Innovation in Language Learning

Suppliance in Obligatory Contexts (SOC; Brown, 1973) and Target-Like Use (TLU; Pica, 1983) are two widely employed methods for analysing accuracy in studies investigating the acquisition of English grammatical morphemes by non-native speakers (Murakami & Alexopoulou, 2016; Luk & Shirai, 2009; Goldschneider & DeKeyser, 2005). Both approaches offer distinct advantages and limitations. The SOC method evaluates learners' use of morphemes in obligatory contexts, accounting for both correct and malformed forms, thus providing a more nuanced picture of learners' production accuracy without addressing overproduction of morphemes in non-obligatory contexts. In contrast, the TLU formula considers overproduction by including morphemes supplied in contexts where they are not necessary, but it neglects partially successful attempts to supply morphemes in obligatory contexts. Consequently, SOC and TLU highlight different aspects of learners' interlanguage development (Pica, 1983). Building upon these frameworks, the Suppliance in All Contexts (SAC) method offers a more comprehensive approach by integrating the strengths of SOC and TLU. SAC accounts for both correct and malformed morphemes in both obligatory and non-obligatory contexts, aiming to provide a more accurate and holistic representation of morpheme acquisition. This presentation introduces the SAC formula, discusses its initial validation and presents an example of its application in a corpus study on English grammatical morpheme acquisition.