Why are multiword units hard to acquire for late L2 learners? Insights from cognitive science on adult learning, processing, and retrieval

Abstract Multiword units have experienced renewed interest in recent research due to their prominent role usage-based approaches general linguistics, as well work on bilingualism and second language acquisition. While the last few decades focused figurative multiword (i.e., idioms), a growing number of studies more recently non-figurative (collocations particular, but also binomials or lexical bundles, for example). This has highlighted not only relevance language, particular challenges that arise non-native speakers acquiring conventional language. Despite important findings across psycholinguistics psychology, sources L2 difficulties been adequately systematically investigated. The present paper brings together insights from different strands literature review at three distinct loci, namely, input exposure, processing retrieval.