This study examines the relationship between oral fluency and use of multiword sequences (MWSs) across four proficiency levels (Low B1 to C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference; Council of Europe, 2001). Data from 56 learners taking the TEEP speaking test were analyzed for different measures of fluency (speed, breakdown, repair) and MWSs (frequency, proportion, association). Results showed that (a) high frequency n-grams correlated positively with articulation rate, (b) n-gram proportion correlated negatively with frequency of mid-clause pauses, and (c) n-gram association strength correlated positively with frequency of end-clause pauses and negatively with repair frequency. The qualitative analysis suggested that the test-takers borrowed some task-specific n-grams from the task instructions and used them frequently in their performance. While lower proficiency speakers used these n-grams verbatim, C1 level speakers used them competently in a variety of forms. Significant implications of the findings for phraseology and language testing research are discussed.

中文翻译：

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多词序列在多大程度上与口语流利度相关？

本研究考察了口语流利程度与四个熟练程度（欧洲共同参考框架的低 B1 到 C1；欧洲委员会，2001 年）的多词序列 (MWS) 使用之间的关系。对来自参加 TEEP 口语测试的 56 名学习者的数据进行了不同流利程度（速度、故障、修复）和 MWS（频率、比例、关联）的分析。结果表明，(a) 高频 n-gram 与发音率呈正相关，(b) n-gram 比例与中间子句停顿频率呈负相关，(c) n-gram 关联强度与结束频率呈正相关。从句停顿和消极修复频率。定性分析表明，考生从任务说明中借用了一些特定于任务的 n-gram，并在他们的表现中频繁使用它们。虽然低熟练度的演讲者逐字使用这些 n-gram，但 C1 水平的演讲者以各种形式熟练地使用它们。讨论了这些发现对用语和语言测试研究的重要意义。