Chapter 8. Language destabilization and (re-)learning from a Complexity Theory perspective
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Conny Opitz
Abstract
The growing interest in Complexity Theory (CT) within second language acquisition has refocused our attention on development and change, as exemplified by the non-linear processes of language destabilization and (re-)learning in multilingual systems. It is clear that this theoretical perspective has important implications for empirical research from design to analysis and interpretation. In this chapter, I take a first step towards applying the theoretical apparatus of CT to findings obtained in four different studies of multilingual development. I show how the findings can be interpreted using CT as a post-hoc theoretical prism and, in turn, how the findings support and explicate CT claims. The four studies involved multilingual adult second-language learners and users in Ireland and were designed to address different timescales ranging from weeks to years, and time windows from one year to decades. Thus, the study goes some way towards de Bot’s (2012, 2015) suggestion to investigate complex dynamic systems by focusing on adjacent timescales. Although the studies differ in their purpose and design, they partially overlap in methodology and analysis, and exemplify how, through convergence of methodological and analytical procedures, one may generalise from the particular.
Abstract
The growing interest in Complexity Theory (CT) within second language acquisition has refocused our attention on development and change, as exemplified by the non-linear processes of language destabilization and (re-)learning in multilingual systems. It is clear that this theoretical perspective has important implications for empirical research from design to analysis and interpretation. In this chapter, I take a first step towards applying the theoretical apparatus of CT to findings obtained in four different studies of multilingual development. I show how the findings can be interpreted using CT as a post-hoc theoretical prism and, in turn, how the findings support and explicate CT claims. The four studies involved multilingual adult second-language learners and users in Ireland and were designed to address different timescales ranging from weeks to years, and time windows from one year to decades. Thus, the study goes some way towards de Bot’s (2012, 2015) suggestion to investigate complex dynamic systems by focusing on adjacent timescales. Although the studies differ in their purpose and design, they partially overlap in methodology and analysis, and exemplify how, through convergence of methodological and analytical procedures, one may generalise from the particular.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- List of figures xi
- List of tables xiii
- Acknowledgements xv
- Introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Complexity Theory 11
- Chapter 2. Complexity Theory and Dynamic Systems Theory 51
- Chapter 3. Neural complexity meets lexical complexity 59
- Chapter 4. Conceptualizing learner characteristics in a complex, dynamic world 79
- Chapter 5. The emerging need for methods appropriate to study dynamic systems 97
- Chapter 6. Lost in state space? 123
- Chapter 7. Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and L2 pedagogy 143
- Chapter 8. Language destabilization and (re-)learning from a Complexity Theory perspective 163
- Chapter 9. A neuropsycholinguistic approach to complexity 191
- Chapter 10. Energy conservation in SLA 209
- Index 233
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- List of figures xi
- List of tables xiii
- Acknowledgements xv
- Introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Complexity Theory 11
- Chapter 2. Complexity Theory and Dynamic Systems Theory 51
- Chapter 3. Neural complexity meets lexical complexity 59
- Chapter 4. Conceptualizing learner characteristics in a complex, dynamic world 79
- Chapter 5. The emerging need for methods appropriate to study dynamic systems 97
- Chapter 6. Lost in state space? 123
- Chapter 7. Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and L2 pedagogy 143
- Chapter 8. Language destabilization and (re-)learning from a Complexity Theory perspective 163
- Chapter 9. A neuropsycholinguistic approach to complexity 191
- Chapter 10. Energy conservation in SLA 209
- Index 233
