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Fossilization - should I worry?
Fossilization - should I worry?
By Hope Anderson, August 8, 2025
“They’re learning it wrong!” This is a common concern heard from language teachers. And I get it! You hear a student say something wrong once—maybe even more than once, and maybe most of the students—and you worry that they’re going to get stuck saying it that way.
But the evidence about fossilization is actually much more reassuring.
Yes, learners can get fossilized saying something in a non-targetlike way—but only as the endpoint of acquisition. That is, there are studies showing that after a couple of decades in a country, using the language all the time, if they’re still saying something in a non-targetlike way, yes, that’s likely fossilized. But that’s a very different situation from our students.
Most likely, what we’re hearing from our students is the beginning of acquisition. Depending on what input they’ve received, they might not have even heard a targetlike way of saying it yet! What’s important is to make sure that they hear the targetlike construction (or pronunciation, etc.) in the input that they receive—and that they have opportunities to connect it to meaning.
Eventually, it may be useful to point out the target phrase and the difference between that and what they’re saying. But watch out—too much time spent explaining takes time away from doing meaningful activities with input, which will help their acquisition the most.
What phrases do your students say that make you worry the most about fossilization? What other explanations can there be? Let us know!
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