Challenging conventions: retrodictive qualitative modelling as a methodology for complex dynamic systems theory research in third language development

This submission has open access

Abstract Summary

This qualitative multiple case study explored the usage of a cutting-edge methodology, retrodictive qualitative modelling (RQM) (Dörnyei, 2014), in complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) research in Applied Linguistics. By tracing the motivational dynamics of four high-proficiency and low-proficiency Spanish major undergraduates, the study conceptualises third language motivation as a dynamic, idiosyncratic and context-sensitive construct. Data were collected from the participants' narrative accounts elicited from retrospective interviews about their past two-year third language learning history and real-time journals compiled over the eight-week study.

In the paper, I critically discuss why RQM is innovative, how it functions in conducting research in a dynamic vein by illustrating a case study on third language learning motivation via this methodology, and its future potential. Findings demonstrated that the participants' motivation fluctuated dynamically throughout the learning process. Moreover, four motivational signature dynamics incorporating dynamic equilibrium, periodic loop, shift from one attractor state to another and a repetitive cycle were identified to reveal the intricacies of motivation, adding three original dynamic patterns to the existing literature. In this regard, the paper provides theoretical and methodological implications for future lines of CDST research in Applied Linguistics.

Submission ID :

AILA1426

Submission Type

Oral Presentation

Select a Symposium

[SYMP54] New perspectives for research using a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory approach to SLD

Argument :

The revolutionary attempt to introduce complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) into the sphere of applied linguistics has shifted the conventional linear causal research paradigm into a nonlinear systems-level approach (Hiver, Hoorie & Larsen Freeman, 2022; Larsen-Freeman, 1997). The recent two decades have witnessed an increasing number of theoretical and empirical studies situated from a CDST perspective, particularly in language learning motivation (e.g., Dörnyei, MacIntyre, & Henry, 2015; Guo, Xu, & Xu, 2020). Nevertheless, the methodological exploration of CDST, a meta-theory derived from natural science, in applied linguistics research, particularly third language acquisition, still remains on the periphery of the field. Specifically, it is demanding to report the predictable aspects of complex dynamic systems as one of the key characteristics of the systems is unpredictability. To address this gap, this paper seeks to investigate retrodictive qualitative modelling (RQM), a ground-breaking method which reverses the traditional way to conduct research: it first examines the end-states and then traces back the developmental trajectories leading to these outcomes (Dörnyei, 2014). Starting with the methodological challenges in researching complex dynamic systems, I critically discuss why RQM is innovative, how it functions in conducting research in a dynamic vein by illustrating a case study on third language learning motivation via this methodology, and its future potential. In this sense, the paper provides empirical evidence and valuable insights for future lines of research. Furthermore, I advocate more original approaches to reconceptualise the dynamic, idiosyncratic and context-sensitive essence of Applied Linguistics and third language acquisition.

Sources/references:

De Bot，K., Lowie, W., & Verspoor, M. (2007). A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10(1), 7-21.

Dörnyei, Z. (2014). Researching complex dynamic systems: 'Retrodictive qualitative modelling' in the language classroom. Language Teaching, 47, 80-91.

Dörnyei, Z., MacIntyre, P.D., & Henry, A. (2015). Motivational Dynamics in Language Learning. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Guo, Y., Xu, J. F., & Xu, X. F. (2020). An investigation into EFL learners' motivational dynamics during a group communicative task: A classroom-based case study. System, 89. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2020.102214

Hiver, P., Al-Hoorie, A. & Larsen-Freeman, D. (2022). Toward a transdisciplinary integration of research purposes and methods for complex dynamic systems theory: beyond the quantitative-qualitative divide. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 60(1), 7-22. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0022

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2012). Complex, dynamic systems: A new transdisciplinary theme for applied linguistics? Language Teaching, 45, 202-214.

Larsen-Freeman, D., & Cameron, L. (2008) Complex systems and applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lasagabaster, D. (2017). Pondering motivational ups and downs throughout a two-month period: A complex dynamic system perspective. Innovation in language learning and teaching, 11(2), 109-127.

Pawlak, M. (2012). The dynamic nature of motivation in language learning: A classroom perspective. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2, 249-278.

Waninge, F., Dörnyei, Z., & De Bot, K. (2014). Motivational dynamics in language learning: Change, stability and context. Modern Language Journal,98(3), 704-723.