Discourse-Oriented Tense-Aspect Research in SLA

Abstract

This paper critically reviews those studies which have approached

the phenomenon of second language acquisition of tense and aspect

from a discourse perspective, in hopes of diagnosing the current state

of the field and helping to take further steps in the future. First, early

discourse-oriented research in the 1980s is reviewed, followed by the

assessment of concept-oriented research in Europe. Further developments

of discourse-oriented research in the 1990s are discussed in detail, with

special reference to Bardovi-Harlig and Andersens studies. Examination

of non-narrative discourse as well as more varied narratives is

suggested for future research in order to discover the role of discourse

type in second language tense-aspect distribution and analyze more

varied tense-aspect use by the learners.