Investigating the Correlation between English Spoken Fluency and Working Memory Capacity in both Dialogic and Monologic Presentations

Abstract

Studies on second language (L2) speech fluency recommend studying fluency in a dialogic context. In response to the researchers' calls, this study introduced monologic and dialogic tasks to investigate the various aspects of speed, breakdown, and repair fluency in the oral performancemost L2 fluency studies have looked at oral fluency in a monologic task. Dialogue is the more authentic and natural way of communication, which is apparent in everyday language use. Currently, there is a scarcity of research examining dialogue fluency in non-native bilingual speakers who share the same L2. The existing body of research on language learning and processing has underscored significant connections between individual differences (IDs) in working memory capacity (WMC) and models of L2 speech production in both first language (L1). Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether variations in WMC are linked to dysfluency in L2 monologue and dialogue. Therefore, this study also aimed to fill this gap in the literature by investigating the correlation between utterance fluency in both monologue and dialogue and WMC. A total of 64 undergraduate Saudi students were given various tasks as part of the study. An argumentative task was presented as a monologue focused on a prevalent topic in the participants’ country. In contrast, during a dialogic discussion task, 32 pairs engaged in exchanging opinions on a popular subject in their country. Additionally, participants underwent two challenging working memory (WM) tests: the Operation Span Test and the Backward Digit Span Test. The findings aligned with prior research, indicating that L2 participants demonstrated greater fluency in dialogue compared to monologue, as evident in speed and breakdown measures of utterance fluency. Interestingly, WMC did not emerge as a robust predictor for variations in L2 oral performances between monologue and dialogue.