The role of formulaic sequences in speaking fluency in intermediate English as a foreign language classes

This study investigates whether the students at preparatory classes at Foreign Language Teaching, Implementation and Research Center (FLTIRC) at Gazi University are taught formulaic sequences (FSs) or not. Also, it explores the role of the conversation gambits, a type of FSs, in speaking fluency of the students at FLTIRC preparatory classes at Gazi University.The data were obtained from the questionnaire results given to 93 students (75 of them were composed of the ELT Preparatory Classes (ELTPC) and 18 of them were from General Preparatory Classes (GPC)) at FLTIRC and from the results of pre and post oral tests. The oral tests were applied to 20 GPC students; ten of them comprised the experimental group and the other ten ? the control group. The objective of the study was to explore the role of conversation gambits in improving speaking fluency. The results of the pretests of both groups were recorded in order then to compare with the posttest with regard to changes. The list of 38 useful conversation gambits and activities containing these gambits were prepared. The students of experimental group took treatment lessons, which were based on these activities containing conversation gambits. After a month, the oral posttest was conducted. The fluency of the students was measured according to 6 variables picked up from the previous studies in the literature. As a result of the measurement it was found that the students in both groups improved their performances in almost all of the variables, but the students of experimental group seemed to have improved more than those of the control group.It was concluded that explicit teaching of conversation gambits, if applied more often and longer periods, can provide students with confidence and can enhance their speaking fluency.