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Chapter 2. Complexity Theory and Dynamic Systems Theory: In celebration of Diane Larsen-Freeman
Abstract
This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to methodological analyses, pedagogical proposals, and conceptual frameworks for future research. In a balanced and in-depth manner, the authors provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of second language development, with a wealth of insights that promise to break the status-quo of current research and take it to exciting new territory. The book will appeal to both seasoned and novice researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, bilingualism, cognitive psychology, and education, as well as to practitioners in second or foreign language teaching of any language.
... CT puts a premium on the system properties of a complex phenomenon like second language acquisition (L2A), DST puts a premium on its process. The last decade has seen the unification of the two into a broader CDST framework (de Bot, 2017;de Bot & Larsen-Freeman, 2011). The merger is a natural consequence of CT and DST sharing similar concerns about SLA and espousing a holistic view of language, language use, and language development. ...
... As is evident from the discussion thus far, the merging of CT and DST for SLA is natural and inevitable. Over the last decade, the two lines of thinking have notably converged to emphasize the importance of viewing and framing L2 development as a complex dynamic system, with CDST as the label for a new paradigm in SLA (de Bot, 2017;de Bot & Larsen-Freeman, 2011;Larsen-Freeman, 2020b). ...
Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), an instantiation in applied linguistics of complexity epistemology that transcends disciplinary boundaries, has gained much traction and momentum over the last decade, finding expressions in a fast-growing number of empirical second language developmental studies. However, the literature, while rapidly expanding, has displayed much confusion, notably oscillating between invoking CDST as a metatheory and as an object theory. Then, too, the metaphorical genesis of CDST—the metaphorical adoption of complexity epistemology from physical sciences—has seemed to invite miscellaneous interpretations, rendering CDST an ostensibly all-in-one conceptual prism. This article explores the epistemology of CDST, tracing its ontology and examining its role in second language developmental research. This enables a more nuanced understanding of CDST, while at once surfacing critical issues and directions for future research, as it moves toward a pluralistic approach to investigating CDST as a potentially unique lens on second language development.
... However, as development is a process of change that is engrained in time, it is essential to include the aspect of time in the research design if the aim is to understand development. This view particularly aligns with the tenets of complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) (de Bot 2017;Larsen-Freeman 1997). This theory views the language learning process as a dynamic system and development as a dynamic change across time. ...
... Underpinned by complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) (de Bot 2017;Larsen-Freeman 1997;Larsen-Freeman 2007;Lowie 2017;, this study regards language acquisition and development as a dynamic process and advocates that variability is an inherent property of such a process (de Bot & Larsen-Freeman 2011;van Dijk, Verspoor & Lowie 2011;Verspoor, Lowie & van Dijk 2008). Consequently, language development in each individual learner may not take similar paths and may manifest in different patterns, resulting in great diversity in the learners' output. ...
... A key component of Robinson's (2010Robinson's ( , 2015 SSARC model is to distribute learning over a sequence of tasks, in accord with the perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST; de Bot, 2017;Larsen-Freeman, 2011). Tasks are designed along different parameters (e.g. ...
To test the predictive power of the SSARC (stabilize, simplify, automatize, reconstruct, and complexify) model of pedagogic task sequencing in second language (L2) writing development, the present study explores the performance of written decision-making tasks with varied levels of cognitive complexity in a simple-to-complex sequence in comparison to complex-to-simple and individual task performance sequences over time. The participants, 100 advanced-mid learners of English as a second language (ESL), who were divided into three groups completed writing tasks either (1) in a simple-to-complex sequence, (2) in a complex-to-simple sequence, or (3) at one level of complexity (i.e. simple, medium, or complex task versions). Their written production was analysed for syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF). Quantitative analyses found that the simple-to-complex group produced more syntactically complex and accurate essays over time than the complex-to-simple group, although neither group’s progression was linear. When the two sequencing conditions were compared to the individual task performance condition, the results showed more improvement in CALF in both sequencing groups than in the individual performance group over time, with more and steadier growth in the simple-to-complex condition. These findings support the SSARC model and expand current understandings of the relationship between cognitive task complexity and L2 writing development under different task sequencing conditions, with implications for L2 writing pedagogy.
... According to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), language development is an emergent, non-linear, and variable process in which internally complex language subsystems progress simultaneously at different rates (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron 2008;Verspoor, deBot & Lowie 2011;de Bot 2017). In line with the CDST principles, complexity, accuracy, and fluency, which form the so called CAF triad, are construed as "a dynamic and inter-related set of constantly changing subsystems" (Housen, Kuiken & Vedder 2012: 9). ...
In line with Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), the aim of the paper is to examine dynamics and causality among the growth rates of lexical sophistication in L2 writing development. The study was based on The Written English Developmental Corpus of Polish Learners (WEDCPL) which consists of over 1,900 essays composed during 21 repeated measurements by 100 learners over three years (2014–2017) at secondary school. Lexical sophistication, operationalised as different frequency levels, was analysed with the Lextutor software (Cobb 2014). The results indicated that the learners relied on the first frequency level. The monthly growth rates (MGRs) of the frequency levels were variable but no significant peaks were registered. The relationships between the average semester growth rates (ASGRs) revealed competition between the first and higher frequency levels, and some support between the higher levels. Thus, developing learners’ lexis beyond the first level counteracts the production of lexically unsophisticated texts and supports the use of more advanced words.
... Language ecology (Cao 2011, Fekete in press, Kasbi & Shirvan 2017, Steffensen & Kramsch 2017 focuses on the interaction between the learner, the L2, and the learning environment considering the learner's past and present experiences along with their future goals and desires. Complexity theory (de Bot 2017, Dörnyei 2017, Fekete 2018, Larsen-Freeman 1997, Larsen-Freeman & Cameron 2008 regards learners, teachers, the language, and the environment as complex dynamic systems that keep interacting with one another, leading to emergent phenomena. The post-structuralist approach (Kramsch 2009, Kristeva 1980, Norton 2013 deems the users of the language inseparable from the language and proposes that SLA involves the whole being of the learner involving their brain, mind, and body, resulting in emotional and identity responses. ...
The paper examines Hungarian English majors’ emotional and identity responses to second language acquisition (SLA) and proposes that the two are inherently linked. The theoretical underpinnings of the study draw on the holistic post-structuralist approach that looks at learners in their entirety and complexity (Kramsch 2009) and language learning as an embodied experience (Damasio 1994) that can be more or less transformative for the learner. The participants’ multilingual identities are mapped in terms of desire (Kristeva 1980) and pain (Lacan 1977) in SLA, imagination (Anderson 1983), symbolic language use (Kramsch 2009), and conceptual blending (Fauconnier & Turner 2002). The paper is based on a multiple case study that involved 31 English majors as participants from the University of Pécs, in Hungary. Data were collected via a structured written task that contained three open-ended questions about the participants’ language learning experiences and preferences. The questions addressed the participants’ emotional and identity responses to SLA. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis in an iterative manner. The findings confirmed that language learners respond emotionally to language learning and these emotional responses shed light on their identities associated with SLA. The magnitude of the learner’s transformation resulting from SLA corresponds to the magnitude of their emotional responses, shaping their multilingual identity accordingly. Emotions were frequently captured with the help of metaphors as a result of conceptual blending. Three recurring emotional responses emerged from the data addressing the experience of desire, pain, and freedom associated with English learning.
According to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), language development is an individually owned process. CDST studies should draw from both group-based and individual-based data since research results should not be generalized from the group to the individual and vice versa unless the group is an ergodic ensemble. This paper describes a part of a sequential mixed method (MM) study in which group-based data obtained in a panel study were further analysed with respect to all individual learners. The aim of the study was to examine the individual learners’ development of syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF) in L2 English writing at secondary school in comparison to the whole group. The study was based on The Written English Developmental Corpus of Polish Learners (WEDCPL), which includes 1,923 essays written by one hundred learners during twenty-one data waves organized over the period of three years at secondary school. The results of the study indicated that the individual learners rarely differed from the group in terms of the average CALF results, but in terms of progress over time, most learners represented different learning profiles than the group. The main implication for practitioners is to empower moreindividual learners to succeed in L2.
The present study investigated the developmental trajectories of written language of two Chinese EFL learners in terms of complexity over one semester and explored the relationship between syntactic complexity and lexical complexity under the framework of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). The data were processed using dynamic analyses (min-max graphs, moving correlations and Change-point analysis) to visualize the developmental process and variability of each subsystem of complexity with 4 measures (mean length of T-unit, mean length of clause, clauses per T-unit and VocD) and interactions between different subsystems. The results showed, first, that different subsystems of written language complexity developed dynamically and nonlinearly with different degrees of variability, and varied in the two participants. Second, interactions existed between syntactic complexity and lexical complexity, which shaped as competitors for Jenny but as connected growers for Helen. The results further deepened the understanding of the development in learners’ written complexity, providing significant implications for EFL writing teaching.
Drawing on longitudinal data from the perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, I portray how L2 language socialization is promoted by an L2 user’s agency borne out of his Ideal L2 self. This paper first showcases a decade-long longitudinal OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) data set elicited from an L2 Japanese user who speaks Korean as his L1, focusing on the process of affective adverb acquisition observed through transformations in his speech style. Then, employing the Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA), I examine holistically how changes in the use of affective adverbs reflects the L2 user’s language socialization by visualizing his language environment and language awareness chronically, including his own reflections through retrospective interviews.
This state-of-the-art volume offers a comprehensive and accessible examination of perspectives within the field of discourse analysis on the processes and conditions of second language learning, teaching, and use. The collection brings together leading global researchers in the field to guide readers through background theories, theoretical paradigms, methodological issues, and pedagogical implications by synthesizing current and past work, and setting a future agenda for discourse-oriented second language research.
According to Talmy, in verb-framed languages (e.g., French), the core schema of an event (Path) is lexicalized, leaving the co-event (Manner) in the periphery of the sentence or optional; in satellite-framed languages (e.g., English), the core schema is jointly expressed with the co-event in construals that lexicalize Manner and express Path peripherally. Some studies suggest that such differences are only surface differences that cannot influence the cognitive processing of events, while others support that they can constrain both verbal and non-verbal processing. This study investigates whether such typological differences, together with other factors, influence visual processing and decision-making. English and French participants were tested in three eye-tracking tasks involving varied Manner–Path configurations and language to different degrees. Participants had to process a target motion event and choose the variant that looked most like the target (non-verbal categorization), then describe the events (production), and perform a similarity judgment after hearing a target sentence (verbal categorization). The results show massive cross-linguistic differences in production and additional partial language effects in visualization and similarity judgment patterns – highly dependent on the salience and nature of events and the degree of language involvement. The findings support a non-modular approach to language–thought relations and a fine-grained vision of the classic lexicalization/conflation theory.
It has been twenty-five years since second language acquisition/development researchers and practitioners were introduced to chaos/complexity theory and its systems (variously referred to in our field as “complex systems,” complex adaptive systems,” and “complex dynamic systems”) (Larsen-Freeman, 1997). Unsurprisingly, the uptake of the new ideas was nonlinear. When they did attract a growing number of scholars, almost all of the research reports were descriptive—pointing out how language—its evolution, its use, its learning, and its teaching—were all complex, dynamic, nonlinear, emergent, feedback-sensitive, self-organizing, initial condition-sensitive, open, adaptive systems. In addition to these characteristics, because language is comprised of many interacting components and can be characterized by a number of scale-free power laws, such as Zipfian distributions, it indeed qualifies as a complex system.
Over the last two decades, complexity theory, which is designed to deal with systems of multiple interdependent variables, has been increasingly applied to analyse and shed light on various aspects of education. So far, however, complexity theory has rarely been used, if at all, to examine questions related to educational justice. This article offers a theoretical examination of some possible links between complexity theory and distributive justice in education. It asks how accepting the premise that education is a complex dynamic system should shape the way distributive justice in education is conceptualized and approached. It is argued that complexity theory challenges many assumptions on which the dominant approach for dealing with distributive justice in education rests. The article focuses on three subjects that stem from complexity theory but have implications for dealing with distributive justice in education: system diversity, reductionism, and change. Each of these subjects is examined separately, and some possible contributions of complexity theory to illuminating these subjects in relation to distributive justice in education are discussed. The article ends with a brief illustration of where a complexity based approach to educational justice leads that focuses on school choice and contrasts it with Brighouse’s views on this issue.
The rapid socioeconomic growth of emerging countries, as well as the changing character of higher education services because of the Coronavirus epidemic, warrant rethinking the internationalization approach in higher education. In the age of inconsistency in internationalization policies, this chapter argues that dynamic systems theory (DST) can be adopted for implementing internationalization. It also explores push-pull dynamics, which can be utilized as an alternative to the classic push-pull theory to enhance the competitive advantage in this era of limited funds for higher institutions, and low turnout from international student mobility. The chapter concludes on the approach and recommendations that can assist in determining what to focus on and the future trends in higher education internationalization.
Because young language learners (YLLs) are in the midst of cognitive development while they are developing their languages, it is important for educators of YLLs to understand children’s cognitive abilities in relation to their linguistic development in order to develop appropriate pedagogy for them. This chapter offers a current understanding of major cognitive abilities that are associated with YLL’s language learning. After sketching main theoretical approaches in general cognitive development, the chapter discusses major research findings concerning the potential influence of bilingualism in cognition/metacognition in the three most studied domains; namely, executive function, theory of mind, and metalinguistic awareness. The chapter also covers emerging neuropsycholinguistic research as well as studies concerning greater use of digital technology by children and its potential impact on cognition. The chapter pays special attention to the kinds of measurements that researchers have used to capture YLLs’ cognitive abilities, and the roles of linguistic inputs and other environmental factors (e.g., socioeconomic status). Although research indicates that there is certainly an association between bilingualism and cognition, there are also substantial variabilities in that association across studies. The underlying mechanisms explaining the nature of the relationships and developmental trajectories are not totally clear. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research.
We demonstrate the possibility of a principled integration of the predictable char-acteristics of learner language and the unpredictability of socially embedded language use. In contrast with the claim that dynamical systems’ behaviour is uni-versally unpredictable, we demonstrate that dynamical systems theory embraces predictability as a fundamental tenet. We refer to the utterance-oriented basis of processability theory for insights into predictions about L2 learning sequences that simultaneously embrace learner variation. We sketch empirical findings offering ways to connect variation and learner pathways. These findings provide evidence of how learner options emerge that are linked to unproductive pathways. We argue that building on these insights enables teachers to avoid the DST-inspired chaos narrative and locate specific regularities in learners’ dynamic language use. We show that interpersonal variation and intrapersonal variability can be inte-grated with a pedagogic perspective on predictable developmental sequences. We outline how this perspective offers nuanced support for teacher decision-making.
The analysis and understanding of multilingualism, and its relationship to identity in the face of globalization, migration and the increasing dominance of English as a lingua franca, makes it a complex and challenging problem that requires insights from a range of disciplines. With reference to a variety of languages and contexts, this book offers fascinating insights into multilingual identity from a team of world-renowned scholars, working from a range of different theoretical and methodological perspectives. Three overarching themes are explored – situatedness, identity practices, and investment – and detailed case studies from different linguistic and cultural contexts are included throughout. The chapter authors' consideration of 'multilingualism-as-resource' challenges the conception of 'multilingualism-as-problem', which has dogged so much political thinking in late modernity. The studies offer a critical lens on the types of linguistic repertoire that are celebrated and valued, and introduce the policy implications of their findings for education and wider social issues.
Interest in instructed second-language acquisition (ISLA) (i.e., the learning of an additional language in a formal setting), has been with us since the inception of the field of second-language acquisition (e.g., Corder, 1967). How the learning outcome can be effectively and efficiently improved through external intervention has been a perennial yet fascinating question for scholars and practitioners alike. Collectively, extant studies are illuminating, but many are palpably one-off attempts, atomistic and reductionist in their conceptualisation, implementation and interpretation. As such, they are prone to weak internal and external validity. In this article, I call attention to two issues – narrowness and staticity – in this body of work, advancing a case for the necessity to adopt a systemic and dynamic approach to investigating instructed learning. I close by proffering thoughts on how to enact such an approach in experimental and natural settings.
This study examines the narrative production of 12 trilingual children aged 8;7–11;10 in three languages: heritage Romanian as a first language, mainstream English as a second, and school French as a third. Narrative macrostructure was analyzed via the Narrative Structure Scheme, while microstructure was assessed via story length, lexical diversity, and subordination index. An additional microstructural measure was Guiraud’s index of lexical richness. Results were only partially compatible with monolingual or bilingual findings. Analyses demonstrated that: (i) group macrostructural strength was equal across languages but only as a central tendency; and (ii) while the correlation between Romanian and English macrostructure almost achieved significance, neither was related to French scores. Contrary to the findings of Heilmann et al.’s monolingual study, no microstructural component correlated with macrostructure. Within microstructure, there was no significant difference in sentence complexity (measured through the subordination index) across languages, but scores for lexical diversity and Guiraud’s index were lower in French than in Romanian and English. The findings point to distinctions between trilinguals and both bilinguals and monolinguals, and the possible problem with testing trilinguals for language proficiency or disorders using instruments created for monolinguals.
Trial registration: Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: ntr-.
This study investigates the use of formulaic sequences (FS) in academic writings of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language across different levels of studies at a public university in China. Frequency-based formulas were retrieved from a corpus of student academic texts written at five time points between Year 1 and Year 3. The structure, semantic transparency (as measured by mutual information, abbreviated as MI), function of the formulas and first language – second language (L1–L2) congruency were explored to identify factors influencing FS development over time using generalized linear mixed-effects modeling (GLMM). Results indicate that MI, structure and assumed learners’ proficiency (time points) and their interactions produced significant effects on the development of L2 FS, but function and congruency did not. The individual variation and nonlinearity of FS development were interpreted with Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). Based on the longitudinal study, we highlight the usefulness of GLMM in accounting for both systematicity and individual variation in L2 development from a CDST perspective.
Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), which originated in the natural sciences, has recently been applied to second language acquisition, underlining the interdisciplinary character of this humanistic discipline. According to this theory, language is a complex dynamic system consisting of subsystems which develop in a non-linear way, forming different kinds of supportive, competitive, or conditional relationships. What is more, these subsystems compete for the learner’s limited resources, which causes trade-offs within and between language subsystems, such as complexity, accuracy, and fluency, especially in speech. The present paper constitutes a part of a short series of articles which present different aspects of the same longitudinal case study on the development of L2 English speech at secondary school. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between language accuracy and a number of specific measures of syntactic complexity, i.e. general sentence complexity, subordination, coordination, and nominalisation; as well as lexical complexity, i.e. lexical density, sophistication, and variation, in the case of a good, average, and poor language learner at secondary school. In general, the results showed that the relationships between the selected variables fluctuated over time and often differed in the case of a good, average, and poor language learner.
Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has received considerable attention over the last decades, inspiring a number of second language acquisition studies. This article examines the research from a critical epistemological point of view, starting from the Greek philosopher Cratylus, who concluded that remaining silent is the only way to be entirely coherent with the idea that everything is complex and dynamic. An alternative to this drastic conclusion may consist in ‘saying without saying too much’, that is, setting some limits to theorizing and empirical inquiry. Problems of description, prediction and generalization in a CDST framework are discussed, pointing to some open issues to be addressed by future research. Finally, some proposals are made for a more constructive research program, which may even involve abandoning the ‘CDST’ label.
In an attempt to measure the dynamic features of foreign language enjoyment (FLE), the present research adopted a longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis-curve of factors model (LCFA-CFM) approach to substantiate the validity of FLE longitudinally and trace changes in this construct at different points of time in an English as a foreign language (EFL) course. The suggested approach ensures measurement invariance over time, deals with second order latent variables, takes into account measurement errors and is capable of assessing inter-individual differences. This longitudinal analytical method was used to validate the FLE scale developed by Dewaele andMacIntyre (2014). The data were collected from 437 adult EFL learners in four time phases using
the aforementioned scale and were analyzed by Mplus with LCFA-CFM. The model fit was
accepted and the invariance of the latent factor was confirmed over time. The negative covariance between slope and intercept (second order latent variables) suggested that lower initial scores in FLE showed a steeper increase in FLE over time as the mean of slope was larger than that of the intercept. L2 learners who started off at a higher level of L2 FLE experienced less change in this construct over time and those who started off at a lower level of FLE showed more change in this construct over the term, which can be explained in terms of learner-internal and teacher-related variables, reflected in the literature of FLE. The key strength of this research lies in the longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis performed to capture the temporal growth of FLE and how it evolved through the L2 course. Pedagogical implications are discussed.
There is quite a bit of evidence showing that the experience of learning an L2 will help in learning an L3, but as far as we know, very little research has investigated the possible impact of L3 learning on the already existing and still developing L2 system within the learner. According to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), language development depends on limited resources. In simultaneous L2 and L3 (L2 + L3) learners, these resources have to be used for learning two languages, reducing the resources available for L2 learning. This might lead, firstly, to a slower L2 development in L2 + L3 learners than in L2 only learners, and secondly, to more variability in the L2 during the learning process. In the current study, we traced the L2 English writing proficiency scores (both in terms of gains and variability) of two groups of L1 Chinese learners within one academic year. One group learnt English only (L2) and the other group learnt English and Russian simultaneously. Results show that the L2 + L3 learners did not develop their L2 to a lesser extent than the L2 learners did, but they showed more variability over time in one sub-area (fluency) of L2 writing proficiency. The implications are discussed.
This volume integrates complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) and L2 writing scholarship through a collection of in-depth studies and commentary across a range of writing constructs, learning contexts, and second and foreign languages. The text is arranged thematically across four topics: (i) perspectives on complexity, accuracy, and fluency, (ii) new constructs, approaches, and domains of L2-writing scholarship, (iii) methodological issues, and finally (iv) curricular perspectives. This work should appeal to graduate students and academics interested in expanded discussions on CDST, highlighting its utility for theorizing and researching language change, and to L2 writing scholars curious about how this fresh approach to researching L2 development can inform understandings of how L2 writing develops. As a CDST approach to language change has matured and taken a place among the dominant epistemologies in the field, students and researchers of L2 development alike will benefit from this volume.
This study addresses the multi-directionality of vowel transfer by L1 Riverplate
Spanish learners of Brazilian Portuguese. We verify the influence of the second
language (L2) and the third language (L3) on the production of the mother
tongue (L1). Our results showed that (1) the development of the Brazilian
Portuguese vowel system was highly dependent on the language systems the
participants had previously acquired, and (2) the presence of an L2 or L3 system
also affected the L1 (and the L2 system, in the case of the acquisition of an L3).
These results shed some light on the multi-directionality of language transfer, as
they show that all language systems are in constant development and interaction
throughout the whole lifespan.
According to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory CDST, language is a complex dynamic system consisting of subsystems which show a lot of variability, especially during intensive development. Second language development is generally connected with an increase in complexity, accuracy and fluency but there are trade-offs within and between these language subcomponents. What is more, intra-individual variability, defined as differences in the level of developmental variables within individuals and between repeated measurements, is said to be an important developmental phenomenon. The aim of this article is to analyze the relationships between different measures of syntactic complexity, lexical complexity, accuracy and fluency, and to examine intra-individual variability with respect to the rate of development in longitudinal oral data provided by a good, average and poor language learner at the level of secondary school. Generally, the results of the study show some statistically significant differences between the learners in the development of these language subsystems but no such differences in intra-individual variability. Nevertheless, the study indicates a strong, positive correlation between the learners’ level of intra-individual variability and the rate of development of the language subsystems in speech at this level.
Second language (L2) writing (especially English as a foreign language) is generally considered as one of the most important skills that language learners need to acquire during their language education (Lee, 2016). However, L2 writing might be one of the most difficult skills for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to develop throughout their language learning process (Barkaoui, 2007; Frydrychova Klimova, 2014). Consequently, writing has often been found to be one of the weakest skills of EFL learners around the world (“IELTS Test taker performance 2016”, 2016), including among Hungarian language learners (Csapó & Nikolov, 2001, 2009; Mihaljević Djigunović, Nikolov, & Ottó, 2008). In Hungary, as in other contexts, although writing might be one of the most difficult skills to acquire, language learners have been found to spend an insufficient amount of time learning to write in the foreign language classroom (Árva, 2007; Cook, 2005, 2008; Nikolov, 2002). In addition, research has shown that Hungarian university students make limited use of self-regulatory strategies during writing, despite the important role they play in second language writing development (Kormos, 2012; Lam, 2015; Nitta & Baba, 2015, 2018). Research on L2 writing development in the Hungarian context is therefore important to establish where particular challenges may exist, and how these might be addressed in language education programs. L2 writing development has been mainly investigated by studies adopting a two-wave longitudinal research design (Barkaoui, 2016; Bulté & Housen, 2014; Knoch, Rouhshad, & Storch, 2014; Knoch, Rouhshad, Oon, & Storch, 2015; Mazgutova & Kormos, 2015; Storch, 2009; Storch & Tapper, 2009). In a two-wave longitudinal research design, changes in complexity and accuracy indices are measured at two points in time from a large population. Although two-wave longitudinal studies are useful in pointing to tendencies and making generalisations in L2 writing development, most recent research suggests that L2 writing development is idiosyncratic, that is, no two learners exhibit similar developmental patterns (Chan, 2015; Rosmawati, 2016). The 2000s saw the emergence of an influential approach to second language acquisition, the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), which acknowledges that there is no average language learner (de Bot, Lowie, & Verspoor, 2007). According to the CDST, language is seen “as a dynamic, complex and nonlinear process” (Larsen-Freeman, 1997, p. 142). CDST studies usually adopt a multi-wave research design to gain insight into the dynamic and complex nature of language development (Caspi, 2010; Larsen-Freeman, 2006; Spoelman & Verspoor, 2010; Verspoor, de Bot, & Lowie, 2004; Verspoor, Lowie, & van Dijk, 2008; Verspoor, Lowie, Chan, & Vahtrick, 2017; Verspoor, Lowie, & Wieling, 2018). This study investigates the second language writing development of four Hungarian EFL learners over a nine-month period by adopting a multi-wave mixed-methods research design. The participants were enrolled in an EAP programme offered by a university in Budapest, Hungary. Two argumentative essays were composed each month by the four participants in their naturalistic setting. Furthermore, one argumentative essay was written by the four learners on a monthly basis under a controlled setting. The final mini corpus consisted of 92 argumentative essays collected from the four participants over the nine month period. The four participants were also interviewed on their self-regulatory processes over the nine-month investigation after each controlled written sample was collected. This study found that lexical and syntactic complexity indices developed nonlinearly in the four participants’ written data over the nine-month investigation, substantiating previous studies on L2 writing development (Caspi, 2010; Larsen-Freeman, 2006; Rosmawati, 2016; Spoealman & Verspoor, 2010; Verspoor et al., 2004, 2008, 2017, 2018). However, the directions of the trends were different for all lexical and syntactic complexity and accuracy indices in the four EFL learners’ written data. Lexical and syntactic complexity and accuracy indices showed a great deal of variability in the four learners’ written data over the nine month period. The amount of variability constantly changed in the complexity and accuracy indices over time. In addition, the degree of variability was also different in the four participants’ written data which supports previous studies on L2 writing development (Caspi, 2010; Larsen-Freeman, 2006; van Dijk, Verspoor & Lowie, 2011). This study found that there was a general improvement in one of the participants’ lexicon and in another participant’s accuracy over time as demonstrated by the statistically significant developmental peaks (van Geert & van Dijk, 2002). The interactions between lexical and syntactic complexity and accuracy were dynamic over the nine-month investigation. The polarity of the interactions between lexical and syntactic complexity and accuracy changed from negative to positive and vice versa over time. Moreover, the magnitude of the interactions oscillated over time, ranging from weak to strong associations. The polarity and the magnitude of the interactions within lexical and syntactic complexity and between lexical and syntactic complexity and accuracy were different in the four participants’ written data which supports previous studies on L2 writing development (Spoelman & Verspoor, 2010; Verspoor & van Dijk, 2011). The self-regulatory processes developed nonlinearly and at different rates in the four participants’ learning journey. The four participants’ focus shifted from self-observation to self-evaluation processes at different points in time which substantiates earlier studies on self-regulation (Nitta & Baba, 2015; Sasaki, Mizumoto & Murakami, 2018). In addition, only two learners’ focus shifted from self-evaluation to goal-setting over the nine-month investigation. The findings of this study bear important theoretical, methodological and pedagogical significance and implications. First, the findings of this study support the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory perspective on second language development. Second, this study demonstrated how quantitative and qualitative CDST methods can be combined. Third, this study presented pedagogical implications for teaching and language learning. By demonstrating that language development is dynamic and idiosyncratic and language development is the outcome of the self-organisation of the language systems, this study questions the validity and the effectiveness of an item-processing approach. This study offers a new approach to the study of second language writing development and advances our understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of second language development itself.
In this contribution it is argued that Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) can be seen as a comprehensive theory that can unify and make relevant a number of different 'middle level' theories on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) which in our view are theories that attend to different levels of granularity and different time scales, provided of course that the middle level theories are commensurable with DST principles. Such theories, such as ecological and cultural-historical/ sociocultural approaches to development, and cognitive, emergent, and distributed theories of language, place language development in the wider perspective of societal change and interaction with cultural and material aspects of the environment.
Preface One thing is certain; there is no shortage of materials written about language learning motivation. Besides the ever-growing number of books and edited volumes published on the topic over the past decade (now easily into double figures), literally hundreds of articles—both theoretical and practical—have appeared in journals, periodicals and various collections of papers. So, the obvious question is: Why do we need another book on the subject? In this Preface we would like to briefly summarize why we think that the topic of this book—directed motivational currents (DMCs)—forms a special part of motivation theory, and why we believe it is worthy of further exploration. We will do this by answering four central questions: (1) What are directed motivational currents? (2) How are DMCs related to language learning motivation? (3) Are DMCs use-ful? (4) And, finally, who is this book for? What Are Directed Motivational Currents? Our thinking about motivational currents originates in an observation. We have seen, both in our own lives and in those of others around us, that there are specific periods when we seem to find ourselves in a particularly intensive state of focused productivity which allows us to achieve a great deal, often much more than we would have believed possible at the outset. It is as if every piece of a jigsaw falls magically into place and we 'get into the zone.' But, what is this 'zone'? Although it is difficult to describe the phenomenon precisely, even a cursory search online reveals that many people show at least some awareness of having experienced this heightened motivational state for varying lengths of time. For example, in an expressive blog entry on the topic of achievement, Bronnie Ware captures exactly the kind of fulfilling and productive absorption in a project that is the hallmark of a DMC: When I am absorbed in a project, my time is used efficiently and enjoyably. When the project is completed, I get on with enjoying
Language has a fundamentally social function. Processes of human interaction along with domain-general cognitive processes shape the structure and knowledge of language. Recent research in the cognitive sciences has demonstrated that patterns of use strongly affect how language is acquired, is used, and changes. These processes are not independent of one another but are facets of the same complex adaptive system (CAS). Language as a CAS involves the following key features: The system consists of multiple agents (the speakers in the speech community) interacting with one another. The system is adaptive; that is, speakers’ behavior is based on their past interactions, and current and past interactions together feed forward into future behavior. A speaker's behavior is the consequence of competing factors ranging from perceptual constraints to social motivations. The structures of language emerge from interrelated patterns of experience, social interaction, and cognitive mechanisms. The CAS approach reveals commonalities in many areas of language research, including first and second language acquisition, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, language evolution, and computational modeling.
Dynamic systems theory, a general theory of change and development, offers a new way to study first and second language development and requires a new set of tools for analysis of empirical data. After a brief introduction to the theory, this book, co-authored by several leading scholars in the field, concentrates on tools and techniques recently developed to analyze language data from a dynamic perspective. The chapters deal with the general thoughts and reasoning behind coding data, analyzing variability, discovering interacting variables and modeling. The accompanying How to sections give step-by-step instructions to using macros to speed up the coding, creating a dedicated lexical profile, making min-max graphs, testing for significance in single case studies by running simulations, and modeling. Example files and data sets are available on the accompanying website (http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lllt.29.website). Although the focus is on second language development, the tools are applicable to a wide range of phenomena in applied linguistics.
In this contribution, some of the basic characteristics of complex adaptive systems, collectively labeled Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), are discussed. Such systems are self-organizing, dependent on initial conditions, sometimes chaotic, and they show emergent properties. The focus in DST is on development over time. Language is seen as a dynamic system, and language development, both acquisition and attrition, as a dynamic process. A number of examples of possible applications of DST in the field of applied linguistics are mentioned. After a short presentation of each of the individual articles, some possible lines of research are discussed.
As science probes the nature of life, society, and technology ever more closely, what it finds there is complexity. The sophisticated group behavior of social insects, the unexpected intricacies of the genome, the dynamics of population growth, and the self-organized structure of the World Wide Web - these are just a few examples of complex systems that still elude scientific understanding. Comprehending such systems seems to require a wholly new approach, one that goes beyond traditional scientific reductionism and that re-maps long-standing disciplinary boundaries. This remarkably accessible and companionable book, written by a leading complex systems scientist, provides an intimate, detailed tour of the sciences of complexity, a broad set of efforts that seek to explain how large-scale complex, organized, and adaptive behavior can emerge from simple interactions among myriad individuals. In this richly illustrated work, Melanie Mitchell describes in equal parts the history of ideas underlying complex systems science, the current research at the forefront of this field, and the prospects for the field's contribution to solving some of the most important scientific questions of our current century.
This book explores a theory of language evolution as a complex adaptive system that exists as a cultural artifact without any requirement for innate abstract grammatical representations. Language acquisition is seen as an emotionally driven process relying on innately specified "interactional instinct." This genetically-based tendency provides neural structures that entrain children acquiring their native language to the faces, voices, and body movements of conspecific caregivers. It is essentially an innate attentional and motivational system, which drives children to pay attention to the language interaction in their environment and to acquire that language by general learning mechanisms that subserve declarative and procedural knowledge. This mechanism guarantees the ubiquity of language acquisition for all biologically normal children. Second-language acquisition by older adolescents and adults no longer has recourse to this mechanism, and therefore, success in second-language learning is extremely variable. However, in some individuals with sufficient aptitude and motivation, successful second-language acquisition can be achieved.
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