L1 Turkish learners of Spanish and the interpretation of verbal moods: a close replication of Kanwit and Geeslin (2014)

Abstract This investigation is a close replication of Kanwit and Geeslin (2014). The initial study was the first study in variationist second language acquisition to examine the second-language development of the interpretation of a variable linguistic structure. In particular, Kanwit and Geeslin investigated the interpretation of verbal moods in adverbial clauses in Spanish among second-language learners who were first-language speakers of English. We participate in iterative replication research by extending their research to first-language speakers of Turkish. Although all of the results in this replication study were not identical to those in the initial study, we found many commonalities. Thus, we argue that this close replication of Kanwit and Geeslin (2014). The interpretation of Spanish subjunctive and indicative forms in adverbial clauses: A cross-sectional study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 36. 487–533, suggests that certain universal learning strategies may be at play in the acquisition of the interpretation of variable moods in Spanish.