Introduction

Revisiting Research Methods in Language Learning Psychology From a Complexity Dynamic System Theory Perspective

“…Drawing on these conceptualizations, recently, SLA scholars have examined CDST in relation to the different learner and teacher psychology constructs including anxiety, motivation, willingness to communicate (WTC), agency, self-efficacy, demotivation, and enjoyment (Almutlaq and Etherington, 2018 ; Boudreau et al, 2018 ; Hiver and Papi, 2019 ; Larsen-Freeman, 2019 ; Syed and Kuzborska, 2020 ). In a similar manner, the impact of CDST on L2 students' listening (Dong, 2016 ), speaking (Dou et al, 2021 ), and writing skills (Fogal and Verspoor, 2020 ) has caught duly attention among researchers in this domain. However, most of the conducted studies in this area have collected their data without referring to the perspectives of CDST which can generate novel interpretations and methodological suggestions.…”

Second language writing from a complex dynamic systems perspective

“…Initially, scholarship focused primarily on the quality of linguistic output (e.g., measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency, or CAF) in North American and European contexts. Since these early foci, studies have expanded to cover a range of constructs and contexts that employ increasingly sophisticated and diverse research methods (for a recent collection of studies, see Fogal & Verspoor, 2020). In this time, a CDST approach to L2 writing research has matured alongside a general CDST view of language change that has contributed, through empirical studies, to understanding the nonlinear, adaptive, context dependent, and complex and dynamic nature of L2 development (see Hiver et al, 2021, for an overview).…”

“…This early attention to variability was developed largely through research on the CAF triad (see studies by Verspoor and colleagues as well as a collection of works by Housen and Bulté) and primarily in the European context. While said foci remain an important feature of CDST-L2 writing studies (e.g., Huang et al, 2021*), later publications expanded beyond these areas in something of a shift away from learner output to research that takes a broader, less granular approach to systems thinking than initial trends indicated (i.e., moving beyond syntax-level interactions that chart how, for example, accuracy and fluency co-develop) to include, for instance, context as a meaningful feature of CDST research (e.g., Hepford [2020] on social ecosystems; Nitta [2020*] on study abroad; Byrnes [2020a*, 2020b] and Fogal [2020a*, 2020b] on curriculum as a construct of investigation).…”

“…These foci were complemented by new or renewed attention to research methods germane to investigating complex systems and L2 writing (i.e., methods that are systems oriented and process—rather than product—focused: e.g., biographical retrodiction [Nitta, 2020*], system mapping [Fogal, 2020b, 2021*], a multilevel synchrony method [Rosmawati, 2020], renewed attention to phase shift analyses [Hepford, 2020], and mixed method approaches [Baba, 2020; Gilmore & Gánem-Gutiérrez, 2020]). These and other methods (see MacIntyre et al, 2017; Verspoor et al, 2011*) are needed as working with CDST concepts (e.g., co-adaptation, emergence, and attractor states—see Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008*, for a rendering of these concepts) require researchers to reconceptualize conventional approaches to related studies (see MacIntyre et al, 2017).…”

“…For example, high frequency data collection points help shed light on adaptive, developmental processes, while accounting for context enables a systems-orientated, relational understanding of L2 developmental phenomena—both core foci of CDST research. Such efforts have led to advances in L2 writing scholarship, including complementary and at times novel perspectives on (a) task-based learning and task-based repetition (see a collection of studies by Baba and Nitta and Verspoor, Lowie, and colleagues), (b) dynamic usage-based linguistics (Huh et al, 2018*; Verspoor & Smiskova, 2012*; Verspoor et al, 2012*; Vyatkina et al, 2015*), (c) multilingualism (Cenoz & Gorter, 2011*; Herdina & Jessner, 2002; Huang et al, 2020*), (d) the pedagogical potential of CDST-inspired findings for students and instructors (Huh et al, 2018*; Jackson & Park, 2020*; Nitta & Baba, 2014*; Tin, 2011*; Verspoor, 2017) and curriculum development (Byrnes, 2020a*, 2020b; Fogal, 2020b, 2021*), and (e) psychological factors (e.g., self-regulation and agency) informing writing development (Han & Hiver, 2018*; Jackson & Park, 2020*; Nitta & Baba, 2015*, 2018*; Nitta, 2020*; Wind & Harding, 2020). These themes have helped complement and frame current understandings and research designs, respectively, into L2 writing development, and have forged new paths forward (Bulté & Housen, 2020b*; Byrnes, 2020a*; Huang et al, 2021*).…”