Linguistics Circle talk: Vocabulary size and L2 speaking fluency across speaking modes: discussing vocabulary-fluency link in interactional contexts

Speaker: Dr Yixin Wang-Taylor

Most prior research on fluency in a second language (L2) and its connection with vocabulary knowledge has focused on monologic contexts. This research, however, attempts to explore fluency and evaluate its connection with vocabulary size in interactive contexts. Participants were 24 Chinese undergraduate students of English from an upper-intermediate to an advanced level. Seven persuasive speaking topics were employed to elicit L2 learners' speaking performance in monologues, dialogues, and multilogues (three speakers). A series of vocabulary size measures was used to assess second language learners’ vocabulary size in orthographic form, their academic vocabulary size, and their general vocabulary size in phonographic form. The results show a series of significant findings that will be fully discussed in the talk. If you are interested in conducting research on speaking or vocabulary knowledge, this talk will be very suitable for you!