Selinker coined two terms in the 1970s which are fundamental to the field: interlanguage, to

describe the learner's developing L2 competence, and fossilization, to refer to the end of that
process of development. Later work involved the discourse domain hypothesis (with Dan Douglas)
according to which second language development occurs not homogeneously but in relation to
idiosyncratic topics of expertise. Selinker also co-authored an influential introduction to SLA with
Susan Gass.