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This study examined the extent to which first language (L1) fluency behavior, cross-linguistic differences, and proficiency can predict second language (L2) fluency behavior over time. English L1 Spanish (n = 24) and French (n = 25) majors completed a picture-based oral narrative in the L2 before and after 5 months residing abroad and later in the L1 after returning home. Data were coded for seven measures of speed, breakdown, and repair fluency. The results from multiple regressions indicated that L1 fluency behavior, cross-linguistic differences, and proficiency differentially contributed to explaining L2 fluency behavior prior to and during immersion. These findings suggest that when investigating L1–L2 fluency relationships considerations of mitigating factors such as cross-linguistic differences are necessary, and it is worthwhile to focus on how the contributions of these factors shift during development.

This study examines the second language acquisition of Spanish past tense morphology by three groups of English speakers (beginners, intermediates and advanced). We adopt a novel methodological approach – combining oral corpus data with controlled experimental data – in order to provide new evidence on the validity of the Lexical Aspect Hypothesis (LAH) in L2 Spanish. Data elicited through one comprehension and three oral tasks with varying degrees of experimental control show that the emergence of temporal markings is determined mainly by the dynamic/non-dynamic contrast (whether a verb is a state or an event) as beginner and intermediate speakers use Preterit with event verbs but Imperfect mainly with state verbs. One crucial finding is that although advanced learners use typical Preterit–telic associations in the least controlled oral tasks, as predicted by the LAH, this pattern is often reversed in tasks designed to include non-prototypical (and infrequent) form–meaning contexts. The results of the comprehension task also show that the Preterit-event and Imperfect-state associations observed in the production data determine the interpretation that learners assign to the Preterit and the Imperfect as well. These results show that beginner and intermediate learners treat event verbs (achievements, accomplishments and activities) in Spanish as a single class that they associate with Preterit morphology. We argue that dynamicity contrasts, and not telicity, affect learners’ use of past tense forms during early stages of acquisition.

Elicited imitation requires listeners to listen and repeat sentences as accurately as possible. In second language acquisition (SLA) research it has been used for a variety of purposes. Recently, versions of the same elicited imitation test (EIT) have been created in 6 languages with the purpose of measuring second language proficiency (Ortega et al., ; Tracy–Ventura et al., 2014; Wu & Ortega, ). The validity of these EITs has been tested, and results are promising. However, questions remain regarding the extent to which EIT performance is mediated by learners’ memory span. The current study validates a new Korean EIT following the Ortega et al. () design and, as part of that, investigates the potential role of phonological short‐term memory in test performance. Korean as a second language learners (N = 66) took the following tests over 2 days: the Korean EIT, the listening section of the standardized Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), a speaking test, and a forward digit span test in their first language. Results indicated significant positive correlations between EIT scores and the various proficiency measures, but a weak and nonsignificant correlation between the EIT and forward digit span scores. Together, these results provide support for this EIT as a valid and reliable proficiency measure for use in SLA research.

Mills. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions. Elicited imitation as a measure of oral proficiency in L2 French (2014)

There have been few comprehensive analyses of register variation conducted in a European language other than English. Spanish provides an ideal test case for such a study: Spanish is a major international language with a long social history of literacy, and it is a Romance language, with interesting linguistic similarities to, and differences from, English. The present study uses Multi-Dimensional (MD) analysis to investigate the distribution of a large set of linguistic features in a wide range of spoken and written registers: 146 linguistic features in a twenty-million words corpus taken from nineteen spoken and written registers. Six primary dimensions of variation are identified and interpreted in linguistic and functional terms. Some of these dimensions are specialised, without obvious counterparts in the MD analyses of other languages (e.g., a dimension related to discourse with a counterfactual focus). However, other Spanish dimensions correspond closely to dimensions identified for other languages, reflecting functional considerations such as interactiveness, personal stance, informational density, argumentation, and a narrative focus.

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