خلاصة:
In L2 instruction and assessment, the application of research findings that adopt an
integrative, psycholinguistic approach to explore the information-processing and
speech-management facets of fluency seems necessary. This paper reports on a
study that drew on Levelt’s (1989, 1999) speaking-specific model to probe the
problem-solving mechanisms (PSMs) of fluent and nonfluent L2 speakers through
a speaking-oriented questionnaire and a series of output-related retrospective
interviews. The fluent and nonfluent L2 speakers were identified using a newlydeveloped
analytic fluency scale and the task-related speech samples of 200
participants. The results revealed that the fluent L2 speakers employed cognitive,
linguistic, and interactional PSMs more frequently and with greater facility than the
nonfluent participants particularly to compensate for deficits in their conceptual
repertoire, bridge communication gaps, and negotiate the intended meaning with
their interlocutors. Specifically, they efficiently reshaped the preverbal plan to
avoid failure, adeptly employed a variety of fillers and hesitation devices to
maintain the communication flow, and attentively monitored the conversation.
However, the nonfluent L2 speakers entirely abandoned or completely changed
their original speech plan after running into deficiencies in their own outputs that
made their speech utterly disjointed. Still at times, they struggled to self-correct
their speech but failed due to deficient linguistic and interactional competence,
which adversely led to more disfluencies. The findings suggest that further research
into the cognitive, linguistic, and interactional processes underlying (non)fluent
speakers’ use of PSMs can be useful in explaining speech disfluencies or learners’
differential L2 fluency.
ملخص الجهاز:
"This model is drawn upon in this study in an attempt to probe the cognitive processes underlying L2 speakers’ speech production management and their use of PSMs. In fact, L2 speakers need to utilize a variety of PSMs or communication strategies in order to compensate for their underdeveloped mental lexicon as well as their conscious and serial encodings of the grammatical and phonological phases of speech production (Kormos, 2006; Skehan, 2009).
Discussion This study drew on Levelt’s (1989, 1999) psycholinguistic speech-production model to account for the cognitive processes involved in the fluent and nonfluent L2 speakers’ use of PSMs in L2 oral communication.
The use of meaning-negotiation strategies provided the fluent L2 speakers with more opportunities for comprehension and learning and improved the cognitive processes required for their L2 learning in that conscious production of speech results in internalizing linguistic forms (Long, 1996; Nakahama, Tyler, & Lier, 2001; Pica, 1996; Swain, 1995).
The overall results revealed that the fluent L2 speakers were adept at using facilitative and effective PSMs. They typically employed the PSMs related to the lexical-resource deficits, processing time pressure, and the perceived deficiencies in the interlocutor’s performance more regularly than the nonfluent L2 speakers to avoid communication impasses.
In clear terms, the fluent L2 speakers retained the macroplan and merely modified the preverbal message to evade problems in lexical retrieval, employed a number of stalling mechanisms to devote more time and attentional resources to the serial nature of L2 speech processing, and utilized meaning-negotiation mechanisms to surmount difficulties in the speech comprehension phase."