Fossilization in Adult Second Language Acquisition

This book addresses a fundamental question in second language acquisition research, which is: why are learners, adults in particular, unable to develop the level of competence they aspire to in spite of continuous and sustained exposure to the target language, adequate motivation to learn, and sufficient opportunity for practice? A long and widely held explanation is that fossilization (Selinker, 1972) has occurred somewhere in the course of learning. But what exactly is fossilization? How does it relate to the above question? By means of a macroscopic and microscopic analysis, the author deconstructs the rhetorical construct and evaluates its empirical basis, and in so doing, provides a window into the nature and the etiology of the lack of success observed across the second language learning community as well as within individual learners. The key issues discussed herein include: conceptual diversities and complexities surrounding fossilization, Critical Period effects, the preprogramming function of native language, methodological approaches to researching fossilization, empirical evidence, the modular nature of fossilization, linguistic structures prone to fossilization, and the relationship between second language teaching and fossilization. The book is intended for researchers, practitioners, and students in the fields of second language acquisition, bilingualism, and second language teaching.