L2 requests in developmental pragmatics research are commonly investigated using non-interactive data collection techniques or sidelining the larger discourse sequence in which the request proper is embedded. This study takes a different approach to the study of L2 requests. In a cross-sectional design, we collected role play data from learners at…

Investigates variability in interlanguage consonant cluster simplification strategies within the four factors--style, gender, proficiency, and interlocutor. Examined how these factors determine Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) speakers' production of English word-initial consonant clusters. (Author/VWL)

This article examined the aspect hypothesis, which asserts that verb inflections in early interlanguage systems function primarily as markers of lexical aspect independent of the target language. A study of interviews conducted with 26 Puerto Rican college students grouped into 4 proficiency levels found that the association of inflections with…

Aimed to account for the different levels of pragmatic development among 137 university-level Japanese learners of English, as functions of their varying levels of English proficiency and amount of exposure to English. (Author/VWL)

Previous research on interlanguage pragmatics revealed that, under implicit pragmatic instruction, some learners noticed the target pragmalinguistic features, whereas others receiving the same instruction did not. This suggests possible effects of individual difference (ID) variables on learners' noticing of pragmalinguistic features. Among the ID…

In the past few years researchers have begun to show an interest in humour and language play as it relates to second language learning (SLL). Tarone (2000) has suggested that L2 language play may be facilitative of SLL, in particular by developing sociolinguistic competence, as learners experiment with L2 voices; and by destabilizing the…

Evaluates the hypothesis that interlanguage is an efficient means of communicating referential information. The presentation includes review of evidence of the functional hypothesis in different forms of language; description of two studies of spoken English interlanguage of learners from different backgrounds; and discussion of the consequences…