Descripción:
This study examines the effects of two task types, information exchange and role-play, on learners speaking fluency in teletandem exchanges. To measure fluency, the study considers utterance fluency, which involves temporal measures obtained using Praat (a free, open-source program for analyzing speech), and perceived fluency, which was assessed using an analytic rubric by a speaking examiner. Two Mexican undergraduate students of the Bachelors degree in Education were the participants.
Findings suggest that tasks may not play a significant role in measuring students fluency during teletandem exchanges, as results were inconsistent between the two students. However, it becomes evident that participants proficiency levels affect their fluency and the successful completion of the tasks, as Participant 2 struggled more with the two tasks, which correlates with her proficiency. Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that tasks must be adapted to learners, as their outcomes are connected to individual learner factors.