Which term describes the persistent lack of progress in interlanguage form despite exposure or instruction?

Which term describes the persistent lack of progress in interlanguage form despite exposure or instruction?

• A. fossilization
• B. conversational repair
• C. comprehensible input
• D. language focus

Answer: (A)

Fossilization happens when a learner’s interlanguage stops evolving in certain areas, even though they continue to be exposed to the language and receive instruction. The interlanguage is the learner’s evolving system that sits between their native language and the target language. When a form becomes fossilized, the learner consistently uses a non-target form as part of regular speech, and corrective feedback no longer leads to changes in that aspect. This can occur because the form becomes entrenched, feedback is infrequent or not aimed at that feature, or the learner focuses on communicating meaning more than refining forms. For example, a learner might always say “goed” instead of “went,” even after years of study and exposure. Conversational repair refers to fixing miscommunications in real time during dialogue, not to a long-term stagnation of forms. Comprehensible input is about receiving language that can be understood to support acquisition, a condition for learning rather than a description of a plateau. Language focus involves directing attention to linguistic features during instruction, aiming to improve accuracy rather than describing a persistent lack of progress.

Fossilization happens when a learner’s interlanguage stops evolving in certain areas, even though they continue to be exposed to the language and receive instruction. The interlanguage is the learner’s evolving system that sits between their native language and the target language. When a form becomes fossilized, the learner consistently uses a non-target form as part of regular speech, and corrective feedback no longer leads to changes in that aspect. This can occur because the form becomes entrenched, feedback is infrequent or not aimed at that feature, or the learner focuses on communicating meaning more than refining forms. For example, a learner might always say “goed” instead of “went,” even after years of study and exposure. Conversational repair refers to fixing miscommunications in real time during dialogue, not to a long-term stagnation of forms. Comprehensible input is about receiving language that can be understood to support acquisition, a condition for learning rather than a description of a plateau. Language focus involves directing attention to linguistic features during instruction, aiming to improve accuracy rather than describing a persistent lack of progress.