This article considers the possibility of applying instance theory to the study of
language, second language in particular. Instance theory de-emphasizes the role of
abstract principles in knowledge and its acquisition and use, focusing instead on
the storage and retrieval of specific experiences, or instances. I argue
that the application is feasible only if one also adopts a restrictive theory of
Universal Grammar. I then present a sketch of a combined UG–instance
theory approach, in which invariant aspects of UG are maintained and variability is
allowed in exactly the same areas as in standard theories, but the variation occurs
in pools of stored instances, not in abstract parameter values. This approach can be
productively applied to various problems in language learning research, including
noisy input to learners, undoing of errors during the learning process, transfer and
fossilization, and the nondiscrete character of learning.
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