ABSTRACT
It is commonly believed that learning a second language involves learning the rules of grammar of the second language (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 a first language situation to various second language situations, for all that would be needed to successfully converse in a second language would be to plug in the correct forms to say the same thing as one does in one’s native language. In this chapter, we show how this view is an overly simplistic one (see also Chapter 1). We first deal with the nature of the input to second language learners. We then focus on the interrelationship of second language use (especially conversation) and language learning.
