Effects of Repetition of Selected News Stories on Oral Fluency in Media English Learning

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the effects of repeating selected news stories, in pairs, on oral fluency in Japanese university classrooms. A revised version of Nation's "4/3/2" task was implemented, with rotating pairs and with ever- decreasing narration times. It includes such fluency-enhancing elements as formulaic language units, automatization, and task repetition. Participants in this study were second- year English majors taking a Media English course. Classes met twice a week for a full school year. Tests were administered at the beginning and at the end of the year. Oral fluency was measured using an interview test that assessed rate of speech, and using a standard college speaking test. Results showed that oral fluency improved as measured by both tests, thus lending support to the use of Nation's 4/3/2 technique.