ABSTRACT
It is commonly believed that learning an L2 involves learning the rules of grammar of the L2 (often in the form of memorization), along with vocabulary items and correct rules of pronunciation. Putting those rules to use in the context of conversation is then construed as a natural extension of grammar acquisition. This view implicitly assumes that language use does not vary from L1 situations to L2 situations, in that all that would be needed to successfully converse in an L2 would be to plug in the correct forms to say the same thing as one does in one’s NL. In this chapter, we show how this view is an overly simplistic one. In so doing, we deal with the nature of the input to L2 learners, feedback to learners, and language production (output). We focus on the interrelationship of L2 use (especially conversation) and language learning.
