Reviews four books on speech research: (1) "The Speech Chain: The Physics and Biology of Spoken Language" (Peter B. Denes and Elliot N. Pinson); (2) "Speaking: From Intention to Articulation" (Willem J. M. Levelt); (3) "Talking to Learn: Conversation in Second Language Acquisition" (Richard R. Day); and (4) "Speaking" (Martin Bygate). (eight…

Reviews recent research into the qualitative and quantitative aspects of fluency to more clearly define the word as a performance descriptor for oral assessment of foreign language learners and as an indicator of progress in language learning. The concept of fluency is confused and multilayered when used in the assessment of oral performance. (22…

Explores the effect of individual speaking style on the self-correction behavior of second-language speakers. The project involved 30 Hungarian learners of English studying at various levels of proficiency and made use of self-report data. (Author/VWL)