Fluency
Encyclopedia
Fluency is the property of a person
or of a system
that delivers information
quickly and with expertise.
and stuttering
. Both disorders have breaks in the fluidity of speech, and both have the fluency breakdown of repetition of parts of speech.
Fluency disorders are most often complex in nature and they tend to occur more often in boys than in girls.
, most typically foreign language
or another learned language, and more narrowly to denote fluid language use, as opposed to slow, halting use. In this narrow sense, fluency is necessary but not sufficient for language proficiency: fluent language users (particularly uneducated native speakers) may have narrow vocabularies, limited discourse strategies, and inaccurate word use. They may be illiterate, as well. Native language speakers are often incorrectly referred to as fluent.
Fluency in English is basically ones ability to be understood by both native and non native listeners. A higher level would be bilingual, which indicates one is native in two languages, either having learned them simultaneously or one after the other. In Murcia
, Spain, for example the local government distinguishes the two.
In the sense of proficiency, "fluency" encompasses a number of related but separable skills:
To some extent, these skills can be acquired separately. Generally, the later in life a learner approaches the study of a foreign language, the harder it is to acquire receptive (auditory
) comprehension and fluent production (speaking) skills; however, the Critical Period Hypothesis
is a hotly debated topic. For instance, reading and writing skills in a foreign language can be acquired more easily after the primary language acquisition
period of youth is over.
and comprehension
. Comprehension is understanding
what has been read. Fluency is a set of skills that allows readers to rapidly decode text while maintaining a high level of comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2001).
Reading fluency encompasses both rate of words read per minute, as well as the ability to read with expression.
A first benchmark for fluency is being able to "sight read" some words. The idea is that children will recognize on sight the most common words written in their native language and that such instant reading of these words will allow them to read and understand text more quickly.
As children learn to read, the speed at which they read becomes an important measure of fluency.
(National Reading Panel
, Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction—Reports of the Subgroups. A complete copy of the NRP report can be read, downloaded, or ordered at no cost from the NRP website at
www.nationalreadingpanel.org.)
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
or of a system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
that delivers information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
quickly and with expertise.
Speech
Fluency is a speech language pathology term that means the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllables, words and phrases are joined together when speaking quickly. Fluency disorders is used as a collective term for clutteringCluttering
Cluttering is a speech disorder and a communication disorder characterized by speech that is difficult for listeners to understand due to rapid speaking rate, erratic rhythm, poor syntax or grammar, and words or groups of words unrelated to the sentence...
and stuttering
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
. Both disorders have breaks in the fluidity of speech, and both have the fluency breakdown of repetition of parts of speech.
Fluency disorders are most often complex in nature and they tend to occur more often in boys than in girls.
Language fluency
Language fluency is used informally to denote broadly a high level of language proficiencyLanguage proficiency
Language proficiency or linguistic proficiency is the ability of an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language. As theories vary among pedagogues as to what constitutes proficiency, there is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it...
, most typically foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
or another learned language, and more narrowly to denote fluid language use, as opposed to slow, halting use. In this narrow sense, fluency is necessary but not sufficient for language proficiency: fluent language users (particularly uneducated native speakers) may have narrow vocabularies, limited discourse strategies, and inaccurate word use. They may be illiterate, as well. Native language speakers are often incorrectly referred to as fluent.
Fluency in English is basically ones ability to be understood by both native and non native listeners. A higher level would be bilingual, which indicates one is native in two languages, either having learned them simultaneously or one after the other. In Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, Spain, for example the local government distinguishes the two.
In the sense of proficiency, "fluency" encompasses a number of related but separable skills:
- Reading: the ability to easily read and understand texts written in the language;
- WritingWritingWriting is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
: the ability to formulate written texts in the language; - Comprehension: the ability to follow and understand speech in the language;
- Speaking: the ability to produce speech in the language and be understood by its speakers.
To some extent, these skills can be acquired separately. Generally, the later in life a learner approaches the study of a foreign language, the harder it is to acquire receptive (auditory
Hearing (sense)
Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such as the ear. It is one of the traditional five senses...
) comprehension and fluent production (speaking) skills; however, the Critical Period Hypothesis
Critical Period Hypothesis
The critical period hypothesis is the subject of a long-standing debate in linguistics and language acquisition over the extent to which the ability to acquire language is biologically linked to age...
is a hotly debated topic. For instance, reading and writing skills in a foreign language can be acquired more easily after the primary language acquisition
Language acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with...
period of youth is over.
Reading fluency
Reading fluency is often confused with language fluency (see above). Reading fluency is the ability to read text accurately and quickly. Fluency bridges word decodingDecoding
Decoding is the reverse of encoding, which is the process of transforming information from one format into another. Information about decoding can be found in the following:* Digital-to-analog converter, the use of analog circuit for decoding operations...
and comprehension
Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text. ....
. Comprehension is understanding
Understanding
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object....
what has been read. Fluency is a set of skills that allows readers to rapidly decode text while maintaining a high level of comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2001).
Reading fluency encompasses both rate of words read per minute, as well as the ability to read with expression.
A first benchmark for fluency is being able to "sight read" some words. The idea is that children will recognize on sight the most common words written in their native language and that such instant reading of these words will allow them to read and understand text more quickly.
As children learn to read, the speed at which they read becomes an important measure of fluency.
(National Reading Panel
National Reading Panel
The National Reading Panel was a United States government body. Formed in 1997 at the request of Congress, it was a national panel with the stated aim of assessing the effectiveness of different approaches used to teach children to read....
, Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction—Reports of the Subgroups. A complete copy of the NRP report can be read, downloaded, or ordered at no cost from the NRP website at
www.nationalreadingpanel.org.)
Fluency in creativity
Studies in the assessment of creativity list fluency as one of the four primary elements in creative thinking. The others being flexibility, originality and elaboration. Fluency in creative thinking is seen as the ability to think of many diverse ideas quickly.See also
- LinguisticsLinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
- Precision teachingPrecision teachingPrecision teaching is a precise and systematic method of evaluating instructional tactics and curricula. It is one of the few quantitative analyses of behavior forms of applied behavior analysis. It comes from a very strong quantitative scientific basis and was pioneered by Ogden Lindsley in the...
- Speech disfluenciesSpeech disfluenciesSpeech disfluencies are any of various breaks, irregularities, or non-lexical vocables that occur within the flow of otherwise fluent speech. These include false starts, i.e. words and sentences that are cut off mid-utterance, phrases that are restarted or repeated and repeated syllables, fillers i.e...
- Speech and language pathologySpeech and language pathologySpeech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...
- PhonicsPhonicsPhonics refers to a method for teaching speakers of English to read and write that language. Phonics involves teaching how to connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters and teaching them to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations...
- Synthetic phonicsSynthetic phonicsSynthetic phonics is a method of teaching reading which first teaches the letter sounds and then builds up to blending these sounds together to achieve full pronunciation of whole words...