ABSTRACT
The label “usage-based linguistics” is a framework subsuming several theories including Construction Grammar, Cognitive-Functional Linguistics, emergentism, and Complex Dynamic Systems Theory. For second language acquisition beyond the onset of puberty, formal approaches vary in their hypotheses regarding if and to what extent universal grammar is still accessed. Maybe the most widely used corpus-linguistic method inspired by usage-based assumptions in second language acquisition research is collostructional analysis, originally outlined by A. Stefanowitsch and S. Gries. One of the basic tenets of usage-based approaches is that language is a complex system. Ellis and Ferreira-Junior is an example of a study based on the European Science Foundation Database through a usage-based lens. Research in one usage-based framework in particular, namely Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, reveals that no learners behave identically, and learning trajectories are typically non-linear, with dips and spikes emerging before a learner reaches a more robust performance plateau.
