Soleimani, H. & Alavi, S. M. (2013). A dynamical system approach to research in second language acquisition, Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 11, 127-143. (original) (raw)
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A Dynamical System Approach to Research in Second Language Acquisition
Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2013
Epistemologically speaking, second language acquisition research (SLAR) might be reconsidered from a complex dynamical system view with interconnected aspects in the ecosystem of language acquisition. The present paper attempts to introduce the tenets of complex system theory and its application in SLAR. It has been suggested that the present dominant traditions in language acquisition research are too simplistic to delve into the nature of language acquisition. The belief is that the Newtonian conceptualization of SLA research cannot be comprehensive to deal with the complexities of language acquisition research. So the suggested definition for SLA research in the present paper is a complex dynamical nonlinear open adaptive system of inquiry to find probable solutions to problems.
Studies in applied linguistics & TESOL, 2023
In January 2000, Stephen Hawking predicted, "the next century will be the century of complexity" (Sanders, 2003). Indeed, complexity science, or the study of the structure and behavior of complex dynamic systems, has become increasingly popular as researchers aim to understand the complexity that surrounds use.g., rainforests, immune systems, the global economy, and language (Sanders, 2003). In fact, at the time that Stephan Hawking made his prediction, complexity science and systems thinking had already permeated numerous disciplines, including, and of particular interest to the current forum, second language acquisition (SLA). In 1997, Diane Larsen-Freeman published her seminal work Chaos/Complexity Science and Second Language Acquisition, triggering a line of research on the complex systems relevant to SLA, such as the second language (L2) learner, the L2 learner's developing linguistic system, and the environment of the L2 learner, as well as the changes that these interacting complex systems undergo over time. Accordingly, complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) has served as a theoretical framework for numerous SLA studies in the past quarter century. For example, Larsen-Freeman (2006) employed CDST as a theoretical lens for exploring the emergence of complexity, fluency, and accuracy (CAF) in five Chinese learners' oral and written production. Taking CDST as an overarching framework, Roehr-Brackin (2014) tracked an instructed learner's development of German constructions for over three years to investigate the system adaptations of cognitive processing of explicit knowledge and schematic constructions. Evans and Larsen-Freeman (2020) adopted CDST as a conceptual lens to analyze an untutored adult French learner's development of English syntax by collecting oral production samples for 30 weeks. Pfenninger (2021), through a CDST perspective, examined the relationship between young learners' age of onset and use of L2 English in extracurricular activities. Nevertheless, despite the climbing number of SLA studies conducted within a CDST framework, researchers' engagement with constructs central to CDST has sometimes been superficial. Hiver et al. (2022) analyzed 158 empirical reports that were self-labeled as CDST studies and found noticeable ambiguity in the adoption of CDST concepts and terms. In particular, researchers sometimes claim CDST as significant to their study, while leaving opaque how CDST has informed their research questions, design, and methodology. Further, on several occasions, researchers have invoked CDST terminology, such as adaptive and nonlinear, without clearly defining those terms (Hiver et al., 2022). Han et al. (2022) articulated similar concerns about CDST-labeled studies that arbitrarily defined systems and the components comprising them and highlighted a grave consequence of this practice: overlooking the key elements of the system, namely, the learner and the environment. Researchers' ambiguous use of CDST terminology and arbitrary definition of systems and system components point to superficial engagement with the theory.
A Dynamic Systems Theory approach to second language acquisition
Bilingualism-language and Cognition, 2007
In this article it is argued that language can be seen as a dynamic system, i.e. a set of variables that interact over time, and that language development can be seen as a dynamic process. Language development shows some of the core characteristics of dynamic systems: sensitive dependence on initial conditions, complete interconnectedness of subsystems, the emergence of attractor states in development over time and variation both in and among individuals. The application of tools and instruments developed for the study of dynamic systems in other disciplines calls for different approaches to research, which allow for the inclusion of both the social and the cognitive, and the interaction between systems. There is also a need for dense data bases on first and second language development to enhance our understanding of the fine-grained patterns of change over time. Dynamic Systems Theory is proposed as a candidate for an overall theory of language development. * The authors are grateful to Paul Van Geert for his support, inspiration, and comments and for allowing us to quote excessively from his work, and to Diane Larsen-Freeman and Heike Behrens for comments on an earlier version. They are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions and to Sybrine Bultena for her help with finalizing the manuscript.
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.
Dynamic Systems Theory as a comprehensive theory of second language development
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. 1. We use the term DST to refer to a group of theories including Complexity Theory that focus on the development of complex adaptive systems over time
Dynamic systems theory (DST) is presented in this article as a suitable approach to research the acquisition of second language (L2) because of its close alignment with the process of second language learning. Through a process of identifying and comparing the characteristics of a dynamic system with the process of L2 learning, this article illustrates that L2 development is indeed a dynamic process. This article argues that DST has not only broadened the theoretical perspective, but also enriched the practical and methodological approaches in the second language developmental research enterprise. DST has the potential to bridge the gap between reductionist and holistic research practice in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) field and to advance our understanding of L2 acquisition and development. This article argues that incorporating DST into cross-disciplinary inquiries will strengthen its practical application. It concludes by pointing out some directions to apply this framework and to expand beyond its current state. Humans' natural predisposition toward effortless acquisition of a mother tongue has always marvelled the inquisitive mind. The loss of such ease in any subsequent language learning has also been the centre of debate for decades, especially in the second language acquisition (SLA) enterprise. Different schools of thought offer different perspectives on language learning issues. While the nativists attach much importance to the innate ability to acquire language and argue against the significance of habit formation in language learning as purported by behaviourists, the interactionists maintain that language acquisition and its subsequent development are the result of interactions between the individual and the environment in which the language is learned and used. Each argument stands on the extreme ends of a continuum without a bridging arch to reconcile them or to offer a more converging lens to look at second language development. In this article, the author propose that dynamic systems theory (DST) is a promising meta-theory to embrace both perspectives and form a more
Bilingualism-language and Cognition, 2007
In this article it is argued that language can be seen as a dynamic system, i.e. a set of variables that interact over time, and that language development can be seen as a dynamic process. Language development shows some of the core characteristics of dynamic systems: sensitive dependence on initial conditions, complete interconnectedness of subsystems, the emergence of attractor states in development over time and variation both in and among individuals. The application of tools and instruments developed for the study of dynamic systems in other disciplines calls for different approaches to research, which allow for the inclusion of both the social and the cognitive, and the interaction between systems. There is also a need for dense data bases on first and second language development to enhance our understanding of the fine-grained patterns of change over time. Dynamic Systems Theory is proposed as a candidate for an overall theory of language development. * The authors are grateful to Paul Van Geert for his support, inspiration, and comments and for allowing us to quote excessively from his work, and to Diane Larsen-Freeman and Heike Behrens for comments on an earlier version. They are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions and to Sybrine Bultena for her help with finalizing the manuscript.
Symposium: Dynamic systems/Complexity theory as a new approach to second language development
Language Teaching, 2012
Presented at the 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA), Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, 24 August 2011.The goal of the symposium was to show that a Dynamic systems/Complexity theory (DST) perspective will provide important insights into the L2 developmental process. Kees de Bot (University of Groningen) introduced the symposium by outlining the basic characteristics of a dynamic system: all factors or variables involved in language development are interconnected, interact with each other over time, and affect each other differently over time on different time scales. Initial conditions such as the learner's L1, motivation or level of proficiency are crucial and systems self-organize over time. Development is not linear and learners are not all the same, so variability and variation are the norm.