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Advancedness in Second Language Spanish: Definitions, challenges, and possibilities
Edited by Mandy R. Menke and Paul A. Malovrh
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 31] 2021
► pp. 95–114

Chapter 5
The role of late-acquired structures in advanced oral proficiency

A consideration of complexity and variability as indicators of development

ORCID logo | University of South Carolina
ORCID logo | University of Minnesota

The present chapter focuses on one aspect of Byrnes & Ortega’s (2008) description of advancedness; it considers the notion of structural command, not merely in terms of accuracy, but also the multifunctional use of late-acquired complex structures, which we assert provides another window through which we should observe interlanguage (IL) development and advanced oral production. It defines late-acquired structures as those that consist of complex (multiple) form-meaning associations and are only learned once IL development has reached a stage in which L2 learners are able to notice, process, and produce target language on a multifunctional level involving multiple linguistic systems. This definition allows us to problematize advanced grammar in terms of how we identify it and how we understand advancedness.

Keywords: L2 Spanish, advanced proficiency, late-acquired structures, concept-oriented approach
Article outline
  • Grammatical complexity, multifunctionality, and the concept-oriented approach
  • Concept-oriented advanced grammar
    • Advanced tense and aspect: An exemplary study
    • Advanced use of (in)direct objects: An exemplary study
  • Variationist research and advancedness
    • Advanced L2 mood selection: An exemplary study
    • Advanced inflectional morphology
  • The role of late-acquired structures: Problems, challenges, and possibilities
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 February 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.31.05mal
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