ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) findings on the influence of individual learner characteristics by contrasting the discrete quantitative approach with the holistic qualitative approach. It describes several noteworthy studies that show the impact of individual differences (ID) on second language (L2) learning outcomes. The chapter focuses on aptitude and motivation since they are the major ID variables that have been extensively investigated, thus shaping the history of ID research in second language acquisition (SLA). It discusses ILP research that had adopted an individual-level analysis within the framework of the holistic qualitative approach, which further provides basis for exploring the applicability of complex dynamic systems theory as a theoretical framework for ID research in ILP. The review of the literature of ID research in SLA and ILP clearly indicates that the discrete variable-centered quantitative and holistic qualitative approaches provide significant but distinct findings and implications for the relationships between IDs and L2 learning.
