One of the primary goals of foreign spoken language instruction is to foster language fluency; in fact, Newton and Nation consider it one of the four strands of a balanced language course, along with meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, and language-focused learning (2009). With its obvious importance in language acquisition, the question becomes how does one teach fluency? An oft used and cited activity to develop spoken language fluency is 4/3/2 (Arevart & Nation, 1991; Folse, 2006; Newton & Nation, 2009; Yufrizal, 2018).
The 4/3/2 activity was developed by Keith Maurice “to help intermediate to advanced students improve their abilities to speak more fluently in the target language” (Maurice, 1983, p. 29). In this activity, students are paired together with one student as the speaker and the other student as the listener. The speaker is given a topic and must speak on it for four minutes to their partner. When the four minutes are over, the groups change, and the speakers talk again on the same topic to a new listener; this time, however, they each only speak for three minutes. The groups switch once more, and the speaker repeats the talk in two minutes (Newton & Nation, 2009). Topic prompts should be a balance between general and specific so that students are not only able to fill the entirety of the four minutes but are also able to conclude their talk in two minutes. Additionally, as the goal of the activity is fluency, the prompt and topic should only include known language (Folse, 2006).
The Research Behind 4/3/2
There have been several research studies investigating the effectiveness of the 4/3/2 activity in developing fluency. In their work, Arevart and Nation (1991) found a 21.5% increase in rate of speech (using words per minute) and an approximately 22% decrease in hesitations (using hesitations per 100 words) from the four-minute speech to the two-minute speech. Yufrazi (2018) similarly found an increase in rate of speech (about 10 more words per minute) over the three speeches, as well as a decrease in pauses, hesitations, false starts, L1 usage, and errors, finally concluding that the 4/3/2 activity can improve student speaking fluency (2018).
Why 4/3/2 Improves Fluency
The creator, Maurice (1983), and Arevart and Nation (1991) posit that there are three key features to the 4/3/2 activity that make it beneficial for fluency: a changing audience, repetition, and decreasing time. First, the changing audience necessitates a continued focus on message as a new listener is hearing the speech each time. If the audience stayed the same, the speaker might feel the need to add new information or change content to keep the attention of the listener, thus reducing repetition. The repetition of the speech, the second key feature, allows for a period of content familiarization. The speaker is able to access the needed vocabulary and grammar structures faster each time. Finally, the decreasing time limits the addition of new information and forces the speaker to speak more quickly (Arevart & Nation, 1991).
Adapting 4/3/2 to Online Learning
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts and academic institutions have switched to complete or partial online learning; however, this transition out of the classroom need not stop the usage of fluency development activities such as the 4/3/2 activity. With access to educational technologies and a little flexibility, teachers can implement the activity in a number of ways.
Virtual Classroom Meetings
If teachers are holding virtual classroom meetings (through any number of video conferencing services), the adaptation for the 4/3/2 activity depends on the software being used. Some platforms, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Bongo, allow for teachers (the presumed hosts of the meetings) to create breakout rooms. With this feature enabled, teachers can do a succession of timed breakout rooms to recreate the 4/3/2 activity.
Tips for success: Make the breakout rooms last for eight minutes, six minutes, and four minutes, respectively, and send out a message for students to switch roles halfway through. In Zoom, for example, teachers can broadcast a message to all breakout rooms, indicating it is time to switch. Having both students speak during each breakout room keeps students engaged. Additionally, as all students must complete both roles (speaker and listener) in this format, any issues involving random assignment of two students of the same role (two speakers or two listeners) in the same breakout room are avoided.
In platforms that do not allow breakout rooms, such as Webex Meetings and Skype, the feasibility of the activity during class time may depend on class size. Smaller classes (no more than 15 students) can format the activity as mini presentations, where a student talks to the class about a topic multiple times with less time for each presentation over several class periods. Alternatively, students could practice the first two rounds to themselves before presenting the shortest version to the class as a whole. Larger classes may not be able to spare the time this would take, but the teacher could schedule meetings for small groups to try the activity as mini presentations.
Tips for success: Pick subjects with which students are familiar and, preferably, about which they are passionate. To save class time, consider modifying the speaking time to a 3/2/1 activity, rather than the typical 4/3/2 format. Especially in the context of whole class or small group presentations, this format works best in a welcoming learning community where students feel comfortable speaking in front of their peers.
Asynchronous Virtual Classrooms
As circumstances have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been some flexibility in class format. Asynchronous learning, where there are no scheduled class meetings, can both make the 4/3/2 activity easier for teachers, as video and audio sharing software eliminates the need for organizing groups, but can also remove one of its key features, the changing audience. The lack of changing audience could result in students changing content of their speech to keep it entertaining, thus reducing repetition, one of the main reasons the 4/3/2 activity improves fluency. However, if the objective and instructions of the activity are made clear, repetition can be ensured and the problem averted.
The simplest and most obvious adaptation of the 4/3/2 activity to online learning is having students record themselves speaking on the same topic three times, for four, three, and two minutes, respectively. Tools such as Flipgrid, Seesaw, and VoiceThread allow for users to record and submit video and/or audio to the teacher. While students are not actively engaging with an audience, they are still repeating the material with a time pressure; therefore, they are working on developing fluency.
Tips for success: Include example video, where students can see how they are supposed to complete the activity. Students should not worry about speaking perfectly; make it clear that this activity is not being graded for accuracy but rather for fluency. To do this, comment only on fluency markers such as speed, pauses, hesitations, and false starts.
Conclusion
Overall, the 4/3/2 activity is an established way of improving speaking fluency. As students repeat the same speech with less allotted time, they increase their rate of speaking and decrease their number of pauses and false starts (Arevart & Nation, 1991; Yufrizal, 2018). With the recent transition to online learning, the 4/3/2 activity can still be implemented in the classroom, using educational technologies and some flexibility. Even in a new format, the 4/3/2 activity is a step in the right direction for teachers hoping to improve their students’ fluency.
References
Arevart, S., & Nation, P. (1991). Fluency improvement in a second language. RELC Journal, 22(1), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368829102200106
Folse, K. S. (2006). The art of teaching speaking: Research and pedagogy for the ESL/EFL classroom. Univ. of Michigan Press.
Maurice, K. (1983). The fluency workshop. TESOL Newsletter, 17(3), 29.
Newton, J. M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge.
Yufrizal, H. (2018). The application of 4/3/2 technique to enhance speaking fluency of EFL students in Indonesia. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 5(10). https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.510.5265
Sarah Seymour is a current student at Southern Illinois University, expecting to graduate in May 2021 with a BA in linguistics, specializing in ESL/bilingual education. |