‘It was a bit stressy as well actually’. The pragmatic markers actually and in fact in spoken learner English

Actually and in fact have been described as pragmatic markers of expectation that can be regarded as interchangeable. This study looks into how learners of English with a Dutch and a French mother tongue background make use of these markers in spoken English, and how this compares with native speaker practice. The functional scope of these markers is indeed found to be almost identical, but actually is extremely more frequent among the native speakers and Dutch-speaking learners than in fact. The latter, on the other hand, is extremely more frequent among the French-speaking learners than among the other two groups. These findings to a large extent betray an influence from cognates in the learners' L1s. •Actually and in fact share their functional scope with subtle differences.•Actually prefers adversative and in fact elaborative contexts.•Native speakers and Dutch-speaking learners prefer actually over in fact in speech.•French-speaking learners prefer in fact over actually, contrary to native use.•Learner preferences for actually or in fact reflect L1 practice.