Selenite (mineral) was filled with mineral-rich water that drove the crystals' growth. The largest of those crystals weighs 55 tons, is long, and is over 500,000 years old. Gypsum occurs on every continent and is the most common of all the sulfate minerals. Gypsum is formed as an evaporative mineral, frequently found in alkaline lake muds, clay beds, evaporated seas, salt flats, salt springs, and caves. It is frequently found in conjunction with other minerals such as, copper ores, sulfur and sulfides, silver, iron ores, coal, calcite, dolomite, limestone, and opal. Gypsum has been dated to almost every geologic age since the
Interlanguage fossilization particularly regarding achievement motivation, especially considering that fossilization can be considered the most distinctive characteristic of adult SLA. The text of this article is taken with permission from "The Role of Achievement Motivation on the Interlanguage Fossilization of Middle-Aged English-as-a-Second-Language Learners" by Dr. Zoran Vujisić (2007). Interlanguage fossilization Interlanguage fossilization is a phenomenon of second language acquisition (SLA) in which second language learners develop and retain a linguistic system, or interlanguage, that is self-contained and different from both the learner's first language and the target language. This linguistic system has been variously called interlanguage, approximative system, idiosyncratic dialects, or transitional