Recent work in applied linguistics has expanded our understanding of the rule governed nature of language. The concept of an idealized speaker -hearer whose linguistic competence is abstract and separate from reality has been enriched by the notion of an actual interlocutor who possesses communicative compe tence, a knowledge of language which accounts for its use in real-world con texts. Areas of variation previously relegated to idiosyncratic differences in performance have been found to be dynamic yet consistent and lend themselves to study and systematic description. Because language acquisition involves the development of communicative competence, by its very nature it incorporates variation and systematicity. Sec ond-language acquisition is similarly variable, since interlanguage is subject to the same universal and language-specific conventions. In addition, aspects of the second language have been found to be unevenly acquired and are differ entially reflected in particular contexts or settings. Yet, despite our expanding knowledge, this variability is only beginning to be treated in much of the sec ond-language acquisition literature. This volume presents the work of some researchers and methodologists who have taken on the challenge of including variation in their research designs and pedagogical recommendations. Variation is shown to be relevant to lin guistic, social, and psychological aspects of language. It is apparent in the registers and dialects of the target language and in the inter language of learners.

An account of the development of research and thinking in the field of learner language. Draws on wide-ranging research into contrastive analysis, bilingualism, theoretical linguistics and experimental psychology.

The book is divided into three sections, each prefaced by an introduction by the editors that provides relevant theoretical and methodological background. The first section concerns cognitive approaches to interlanguage pragmatic development. The second addresses interlanguage speech act realization of a variety of speech acts. The final section is devoted to discoursal perspectives on interlanguage.

This book investigates various aspects of speaking in a foreign language. It is unique in considering this key skill from both psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives, and in focusing entirely on instructed foreign language contexts. The book demonstrates how theory and research can be translated into classroom practice.

This volume brings conversational analysis into the study of second language pragmatics as an analytic paradigm. A well-regarded team of researchers addresses a difficult area for the interlanguage pragmatics research community--the balance between experimental method and the use of conversational data. Institutional talk provides authentic and consequential talk. The goal of the book is to demonstrate how the investigation of institutional talk balances the researcher's need for comparable and replicable interactions with the need to observe authentic outcomes. The chapters present empirical studies based on quantitative and qualitative analyses, which are carefully illustrated by the real-world variables that each institution controls. The chapters span a range of institutions, including the university writing center, hotels, secondary schools, and employment offices. The variables examined include the traditional ILP variables, such as status, directness, and social distance, as well as new concepts like trust, authority, equality and discourse style.

Few works in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) can endure multiple reads, but Selinker's (1972) "Interlanguage" is a clear exception. Written at the inception of the field, this paper delineates a disciplinary scope; asks penetrating questions; advances daring hypotheses; and proposes a first-ever conceptual and empirical framework that continues to stimulate SLA research. Sparked by a heightened interest in this founding text on its 40th anniversary, 10 leaders in their respective fields of SLA research collectively examine extrapolations of the seminal text for the past, the present, and the future of SLA research. This book offers a rare resource for novices and experts alike in and beyond the field of SLA.