This volume considers fundamental issues in advanced language learning, from the definition of ''advancedness,'' through descriptive and instructional considerations in advanced learning, to the role of assessment. It presents both general insights and also language-specific considerations in classrooms at the college level, spanning a range of languages, from the commonly taught languages of English, French, and German to the less commonly taught Farsi, Korean, Norwegian, and Russian. The authors take a cognitive-semantic approach (as opposed to the cognitive-psycholinguistic processing orientation) and find that grammaticized concepts are the biggest obstacle impeding advanced levels of proficiency. The theoretical and data-based findings make clear that learners need the capacity to make choices from across the entire language system, from morphology, syntax, and discourse features, which suggests that a less compartmentalized approach to understanding language use is needed within the field of linguistics . This book also explores curricular and instructional approaches to the centrality of narrative, vocabulary expansion, the demands on instructed programs for efficiency and effectiveness, and the ability to function in a professional context. Finally, it probes the dual role and nature--the what and how--of assessment--as a measurement tool for both researching language learning and for assessing learners as an essential component of their instruction.