Handout 5

Fluency vs. accuracy activities

One of the goals of CLT is to develop fluency in language use. Fluency is natural language
use occurring when a speaker engages in meaningful interaction and maintains
comprehensible and ongoing communication despite limitations in his or her
communicative competence. Fluency is developed by creating classroom activities in
which students must negotiate meaning, use communication strategies, correct
misunderstandings, and work to avoid communication breakdowns.
Fluency practice can be contrasted with accuracy practice, which focuses on creating
correct examples of language use.

a. In the box below there are the features of fluency and accuracy activities, but they are
mixed. Work in pairs to identify which are the features of fluency activities and which are the
features of accuracy activities.
Write you answers in the suitable column.

 Do not require meaningful  Reflect natural use of language

communication  Require meaningful use of language
 Focus on achieving communication  Focus on the formation of correct
 Reflect classroom use of language examples of language

 Seek to link language use to context  Practice small samples of language

 Control choice of language  Require the use of communication

 Produce language that may not be strategies

predictable  Practice language out of context

Fluency activities Accuracy activities

Reflect natural use of language Reflect classroom use of language
 Focus on achieving communication  Do not require meaningful
communication
 predictable  Reflect classroom use of language

 Require the use of communication  Seek to link language use to context

strategies  Control choice of language
 Practice language out of context  Require meaningful use of language

 Focus on the formation of correct

examples of language

 Practice small samples of language

b. Now work with another teacher. Read the activities taken from the new English
textbooks and decide whether they are fluency or accuracy activities.
Tieng anh11
Fluency: 4
Accuracy: 3
Tieng anh 10:
Fluency: 3
Accuracy: 1,2,3

c. Can you give more examples of fluency and accuracy activities that you use in
your teaching?
Fluency:
+ disscuss and give ideas
+servey
+ role play

Accuracy: + correct form

+ write sentences
+ Write essay