Prof. Paul Nation in Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (2001) put forward his idea of four strands to learning/teaching languages: (a) meaning-focused input, (b) meaning-focused output, (c), fluency development, (d) language-focused learning. He recommends 25% of class time being spent on each strand.
In my experience, most students and teachers naturally emphasize (a), (b), and (d). But fluency development, which emphasizes the volume and speed of input/output, seems relatively overlooked. Students may be perplexed when they see me reading "easy" (near-100% comprehensible) materials. And I don't think I've ever been to a class where the teacher isn't constantly trying to teach new things, usually vocabulary or grammar (without me explicitly requesting otherwise).
“Using items they already know!” I feel like this is blasphemy for some. And yet, yeah, you gotta practice using what you have merely studied. There is an implication here that should not go unnoticed: if you don’t ever focus on “fluency development,” then you don’t develop true fluency.
John Pasden, The Four Strands of a Balanced Language Course, Sinosplice blog
Question: Why is "fluency development" so commonly overlooked?
I'm wondering if students and teachers have simply not heard of the concept, or if they're aware of the concept but don't understand its importance. Maybe it's considered a skill only for advanced students, or they consider it automatic.
