Specifying the Norms of Successful L2 Users for Developing Theories on the Learning Potential in SLA

Abstract

In the plenary talk of the 2005 SLRF, Vivian Cook (2005) reiterated the concept of successful L2 users that he proposed earlier in 1999, and contended that the norms of successful L2 users, rather than native speaker norms, should be used as the standards for L2 teaching and learning. Although the above claim is theoretically appealing, specification of successful L2 users still depends upon further research and needs to be empirically established.