Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and Second Language Development

Mobile apps for studying language independently are rapidly evolving. However, many questions remain to be answered about how the tools are being used by different groups of adult learners. This study which is situated in the fields of MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning), sociolinguistics and second language acquisition has a specific focus on non-formal learning. It aims primarily to understand how different groups of non-formal adult language learners (refugees, recreational learners, and retirees) use mobile language tools such as apps. In order to address this question, it uses Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) developed by ideas from Larsen-Freeman (1997), and de Bot et al. (2007). This theory is increasingly advocated by scholars in the field of Applied Linguistics (Dornyei, 2014; Godwin-Jones, 2018; MacIntyre & Serroul, 2014; Palfreyman, 2014) but has not been used as yet to compare the experience of users of mobile apps for language learning in different demographics. The study then also aims to explore what CDST can reveal about learner experiences of non-formal mobile language learning.Data was gathered from 113 survey participants and 24 focussed study participants who participated in this 12-week mixed-method study. They answered an initial survey about their experiences and attitudes towards using mobile resources in their language learning. Participants were then invited to a workshop to learn more about app possibilities. 24 focussed study participants used a selection of mobile apps for their learning. They completed a logging sheet to track their usage over a minimum period of four weeks. They were then interviewed twice, after five and twelve weeks, to understand learner experiences, gauge if the tools had made a difference to their language study and how engagement had changed their attitudes or practices.Analysis of the collected data of attitudes, usage experiences and insights showed access to apps was impacted by wide-ranging factors reflecting particular demographic concerns. The recreational learners were more adept at using a range of tools in available pockets of time; could understand how to maximise their usage; and had clear ideas about themselves as learners. Since they were able to choose a range of appropriate resources, they also remained motivated in the continuation of their language study. The retirees brought traditional preferences about learning to their engagement with the mobile resources, however, their reservations diminished as they experienced increased confidence in using the internet for a range of purposes beyond language learning. The experiences of the migrants and refugees showed these learners found it difficult to source relevant material that was specifically targeted to meet their needs of settlement and access to higher education pathways in the Australian educational system. The tools failed to engage them and to offer compelling ways to study beyond the classroom.Mobility itself represented different things to each group as when and where the apps were used varied considerably between the three cohorts. Confident users were flexibly able to multi-task in a range of locations, whereas those who were less comfortable with the tools used them mostly at home. Time for study was found to be impacted by a range of external factors including gender roles, however, study itself was impacted by understanding how best to engage with the apps. Participants with greater previous educational experience understood themselves better as learners than those who did not. This in turn enabled them to confidently select resources which matched their needs and purposes.The findings showed that language learning via the apps depended on factors related to economic realities, digital knowledge, attitudes to privacy, gender differences across cultures, prior educational experience, age, and perceived relevance of tools. This showed how many individual components combine to form a language learning system which is greater than the product of the individual factors.Significantly, the relationships between these factors were not static in the face of learner transformation. Attitudes shifted as many elements interacted. The perspective of CDST sheds light on patterns of learner management, understanding of affordances, and the real use of resources. Random, unpredictable trajectories which are indicative of complex non-linear systems were made visible. Participants were less predictable in how they engaged with the mobile resources than other models propose. They were self-organising and sensitive to initial conditions and feedback, as well as adaptive, which are defining traits of complex systems. By applying a CDST paradigm, a better understanding of learners and their real needs for ongoing language learning opportunities was possible.

In the past decades, complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) has been used as an important framework for studying second language development. CDST is a metatheory of change and focuses on processes. Even though it has been broadly accepted as an inspiring dimension of research in psychology, sociology and second language development, some scholars have raised questions about the methodologies used, the interpretation of the data, and the nature of its claims. Specifically, Pallotti questioned whether CDST generates testable hypotheses, and criticized its position towards reductionism and generalizability, based on philosophical argumentations. The present article evaluates the issues addressed, reviews the work that has already been done, and looks ahead at future CDST applications to research in second language development, by exploring recent methodological developments in the field.

Working memory (WM) is inherently dynamic and complex, being a multi-faceted system that links storage and processing components; yet it is widely understood as internal. Hence, in second language (L2) research, its connection to complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) remains underspecified. This paper seeks to bridge a gap between CDST and WM in L2 research. First, definitions of WM are reviewed, along with evidence for its relationship to L2 outcomes. Next, a brief overview of CDST highlights its metatheoretical and methodological implications. Three perspectives are presented to illustrate how WM can be viewed in terms of major tenets in CDST. These consider WM effects as: (1) context-dependent, (2) interrelated with those of other variables, and (3) amenable to change across the lifespan. Despite this reappraisal, numerous challenges remain. Thus, in addition to noting research opportunities, the paper also considers measurement issues, such as the determination of boundaries and selection of appropriate timescales. In closing, while WM studies have shown its influence on L2 proficiency and processing, to more fully understand its dynamic nature, what is needed is further research on the reciprocal influences of bilingual development and changes in WM components, such as control of attention.

Population Fluctuations (PF), Patch Variation (PV), and Food Webs (FW) are just a few of the areas where the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has made a significant impact on our understanding of the environment. Measures have been used to capture the variation between simple, disordered and ordered frameworks with local interactions that can generate surprising actions on a massive scale. But research shows that conventional explanations of convolution fail to take into account some major characteristics of ecological systems, an ideology that will limit the contributions of CDST to the entire ecosystem. In this paper, we have presented literature review of these characteristics of Environmental Convolution (EC), e.g. diversification, environmental variability, memory and cross-scale interactions, which progress to classical CDST. Advancements in these segments will be essential before CDST can be applicable in the comprehension of more vibrant systems in the environment.

This dissertation study investigated motivation as related to goal-directed activity and gesture awareness as well as their interplay in second and foreign language development in different English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) contexts. This study included four groups of Chinese learners of English. The first EFL group consisted of college students in China learning English without intention of studying abroad (G1) and the second EFL group in China included Chinese learners of English who were learning English to prepare to study abroad (G2). Participants in the first ESL group were living and studying abroad (G3) while the second group consisted of students who had returned to China after completing their study abroad experience but continued to use English for academic studies and work (G4). This explanatory sequential mixed methods research design involved quantitative data of motivation and gesture awareness surveys and then further explained the quantitative results with qualitative data of video recorded gesture tasks and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative analysis of motivation tested mean differences of motivation constructs (ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and attitudes toward learning English) based on the second language motivational self-system (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, 2005; 2009) as well as intended effort as a measurement criterion. In the results, participants in the EFL context intended to put in more effort and had lower ideal L2 self than participants in the ESL context. Results found no difference between the EFL and ESL contexts with regard to ought-to L2 self and attitudes toward learning English. In the EFL context, G2 were highly motivated than G1 in terms of ideal L2 self, attitudes toward learning English, and intended to put into more effort. Additionally, the expectation that G3 would have the highest level of motivation was not supported. In fact, attitudes toward learning English were lower for G3 than G4. No statistical differences were found on ought-to L2 self across groups. These quantitative results were supported and clarified by the qualitative findings in phase 2. Motivation as related to goal-directed activity was found to be affected by the orientation of participants in each group toward learning English in association with their particular contexts. Overall findings of motivation as related to goal-directed activity proved highly coherent with the qualitative dimension supporting the quantitative results and providing nuanced and in-depth information on what motivated participants and why, how motivation shaped experience and how experience shaped motivation in each context. This study also created and validated the first usable scale of gesture awareness, and measurement and structural invariance tests showed that G3 had the lowest scores in terms of comprehension and production across the four groups. Interestingly, no difference was found between G2 and G4. Later, qualitative findings showed that G3 were more aware of their gesture, and their gesture production was more pragmatic than other groups. G1, in particular, were less conscious of gestural differences between Chinese and English than other groups. Quantitative results of gesture awareness were incongruent with qualitative findings, and specific investigation among each individual revealed the importance of conscious awareness of gesture and gesturing for pragmatics. This study is the first effort to examine the relationship between motivation and gesture awareness and found that the relationship was individual specific in the situated context for communicative needs. The integration of individual and contextual factors constituted the plasticity of second and foreign language development and showed the diversity of individual motivation and gesture awareness in different contexts. This dissertation study brings attention to agency, goals, goal-directed activity, and conscious awareness in EFL and ESL contexts for second and foreign language development.

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory has redefined second language development as co-adaptation between language users and context, but few studies have proactively manipulated the context to model and optimize such co-adaptation. The applied nature of the field calls for research to move beyond observation toward intentional, Complex Dynamic Systems Theory-informed intervention and the development of corresponding methodological frameworks. This study addresses this gap by theorizing and operationalizing the context as an applied construct to examine the dynamics of agency–context co-adaptation. The context is more than a passive environment for language practice, serving as an actively shaped site that facilitates agency–context co-adaptation. Situated within a semester-long business Chinese course, this study delineated a closed-to-open context which took the form of a rubric co-constructed assessment series where learners proceeded from the recipients, to editors, to creators of the assessment rubrics, engaging reflexively with their evolving roles. Process tracing on qualitative data, including student reflections and rubric construction recording, revealed a progression in collective learner agency from taking control of grades over an opening context to improving performance over a guided context. Individual learner agency exhibited diverse profiles dependent on students’ varying focuses on task completion and language skills, buy-in of the assessment and rubric construction, and acknowledgment of the instructor’s guidance. In response, the closed-to-open context adapted to these variations through an ad hoc intervention addressing emerging needs for guidance.

Various studies have been published based on complex dynamic systems theoretical (CDST) interpretations of second language development (SLD). According to these approaches, a second language emerges in a specific and dynamic communicative context as a result of a process of self‐organization. This research has provided empirical support for the existence of the main theoretical concepts of CDST, such as the fact that the course of development is highly idiosyncratic, that SLD is nonlinear and variable, and that complex interactions exist between variables within and outside the individual.

Although several researchers have demonstrated that foreign language (FL) learning experience has a limited effect on the short-term development of second language (L2) fluency, recent studies have suggested that learners can gain long-term (over one year) benefits from FL learning experiences. As a part of the present study, 50 Japanese university students were exposed to L2 learning experience over the course of one academic year to monitor its impact on L2 fluency measures (i.e. speed, breakdown, and repair fluency) in FL context. The relationship between the development of L2 fluency measures and learners’ learning experiences inside and outside the classroom was also investigated. The results showed a significant decrease in the length of between-clause and within-clause pauses that learners made. Furthermore, the correlational analysis showed that their L2 learning experience was uniquely associated with the development of between-clause pause frequency and repair frequency. These findings suggest that, while relatively long-term FL learning impacts the development of L2 fluency, it produces a unique pattern, whereby the effectiveness of FL learning is influenced by how students make the best use of their learning experiences.

Although the development of second language (L2) oral fluency has been widely investigated over the past several decades, there remains a paucity of research examining language instruction specifically aimed at improving this cognitive skill. In this study, the researchers investigate how instructional techniques adapted from drama can positively impact L2 fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness—three frequently discussed dimensions of L2 speech. Following a pretest–posttest design, the researchers obtained speech samples from 24 adolescent Brazilian EFL learners before and after their participation in a 4-month drama-based English language program. The development of oral skills by this group was compared with that of a parallel group of learners who received 4 months of instruction in a traditional communicative EFL classroom. Thirty untrained Canadian native English speaker raters evaluated randomized recorded L2 speech samples and provided impressionistic scalar judgments of fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness. Results indicate that drama-based instruction can lead to significantly larger gains in L2 English oral fluency relative to more traditional communicative EFL instruction; comprehensibility scores also appear to be impacted, but with a much smaller effect; accentedness scores do not seem to benefit from one type of instruction over the other. The authors discuss implications for teaching practice.

This study aims to investigate the rhetorical moves of English research articles (RAs) abstracts written by Korean scholars between the two different fields of applied linguistics (AL) and English literature (EL). Two hundred and forty RA abstracts from two corpora were analysed using Hyland’s framework. The results suggest that the introduction section works as the core move in EL abstracts, which often have lengthy introductions to claim the significance of the study. They also have more diverse types of move patterns, with one or two more moves than AL abstracts. However, for AL abstracts, the introduction functions as an optional move, and these abstracts have the highest frequency of the three-move structure of “P-M-Pr,” where product is mainly highlighted to promote the study. These discipline-specific differences also occur in rhetorical strategies employed in the two disciplines. Disciplinary practices in terms of RA abstracts need to be provided, and this paper may enable L2 writers to improve their academic writing.

In recent studies in second language (L2) development, notably within the focus of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), non-systematic variation has been extensively studied as intra-individual variation, which we will refer to asvariability. This paper argues that variability is functional and is needed for development. With examples of four longitudinal case studies we hope to show that variability over time provides valuable information about the process of development. Phases of increased variability in linguistic constructions are often a sign that the learner is trying out different constructions, and as such variability can be evidence for change, and change can be learning. Also, a limited degree of variability is inherent in automatic or controlled processes. Conversely, the absence of variability is likely to show that no learning is going on or the system is frozen.

This study examined how low-level Japanese English learners’ motivation changes throughout an English course in which English is taught through reflective teaching practice. In order to investigate students’ motivational fluctuation, Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) was applied. CDST can measure how learners’ motivation changes by focusing on the process of change, as opposed to whether learners’ motivation changed or not by investigating pre- and post-data, which has been the mainstream approach in motivational research for decades. At the end of each class, a “Weekly Motivational Questionnaire” (WMQ) (Nitta, 2013; Nitta & Asano, 2010) was distributed to 14 participants, and the instructor kept a journal after the class. The materials and techniques used in this class included an American TV drama, games related to the class contents, group/pair work, and the Jigsaw Method (Aronson & Patnoe, 1997). Since the class focused on improving student listening and speaking ability, a TV drama was used as the main teaching material. Trajectory patterns were obtained using the results of the WMQ. Consequently, five motivational patterns were recognized. Through individual analyses, for instance, the importance of repeated use of tasks that are related to students’ interests are implied. A motivational developmental sequence is also hypothesized.

The article reviews the book A Dynamic Approach to Second Language Development: Methods and Techniques, edited by Marjolijn H. Verspoor, Kees De Bot, and Wander Lowie.

The field of instructed SLA (ISLA) has grown rapidly in recent years to examine how systematic manipulations of instructional conditions can lead to the development of second language (L2) knowledge and use (Loewen & Sato, 2017). Following this trend, L2 pragmatics researchers have implemented various instructional methods and examined their effectiveness using experimental designs (Taguchi, 2015; Taguchi & Roever, 2017). The critical issue in this practice is how to assess learning outcomes in order to make a claim that certain instructional methods can produce robust pragmatic knowledge. To address this question, this chapter presents an overview of assessment methods used in analyzing pragmatics learning outcomes. The chapter surveys instructed L2 pragmatics studies published in the last four decades to identify common assessment methods (i.e., discourse completion tasks and role-play tasks). We provide step-by-step illustrations of expert studies in order to demonstrate how researchers design an assessment task, evaluate learning, and interpret results. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges and limitations of current methods and provides direction for addressing such challenges in pragmatics research.

The study was conducted from a programmatic need to investigate the effects of the instruction of comprehension strategy coupled with cooperative learning (cooperative strategic reading) as compared to the conventional type of explicit teaching of reading comprehension on the development of second language (L2) reading comprehension by low proficiency learners. Two intact remedial classes were randomly assigned to either cooperative strategic reading or explicit teaching of reading comprehension conditions. Results showed that the two types of instruction had different effects on the development of L2 reading comprehension. Cooperative strategic reading comprehension led to a statistically significant improvement at the levels of global understanding of text, but not at the sentence-level understanding. In contrast, explicit teaching of reading comprehension failed to make any significant improvement in L2 reading comprehension at both the local and global understanding of text. This result can be interpreted as evidence that cooperative strategic reading comprehension helped students to engage in deeper processing of the text.