Cognitive Bases of Second Language Fluency (review)

This excellent book presents an account of second language fluency from multiple perspectives, with a clear focus on cognitive science. Chapter 1 charts the territory. After definitional concerns, broad theoretical viewpoints are presented, such as Levelt's model of first language speaking and dynamic systems theory. Chapter 2 provides a review of much recent second language research on fluency, with a focus on measurement issues. Chapter 3 reviews general cognitive fluency, exploring areas such as fluency heuristics, transfer-appropriate processing, and processing flexibility. Chapter 4 then explores cognitive aspects of second language fluency. There is a discussion of automaticity and its different underpinnings (ballistic vs. speeded-up processing). The focus is on attentional factors and the use of the Coefficient of Variation as a measure of processing stability.

Chapter 5 is concerned with social, attitudinal, and motivation factors. Segalowitz wants to highlight the ways in which language is embedded in social context and their impact on fluency and the attitudes that second language (L2) speakers have toward fluency. Zoltan Dörnyei's work on motivation is central here. There is also discussion of formulaic language. Chapter 6 represents something of a switch, covering areas such as neurolinguistics, formal modelling, and philosophical approaches to fluency. Chapter 7 does a fine job of bringing things together and connecting them with the agenda sketched out in the opening chapter. The chapter offers 15 principles to guide fluency research and interpretation and it also covers pedagogic implications.

This indispensable book's major contribution lies in its use of a multidisciplinary approach to establish and systematize the field of second language fluency. In addition, it is central to the argument of the book that fluency can only be understood if it is contextualised and concerned with actual communication. The core of the book explores measurement and empirical issues in fluency research, setting the agenda for future fluency work. Chapter 2, which focuses on measurement, provides a good review of the comparative effectiveness of different fluency measures and offers validity principles such as measures that most effectively discriminate L1 and L2 speakers (e.g., speech rate, hesitation rate). This chapter also develops the helpful distinction between cognitive fluency (i.e., general cognitive processes), utterance fluency (indexed by objective measures of, for example, speed, pausing, repair), and perceived fluency (fluency in the ear of the listener, considering that hearing is perhaps the sense that brings what might be termed 'narrow' fluency closest to general proficiency). Chapter 4 contributes significantly to the field by reviewing second language cognitive fluency and explores what happens when second language learners are able to learn faster. Automaticity is discussed in some detail, and a distinction is clearly drawn between doing the same thing faster and using different means to achieve the same end. Segalowitz tends to display a preference for the latter, especially for restructuring and interpretation.

This book is a 'must have' for anyone working in the field. Recently there has been a move to measuring second language performance in terms of fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Cognitive Bases makes a major contribution to this literature, clarifying many aspects and simultaneously clearly identifying areas in which more research is needed. It effectively combats any tendency to be inward-looking in applied linguistics and clearly shows that progress will have to incorporate features from neighbouring areas.

Despite all of the book's benefits, inevitably there are some points that I feel could have been improved. The book covers a huge amount of material, and there are times when perhaps greater integration would be desirable. Dynamic systems theory is given prominence in the first chapter but rather disappears after that. Similarly, some of the chapters, such as the one on cognitive fluency, introduce topics, such as fluency heuristics, that are not really linked sufficiently to other chapters. The chapter on social, attitudinal, and motivational factors, similarly, is interesting in itself and raises interesting questions for future research, but is a little speculative and detached. As it happens, this is the chapter that addresses...