Utterance fluency development across CEFR-based proficiency assessments from A2 to B2

Abstract

This article reports a study that investigated typical utterance fluency features’ development across three oral proficiency levels (A2—B2) as measured by a local application of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. The speakers were 60 teenaged learners of English from Finland. Approximately 20 seconds of their semi-spontaneous speech was analysed for eleven speech features related to speed, breakdown, and repair fluency. Results reveal that the speakers’ tempo, number of words produced and length of uninterrupted speech between pauses increased along with proficiency. Also, the number of silent pauses in unconventional (mid-clause) positions and length of silent pauses decreased along with increased proficiency. As an implication, second-language learners could benefit from fluency practice such as focus on speed of delivery and pausing. Moreover, these aspects could be considered more consistently in language proficiency scales.