The strategy of "transfer" of native language (NL) items into target language (TL) expressions is considered here to be an active learner strategy dependent on the learner's notion of "distance" between the NL and the TL. Some NL items will be more liable to transfer than others to the extent that they are believed to be less native language-specific. For example, a polysemous lexical item will have a field of meaning in which the "core" meaning may be more likely to be transferred than more idiomatic or figurative meanings. This strategy is evidenced by Dutch learners of English (and German) in their judgments of acceptability of expressions using "break" (or "brechen") where Dutch can use the equivalent "breken." (Author/CFM)