Accuracy vs Fluency Cesar Klauer 28 Feb., 2004

Presentation scheme What is fluency? What is accuracy? Fluency VS Accuracy? Communicative competence Suggestions

What is fluency? ( 1 ) Reasonable speech with sufficient precision, with reasonable correctness ( grammatically, phonologically, lexically ) ( Van EK and Alexander – The European Threshold Level Project, 1977)

What is fluency? ( 2 ) Fluency can be thought of as “ the ability to keep going when speaking spontaneously” (Gower, Phillips and Walters Teaching Practice Handbook, p. 100 )

What is fluency? ( 3 ) “…the ability to produce written and/or spoken language with ease...speak with a good but not necessarily perfect command of intonation, vocabulary and grammar...communicate ideas effectively, and produce continuous speech without causing comprehension difficulties or a breakdown of communication. “ Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

What is accuracy? ( 1 ) Accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. (Gower, Phillips and Walters Teaching Practice Handbook, p. 100 )

What is accuracy? ( 2 ) Accuracy refers to the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences but may not include the ability to speak or write fluently Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Fluency VS Accuracy? ACCURACY Correctness of language ( either spoken or written ) FLUENCY Production of speech ( either in speaking or writing )

Fluency + Accuracy!!! FLUENCY ACCURACY Procedures Concepts

Communicative Competence Del Hymes´s reaction to Chomsky´s linguistic competence ( 1960´s ) Canale: C ommunicative competence comprises both knowledge, and skills in using acquired knowledge when interacting in actual communication. Knowledge means what one knows (consciously or unconsciously) about the language and about other aspects of life and the world, and skill refers to how well one can perform.

Elements of communicative competence (Canale and Swain, 1980 ) Grammatical Competence : “correctness” and accuracy; the language “code” (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, spelling, etc.). Sociolinguistic Competence : appropriate use of language in varied social settings: social norms, register, and other rules or social conventions Discourse Competence : ability to appropriately engage in conversations requiring the combining and connecting of phrases and sentences. Strategic Competence: manipulation of verbal and nonverbal language to achieve the communication goals: to clarify meaning and to enhance communication

Suggestions 1.Provide extensive exposure to and practice of the language considering all the skills in an integrated way 2.Make grammar part of the teaching process not the aim 3.Plan thinking of competences NOT the parts of the competence

How to provide extensive exposure Activities should, whenever possible, be based on authentic materials enable learners to manipulate and practice the language allow learners to rehearse, in class, communicative skills they need in the real world activate the processes of learning Adapted from: Developing Adult EFL Students' Speaking Abilities, Kang Shumin The English Teaching Forum vol35 nº3

Examples: Jigsaw listening/ reading and Information gap : students negotiate answers applying the language Films, soap operas, comedies, etc.( with appropriate tasks ): eyewitness.

How to make grammar part of teaching a.IF accuracy activities are isolated: add an application stage; b.IF fluency activities are isolated: add a feedback stage + language work

Plan thinking of competences NOT the parts of the competence Lesson, unit, term and year objectives should be in terms of what students CAN DO with the language not what they KNOW ABOUT the language. Examples: a.Students will make questions, affirmative and negative statements using the Present Simple Tense b.Students should be able to talk about, describe, ask for and give information about every day habits and routines.