A Dynamic Systems Theory Perspective on L2 Writing Development

Shaopeng Li

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781032226668
• eBook ISBN: 9781000554120
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

From the perspective of empirical complex dynamic systems, this book investigates the complex and nonlinear process of L2 writing centering on three linguistic aspects of L2 writing development: vocabulary, syntax, and discourse.

Combining dynamic systems theory, variation analysis, as well as data and cases studies from Chinese EFL learners' writing, the book critically engages with the heated discussion on dynamic patterns of L2 writing development that focus heavily on the linguistic dimensions of complexity, accuracy and fluency. The author expands the scope of the research by integrating both linguistic and functional dimensions of L2 output and examines the interaction and co-development of these dimensions. This framework helps delineate a full picture of individual learners' L2 writing dynamic patterns across all components of their communicative repertoire. The research findings suggest the developmental path of writing system for each EFL learner may differ, which is influenced by their different learning characteristics and learning environments in China.

The title will appeal to scholars interested in applied linguistics and second language acquisition. Suggestions on pedagogy and language learning advanced in the book will also make it a useful read for L2 language learners and TESOL and TEFL teachers.

1Dynamic systems theory and second language development

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273639-2

Introduction

The present study is an attempt to trace the dynamic development of vocabulary, syntax and discourse patterns in L2 writing of Chinese English majors by focusing on linguistic and functional measures. The present study will be conducted within the framework of DST. This chapter will first introduce the background of DST, including key concepts in DST, features of DST, and the application of DST in SLD.

Dynamic systems theory

A dynamic system refers to a system that changes over time according to deterministic evolution, also known as a dynamical system, which comes from classical mechanics. The development of modern control theory promotes the study of dynamic systems and expands its application to systems in the general sense. Like other natural sciences and engineering laws, the dynamic system is mainly used to describe complex and nonlinear dynamic systems, to identify the relationship between the state of the system at some point and future. Currently, the theory has been widely used in many disciplines such as meteorology, mathematics, economics, physics, and oceanography.

It was the famous American applied linguist Larsen-Freeman (1997) who first introduced DST to the field of applied linguistics. She discussed the characteristics of language as a complex adaptive system from chaos theory and lays the foundation for the application of DST in the study of language development. But Larsen-Freeman prefers to use the term “chaos/complex system” instead of DST, while some researchers prefer to use “dynamic complex systems”, “nonlinear systems”, or “adaptive systems”. Although they have different origins, they have much in common which I will not distinguish in the present study. In order to highlight the dynamic nature of the system, the term “dynamic system” will be used in the present study, representing all the relevant concepts. In recent years, more and more researchers have begun to conduct language studies within the DST framework. The “Five Graces Group (FGG)”, Kees L. J. de Bot, Wander M. Lowie and Marjolijn H. Verspoor, are the famous researchers in this field. The following section will first make the key terminology of DST clear while relating them to language development.

Key concepts in DST

Obviously, the key words in DST are “system” and “dynamic”. A system is usually looked on as a collection of “components that affect and change one another over time” (van Geert, 2003, p. 655). The system is made up of the interactions between these components and is “dynamically stable and self-maintaining” (van Geert, 1993, p. 268). Complex systems such as language are always multi-component and the development of the system is nonlinear. Dynamic systems are “complexes of parts or aspects which are all evolving in a continuous, simultaneous, and mutually determining fashion” (van Gelder and Port, 1995, p. 13).

Second language development (SLD)

The term SLD is often used in the study from the DST perspective rather than second language acquisition for two reasons: first, the language ability and performance of people change bi-directionally involving both growth and attrition, and the term “acquisition” is just associated with the unidirectional change. The use of SLD is also in alignment with Long’s (1993) much quoted definition as it includes the two directions of development:

SLA theory encompasses the simultaneous and sequential acquisition and loss of second, third, fourth, etc. languages and dialects by children and adults learning naturalistically or with the aid of instruction, as individuals or in groups, in second or foreign language settings.

(p. 225)

The second reason is that from the DST perspective language is seen as an enabled process rather than a product or a thing. Larsen-Freeman (2010) prefers the term of language development to acquisition because open systems are never fully acquired. In the current study, the term SLD and SLA will be used interchangeably for, on the one hand, the dynamic process of language development is emphasized here; on the other hand, SLA has been extensively used in the previous research literature and it is not feasible to replace all the SLAs with SLDs.

Nestedness and ongoing interaction

A complex dynamic system (CDS) is composed of components or subsystems, and the components or subsystems are “often interlinked on all possible levels” (van Geert, 2003, p. 658). These components or subsystems are not independent of each other and there are interactions within and between them. This quality is called nestedness. As for language, it is clear that it contains various structural linguistic components (and corresponding developmental processes). As Lowie et al. (2009) state,

Language systems are complex sets of interacting variables at many different levels and sub-levels. Examples of levels are cultural, social, psychological and linguistic. Within each of these levels there are again many different sublevels. For instance, within the linguistic sub-systems there is the sound system, the lexicon, the grammar and so on. These systems and their subsystems are interconnected.

(p. 126)

They also indicate that “the language system is nested within the cognitive system which is itself nested in the physical system of the body” (Lowie et al., 2009, p. 140). In the present study, the L2 writing output is a complex dynamic system which is composed of the subsystems, such as vocabulary, syntax and discourse. Furthermore, these subsystems can be divided into smaller components. From the DST perspective, all these systems are inseparable, as pointed by Spivey (2007). But it is not possible to deal with all the nested systems at the same time and we have to focus on a certain number of aspects in our study.

Self-organization

Generally speaking, self-organization refers to the formation of the inner system structures. Organization can be divided into two types according to how they organize the inner structures: hetero-organization and self-organization. If a system organizes its inner structures according to external resources and instructions, then it is called “hetero-organized”; and if the increase of complexity is independent of the external source but arises from internal dynamics, it is called “self-organized”. From the DST perspective, self- organization refers to the developmental process of a system from simplicity to complexity driven by an inner mechanism. The phenomenon of self- organization is prevalent in human society, and self-organization makes systems maintain and generate new features.

Self-organization is a key feature in current cognitive theories (Smith & Thelen, 1993; Spivey, 2007; van Gelder, 1999) and can be applied in the study of language development. According to van Orden (2002) and van Geert (2003), language development is a process of self-organization. Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008) and de Bot et al. (2005) hold a similar view in their recent publications. Actually, this view is in line with emergentists and the usage-based view of language development, which puts the emergence in complexity due to its use. Since self-organization can explain the emergence of complexity without external influences, it has explanatory power to rival the supposition of an innate language acquisition device by Chomsky (1965). Self-organization plays an important role in building the complex structures of systems (van Geert, 2003).

Iterative growth

The growth¹ of systems results from two factors: the preceding state of the system and the passing of time. As van Geert (2003) describes iterative growth:

At any particular moment, the system is affected by whatever environmental inflow occurs at this particular time, and, equally importantly, by the system’s preceding change. This property turns the changes that the system undergoes into what is called an iterative process. An iterative process takes the output of its preceding state (that is, the change it underwent in the immediate preceding moment) as the input of its next stage.

(p. 657)

Because of iteration, dynamic systems are sensitive to initial states. Subtle changes in initial conditions may have significant implications for future behavior of the system. This kind of sensitivity is often called the “butterfly effect²” in weather systems (Lorenz, 1972). The change of dynamic systems may be sudden and unpredictable due to this effect.

Limited resources

Growth “requires resources to keep the process going” (van Geert, 1995, p. 314). As for language learning, several kinds of resources are required: temporal resources, such as time spent on language learning; learner internal resources, such as motivation and capacity of working memory (van Geert, 1995). In DST, both external and internal resources enable the dynamic systems to develop. And in a particular study we can focus on a particular resource such as the influence of working memory on language learning.

According to van Geert (1995) “as far as the growth process is concerned, resources have two major properties. First, they are limited; second, they are interlinked” (p. 315). For example, in language learning the capacity of working memory is limited and the time allocated to a certain language item is also limited. In DST the limitations are called “carrying capacity”, which refers to the maximal growth potential of a system at some point of time given the available resources for its growth. Obviously, the carrying capacity is limited because resources are limited. From the DST perspective, the limited nature of resources is not necessarily a constraint for system development, but may be a key driving force. Resource limitations determine the interactions between the co-developing systemic components. Resource limitations may promote the interactions between components of systems and the components can increase or decrease simultaneously and support each other, forming a supportive relationship; they may also change inversely and compete for resources, forming a competitive relationship. These components are called “growers” and the interactions between them are called “connected growers”.

Variability

Variability refers to the extent to which data points in a statistical distribution or data set diverge from the average or mean value. Variability is always viewed as “noise” in traditional research and is often removed from data by averaging across samples. However, it may be precisely this variability that holds the key to how learning happens (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008). Variability is a key term in DST-oriented studies, which look on the variability patterns as self-organization arising from the interactions between components of systems.

Variability is the inherent property of system development, and the increasing variability within a system is a prerequisite for the qualitative change in the system. Variability can change t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Acknowledgments
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Dynamic systems theory and second language development
• 2 Research on L2 writing development
• 3 Research design from the DST perspective
• 4 Research design of the present study
• 5 Development of vocabulary in L2 writing
• 6 Development of syntax in L2 writing
• 7 Development of discourse in L2 writing
• 8 Conclusion
• Index