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Developing Fluency

Dr Sulabha Natraj

 

 

Everyone is impressed by a fluent speaker and everyone wishes to become one.  Yet most of us who want to speak fluently feel frustrated because it does not seem to happen easily.  In this Unit, let us try to understand what is meant by fluency, how can one become fluent and what role can the teacher play in helping learners develop fluent speech.  Consider these statements.  Do you agree with them ?

 

A fluent speaker

-         always speaks fast.

-         is able to talk on any subject.

-         is an excellent orator.

-         does not make grammatical errors.

-         has perfect pronunciation.

 

 

Fluency : Concept and Creation

 

Fluency is a linguistically graded phenomenon.  That is, a competent user of a language is normally considered to be a fluent user of the language.  However, fluent behaviour cannot be defined in fixed, decontexualised, impersonal or objective terms.  Although it may be possible to qualify certain language behaviour as fluent or non-fluent, this evaluation cannot be universally acceptable.  Fluency is a highly fluid, imprecise, subjective concept changing from person to person, context to context, purpose to purpose.  Further, a host of referential, socio-cultural and psychological factors affect what may be termed fluent speech.

 

Nevertheless, fluency is accepted as a linguistic ability of the speaker to respond flexibly, appropriately and consistently to various stimuli.  A more comprehensive definition of fluency is given by Richard Leeson.  Accordingly, fluency is “the ability of the speaker to produce indefinitely large number of sentences conforming to the phonological, syntactical and semantic exigencies of a given natural language on the basis of a finite exposure to a finite corpus of that language”.

 

Let us understand this definition.  Important elements in this definition are as under.

 

·              Indefinitely many sentences  :    That is, a fluent speaker is able to make endless number of sentences.

 

·              Conforming to the phonological, syntactical and semantic exigencies of a given natural language  :  That is, the sentences produced by a fluent speaker are in accordance with the rules of pronunciation, syntax and the ways in which meanings are conveyed in a specific speech community.

 

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H M Patel Institute of English Training & Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120, Gujarat, India

Phone : 091-2692-230193, 091-2692-230079