Abstract/Summary

This book has two main aims. First, it aims to offer the readers an advanced introduction to L2 speech fluency, to research conducted in this area, to theoretical frameworks that inform this body of research, and to methodological principles that are used to investigate and measure L2 speech fluency. The second aim of the book is to place fluency in a broader perspective, in which it can best be understood by teachers, assessors and language professionals. We will evaluate a range of external factors affecting speech performance across teaching, testing and real-world communication, including task demands, language assessment constraints, and pragmatic interactional factors affecting fluent communication. This book therefore aims to provide a unifying account of L2 fluency across different sub-disciplines of applied linguistics, to discuss how these different research disciplines can complement each other, and to emphasise the need for a more collaborative approach to researching L2 speech fluency.