Interlanguage: Unit 5

Unit 5
Second Language Acquisition and Learning
Interlanguage
Index
Scheme 3
Key Ideas 4
5.1. Objectives 4
5.2. Introduction 5
© Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)
5.3. Principles of Interlanguage 5

5.4. Teaching Context of Interlanguage 11
5.5. Language Varieties 19
5.6. References 20
In Depth 23
Test 25
Scheme
Second Language Acquisition and Learning.

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Unit 5. Scheme
Key Ideas
5.1. Objectives
In order to understand the unit, it is important that students read the mandatory
contents, listed in the key ideas. Students should also read the recommended
readings or watch the videos to enhance their breadth and depth on the topic
although it is not required to complete the unit test.
To study this unit, please read carefully the following sections, which will go through
the theory of interlanguage, the five processes which influence interlanguage, how
teachers can resolve interlanguage in their learners and finally discuss briefly about
the English varieties around the world. This unit is designed to provide an idea of how
interlanguage affects student’s development of a second language but also how a
teacher can help guide the student through interlanguage to become more successful
in their L2 acquisition and learning. Throughout this unit the following information
will:
 Students will differentiate the three systems of interlanguage.

 Students will understand how interlanguage occurs from the L1 to L2 learning.
 Students will know what fossilization does to language.
 Students will compare and contrast the five process of interlanguage.
 Students will analyze ten ways to combat interlanguage in the classroom.
 Students will evaluate the variations of the English language through immigration
and colonization.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
5.2. Introduction
Learners create interlanguage while trying to learn a second language (L2).

Characteristics of interlanguage are unique to each individual and do not resemble
neither the learner’s mother tongue (L1) nor L2. Language learner’s interlanguage is
their way of attempting to make meaning and achieve native like proficiency in the
L2. Although there is no grantee that a language learner will ever full achieve native
like proficiency in an L2.
While the theory itself is important to understand in how a student’s journey from
their L1 to L2 is developing it is also key to understand the contextual implications for
the classroom. To teach students L2 means a teacher must understand the role
interlanguage plays and how it can affect their language development. For the
purposes of this unit, ten techniques will be considered to improve student’s
interlanguage journey.
Finally, the implications of colonization and immigration have also influenced the
English language around the world. Countries which were colonized or have had a
heavy immigration of English language speakers also speak a variant of English which
is a version of the interlanguage a community shared. This demonstrates how
interlanguage when it affects a community or a large group of people can eventually
establish a variant of a language.
5.3. Principles of Interlanguage

In 1972, Larry Selinker published a paper called Interlanguage, where he established

the foundations for the theoretical framework to understand how learners fail or
succeed in learning a second language. This framework is not based on the teaching
of the second language, nor the acquisition rather the actually learning process in

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
which the learner engages in. Selinker’s distinguishing between teaching and learning
and choosing to write from a learning perspective were important moves in
promoting the study of second language acquisition (Larsen-Freeman, 2014).
“Interlanguage is that linguistic/cognitive space that exists between the

native language and the [target (L2)] language that one is learning” (Selinker,
Chapter 10: Interlanguage 40 years on: Three themes from here, 2014).
Thus, interlanguage is the development of the L2 when individuals have not reached
a native-speaker competence. Selinker contends the majority of individuals will not
reach such competence, meaning the language spoken by such individuals can be
regarded as interlanguage. Selinker (1972) outlines the interlanguage identifications
as three systems:
 Utterances in the learner’s native language (L1) produced by the learner.

 Interlanguage (IL) utterances produced by the learner.
 Target Language (L2) utterances produced by the native speaker of the target
language.
These three systems, target language, interlanguage and native language,

correspond to the processes which are central to second language learning: First,
language transfer; second, transfer-of-training; third, strategies of second-language
learning; fourth, strategies of second-language communication; and fifth,
overgeneralization of target language linguistic material (Selinker, Interlangauge,
1972). These processes are fossilized language which impact the interlanguage
utterances.
Fossilization is the linguistic rules or systems which speakers of a particular

native language tend to keep in their interlanguage of a target language,
regardless of age, schooling or instruction received – the same error
continually occurs (Selinker, Interlangauge, 1972). For example: A Spanish

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
speaker saying in English: She have ten years old. Using “tener” in Spanish,
instead of the verb “to be.”
Figure 1. Fossilization of Language. Image from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eIARuH0-

x4Y/SfnHeTdnxcI/AAAAAAAAAug/xIMpbCfRcIo/s400/rosaquith09-greengrocer's-a.jpg
Language transfer: Odlin (1989 as cited in Lavoie, 2003) describes it as, “the influence
resulting from similarities and differences between the target language and any
other language that has been previously (and perhaps imperfectly) acquired.”
 Similarities between the L1 and L2 can in turn positively influence. For example,
similarities in writing systems, vowel sounds or/and vocabulary.
• Writing systems: English and Spanish have the Roman alphabet, whereas
Japanese and English/Spanish don’t.
• Vowel sounds: In English there are more than 14 vowel sounds, whereas in
Spanish there are only 5 sounds. English is not a phonetically written language,
which is why native speakers have spelling tests. Spanish is a phonetic language,
which is why native speakers have dictation tests.
• Vocabulary: For example, in Spanish words that generally end in –ción, in

English end in –tion (i.e. emoción = emotion).
 Differences between L1 and L2 can negatively influence interlanguage for example
avoiding structures used in the L2 and following structures of the L1, and/or can

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
be the overproduction of simple sentences in the L1, to avoid using relative
clauses.
• Avoiding structures: In English adjectives go before the noun, where as in
Spanish adjectives go after the noun (i.e. green house = casa verde).
• Avoiding relative clauses: To avoid using relative clauses (who, whom, whose,
which, that, why, when, where) speakers will use two simple structures (i.e.
This is Gloria. She is my math teacher. = Gloria is the person who teaches me
math).
Transfer of training: Selinker (1972) states, “the fossilization of language as a result

of identifiable items in training procedures.” Transfer training is the abilities students
acquire while learning a language from instruction then the application of these
learned structures into the real world.
 Training can be successful though it can also be unsuccessful. For example, Can I
go to the toilet? Instead of May I go to the toilet? Can reflects the ability whereas
may is asking for permission. This reflects improper training of the language.
Strategies of Second-Language learning: “Learning strategies may simply cover all

the mental processes that are activated when a linguistic task is performed. And in
the context of an L2 class, the strategies involve the learner’s behaviors in response
to acquiring an L2” (Mahmood & Murad, 2018). There are various theories on
language learning strategies though the most comprehensive includes six strategies
defined by Oxford (1990 as cited in Oxford, 2003).
 Cognitive strategies: How learners think of their learning.

• Reasoning, analysis, note-taking, summarizing, synthesizing, reorganizing
information (Oxford, 2003).
 Metacognitive strategies: How learners manage their own learning.

• Identifying one´s own learning style preferences and needs, planning for an L2
task, gathering and organizing materials, arranging a study space and a

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
schedule, monitoring mistakes, and evaluating task success, and evaluating the
success of any type of learning strategy (Oxford, 2003).
 Memory strategies: How learners remember and retain language.

• “Various memory-related strategies enable learners to learn and retrieve
information in an orderly string (e.g., acronyms), while other techniques create
learning and retrieval via sounds (e.g., rhyming), images (e.g., a mental picture
of the word itself or the meaning of the word), a combination of sounds and
images (e.g., the keyword method), body movement (e.g., total physical
response), mechanical means (e.g., flashcards)” (Oxford, 2003).
 Compensation strategies: Sketch out how leaners make up the limited language
to achieve successful language.
• “Guessing from the context in listening and reading; using synonyms and
“talking around” the missing word to aid speaking and writing; and strictly for
speaking, using gestures or pause words) help the learner make up for missing
knowledge” (Oxford, 2003).
 Social strategies: How learners learn language from social interaction.

• “Asking questions to get verification, asking for clarification of a confusing
point, asking for help in doing a language task, talking with a native-speaking
conversation partner, and exploring cultural and social norms” (Oxford, 2003).
 Affective strategies: How leaners adjust their affective status in the learning
process.
• “Identifying one’s mood and anxiety level, talking about feelings, rewarding
oneself for good performance, and using deep breathing or positive self-talk”
(Oxford, 2003).
Strategies of second-language communication: “The strategies which L2 learners

resort to communicate meanings vary according to the complexity of the intended
meaning” (Mahmood & Murad, 2018).

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
 Examples may include: Synonyms, paraphrasing, literal translating, generalizing,
approximating, roundabout speaking (circumlocution), to pointing, and miming.
 An example from Mahmood & Murad (2008), of the various strategies utilized in
L2 communication when referring to a magic marker, one who does not recall the
name may say one of the following things:
• Pen (generalization).
• Whiteboard magic (approximation).
• Special pen used for writing on whiteboards (circumlocution).
• Erasable whiteboard pen (paraphrase).
Overgeneralizations of target language linguistic material: When learners apply

grammatical or morphological rules of the L2 in cases where it is not needed.
 Grammatical: For example, applying –ed to all verbs when saying them in the past
and not considering there are irregular verbs (catch – caught).
 Morphological: For example, applying –er to all adjectives in the comparative form
and not considering there are irregular verbs (bad – worse).
Interlanguage is its own system in which a language speaker begins to learn a second
language. The following figure of the schematic representation of interlanguage
depicts how language learners move from an L1 to an L2 with interlanguage in
between. In the initial state language learners are exposed to the L2, which is when
the learner begins to restructure their linguistic competence and develop a linguistic
system through the process of testing out the language. The learner then reaches a
“hybrid linguistic system created in the process is interlanguage, and it is assumed to
incorporate formal linguistic properties from the L1 and from the L2 to different
degrees” (Montrul, 2014). The language learner with more features of their L1 in their
interlanguage is going to be closer to the initial state than one whose developments
in language learning are closer to an L2 speaker. It is important to note not all

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
individuals reach the end state, some stay in-between. The achievement of an end
state means an individual has a near native like language skill in the L2.
Figure 2. Schematic representation of interlangauge. (Montrul, 2014).
One key feature of interlanguage is that this is not a process children go

through when acquiring a second language. Generally, this theory is for
adults (Montrul, 2014).
5.4. Teaching Context of Interlanguage
Interlanguage is a reflection of people trying to learn a language, it’s how individuals

attempt to express meaning resulting in forms that are not in their L1 or in the L2
(Selinker, Chapter 10: Interlanguage 40 years on: Three themes from here, 2014).
Though this theory wouldn’t be relevant if there weren’t ways for teachers to address
interlanguage within the classroom.
Understanding the mistakes learners make will enable teachers to aid their students
in correcting their errors. “The most well-known example comes from past tense. The
stages look something like this:
 Stage 1: Early acquisition of highly frequent irregular verbs (e.g., went, ate).
 Stage 2: Acquisition of regular verbs (e.g., talked, studied) and simultaneous
regularization of irregulars (e.g., wented/goed, ated/eated).

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
 Stage 3: Re-emergence of irregulars (e.g., went, ate)” (VanPatten, 2014).
 With this example and considerations for how interlanguage develops through the
second language learnings there are some considerations educators and teachers
should keep in mind when planning, interacting and evaluating students’ language
learning. Larsen-Freeman (2014), provides ten ways to adapt language instruction
to intercede in learner’s interlanguage.
1. Set the overall goal of language teaching as developing a capacity

(Widdowson, 1983)
The overall goal should not be to pass a test but rather to gain the ability to create
meaning with the target language. It is a way to allow language learners to
experiment, play and be creative with the language without having negative
repercussions such as failing. This also accounts for the fact that language and
technology is ever-changing and evolving, as time goes on new words are added into
dictionaries and people’s vocabularies. Considering words like google, Instagram or
tweet didn’t exist 30 years ago. Now they are a part of everyday language which was
influenced by technology allowing learners to access information from across the
globe and it creates new spaces for communication.
2. Within this overall goal, identify particular contexts of use, contexts in

which “success” can be established
Teachers should identify the context and the language goals which students should
reach. Meaning when students are given a task or assignment there should be an
established end goal the students should be able to reach provided the proper
scaffolding or differentiated learning so all students can access the information.
Resources such as grammatical rules and vocabulary, whether written or oral should
be considered to aid the students in reaching the end goal.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
3. Engage learners in activities that are rich in learning opportunities
Teachers should integrate dynamic and engaging activities or tasks. If these tasks or
activities allow for students to learn and access the language through multiple entry
points learners will be engaged and active in their own learning. Examples of different
entry points may include but are not limited to:
Multiple Entry Points
TYPE & DEFINITION EXAMPLES
 Write a paragraph, poem, or journal entry that explains the
concept.
 Pose questions for the group to discuss.
Narrative: Read, write,  Work on vocabulary for the concept.
discuss  Debate the issue.
 Read a poem, informational text, picture book or short
selection.
 Tell a story about the concept.
 Use a graphic organize to introduce a concept.
Logical-Quantitative:  Outline the main points.
Analyze, quantify,  Analyze the map, graph, or chart.
conceptualize  Solve the problem.
 Use relevant examples.
 Determine the theory behind the concept.
 Show the context through a timeline or other organizer.
Foundational: Ponder,  Think about the big questions and essential understandings.
theorize, research  Make and test a hypothesis about the concept.
 Research the concept.
 Categorize the ideas.
 Show a photograph or piece of art that relates to the
concept.
Aesthetic: Visualize, draw,  Watch a video or dramatic production.
create  Think about metaphors and analogies for the concept.
 Use color schemes to highlight key points and show
connections.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
 Perform a skit, draw a picture, or make a three-dimensional
representation of the idea.

 Use graphic organizers, such as mind maps, storyboards, and
concept maps.
 Create a game that teaches the concept.
 Do an experiment.
Experiential: Manipulate,  Use role-play or gestures.
build, touch  Demonstrate the concept.
 Sequence cards to explain the concept.
 Build a model.
 Work with other.
 Debate an issue.
Social: Teach, collaborate,  Attend a conference.
interact  Do group projects.
 Socialize as a team.
 Adopt various perspective.
 Self-assessment.
 Review independently.
Intrapersonal: Analyze,  Use metacognitive techniques.
make connections, reflect  Relate to the emotions connected to the idea.
 Use educational computer software.
 Respond to reflection prompts.
Table 1. Multiple Entry Points. (Educational Research Newsletter & Webinars, 2010).
4. Create activities that encourage transfer appropriate processing

(Lightbown, 2008; 2013; Larsen-Freeman, 2013a)
When students are able to learn and use information they are able to retrieve the
information at a later moment. That is to say students should learn, use and retrieve
the content to ensure that learning has taken place. This meaning that although
teachers want to create authentic situations for communication it is also important

that the situations align with what students will later need to know for the course.
The American Psychological Association (2018) defines transfer appropriate
processing as, “a theory stating that memory performance is better when the
cognitive processes engaged during retrieval match the cognitive processes

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
that were engaged when the material was encoded. For example, test
performance should be relatively good if both study and test conditions
emphasize either semantic processing on the one hand or perceptual
processing on the other, but test performance will not be as good if study
conditions emphasize one (e.g., semantic) and test conditions emphasize
another (e.g., perceptual).”
5. Design activities where language-using patterns as identified by

contexts of use (in keeping with the learners’ goals) are iterated (Larsen-
Freeman, 2012a)
Students should use and develop language constantly. Although structures should be
provided there should also be room for creativity with language. The teacher needs
to make sure that while repeating language activities that the meaning and creativity
are not striped away. Thus students are engaging with the same language patterns
but allowed to be innovative with new vocabulary or structures, if it occurs.
6. Teach reasons for form-based rules (Larsen-Freeman, 2003)
Through the language structures taught students should not become robots, spitting
out repetitive information. Teachers should make students aware of the choices
made and the logic behind them. Students should learn from the mistakes made with
logic and explanations, also through comparison of the correct and incorrect way to
say/write. Helping students understand the reasons for their mistakes helps them to
understand the language and also equips them with the tools to later be able to
independently rationalize their errors.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
7. Teach adaptation
Teachers need not only to teach a language but provide context for the information
being taught. If students learn grammatical structures without the context it will
hinder them from being able to apply the grammatical structure in appropriate
settings. Larsen-Freeman (2014) points out, “one means of doing so is to build on
Stevick’s idea of technemes: When teachers change the conditions for completing a
task successfully from one time to the next, however slightly, a new challenge is
presented. For instance, if the students have to complete the same task a second
time, but do so taking less time, students have an opportunity to learn to adapt their
language resources.” This meaning that one activity should link to the next so
students are able to link information to the new context and be able to solve the
language issues.
8. Develop students’ capacity for semiotic agility
Helping students develop their ability to relate to signs and symbols will further their
language learning. “To do this, teachers would guide students to move easily among
the many different modes of communication in the many different contexts students
encounter” (Larsen-Freeman, 2014). This means that the teacher will have students
engage in the three modes of communication. See the In Depth section for more
information on how to evaluate, implement and utilize modes of communication
within the classroom.
MODES OF COMMUNICATION
TYPE INTERPERSONAL INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATIONAL

Two-way One-way communication

One-way communication
communication with with no recourse to the
DEFINED AS
intended for an audience

active negotiation of active negotiation of
of reader, listeners, or
meaning among meaning with the writer,
viewers
individuals speaker, or producer

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
 Spontaneous  Reader, listener or  Presentation of
 Usually involves viewer interprets what information; not an
WHEN IT OCCURS
exchanges of the author, speaker, or exchange
information producer wants the  No direct opportunity
 Meaningful receiver of the for the active

message to understand negotiation of meaning
exist.
 Participants  Interpretation differs  To ensure the intended
observe and from comprehension audience is successful

monitor one and translation in that in its interpretation,
another to see it implies the ability to the “presenter” needs
how their read, listen, or view knowledge of the
meanings and “between the lines,” audience’s language
HOW
intentions are including and culture.

being understanding from
communicated within the cultural
and make mindset or perspective
adjustments and
clarifications
accordingly
 Speaking and  Reading of authentic  Writing (messages,
Listening texts (websites, stories articles,

(conversation) and other literature, advertisements, flyers,
 Reading and articles, signs) brochures, short
writing (text  Listening to authentic stories, reports, scripts,
messages, texts (speeches, Power Point
PRODUCTION
messages on messages, songs, radio presentations

social media, news/ads)  Speaking (telling a
letters)  Viewing of authentic story, giving a speech,

materials (videos, TV or radio news,
movies, presentations, drama presentations
TV shows, including skits,
commercials, news, presentations to jury

plays
Table 2. Modes of Communication. (Goetz).

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
9. Help students learn to negotiate in translingual contexts (Canagarajah,
2013)
When teachers teach languages it is important that students understand the global
context of using a language, languages are dynamic and vary based on areas. For
example, when traveling students may find that English is easier to communicate with
in other countries than it is in class. They may find this likely due to the fact that real
world situations call for people to take into consideration context, gestures, facial
expressions and intonations. This meaning that students should be able to learn how
to develop their competence through negotiation strategies to understanding the
meaning of words/ideas or contexts.
10. As a counterbalance to the use of formal assessment for measuring

what learners have acquired, find ways of assessing progress in terms of
development
This means that assessment cannot be one exam and on one day, rather assessment
should be the evolution of the students learning. It is important that teachers indicate
the overall goal of where the learner needs to be to help them understand how they
are progressing in their language development. This does imply more work for the
teacher, but it also means progress is not solely based on a number. Students should
be provided feedback, teachers should include self-evaluations as well as peer
evaluations so that their mark is a reflection of their overall development in
communication (written and oral). Types of feedback and assessment will be
discussed in the Curriculum course, it is a good idea to keep in mind these strategies.
These strategies provided are ways to help rectify interlanguage so that the students
work towards a native-like language ability in the L2. These are considerations to
keep in mind when designing activities, tasks or exams as well as overall dynamics of
the classroom. There is no correct formula, it is all trial and error, and knowing who
your students are and what their background is in second language learning.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
5.5. Language Varieties
A product of interlanguage can also be language varieties. Language varieties can be

the transfer, simplification or fossilization of certain features that make the grammar
features different and “inferior to native monolingual grammar” (Montrul, 2014).
These communities due to immigration (for example, Spanish speakers in the United
States) or colonization (the English in India) have created language varieties which
co-exist with the mother-tongue. This occurs when a large group or community have
the same features that make the L2 different from a native’s.
English is presently spoken on all of the continents of the world as a result of the
language presence in so many places there are variations of the language. These
variations are not only grammatical and vocabulary words but have an influence from
the culture in which it is evolving. Though most individuals think of British English
versus American English as the standard variation. Looking at the present-day
geographical distribution of the English language it becomes clear there are more
language varieties.
Present-day Geographical Distribution
BRITAIN AMERICA AFRICA ASIA, PACIFIC

 England  United States  West Africa  India
 Scotland  Canada  South Africa  South-East Asia
 Wales  African American  East Africa  Australia
 Ireland Vernacular English  New Zealand
 The Caribbean  The Pacific islands region
Table 3. Present-day geographical distribution. (Hickey).


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Unit 5. Key Ideas
Figure 3. English around the world. Image from Encyclopedia Britannica,
https://cdn.britannica.com/25/192325-050-BDF47C9C/Map-use-language-pr
imary-English-countries-world.jpg
 East coast of the United States is colonized during the late 17th century to the
early 18th century when settlers left Ulster and Scotland.
 Eastern Caribbean is colonized from the mid-17th century and 18th century with
settlers from various parts of England and Ireland.
 Newfoundland is colonized during the late 18th century to the early 19th century
when settlers left southwest England and southeast Ireland to go to Canada.
 Australia and New Zealand are colonized in the 18th and 19th century by settlers
from southeast England, Ireland and Scotland.
5.6. References
Educational Research Newsletter & Webinars. (2010). Multiple Entry Points.

Retrieved from Educational Research Newsletter & Webinars:
https://files.ernweb.com/EntryPoints.pdf

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
Goetz, L. A. (n.d.). Three Modes of Communication. Retrieved from Longwood
University: http://www.longwood.edu/staff/goetzla/TeachingLanguages/THREE%20
MODES%20OF%20COMMUNICATION.pdf
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2014). Chapter 9: Another step to be taken - Rethinking the end

point of the interlanguage continuum. In Z. T. Han, Interlanguage: Forty years later
(pp. 203-220). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Mahmood, A. H., & Murad, I. M. (2018). Approaching the Language of the Second
Language Learner: Interlanguage and the Models Before. English Language Teaching,
95-108.
Montrul, S. (2014). Chapter 4: Interlanguage, transfer and fossilization: Beyond

second language acquistion. In Z. Han, & E. Tarone, Interlanguage: Forty years later
(pp. 75-104). John Benjamin Publishing Company.
Oretga, L. (2014). Chapter 8: Trying out theories on interlanguage: Description and

explanation over 40 years of L2 negation research. In Z. Han, & E. Tarone,
Interlangauge: Forty years later (pp. 173-201). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Oxford, R. (2003). Language Learning Styles and Strategies: An Overview. Retrieved

from National Taipei University: http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~language/
workshop/read2.pdf
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlangauge. IRAL: INternationa Review of Applied Linguistics in

Language Teaching, 209-231.
Selinker, L. (2014). Chapter 10: Interlanguage 40 years on: Three themes from here.
In Z. Han, & E. Tarone, Interlanguage: Forty Years Later (pp. 221-246). John Benjamins
Publishing Company.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
VanPatten, B. (2014). Chapter 5: The limits of instructure: 40 years after
"Interlanguage". In Z. Han, & E. Tarone, Interlanguage: Forty years later (pp. 105-
126). John Benjamins Publishing Company.

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Unit 5. Key Ideas
In Depth
Performance Descriptors for Language Learners
Sandrock, P., & Swender, E. (2012). Performance Descriptors for Language Learners.
Retrieved from American Council on the teaching of a Foreign Languages:
https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/PerformanceDescriptorsLanguageLea
rners.pdf
This PDF includes factors in how language learners learn second

languages, such as where one learns languages, how they learn,
when they learn and why they learn.
Varieties of English
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). Varieties of English. Retrieved from

The Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-
language/Varieties-of-English
The encyclopedia Britannica outlines the varieties of English with videos and article
remarks.

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Unit 5. In Depth
A Review of the Major Varieties of English Language.
Han, L. (2019). A Review of the Major Varieties of English Language. International

Education Studies, 12(2), 93-99. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/33
0744982_A_Review_of_the_Major_Varieties_of_English_Language
The article reviews differences between American English and British English.

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Unit 5. In Depth
Test
1. Interlanguage is the space between an individual’s L1 and L2.
A. True.
B. False.
2. The systems which can affect an individual’s interlanguage are… (select all that
apply)
A. A person’s L1.
B. Interlanguage.
C. The target language.
D. Other languages the person may know.
3. Fossilization is the changes an individual makes in their L2 learning when they

make errors.
A. True.
B. False.
4. Language transfer can occur in similarities or differences between the target

language and any other language, which of the following is not an example of
language transfer.
A. Words from both languages which have the same Latin root.
B. Calling a crayon a colored pencil.
C. Saying, black tall woman.
D. Both using the Roman alphabet.
5. Strategies of second language communication mean that learners attempt to

communicate meaning through other means.
A. True.
B. False.

25
Unit 5. Test
6. Multiple entry points mean that learners an access/use/produce the language in
various forms.
A. True.
B. False.
7. Students should work with the L2 in various modes of communication but this can
hinder their interlanguage.
A. True.
B. False.
8. Interlanguage can become a version of a language when a small group of

individuals speak the same way.
A. True.
B. False.
9. The fossilization of an interlanguage which has become a dialect is a product solely

from past colonization.
A. True.
B. False.
10. Interlanguage can be influenced from the target language’s culture and the
speaker’s L1.
A. True.
B. False.

26
Unit 5. Test

Interlanguage: Unit 5

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Unit 5

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

5.3. Principles of Interlanguage 5

Second Language Acquisition and Learning.

 Students will differentiate the three systems of interlanguage.

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

Learners create interlanguage while trying to learn a second language (L2).

5.3. Principles of Interlanguage

In 1972, Larry Selinker published a paper called Interlanguage, where he established

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

“Interlanguage is that linguistic/cognitive space that exists between the

 Utterances in the learner’s native language (L1) produced by the learner.

These three systems, target language, interlanguage and native language,

Fossilization is the linguistic rules or systems which speakers of a particular

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

Figure 1. Fossilization of Language. Image from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eIARuH0-

• Vocabulary: For example, in Spanish words that generally end in –ción, in

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

Transfer of training: Selinker (1972) states, “the fossilization of language as a result

Strategies of Second-Language learning: “Learning strategies may simply cover all

 Cognitive strategies: How learners think of their learning.

information (Oxford, 2003).

 Metacognitive strategies: How learners manage their own learning.

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

 Memory strategies: How learners remember and retain language.

 Social strategies: How learners learn language from social interaction.

Strategies of second-language communication: “The strategies which L2 learners

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

Overgeneralizations of target language linguistic material: When learners apply

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

Figure 2. Schematic representation of interlangauge. (Montrul, 2014).

One key feature of interlanguage is that this is not a process children go

5.4. Teaching Context of Interlanguage

Interlanguage is a reflection of people trying to learn a language, it’s how individuals

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

1. Set the overall goal of language teaching as developing a capacity

2. Within this overall goal, identify particular contexts of use, contexts in

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

Multiple Entry Points

TYPE & DEFINITION EXAMPLES

 Write a paragraph, poem, or journal entry that explains the

Narrative: Read, write,  Work on vocabulary for the concept.

discuss  Debate the issue.

 Read a poem, informational text, picture book or short

 Use a graphic organize to introduce a concept.

Logical-Quantitative:  Outline the main points.

Analyze, quantify,  Analyze the map, graph, or chart.

conceptualize  Solve the problem.

 Use relevant examples.

 Determine the theory behind the concept.

 Show the context through a timeline or other organizer.

theorize, research  Make and test a hypothesis about the concept.

 Research the concept.

 Categorize the ideas.

 Show a photograph or piece of art that relates to the

Aesthetic: Visualize, draw,  Watch a video or dramatic production.

create  Think about metaphors and analogies for the concept.

 Use color schemes to highlight key points and show

Second Language Acquisition and Learning

representation of the idea.

Experiential: Manipulate,  Use role-play or gestures.

build, touch  Demonstrate the concept.

 Sequence cards to explain the concept.