Lesson 2 3 Key features of fluency and coherence Fluency and Coherence refers to the test taker’s ability to talk about a range of topics without pausing or hesitating to search for language. How much effort is required to produce language which is appropriate to the turn, and the ability to link ideas to form coherent and connected speech are also assessed.Fluency Coherence + Rate of speech + The use of discourse markers + Speech continuity + The ability to sequence thoughts + The ability to develop topics relevantly Fluency focuses on the test taker's abilty to keep speaking at a normal rate of speech Coherence refers to how ideas are connected and if the ideas are relevant to the spoken tur| Extract from P: of the IELTS ‘Speaking test ~ Anuradha, Malaysia ~ IELTS Scores Guide. The following test taker was awarded a Band 9 for Fluency and Coherence and was able to speak fluently, with only rare repetition or self-correction. Any hesitation that ocourred was not to search for language, but to think of ideas. Her speech is coherent, with fully appropriate cohesive features ( if you're talking about; other than that; I think it's more; as you can see).Before focusing on the key features of Fluency and Coherence, watch the following video, created by IDP IELTS as a preparation resource that compares speaking performances from four different speakers rated from bands 5 to 8. The key features of performance are introduced in a simple way before the extracts are shown. These features will be outlined in much more detail further on in this unit. A transcript appears on the screen with ‘examiner questions and the test takers’ responses. Feedback is given after each extract and finally, a Fluency and Coherence checklist is presented for test takers. This checklist can be used by students in class or at home when listening to recordings of themselves answering questions. By doing this, they can assess if they keep speaking in a coherent ‘manner.Flueney and coher 9+ pension won peter + Zour csetend ner nan fn wot Span = sel chert ay xpi coer + Scpes yao eee Saclay ~ lg snk erg, fou ay hes a 8 = speaks fuenty with ony cocasiona repetition or ‘ines due to occasional repetition, sell-corection or Sra mba ay conto ny trea din / ‘aay reece _ has anatesaneoune + Grp ope Sena pray sa ange rach and zoe mara Btrot 7+ speaks atlengh wihou noiceble eo orloss of ‘oterence carrecton andor saw speech io keep going + may deronstatelanguage-vated hestton a times of ee ee en etesedeecc asians ‘some repetition adlrsel-corecon over use cen connectives and rouse marker a eannocives and dscouse markers + produces simple speech fuenty, but mor complex ses tne cnet en zoe aa wth tun. ~ usualy ania Tow of speech bl uss repetin sah Hesitations are connected to a search for language. ABand 5 performance means that the speaker is usually able to maintain a flow of speech but relies on repetition, self-correction and hesitation to keep going. The speaker will often use filers (ehhh...um...well...) to allow time to think about the next utterance, or search for words. ‘At Band 6 the speaker can speak at length and occasionally hesitates and repeats what has been said (words and ideas). In order to reach Band 6 and above the speaker must be able to speak at length with little or no effort; the better the performance, the fewer hesitations that will ocour. Hesitations will generally be content-related (Band 8 and above) rather than a search for appropriate language. Examiners are trained to recognise if a test taker is simply pausing for thought rather than searching for a word or grammatical structure.Content-related hesitation “Ie was such a wonderfidl concert. I had a marvelous time and enjoyed every minute of it “I need to cut it with music WAS +0 Oe50 a... with a... a knife.” amazing, it’s hard to put it into words.” ‘The speaker cannot. eee fear buttelesonrepeton i noticeable pauses, Match the features of a a se and hesitation to keep performance to Bands 4-7 “ going correction S s “The speaker can produce “The speaker can speak at rian length but can sometimes: oe noticeable effort or loss of lose coherence coherence ° ooz The rate of speech hough may lose coherence at | ate 2+ ats hen win one epationrsatorecor ooo elaeet 1 Sjtetaotscmiouenedraberbon fwd wade ||. tty aura att (or grammar ‘always appropriately ‘+ speaks coherently with fully appropriate cohesive features —_————— |___+ developstorcs fly and appropriately || 5 Caaly marian fw of pest but uses repedton, 5 ‘+ speaks uently with only occasional repetition or self- ction andlor sw specho keep gg covrecion; hesitation i usually conten-elated and only + maya ° TITERS rarely to search for language + produces spl spec tent, bd moe conplx ‘communication causes fuency problems + develops topics coherently and appropriately 7+ speaks at length without noticeable effot or oss of coherence + may demonstrate language-tlated hesitation at times, or some repetition andlor seitcorrecion + uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility ‘* The speaker needs to speak in such a way that the speech rate does not interfere with communication. © Arapid speech rate will require concentration to understand what is said and may impact negatively on ‘communication. © Conversely, a slow speech rate can cause difficulty as concentration is needed to follow and remember what has been said. © Aslow speech rate is referred to in Bands 4 and 5. a : — Practice | =. a” In pairs(group of three, ask and | answer the following questions. _g* Doyou think children are born smart or they learn to become | Use the band descriptors to score | m@ smarts | the Fluency of the test taker(s). ™®. How do children become smart at —— =® school? meOSetx be- Why are some people well-rounded —®. Whatskillsdo students needto | _and others only good at one thing? —© master? lq: Why docs modem society need ‘-®. Isithard for students to learn talents of all kinds? me skills? P & ©. Isithard for old people to learn ¥ —© newskills? \ ®®. Isa good teacher very important © for students? learning experience? j =e Moon } Why?