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Description: This OSF project is associated with a study on speech rhythm in German Learner English. Cross-sectional data on prominence alternations in German learner speech are considered from the viewpoint of two dynamic L2 acquisition theories: The Ontogeny Phylogeny Model (OPM) by Major (2001) and the Linguistic Theory of L2 Phonological Development (LTD) by James (1988). A hypothetico-deductive approach leads us to pursue distinct methodological strategies: While our reading of the OPM prompts us to measure speech rhythm as a single, global category of speech, the LTD suggests a more nuanced, componential approach to L2 rhythm. Our application of the OPM confronts us squarely with the limited utility of rhythm metrics for L2 speech research and points to a number of issues at the theory-data interface. Overall, it appears that the LTD generates more informative predictions and provides a richer framework for the empirical study of prominence grading in L2 speech.