Which term describes the persistent lack of progress in interlanguage form despite exposure or instruction?

• A. fossilization
• B. conversational repair
• C. comprehensible input
• D. language focus

Answer: (A)

Fossilization describes a stage where parts of a learner’s interlanguage become fixed and stop changing, even with ongoing exposure to the target language and instruction. As learners build their own evolving system, certain forms—like stubborn grammar rules, pronunciation patterns, or article usage—can become entrenched because they feel efficient, because feedback isn’t enough to nudge them to a more accurate form, or due to interference from the learner’s native language. The result is persistent errors that resist later correction, signaling that progress has temporarily halted in those areas.

Conversational repair is about how speakers fix misunderstandings in real time during interaction, not about long-term stabilization of form. Comprehensible input refers to input that learners can understand and that supports acquisition, not to a stagnation of development. Language focus describes instructional approaches that draw attention to form, which aims to promote progress rather than describe a fixed end state.