Fossilisation: From Simplicity to Complexity

The second language acquisition (SLA) literatureover the past 30 yearshas seen miscellaneous interpretations and applications of the term ‘fossilisation’. This, on the one hand, is a sign of improvement in the general understanding of the theoretical construct. On the other hand, however, the lack of uniformity in interpretation and application creates confusion, which can be counterproductive to second language theory and practice. In this article,I will unveil and discuss some major conceptual and methodological issues surrounding fossilisation. I will show that fossilisation is no longer a monolithic concept as it was three decades ago but rather one tied up with various manifestations of failure in L2 learning, and thus that any attempt to explain fossilisation by way of a singular explanation will prove to be inadequate. I also argue that in constructing theories of SLA, fossilisation remains a central issue to be confronted and explained, hence the need to develop principled approaches to investigating it.