Seminar l A Complex Case for L+ Classroom Research

From around the turn of the century, complexity perspectives on additional language (L+) learning and teaching have become increasingly widespread. Amidst questions as to appropriate forms of complexity research (MacIntyre et al., 2015) and how it might link to pedagogy, this session will argue that practitioner-instigated classroom inquiries are uniquely positioned to do justice to the complexity of L+ learning. In order to ground the majority of the session, the presentation will commence with an interactive introduction to differences between simplicity (the dominant, reductive scientific tradition) and complexity (understanding phenomena as part of a fabric of dynamic relations). In light of the need for more situated understandings of L+ processes, I will introduce three frameworks that have been usefully applied in classroom research – Reflective Practice, Exploratory Practice, and Action Research. As a practitioner-researcher trying to understand the psychological and social development of the people with whom I work day-in and day-out, I will then share my experiences conducting classroom research based in complexity. Participants will have opportunities to discuss learner data collected through action research, and consider how complexity thinking might inform or add to understandings of the people forming classroom contexts.

MacIntyre, P. D., Dörnyei, Z., & Henry, A. (2015). Conclusion: Hot enough to be cool: The promise of dynamic systems research. In Z. Dörnyei, P. D. MacIntyre, & A. Henry (Eds.), Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 419–429). Multilingual Matters.