Jason Anderson jasonanderson1@gmail.com Accuracy and Fluency Practical ideas and a draft framework for helping learners to achieve both simultaneously. IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Accuracy and Fluency Aims: s: to look at the origins of the accuracy fluency distinction to ask you whether you find the distinction a) valid b) useful to give my opinion on this question to present a draft framework for classifying language practice activities to show you several activities that I think are useful for helping learners achieve accuracy and fluency (dotted around the workshop) and how they fit into the draft framework I’ll give web address for downloading summary notes and activity booklet for the talk Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Context: Adult/teenage learners, intermediate to advanced levels Learning focus: Language practice activities, written or spoken Key terminology: ‘accuracy’ or ‘focussing on accuracy’ - when the learners and teacher are concerned with avoiding errors (spoken or written) ‘fluency’ or ‘focussing on fluency’ - when the learners and teacher are concerned with producing meaningful language as close to native speaker speed as possible (mainly spoken) Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Icebreaker: Question Poker Play ay in groups ps of 4-6 Stag age 1) On the table in front of you are question tion cards ds with th 2 2 diffe fferent ent questions tions on them. . Please ase take one of each ch and work rking ing indivi ividuall dually and silentl ently wri rite your own pers rsonal onal answer swer for each question tion on the back of the card. d. Keep your answers swers secret. Stag age 2) One pers rson on should ld collect ct in all the cards, s, shuf uffle le them and lay them out on the desk so that the questio stions ns are face up (a (answ swer ers are hidden den face dow own). n). Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Icebreaker: Question Poker Stag age 3) Take it in turn rns to pick ck up a questio tion, n, loo ook at the ans nswer wer and guess ss who you think wrote it. Ask the question stion to that pers rson on who must give the answe swer they wrote on the card. . Stage 4) If it’s the same answer, the asker ‘wins’ the card. If not, the asker er puts the card back exactly ctly where it was, s, question stion facin cing upwar wards. ds. IMPOR PORTANT: NT: If If, by chanc nce, e, you pick up your own card, don’t reveal it’s yours (poker face). Ask someone, get the ans nswer wer and replace ace it cooly. Stage 5) Continue until all the cards have been ‘won’. The pers rson on with the most cards ds is the winn nner er. . Some of you will ll have to answer a question several times. Don’t change your yo answer swer. Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Question Poker Why I like it: • It allows ows learn rner ers to wri rite answers swers firs rst (t (thinkin nking carefully efully about accur uracy). acy). • Learners rners then have to recall ll what they wrote, speak aking ing ‘fluently’. • Becau cause they have already ady wri ritten en it (t (teacher her can monit nitor wri riting ing stage to check for err rrors rs), there is a greater chance of accuracy than if they’re just answ nswer ering ing the questio tions ns without out prepar aratio tion. n. • I like ‘recall’ activities. I think they help learning by getting ing the learne rners rs to hold langu guag age (o (often en in chunks) nks) in their short rt- term rm memorie ries. s. Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Examples of typical language practice activities Which are for ‘accuracy work’ and which are for ‘fluency practice’? Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Origins of the accuracy vs. fluency distinction Did it star art with the au audi diolingu ingual al ap approac aches? hes? “Like sin, error is to be avoided and its influence overcome, but its presence is to be expected.” Nelson Brooks,1960 It didn’t start here! The he audi diolingu nguists ists corr rrected ted everyth rything! ing! Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Origins of the accuracy vs. fluency distinction The he term rms becam ame fam amilia liar in 1980s 0s as as commun unica icative tive lan anguag age teac aching hing bega gan chan anging ging clas assroom prac actice. ce. Bru rumfit it , describing a ‘methodological distinction’, called accuracy & fluency ‘polarities’. He believed the di distin tinction ction should help teac ache hers rs to de decide de on ‘… the he distribution of time between various types of activity.’ He recognised that ‘the distinction is not absolutely tidy’. (1984 84: 52) Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Discussion Questions 1. 1. Do yo you think the ac accurac acy/ y/fluen fluency cy di distin inctio ction is val alid? d? 2. 2. Is it useful to yo you as a a teac acher? her? 3. 3. Would yo your lear arner ers find the di distin inctio ction val alid? Preparation Task Make ke notes es on the he fl flipch char art paper er on your de desk to prepar epare for the he di discus ussion. sion. You can note do down wn: a) usefu a) ful vocabul abular ary you wa want to use b) ideas, b) examples and people you’d like to mention ion Please ase make sure your notes es are legibl ble (3 (3 mins) Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Discussion Questions 1. 1. Do yo you think the ac accurac acy/ y/fluen fluency cy di distin inctio ction is val alid? d? 2. 2. Is it useful to yo you as a a teac acher? her? 3. 3. Would yo your lear arner ers find the di distin inctio ction val alid? Whose line is it anyway? Stage 1) Rotate R te the fli lipchart art sheet through 90 o a few times so that you all get a chance to read each others’ notes. DON’T START THE DISCUSSIONS YET! Stage 2) B Begin the discuss ussion ion with your pen in your hand. d. Ea Each time you mention/ on/incl include ude one of the things on the sheet (anybody’s), tick it with your pen. If you want to make it competitive, the person who has made the most ticks by the end is the winner. Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Whose line is it anyway? Why I like l it: • it provide des preparation tion time for demanding ding discuss ssion ion activities ivities (incr crease eases accuracy acy/comp /comple lexity ity) • it encourages le learners rs to le learn off each other and notice that they’re doing this • key themes are repeated ed /r /reworked ed during ing the discussion, cussion, le leading to interna rnalis lisation tion of la languag age • it involves lves both competition tion and theft Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
Accuracy and Fluency Some problems ems with the ac accurac acy/ y/flue luency cy di distinctio inction • Many students don’t see it as valid. They are aiming for both, so why separate them? • It has caused a distortion in the mindset of some teachers and trainee teachers: ‘ Why didn’t you do any correcting?’ ‘I didn’t think I was allowed to. They were doing fluency practice.’ • It may have caused materials to become too polarised. • It has caused a similar polarisation in models / paradigms for lesson planning and description Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
The implications of the accuracy fluency distinction PPP PP ESA SA ARC Jim Scrive vene ner “The focus on restricted P E C output tends to be on getting language right, Present esentatio tion Enga gage Clarifi arification ion whereas the emphasis on authentic output is more R often the quality of P S Restric ricte ted communication of Practic actice Study udy output tput messages .” “…‘authentic’ and the ‘gap’ between controlled and free practice ‘restricted’ are really end points on a continuum, A P A rather than two all- Authe thent ntic ic excluding categories!” Produ oductio tion Activ ivate te output tput Learni rning ng Teaching hing (2005) Accur uracy acy and Fluency cy | Jason Anderson | IATEFL Liverpool 2013
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