TESL Ontario’s Magazine for Language Teachers
Book Review: Formulaic language and second language speech fluency
D. Wood. (2010). Formulaic language and second language speech fluency: Background, evidence, and classroom applications. London/New York: Continuum. Pp. 242, CAD$39.95 (paper).
Wood’s (2010) Formulaic language and second language speech fluency provides theoretical and practical accounts of speech fluency and pedagogical applications of formulaic sequences within classroom contexts. The book is divided into three parts including background,…
What is fluency and how do we develop it?
“I want to speak English fluently.”
“I have to write reports in English.”
“I want to read English magazines, books and websites.”
“I’d like to understand movies in English.”
Whether expressed directly or indirectly, the need for fluency inherently exists within all of these commonly expressed goals and motivations for learning English.…
Pragmatics in the classroom: Don’t take it literally
Among the first phrases that English-speaking students of Japanese learn are the equivalents of “hello” (こんにちは konnichi-wa) and “how are you?” (お元気ですか o-genki desu-ka). With these two phrases under their belts, students may fearlessly run around Japan greeting everyone they meet with “hello, how are you?” in the same way they would greet people back home. However,…
