ABSTRACT
Second Language (L2) researchers employ many of the same procedures as their first language (L1) counterparts for eliciting speech data. However, common characteristics of L2 subjects, who tend to be older children or adults, can extend the range of methodological options in some cases and cause problems in others. After considering learner variables of these kinds, we focus on three L2 research domains in which promising procedures are being refined for describing L2 speech production and/or for understanding production-related aspects of L2 acquisition: developmental linguistic profiling, descriptive linguistic profiling, and documenting the role of language production in acquisition.
