The effects of planning time and levels of proficiency on inter language variability in Shona speakers of English

Abstract

The research reported in this paper examines the variable realization of spatial and directional expressions in the interlanguage of Shona learners of English in input impoverished settings. The paper provides evidence which suggests that variability is a property which is characteristic of second language grammars and is not a phenomenon peculiar to the language behaviour of second language learners acquiring the target language in acquisition-rich environments only.