Patterns in Second Language Utterance Fluency: An Exploratory Meta-analysis of Correlational Research

초록

This paper describes an exploratory meta-analysis of correlations between second language (L2) utterance fluency (UF) phenomena. UF refers to the temporal, pausing, and repair features of speech. Correlations between 24 pairings of UF measures were meta-analyzed, encompassing a total of 179 effect sizes from 31 primary studies. Results indicate that most of the UF measure pairings display weak to moderate correlations in the expected direction. On the other hand, there were significant correlations in the unexpected direction between several breakdown phenomena, suggesting a trade-off effect may have occurred. Thirdly, some measure pairings displayed no significant correlation in either direction, suggesting they may function independently of each other in L2 speech. Finally, suggestions are made as to how these tentative findings can be explored in future research.

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