Following a usage-based approach to language acquisition, lexically specific patterns are considered to be important building blocks for language productivity and feature heavily both in child-directed speech and in the early speech of children (Arnon, Inbal & Morten H. Christiansen. 2017. The role of multiword building blocks in explaining L1-L2 differences. Topics in Cognitive Science 9(3). 621–636; Tomasello, Michael. 2003. Constructing a language: A usagebased theory of language acquisition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press). In order to account for patterns, the traceback method has been widely applied in research on first language acquisition to test the hypothesis that children’s utterances can be accounted for on the basis of a limited inventory of chunks and partially schematic units (Lieven, Elena, Dorothé Salomo & Michael Tomasello. 2009. Two-year-old children’s production of multiword utterances: A usage-based analysis. Cognitive Linguistics 20(3). 481–508). In the current study, we applied the method to code-mixed utterances (n = 1,506) of three German-English bilingual children between 2 and 4 years of age to investigate individual differences in each child’s own inventory of patterns in relation to their input settings. It was shown that units such as I see X as in I see a Kelle ‘I see a trowel’ could be traced back to the child’s own previous productions. More importantly, we see that each child’s inventory of constructions draws heavily on multiword chunks that are strongly dependent on the children’s language input situations.

This study is part of the IN.MIGRA-2 CM project, which studies the sociolinguistic integration of the immigrant population of Madrid. The present study focuses on the language attitudes of 16 residents of Alcalá de Henares, a community of Madrid. The participants were asked to rate their level of agreement with the following affirmations: (1) The Spanish of Madrid is more correct than the forms of speech of Latin American immigrants; (2) Mastery of the Spanish language is the principal demonstration of the integration of immigrants; (3) Immigrants of Latin American origin are integrated because they speak the same language. The study finds a connection between higher levels of contact with immigrants and lower ratings of agreement with the affirmations. This investigation supports others that show connections between social networks and language attitudes, and it adds to the sparse research on language attitudes in Madrid. Adverbial adjectives modify both a verb and the subject of that verb. Their purpose is to describe a quality that pertains to both the subject and the way the subject is performing the verb. Because they modify both the verb and the noun, adverbial adjectives agree with the noun in number and gender. The generativist approaches to this linguistic phenomenon do not provide a sufficient explanation of verb + adverbial adjective constructions nor do they predict which subjects and predicates that can be used in these constructions. This paper takes a usage-based approach to adverbial adjectives. It explores the token frequencies of use of different verb + adverbial adjective phrases and attempts to categorize the components of these phrases based on these frequencies.

A luz de modelos de língua baseados no uso (Langacker, 2000), que assumem que os princípios fundamentais da estrutura linguística são derivados da experiência com a língua, o objetivo deste estudo é contribuir para a investigação de como se dá o contínuo processo de atualização do nosso conhecimento linguístico, em especial explorando a questão de como algumas inovações são incorporadas na língua. Para responder a essa questão, ainda em aberto na literatura baseada no uso, o fenômeno linguístico investigado foi o infinitivo flexionado, cujo uso gramáticos modernos consideram intrigante. A partir de um recorte de construções com o infinitivo que apresentam variação entre as formas flexionada e não-flexionada, foi feita uma quantificaçãoo da variação no emprego da flexão do infinitivo em um corpus sincrônico de língua escrita culta. Para o levantamento dos dados, foi compilado um corpus de 11.000.000 palavras formado por 180 teses e dissertações de alunos do curso de Letras da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Sociais da USP, que recebeu o nome de Corpus LLIC-PósLetrasUsp. Como se trata de um grande volume de dados, a extração dos dados feita de modo automático com o software livre R, apontado atualmente como o mais completo concordanceador disponível (Gries, 2009). Os resultados encontrados no estudo de corpus apontam para diferentes tendências de emprego da flexão a depender dos contextos sintáticos em que ocorrem. Apesar de ter sido verificada uma tendência à não-flexão em algumas construções, tais como as perífrases modais e aspectuais, nas orações finais, causais e temporais, por exemplo, a preferência pela forma flexionada do infinitivo é clara. Uma vez que modelos baseados no uso propõem que há uma correlação entre a frequência de ocorrência de estruturas e seu grau de arraigamento cognitivo, a alta frequência de ocorrência de formas flexionadas do infinitivo em variados contextos sintáticos, inclusive em contextos em que o sujeito do infinitivo está claro, demonstra que a flexão do infinitivo está se tornando cada vez mais arraigada na gramática dos falantes. Assim, esta pesquisa vem ressaltar a importância dos estudos de frequência para o mapeamento dos fatos linguísticos e para a descrição gramatical das línguas naturais. Neste estudo, também é feito um esboço de um modelo de língua baseado no uso mais dinâmico e mais social, que incorpora as propostas dos estudos da terceira onda\" (third wave) de investigação sociolinguística e que representa uma tentativa inicial de acomodar a teoria da variação dentro do quadro teórico baseado no uso. / In light of usage-based models (Langacker, 2000), which assume that the fundamental principles of linguistic structure derive from the experience with language, the aim of this study is to contribute to the investigation of the continuous update of linguistic knowledge, especially by exploring the question of how some innovations propagate and are incorporated in speakers\' grammars. To address this open question in the usage-based literature, the in ected innitive, which modern grammarians consider intriguing (Cunha & Cintra, 2008), was investigated. After selecting some innitive constructions which show variation between the in ected and unin ected forms, the variation in the usage of the innitive in these constructions was quantied in a syncronic standard written corpus. To obtain the data, a corpus containing 11.000.000 words and consisting of 180 theses and dissertations written by students of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Social Sciences of University of S~ao Paulo was compiled and named Corpus LLIC-PosLetrasUsp. Given the size of the corpus, the data extraction was achieved automatically through the use of the open software R, considered the most powerful concordancer available at the moment (Gries, 2009). Depending on the constructions in which the innitive occurs, the results point to dierent tendencies in the usage of the in ection. Even though there is no preference for the in ection in constructions such as modal and aspect periphrases, in causal, nal and temporal clauses, for instance, the preference for in ected forms is clear. Because usage-based models assume that there is a correlation between the frequency of occurence of a structure and its degree of entrenchment, the high frequency of occurence of the in ected innitive in dierent syntactic contexts, including contexts in which where the innitive subject is clear, shows that the in ection of the innitive is becoming continuously more entrenched in speakers\' grammars. Thus, this study highlights the importance of frequency studies in the investigation of linguistic phenomena and in the grammatical description of natural languages. This study also presents the sketch of a proposal named A more dynamic and a more social usage-based model, which, by incorporating the view of the \\third wave\"of sociolinguistic investigation (Campbell-Kibler, 2008, 2009; Eckert, 2005, 2008), represents an initial attempt to accommodate variation theory within the usage-based framework.

Submitted by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-06-08T15:25:06Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação - Fernanda Peres Lopes.pdf: 3142979 bytes, checksum: 5720a00dae8803fe8625b52b9c76c001 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-06-09T14:37:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Fernanda Peres Lopes.pdf: 3142979 bytes, checksum: 5720a00dae8803fe8625b52b9c76c001 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-09T14:37:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Fernanda Peres Lopes.pdf: 3142979 bytes, checksum: 5720a00dae8803fe8625b52b9c76c001 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar o processo variável de apagamento das vogais átonas [a, i, u] em posição final na fala de indivíduos da cidade de Pelotas (RS), conforme verificado em tarif[a] ~ tarif∅, equip[e] ~ equip∅, serviço ~ serviç∅, por exemplo. Para isso, partiu-se dos pressupostos da Fonologia de Uso (BYBEE, 2001, 2006, 2010), da Teoria de Exemplares (PIERREHUMBERT, 2001, 2003) e da Sociofonética (THOMAS, 2011; FOULKES; SCOBBIE; WATT, 2010). A amostra sob análise é constituída por oito informantes (quatro homens e quatro mulheres) entre 18 e 50 anos de idade e de dois níveis de escolaridade – sujeitos com até seis anos de escolaridade e sujeitos com, no mínimo, nove anos de escolaridade. A taxa de aplicação do apagamento na amostra analisada foi de 53% (N = 242) para a vogal [i], de 41% (N = 196) para a vogal [u] e de 0,8% (N = 4) para a vogal [a]. Os resultados indicaram que fatores como tipo de vogal, contexto precedente, ordem de produção e frequência lexical favorecem o apagamento, revelando a natureza predominantemente linguística do fenômeno. A única variável extralinguística que teve influência no apagamento foi a variável indivíduo. A análise acústica revelou que as vogais postônicas [i] e [u] produzidas pelos pelotenses tendem a abaixar enquanto a vogal [a] tende a elevar-se. Além disso, percebe-se uma centralização de [u], que ocupa, entre os homens, quase o mesmo espaço acústico que a vogal [a]. [ɐ], [ɪ] e [ʊ] são as vogais que representam o sistema encontrado na amostra. Com relação à duração, comparando-se os valores encontrados com os dados de Quintanilha-Azevedo (2016), percebe-se que tanto homens quanto mulheres produziram vogais mais curtas. Por fim, conclui-se que o apagamento representa o ponto final de uma trajetória que se inicia com a realização plena da vogal, passa pela redução de sua duração e pelo seu desvozeamento. / This thesis aims to analyze the variable process of deletion of the final unstressed vowels [a, i, u] by Brazilian Portuguese native speakers from the city of Pelotas, in the Southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, as noticed in words such as tarif[a] ~ tarif∅, equip[e] ~ equip∅, serviço ~ serviç∅, for instance. In order to achieve said aim, the concepts addressed by Usage-Based Phonology (BYBEE, 2001, 2006, 2010), the Exemplar Theory (PIERREHUMBERT, 2001, 2003) and Sociophonetics (THOMAS, 2011; FOULKES; SCOBBIE; WATT, 2010) were used as this research project's theoretical bases. The sample analyzed in this study consists of 8 informants (4 men and 4 women) from two different educational backgrounds (one group including subjects with up to 6 years of formal learning and the other including subjects with 9+ years of formal learning) with ages ranging from eighteen to fifty. The rate of deletion in the sample was of 53% (N = 242) for the vowel [i], of 41% (N = 196) for the vowel [u], and of 0,8% (N = 4) for the vowel [a]. The results indicate that such factors as type of vowel, preceding context, vowel production order and lexical frequency favor deletion, revealing the predominantly linguistic nature of the phenomenon. The variable "subject" was the only extralinguistic variable to influence deletion. Acoustic analysis showed that the posttonic vowels [i] and [u] produced by the subjects tend to lower as the vowel [a] tends to rise. In addition, the study also revealed a centralization of [u], which occupies among men almost the same acoustic vowel space as does the vowel [a]. Vowels [ɐ], [ɪ] and [ʊ] are representative of the system found in the sample. Regarding duration, when comparing the values included in this research project with those presented by Quintanilha-Azevedo (2016), it can be noticed that both men and women produced shorter vowels. Lastly, it was found that deletion represents the final stage of a process that begins with the production of a full-quality vowel, moves on to its reduction, and ultimately reaches the devoicing of said vowel.

A luz de modelos de língua baseados no uso (Langacker, 2000), que assumem que os princípios fundamentais da estrutura linguística são derivados da experiência com a língua, o objetivo deste estudo é contribuir para a investigação de como se dá o contínuo processo de atualização do nosso conhecimento linguístico, em especial explorando a questão de como algumas inovações são incorporadas na língua. Para responder a essa questão, ainda em aberto na literatura baseada no uso, o fenômeno linguístico investigado foi o infinitivo flexionado, cujo uso gramáticos modernos consideram intrigante. A partir de um recorte de construções com o infinitivo que apresentam variação entre as formas flexionada e não-flexionada, foi feita uma quantificaçãoo da variação no emprego da flexão do infinitivo em um corpus sincrônico de língua escrita culta. Para o levantamento dos dados, foi compilado um corpus de 11.000.000 palavras formado por 180 teses e dissertações de alunos do curso de Letras da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Sociais da USP, que recebeu o nome de Corpus LLIC-PósLetrasUsp. Como se trata de um grande volume de dados, a extração dos dados feita de modo automático com o software livre R, apontado atualmente como o mais completo concordanceador disponível (Gries, 2009). Os resultados encontrados no estudo de corpus apontam para diferentes tendências de emprego da flexão a depender dos contextos sintáticos em que ocorrem. Apesar de ter sido verificada uma tendência à não-flexão em algumas construções, tais como as perífrases modais e aspectuais, nas orações finais, causais e temporais, por exemplo, a preferência pela forma flexionada do infinitivo é clara. Uma vez que modelos baseados no uso propõem que há uma correlação entre a frequência de ocorrência de estruturas e seu grau de arraigamento cognitivo, a alta frequência de ocorrência de formas flexionadas do infinitivo em variados contextos sintáticos, inclusive em contextos em que o sujeito do infinitivo está claro, demonstra que a flexão do infinitivo está se tornando cada vez mais arraigada na gramática dos falantes. Assim, esta pesquisa vem ressaltar a importância dos estudos de frequência para o mapeamento dos fatos linguísticos e para a descrição gramatical das línguas naturais. Neste estudo, também é feito um esboço de um modelo de língua baseado no uso mais dinâmico e mais social, que incorpora as propostas dos estudos da terceira onda\" (third wave) de investigação sociolinguística e que representa uma tentativa inicial de acomodar a teoria da variação dentro do quadro teórico baseado no uso. / In light of usage-based models (Langacker, 2000), which assume that the fundamental principles of linguistic structure derive from the experience with language, the aim of this study is to contribute to the investigation of the continuous update of linguistic knowledge, especially by exploring the question of how some innovations propagate and are incorporated in speakers\' grammars. To address this open question in the usage-based literature, the in ected innitive, which modern grammarians consider intriguing (Cunha & Cintra, 2008), was investigated. After selecting some innitive constructions which show variation between the in ected and unin ected forms, the variation in the usage of the innitive in these constructions was quantied in a syncronic standard written corpus. To obtain the data, a corpus containing 11.000.000 words and consisting of 180 theses and dissertations written by students of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Social Sciences of University of S~ao Paulo was compiled and named Corpus LLIC-PosLetrasUsp. Given the size of the corpus, the data extraction was achieved automatically through the use of the open software R, considered the most powerful concordancer available at the moment (Gries, 2009). Depending on the constructions in which the innitive occurs, the results point to dierent tendencies in the usage of the in ection. Even though there is no preference for the in ection in constructions such as modal and aspect periphrases, in causal, nal and temporal clauses, for instance, the preference for in ected forms is clear. Because usage-based models assume that there is a correlation between the frequency of occurence of a structure and its degree of entrenchment, the high frequency of occurence of the in ected innitive in dierent syntactic contexts, including contexts in which where the innitive subject is clear, shows that the in ection of the innitive is becoming continuously more entrenched in speakers\' grammars. Thus, this study highlights the importance of frequency studies in the investigation of linguistic phenomena and in the grammatical description of natural languages. This study also presents the sketch of a proposal named A more dynamic and a more social usage-based model, which, by incorporating the view of the \\third wave\"of sociolinguistic investigation (Campbell-Kibler, 2008, 2009; Eckert, 2005, 2008), represents an initial attempt to accommodate variation theory within the usage-based framework.

隨著全球電信自由化的趨勢，行動通訊市場的蓬勃發展在各國皆然。 我國交通部目前也積極規劃第三代行動通訊執照的釋出，意味著新技術與新的行動服務的誕生。第三代行動通訊主要結合機動性(Mobility)與網際網路 (Internet)，以創造高速資料無線傳輸 (high-speed data)環境，從而打破行動通訊使用上之侷限性。由於第三代行動通訊將持續出現更多不同的經營模式，本研究推導預料電信產業結構將可能重整，消費大眾的通訊使用習慣也有重大改變，行銷策略中的的服務與定價模式將成為行動系統業者成敗間非常重要的議題。 本研究以國內行動通訊系統業者與世界兩大行動通訊系統業者－日本NTT DoCoMo與Vodafone 作為研究對象，採文獻探討、個案資料蒐集與訪談為研究方法，探討行動通訊產業裡實務做法與國際化趨勢下，業者間合作模式之關連性。由文獻探討第二代行動通訊的發展，歸納出業者常採用的模式，包括新產品「滲透性定價法」、「捆綁式定價」。在第三代行動通訊的封包網路特性下，QoS機制進而影響、發展出更多樣的定價模式。新技術的出現，為第三代行動通訊誕生的重要關鍵詞，包括IPv6，對應出Mobile IP；串流的技術與MP4媒體的播放技術；WAP2.0將成為3G的新規範；GPS的技術與定位服務的關聯；語音辨識的技術與Voice Portal的發展；而藍芽更是終端發展的關鍵詞因素等等。 本研究之研究架構將影響第三代行動通訊服務形貌之關鍵詞因素定義為相關電信產業的新技術的出現與市場刺激對無線數據傳輸、多媒體服務需求的影響。業者會因本身條件的限制，如財力、技術能力、技術與市場經驗的取得、人才與企業多電信相關事業體間共同價值單元的共享等因素考量下，選擇多角化、垂直整合或進一步與其他企業合作等對自己最有利的策略模式。此外，根據本身的優勢或既成的事實，優先發展對自己比較有競爭力的客戶群。在服務設計與定價模式方面，則以爭取留住有價顧客為前提。 最後若要繼續保有經營上領先優勢，業者必須在服務上有所差異化，以CRM 機制提高服務品質，以符合顧客滿意的高附加價值服務。研究結果與結論包括： 1.在搶先時機以期快速滲透市場、取得領先地位、技術與專業分工、經濟規模、競爭力的考量下，行動通訊業者得採策略聯盟或其他合作方式，選擇國際或國內的主要結盟夥伴。對於目前競爭態勢落後的業者，則以發展關鍵詞少數地位，仍可在策略聯盟之時找到好的談判位置。內容與應用服務供應商的角色也愈形重要。 2.網路效應朝向「網內有網」與「網外有網」的趨勢發展。「網內有網」的現象為同地理區內相異品牌間的系統業者，以差異化定位自己網路服務的特色下，往「網內網」的定價與新服務包裝設計的趨勢，藉此以增加網路凝聚力與網路效應效果。「網外有網」的現象則是不同標準的網路競爭之結果。 3.第三代行動通訊的服務仍以語音為主，但數據服務為獲利的來源。除了數據服務會刺激語音市場的成長，同時ARPU的增加主要來自多樣化的數據加值服務、行動商務與Wireless Internet的新模式，以行動娛樂（Mobile Internet）的應用服務最被看好。系統業者以大型整合者(Large Bundler)角色經營行動系統網路，收益模式來自「客戶權」的經營，朝「系統經營權」與「加值服務的經營權」發展。成功的系統業者將主導各式新的行動服務的推出，刺激新需求，擴大市場。 4.在定價模式方面，由於全球WAP推出的失利與日本NTT DoCoMo成功經驗的兩個迥異結果下，全球系統業者的定價模式會朝「學習曲線定價法」，以平價模式(flat rate) 讓消費市場接受新服務，業者經營上以規模經濟尋求成本與客戶數的平衡。 同時在價格調整上仍跟隨領導品牌的價格，以逐漸下降(decline)的價格曲線配合新服務的推出。為能達到服務網路最佳利用率，以及服務內容不同，頻寬利用率不同的緣故，QoS 定價會是第三代行動通訊服務型態的新的定價模式。本研究也提出朝使用族群的偏好，搭售不同服務內容，再交叉配合使用者對不同服務方案的需求彈性，以配合「網內網」的凝聚。 5.最早採用行動通訊服務的使用者(Early adaptor)往往是對網路服務需求最膺切、使用量大且忠誠度最高的用戶，業者需早日建構CRM機制，發展以顧客為中心的工作流程，以留住有價顧客。CRM的範圍包括能整合前台與後台的企業運作機制，如客戶資料庫、客服中心、網站，動態互動的隨選平台服務終端客戶。行動通訊網路價值的提升，在於顧客ARPU的增加，同時CRM 須考慮到整合 Wireless Portal 的功能發揮，以建立單一的窗口面對消費者。建立品牌、整合具有關鍵詞性的服務、幫助使用者降低搜尋成本以及品管成本，且運用一對一行銷的技術來維持顧客關係並開發新的產品服務，使服務差異化，達套牢顧客的最終目的。 　6.第三代行動通訊的服務業者的成功關鍵詞因素在於扮演好的中介者機制，配合QoS的機制、不同方案的定價包裝以及網管技術來發揮頻寬的利用率，提升營運效率與更佳的顧客服務。新進業者會以語音服務為主，配套以數據、影像服務，行銷重點在爭取門號數；既有業者，可憑藉既有網路優勢，包裝網路外部性的行銷組合，行銷重點在發展加值服務，並以品牌擴大網路效應。掌握Access的業者比較有機會提供整合的語音多媒體通訊服務，顧客資料的擁有，與顧客在整合的平台上建立關係、各種管理的機制的發揮為業者價值所在。

This research investigated the effect of frequency of language use on the production of consonant gradation by non-dominant speakers of Finnish in the immigrant community of Sointula, BC. Three types of frequency – word-frequency, suffix-frequency, and stem-frequency – were tested. It also investigated whether quantitative or qualitative gradation is more successful in producing gradation than the other and, finally, whether immigrant generation can explain the variation between participants. A translation task was administered to the six participants across three generations. Based on the framework of exemplar-driven cognitive grammar (Bybee 2001; Pierrehumbert 2001), the frequency-effects were assumed to be contingent upon the mode of lexical access; frequent complex words, presumably accessed as wholes thanks to frequent usage, would not exhibit as many gradation errors as infrequent words, which would be accessed via their composite parts due to infrequency. The anticipated frequency-effects were not found. Both frequent and infrequent words manifested some gradation loss as an analogical change. This suggests that all words are infrequent. While Bybee’s model assumes high-volume language use over time in dominant language contexts, lack of volume appears to suppress the differential behavior between frequent and infrequent words in Sointula. However, correct gradation was predictable based on suffix-use, which in turn was determined partly by semantics of suffixes; those Finnish suffixes that are semantically mappable to equivalent morphemes in English were better preserved than GEN object-markers, which do not have corresponding morpheme in English. With the atrophy of the GEN object-marker also gradation becomes redundant. This may arise from the tendency to mark syntactic constituency with word-order alone in English-influenced Finnish. Thus, semantics of suffixes proves to be a better predictor of gradation than frequency. Gradation loss increased with each generation born abroad; by G3, it has all but disappeared. Consonant gradation is not preserved through the generations. Qualitative gradation disappears before quantitative gradation. The above findings are sensible in a context of reduced language-functionality. Against expectation, little evidence for storing sub-word morphemes and decomposed access was found. Instead, the data suggests that most stored lexical items are whole words and that gradation is associated with whole complex forms.

Les recherches sur l'apprentissage informel de l'anglais en ligne (AIAL) étudient la manière dont des locuteurs non natifs de l’anglais participent aux activités de loisir sur Internet en langue étrangère et les implications que ces interactions peuvent avoir pour le développement de la langue étrangère. Cette thèse a pour objectif d’examiner l’envergure de ces pratiques et d’analyser le développement langagier des apprenants en termes de complexité, précision, aisance à communiquer et chunks. 953 étudiants français et allemands ont renseigné un questionnaire d’environ 60 questions sur leurs pratiques informelles en ligne en anglais. Les résultats montrent des habitudes similaires entres les deux cohortes, une préférence pour les activités de compréhension plutôt que de production, des taux bas d’apprentissage explicite et des raisons de participer liées au contenu des activités plutôt qu’à la langue. Ensuite deux études de cas ont été réalisées sur 10 mois. Des données orales et écrites ont été analysées. Les résultats indiquent que chaque apprenant possède son propre profil AIAL et que les trajectoires de développement sont individuelles et non linéaires. / Preliminary research regarding the online informal learning of English has shown that L2 development can result from participation in informal activities online. The goal of this dissertation is to examine the range of these online practices and to analyse university students’ long-term L2 development through their participation in such activities.953 French and German university students responded to a questionnaire containing approximately 60 questions regarding their online informal activities in English. Results from this survey show many similar practices between the two cohorts, a preference for comprehension over production and interaction activities, low rates of active (explicit) learning and content-associated rather than language-associated reasons for participating. Case studies were subsequently carried out. Oral and written data were collected over 10 months and analysed for complexity, accuracy and fluency measures as well as the use of language chunks. Results show that each language user interacts with the activities in his/her own unique style and that the different L2 measures evolve non-linearly and in relation to one another.