment, and policy in different contexts. She has disseminated her research in the form of articles in prestigious peer-reviewed journals (e.g., The Modern Language Journal, SSLA and Language Learning), policy reports (e.g., Report to Welsh Government), and books by key publishers (e.g., Cambridge University Press and TESOL Press). Her latest monograph "Comprehensibility in Language Testing" will soon be published by Equinox.

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