Dynamic Systems Theory: Development and Applications
John Gibbons
Texas A&M Commerce Dynamic Systems Theory: Development and Applications
…..In this paper, I will discuss the development of SLA research as pr-existing theories were expanded upon or abandoned over time as new research and researchers have developed a more dynamic and inclusive understanding of the second language (L2) learning process. The last 20 years has seen a paradigm shift in the conception of L2 learning, beginning with the formative paper on Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). CDST has reoriented SLA research, drawing the attention of researchers from an linear, acquisition and stability approach to a nonlinear, development, and variability approach.
In this review, a history of
Historical Background
Complex Dynamic Systems Theory is derived largely from the field of sciences and mathematics, with previous notions of reductionism being discarded in favor of a broadener integrated systems approach. Known as Complexity Theory in the physical sciences, dissipative systems where described as the functioning of the whole was seen as the interactions of components of the whole, with complex patterns self-organizing as a result of external energy (CITATION). Developing alongside Complexity Theory in the physical sciences, Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) began to develop in mathematics. Also known as Chaos Theory, DST investigated the sudden and continues changes typical of continually shifting systems and the ways that these systems are sensitive to initial conditions. This indicated that small, proximal deviations in the initial system can result in outsized and unpredictable shifts in the system as a whole.
Developmental psychology was the first to apply these theories beyond mathematics and the physical sciences. The previous models of information processing and mechanistic cognition began to give way to the view of psychology rather as a system of consent perturbations affected by both biological ad contextual factors. Emergent from the environment, mental activities were seen as interacting with the system as a whole. The field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and Applied Linguistics were exposed to DST by Larsen-Freeman (1997) who explicitly tied these theories to language acquisition at the levels of individual learners, classrooms and discourse communities.
Much of SLA research into L2 acquisition was based on the assumption that learning was the product of a linear process, with learners beginning at roughly the same initial state and going through predictable, static stages and reaching a definitive end point (De Bot, Lowie & Verspoor, 2007). The brain was seen metaphorically as a computer, and this Information Processing (IP) model viewed SLA as a mainly a processing problem, with information stored and then transformed in a predictable and linear manner. Emergencist theories of SLA recognized that learners develop interlanguage (IL) systems as the result of both environmental and cognitive factors. Language development occurs as the result of interactions linked to use. As language is used , the learner’s system is reconfigured and transformed with language use identical to language change (Larsen-Freeman,2011).
CDST constitutes the logical evolution of precious SLA theories but recognizing and accounting for the realization that within a single IL system there are multitudes of mutually influencing and interconnected systems which are non-linear in their development. The system’s environment, with internal and external, is determinant of the systems evolution. Changes in subsystems, regardless of size, exert influence on each other and follow a non-linear but non-random variability and fluctuations in learner development. Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008) noted that CDST seeks to account for how the parts of the system interact in a way that leads to the systems collective behavior as the system interacts simultaneously with the environment.
Fundamentals of Complex Dynamic Systems
According to Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), second language development is a dynamic adaptation and restructuring process in which the learner’s language development occurs in an interactive environment that develop over time.
Attractor States
Initial States and Conditions
Social Networks Theory
Motivation (Dornyei)
Timescales
Applications to Second Langauge Acquistion