ABSTRACT
In second language (L2) acquisition, ultimate attainment is far from predictable, and outcomes can vary considerably from learner to learner. There may be fossilization in one or several aspects of the grammar, resulting in an endstate that is different, not only from that of a native speaker of the target language but also from that of other L2 learners with the same first language (L1). In this way, an endstate grammar is one that has reached the final stage in development regardless of the level of proficiency and is not necessarily a near-native grammar. Research in L2 ultimate attainment has become increasingly concerned with the study of near-native grammars. Debate centers on whether or not mental representations in the L2 can be nativelike. Group results from both tasks suggest that the non-native group does not differ significantly from the control group on items testing the [recursive] property of Spanish topic constructions.
