The present cross-linguistic study deals with the relevance of principles of information
organization in adult second language acquisition. It looks at typological features of information
structure that allow speakers to organize and shape the flow of information when carrying out
complex tasks, such as giving a description, and pinpoints factors that lead to the selection of
linguistic form. At the focus of our attention are means used in reference introduction, such as
existential and locational constructions, the morphosyntactic forms of expressions applied in
reference maintenance, and word order. The cross-linguistic comparison shows that the options
found in the expression of these functions in German, English, and Romance languages (French,
Italian, and Spanish) follow distinct patterns in that the linguistic means used reflect unifying
principles of a typological nature. These principles are perspective driven and are associated with
patterns of grammaticization. Structures in language that reflect core principles in information
organization may be difficult to acquire because learners have to recognize clusters of
form-function relations that range over different domains. The nature of the analyses required is
described for learners of German with English and Spanish as their source languages. The
interlanguages (ILs) of these speakers show a high degree of compatibility with German in
formal syntactic terms and are near native in many respects, but the levels at which the IL and
target language diverge can be linked to fundamental principles of organization underlying
information structure. Although the stage of acquisition is advanced, the languages still retain
core principles in information structure typical of those found for English and Romance
languages.