Speaking: Accuracy to Fluency

Gerard McLoughlin

Spoken fluency revisited Michael McCarthy University of Nottingham, UK

• <CANDIDATE 01> Er when do you have breakfast?• <CANDIDATE 02> I have my breakfast er at er seven o’clock. • <CANDIDATE 01> Where do you have breakfast? • <CANDIDATE 02> Er in my kitchen in my house • <CANDIDATE 01> In what room? • <CANDIDATE 02> In the kitchen. • <CANDIDATE 01> And do you have coffee or tea for breakfast? • <CANDIDATE 02> Er tea. • <CANDIDATE 01> Er what do you eat?• <CANDIDATE 02> I eat toast and a cup of tea.• <CANDIDATE 01> How many days er how many times a day do you have it?• <CANDIDATE 02> Er two times. [4 seconds pause]• <CANDIDATE 02> Sorry I don’t understand you. Repeat the sentence please• . <CANDIDATE 01> How many times a day do you have breakfast? • <CANDIDATE 02> One time a day of course!

• <Examiner> First of all we’d like to know a little bit about you. Erm where do you both live?

• <Candidate 01> I live in (place name) in South Korea yes.• <Candidate 02> And I live in (place name). It’s in Switzerland and

it’s near Zurich. • <Examiner> (Candidate name) how long have you been studying

English? • <Candidate 01> Well actually I study English mm in junior high

school and high school for six years around for six years. • <Examiner> Different classes. Good. Now I’d like you to ask each

other something about things you particularly like about living in this country and entertainment and leisure facilities in this area. [intervening text]

• <Candidate 02> Erm I like to go erm to see a movie• <Candidate 01>Mm• <Candidate 02>I see a lot of them since I’ve been here and I like to

go to pubs and +• <Candidate 01> Ah• <Candidate 02>+together with friends and -• <Candidate 01>-Yeah me too actually

Disappearing dialogues

A: Did you have a good weekend?B: Yeah, I did, thanks. It was really nice.A: What did you do?B: Well, I went to visit a friend in London.A: Oh yes? Did you have a good time?B: Yes, it was great. We had a really good time.

We went dancing on Saturday night.

© Framework, Jones & Goldstein, Richmond 2005

memoriseA: Hi, Good Morning.B: Oh, Hello. How are you? What happened to you last Friday?A: Yes, sorry I couldn’t come to class. I was ill.B: That’s OK. Are you feeling better now?A: Yes, much better thanks. Can you give me the papers from

last week?B: Yes, of course. Here you are.A: Great. Thanks. I’ll look at them tonight.B: OK. No problem.

© Innovations, Dellar & Walkley, Heinle 2005

Read and Listen

D: Oh, and I saw John a couple of days ago.M: Oh yes! How was he?D: Very well. Did you know he’s got a new girlfriend?M: No, I didn’t. But you know your brother, he never tells me

anything. Have you met her?D: Yes, she was there when I went to his house.M: and what’s she like?D: She’s really nice. She’s very interesting, she works in an art

gallery and she likes painting.

© Innovations, Dellar & Walker, Heinle 2005

1 del arte de curar, claro está. Del suyo respectivo, otro tanto podrían d 2 del Atlántico pero también del Pacífico. Está claro para los expertos, las academias 3 como para los que no lo son, y está claro que "puede" servir para todas 4 ocurre hoy en la España de las autonomías? - Sí, claro, y la Academia no puede 5 el punto de partida es rigurosamente claro, y Lázaro se remonta al Diálogo de la 6 el dueño le contestó que bien claro estaba lo que allí decía: "Ca pancalá". 7 "Para los católicos está claro que sólo hay un "Heiliger Vater" (el Papa), per 8 En castellano no puede estar más claro que ese ambiguo "su" de "todo el mundo" 9 la palabra que lo nombra tomó el color del claro brillante y se formó con 10 sólamente queremos dejar claro que estos contrastes entonativos tienen en la l http://corpus.rae.es/creanet.html

Corpus data: Chunks

Two Three Four Five six

You know I don’t know You know what I

You know what I mean

Do you know what I mean

I mean A lot of Know what I mean

At the end of the

At the end of the day

I think I mean I I don’t know what

Do you know what I

And all the rest of it

In the I don’t think The end of the The end of the day

And all that sort of thing

It was Do you think At the end of Do you want me to

I don’t know what it is

Chunks & Fluency

// he’s SHY//you know what i MEAN

//they sell JEWellery//and THAT sort of thing//

//the ROOM was//a BIT of a//MESS actually

© From corpus to classroom, Language use and language teaching, O’Keefe, McCarthy, Carter, CUP 2007

D: Oh, and I SAW JOHN a COUple of DAYS ago.M: Oh YES! How was HE?D: Very WELL. Did you KNOW he’s got a NEW GIRLfriend?M: NO, I Didn’t. but you KNOW your BROther, he NEver tells

ME ANYthing. have you MET her?D: YES, she was THERE when I WENT to his HOUSE.M: and WHAT’S she LIKE?D: She’s REALLY NICE. She’s very INteresting, she WORKS in

an ART GALlery and she likes PAINting.

Confluence

• Listenership• Minimal response: Mm, Yeah, Lovely• Clusters: Yeah mm, Right Fine• Negation: Absolutely not, Definitely not• Convergence: Closing/changing topic

© From corpus to classroom, Language use and language teaching, O’Keefe, McCarthy, Carter, CUP 2007

Pre-closing and closing routines

S2: They look very goodS1: Thanks for that

S2: They look very goodS1: GreatS2: YesS1: FabulousS2: All rightS1: Ok thanks for thatS2: Okay, CescaS1: CheersS2: Bye

Opening & Closing

Conversation & daily chat

In a bar/café

At a bus stop

In a waiting room

Place Opening phrase Closing phrase

In a bar/café Is this seat free? Sorry, I’ve got to go

At a bus stop Is this the stop for the 27? That’s my bus

In a waiting room Been waiting long? Nice meeting you

Decision making

• Suggestion =>

• Agree => modification/negotiation => Agree/Disagree etc => Summary

• Disagree => negotiation/new suggestion => Agree/Disagree etc => Summary

Class data

Pre: ‘you can going to walking’ Post: ‘we could go walking’,

Pre: ‘the car is difficult’ and ‘drink… and see the artists’,

Post: ‘I’m sorry, I don’t really like it, because I live next to the Borne, but we could go to your house’; ‘that’s a great idea, and we could make a picnic’;

Function Exponent

Making suggestions Could we go to the beach?

Why don’t we go to the beach?

(I think) We could go to the beach.

Agreeing That’s a great idea!

Disagreeing I’m not sure (about that)

Negotiating: after agreeing ..and we could/might go swimming too

after disagreeing Perhaps/Maybe we could/should go to…

Summarising So, we’re all agreed to….

So. We’re going to….

Daily chats

• Restaurant• Film• Football• Weekend…..

Matching sentence halves

How?

• Memorisation

• Chunking

• Noticing

Bibliography

• Framework, Jones & Goldstein, Richmond• Innovations, Dellar & Walkley, Heinle• Spoken fluency revistited, McCarthy, English Profile

Journal 2010• From corpus to classroom Language use and Language

teaching, O’Keefe, McCarthy, Carter, CUP• Johnny Depp interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEaTOSRMifU• Hofesh Scheckter interview: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEaTOSRMifU

THANK YOU!!!

Gerard McLoughlin

gmcloughlin@bcn.ihes.com