El Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This article will examine Complexity Theory and Chaos Theory (C/CT), which represents a paradigm shift in how language in general, and second language acquisition in particular, are viewed by linguists, researchers, and educators. In the examination of the literature on the subject, three key questions emerge. How does CT view second language acquisition? What are the key features of C/CT in relation to SLA? What empirical evidence exists to support C/ CT? Aspects of C/CT to be discussed include the ideas that SLA is: dynamic, non-linear, emergent, fractal, chaotic, unpredictable, iterative, relational, feedback sensitive, an open system, governed by attractors and exists at the "edge of chaos." Complexity/Chaos Theory acts as a meta-theory, which can utilize, explain, and transform several of the leading SLA theories, including behaviorism, sociocultural theory, UG, cognitive, and input. C/CT also helps explain aspects of SLA seen in various theories, including how L1 affects the learning of L2, environment, and motivation. The kinds of empirical evidence that are supportive of C/CT are qualitative, longitudinal studies. The examination of personal narratives is particularly useful in illuminating how language learners develop a new language. C/CT also returns humanity to the study of language acquisition, seeing learners not as computerized robots described in terms of 'input' and 'output,' or as systems which download a static, pre-set code, but as individuals with agency, and who, through the process of interacting with a language, not only learn it, but also transform it, and exist in a fluid state which reaches stasis only when the language is no longer practiced. C/CT also represents a paradigm shift in how teachers view their students, moving from objects of input to interactive agents capable of taking power of their learning experience. Language learning is a dynamic system (Larsen-Freeman