On the Issue of Ultimate Attainment in L2 Acquisition: Theoretical and Empirical Views

One of the challenges for L2 acquisition research is to explain not just success with L2 but also failure. That is, L2 researchers have wondered about why most L2 learners do not achieve the same degree of proficiency in an L2, as they do in their L1. The major question, then, is why variations occur in the performance of L2 learners. The present study, therefore, addresses the debate on the causes of variability in L2 learners’ performance. First, it traces the conceptual framework of such a debate and, in so doing, a multidisciplinary approach was adopted. The purpose was to provide a thorough review on the issues pertinent to the present issue under investigation. Second, the present study reports the results of an experiment conducted on fifteen learners of English as an L2, enrolled in the Intensive English programme at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. Results were obtained and conclusions were made.