Responds to a previous article that attacks variabilists' accounts of second-language acquisition (SLA) by addressing the following issues: (1) the context dependency of theory in SLA research; (2) the competency performance distinction; (3) the problem of data in SLA research; and (4) explanations of SLA. (Author/VWL)

An exploration of second language acquisition research's traditionally separate focus on learners or learning, covering the development-as-sequence model, the development-as-growth model, learning style, cognitive orientation, and affective orientation, argues that a "whole" approach to language teaching must consider both the structural nature of…