The complexity epistemology and ontology in second language acquisition: A critical review

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), an instantiation in applied linguistics of complexity epistemology that transcends disciplinary boundaries, has gained much traction and momentum over the last decade, finding expressions in a fast-growing number of empirical second language developmental studi...

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Published inStudies in second language acquisition Vol. 45; no. 5; pp. 1388 - 1412
Main Authors Han, ZhaoHong, Kang, Eun Young, Sok, Sarah
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.12.2023
Subjects
Applied linguistics
Complexity
Complexity theory
Epistemology
Individual Differences
Interlanguage
Language acquisition
Language Variation
Linguistics
Metaphor
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Ontology
Scientific Concepts
Second language learning
State of the Scholarship
System theory
Systems Approach
Thermodynamics
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Summary:Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), an instantiation in applied linguistics of complexity epistemology that transcends disciplinary boundaries, has gained much traction and momentum over the last decade, finding expressions in a fast-growing number of empirical second language developmental studies. However, the literature, while rapidly expanding, has displayed much confusion, notably oscillating between invoking CDST as a metatheory and as an object theory. Then, too, the metaphorical genesis of CDST—the metaphorical adoption of complexity epistemology from physical sciences—has seemed to invite miscellaneous interpretations, rendering CDST an ostensibly all-in-one conceptual prism. This article explores the epistemology of CDST, tracing its ontology and examining its role in second language developmental research. This enables a more nuanced understanding of CDST, while at once surfacing critical issues and directions for future research, as it moves toward a pluralistic approach to investigating CDST as a potentially unique lens on second language development.
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ISSN:0272-2631
1470-1545
DOI:10.1017/S0272263122000420