How to Use Games to Promote Fluency

This study focused on five particular communication strategies namely: 1- Paraphrase 2- Approximation 3- Hesitation 4- Words which are borrowed, invented, or anglicized, and 5- Reduction Strategies in order to promote fluency and improve communicative ability in English among intermediate level students. The study used a series of videoed and transcribed task observations based on ‘Spot the Differences’ information-gap activities. The views and beliefs of 6 teachers and 6 Pre-Sessional students all from University of Essex were also sampled using structured, in-depth interviews. The teacher interviews revealed that the more experienced teachers focused attention on fluency and helping student to ‘keep going’, while less experienced tutors focused attention on both fluency and vocabulary learning in communication tasks. The student interviews findings also indicated that students' beliefs are affected by tutor beliefs. Data from the videoed observations revealed that body language was an important element in communicating meaning.