In this article we address two key questions in the application of dynamical systems theory (DST) to second language acquisition (SLA) that have not been resolved in recent debates about this issue. The first question relates to reductionism. Is an antireductionist position a necessary element of DST? We show that the radical antireductionist…

The recent dynamic turn in second language acquisition research has called for an investigation in learner agency by taking its complex dynamic nature into account. Informed by complex dynamic systems theory (CDST), this study investigated the agency of learners in a complex educational context where mainstream schooling and private tutoring…

This complex article has six subsections. Following a brief introduction, one team of three co-authors and three single authors present compact statements of their distinctive individual research perspectives on second language acquisition and teaching (SLA/T): Atkinson, Mejía-Laguna, and Ribeiro offer a sociocognitive perspective; Cappellini…

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has significantly reshaped our understanding of second language learning and teaching across the micro, meso, and macro levels for several decades since its systematic introduction by Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008). This study conducts a comprehensive review of empirical research on second language learning…

Network analysis is a method used to explore the structural relationships between people or organizations, and more recently between psychological constructs. Network analysis is a novel technique that can be used to model psychological constructs that influence language learning as complex systems, with longitudinal data, or cross-sectional data.…

The number of immigrant students in Finland is increasing; thus, this qualitative case study investigates ways of providing targeted support measures for recently arrived Finnish language learners (RAFLLs) in Finnish lower secondary education. Focusing on linguistic responsiveness, the teaching arrangements and support measures are examined not…

Learner motivation is an essential ingredient for successful language learning. This article investigates the motivating and demotivating factors affecting the motivation of fifty-eight EAP learners' L2 learning. Guided by complex dynamic systems theory, with a dual focus on both what factors are important and what role these play in the L2…

Background/purpose: Although studies on teacher research are becoming more common in English language teaching (ELT), there is still a lack of understanding regarding how university lecturers shape their research identities. Using Ecological systems theory and Self-determination theory, this study examines the construction of research identities…

Teachers are unclear how to adapt pedagogical techniques in digital play to enhance language development for young children in the digital era and with the changes in early childhood education. The purpose of this study is to analyze how teachers understand the development and teaching of early childhood language in early grades with digital game…

Learner emotions represent sudden, dynamic, and complex adaptations to the language classroom environment. Recent Second Language Acquisition research calls for a more holistic perspective in approaching classroom emotions, one that considers emotional variations between and across learners, and which foregrounds the interconnections among…

Multiple language learning has been largely neglected in L2 motivation research. Recently, complexity principles have been used to model multilingual motivation. In this work, multilingual self-guides are conceptualised as emergent from interactions between the motivation systems of different languages. Motivational systems and their emergent…

In the field of applied linguistics, Diane Larsen-Freeman is widely recognized, among her numerous contributions, as the originator of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). Over the years since her seminal publication (Larsen-Freeman, 1997), CDST has evolved into a meta-theory that guides the field's thinking on a variety of developmental…

Teacher cognition has been a major topic of interest in applied linguistics as researchers have worked toward "better understanding the fullness of the work of teaching, a fullness that has proved complex and problematic" (Burns et al., 2015, p. 585). This qualitative study draws upon participant interview data in order to analyze and…

This study compares two leadership styles, emergent leader (EL) and assigned leader (AL), to explore effective leadership in second language (L2) group work. ELs were spontaneously chosen by the group, while ALs were pre-assigned by teachers before the task. The study involved 45 university students, who were divided into seven EL groups (n = 21)…

From the complex dynamic systems theory perspective, evaluating CALL pedagogy involves miscellaneous variables. It seems the ecosystem of the CALL environment necessitates an array of extralinguistic (Ecolinguistically situated) issues to be considered in any appraisal of the CALL milieu. To this end, this paper aims to develop and validate a…