In this Methods Showcase Article, we illustrate mixed-effects modeling with a multinomial dependent variable as a means of explaining complexities in language. We model data on future-time reference in second language Spanish, which consists of a nominal dependent variable that has three levels, measured over 73 participants. We offer step-by-step…

This reflective piece seeks to shed light on the numerous contributions of Diane Larsen-Freeman to theory construction, applied linguistics, and language education by drawing parallels and insights from the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup Final. Looking at the multitude of factors that affect both soccer games and language development research,…

Multimodal composing, which has sometimes been referred to synonymously as multimodal composition or multimodal writing, is the use of different semiotic resources (e.g., audio, visual, gestural, and/or spatial resources) in addition to linguistic text for making meaning. Notably, multimodal composing is neither a new type of writing nor a new…

In this article, I explore growing scholarship in various sub-fields of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) that explore the use of English in an increasingly globalized and multilingual world. With different, yet overlapping, conceptual frameworks to guide research, scholarship in various fields provide a growing evidence…

In an examination of the social anticipations within the technical, the idea of accessibility is prominent. It is itself a disclosure of the idea of technical interaction, that of technical subjects with technical objects. Accessibility opens the idea of interaction to one of freer access. Technical accessibility implies, on the factual side,…

Retrospective accounts of materials development in the applied linguistics literature speak to the relationship between creativity and textbook writing, but this study forges another path by examining how an expert ELT (English language teaching) textbook writer deploys creativity during ongoing coursebook production. Qualitative content analysis…

A process of abstraction initiates the development of a theory of applied linguistics, beginning with the distinction between technical norm and technical fact. Each applied linguistic intervention has a normative dimension and a factual interface with its users. The second step is to abstract the qualifying technical modality of these artefacts,…

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…

The initial high expectations of applied linguistic work did not endure. Applied linguistics is divided between adopting either a modernist or a postmodernist approach. Despite their relevant critique of modernism, the relativism promoted by postmodernist perspectives is an inadequate response to the challenges of the field. A non-reductionist…

Identifying changing patterns of stability and variability is crucial when examining second language development (SLD) from a complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) perspective (Larsen-Freeman, 2020). By studying attractor states, or recurrent patterns of stability, light can be shed on the underlying dynamics of a complex dynamic system (van Geert…

Second language development can be viewed as a complex and dynamic process in which learners follow non-linear trajectories and develop their language over a period of time (Larsen-Freeman, 2006). Intrinsic to the view of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), a system is composed of hierarchical, interdependent subcomponents (learner, learner…

This work provides a chronological and thematic account of empirical studies and position papers on second language (L2) writing scholarship from a complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) perspective. As a theoretical framework, CDST was formally introduced into applied linguistics research by Diane Larsen-Freeman in 1994 (Larsen-Freeman, 1994).…

Third language (L3) lexical acquisition is still underexplored. In this article I overview theoretical and empirical evidence on L3 lexical acquisition and the role of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in learning L3 words. I explain the mechanism of CLI as resulting from language co-activation in the multilingual learner's/user's mind.…

Authorial voice is often identified as a key trait of successful writing in English rhetoric and composition, leading to research on its construction, development, and assessment in various types of written texts. Using Hyland's (2008) interactional metadiscourse framework, existing studies have also examined the use of particular voice-related…

Analogies of the biotic modality within the technical sphere center on notions of vitality, differentiation of function, organization, adaptation and development. On the norm side, these organic analogies allow us to envision technical norms for the development of applied linguistic artefacts, which underlie the coming to fruition and maturation…