Fluency

Fluency (also called volubility and eloquency) refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in speech production. It is also used to characterize language production, language ability or language proficiency. In speech language pathology fluency means the flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly, where fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for cluttering and stuttering.

Fluency (also called volubility and eloquency) refers to continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in speech production. It is also used to characterize language production, language ability or language proficiency. In speech language pathology fluency means the flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly, where fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for cluttering and stuttering. ==Definition== Fluency is a term concerning language production on the one hand, which is used in language ability or language proficiency It is also used to characterize speech production on the other hand with some overlap. In speech language pathology it means the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly. It refers to "continuity, smoothness, rate, and effort in speech production". The term fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for cluttering and stuttering since at least 1993. Fluency is the property of a person or of a system that delivers information quickly and with expertise. ====Second-language acquisition in children==== Since childhood is a critical period, widespread opinion holds that it is easier for young children to learn a second language than it is for adults. Children can even acquire native fluency when exposed to the language on a consistent basis with rich interaction in a social setting. In addition to capacity, factors like; 1) motivation, 2) aptitude, 3) personality characteristics, 4) age of acquisition 5) first language typology 6) socio-economic status and 7) quality and context of L2 input play a role in L2 acquisitions rate and building fluency. Second language acquisition (SLA) has the ability to influence children's cognitive growth and linguistic development. Skill that consists of ability to produce words in target language develops until adolescence. Natural ability to acquire a new language with a deliberate effort may begin to diminish around puberty i.e. 12–14 years of age. Learning environment, comprehensible instructional materials, teacher, and the learner are indispensable elements in SLA and developing fluency in children. Paradis (2006) study on childhood language acquisition and building fluency examines how first and second language acquisition patterns are generally similar including vocabulary and morphosyntax. Phonology of first language is usually apparent in SLA and initial L1 influence can be lifelong, even for child L2 learners. Children can acquire a second language simultaneously (learn L1 and L2 at the same time) or sequentially (learn L1 first and then L2). In the end, they develop fluency in both with one dominant language which is spoken largely by the community they live in. ====Second-language acquisition in adults==== The process of learning a second language or "L2," among older learners differs from younger learners because of their working memory. Working memory, also connected to fluency because it deals with automatic responses, is vital to language acquisition. This happens when information is stored and manipulated temporarily. During working memory, words are filtered, processed, and rehearsed, and information is stored while focusing on the next piece of interaction. These false starts, pauses or repetitions found in fluency assessments, can also be found within one's working memory as part of communication. Those with education at or below a high school level are least likely to take language classes. It has also been found that women and young immigrants are more likely to take language classes. Further, highly educated immigrants who are searching for skilled jobs – which require interpersonal and intercultural skills that are difficult to learn – are the most affected by lower fluency in the L2. ==Speech-language pathology== Fluency is a speech language pathology term which means the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined when speaking quickly. The term fluency disorder has been used as a collective term for cluttering and stuttering. Both disorders have breaks in the fluidity of speech, and both have the fluency breakdown of repetition of parts of speech. ==See also== Linguistics Phonics Precision teaching Reading Speech and language pathology Speech disfluencies Synthetic phonics Eye movement in reading ==References==

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