Studies were conducted to help determine criteria for describing the stages through which second language learners pass as they acquire a new language. The ability of 24 beginning adult students of English as a second language to supply ten morphemes in obligatory contexts was predicted on the basis of contrastive analysis between English and each student's native language. Out of 13 predictions, nine were confirmed by student performance on the Bilingual Syntax Measure. The same students were retested after two months of intensive English instruction; only six predictions were confirmed by the second test. At the same time, the 24 subjects were also tested for ability to repeat correctly 16 sentences containing the morphemes of the syntax test. The rank order of morphemes from the first administration indicates that morphemes with high perceptual saliency were produced correctly more often than those with low perceptual saliency. After the second administration, the rank order conforms to an order established on the basis of a speaking task. These results indicate that, in determining the nature of universals in language development, researchers must take into account shifts in strategies between beginning and intermediate learning levels. (JB)