Chapter published in:
Understanding L2 Proficiency: Theoretical and meta-analytic investigations
Edited by Eun Hee Jeon and Yo In'nami
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 13] 2022
► pp. 307–338

Chapter 10
L2 speaking and its internal correlates

A meta-analysis

| Seisen University
| Chuo University
| University of North Carolina at Pembroke

The current meta-analysis examines relationships between second-language (L2) speaking (assessed using global ratings) and its internal features, such as fluency and accuracy (assessed using analytic ratings or measures) that were derived by analyzing speaking performance during the same speaking tasks. A synthesis of 39 studies (284 correlations) suggests that internal features are strongly correlated to L2 speaking in general (r = .649) and that the strength of the correlations varies according to oral features (e.g., r = .713 to .888 for fluency, delivery, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and content). The results highlight the relative importance of various internal features in L2 speaking and suggest areas in need of further research.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Fluency
    • 2.2Accuracy, grammar, and vocabulary
    • 2.3Grammatical complexity and lexical complexity
    • 2.4Pronunciation, comprehensibility, delivery, content, and coherence
    • 2.5Measuring L2 speaking and its internal features
    • 2.6Relative strengths of relationships between L2 speaking and internal features
  • 3.Current study and research questions
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Literature search
    • 4.2Study inclusion criteria
    • 4.3Coding
    • 4.5Analyses
  • 5.Results
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Fluency
      • Accuracy, grammar, and vocabulary
    • 6.2Grammatical complexity and lexical complexity
    • 6.3Pronunciation, comprehensibility, delivery, content, and coherence
    • 6.4Relative strengths of relationships between L2 speaking and internal features
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 04 August 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.13.10koi
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