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In contemporary methodological thinking, replication holds a central place. However, relatively little attention has been paid to replication in the context of complex dynamic systems theory (CDST), perhaps due to uncertainty regarding the epistemology-methodology match between these domains. In this paper, we explore the place of replication in relation to open systems and argue that three conditions must be in place for replication research to be effective: results interpretability, theoretical maturity, and terminological precision. We consider whether these conditions are part of the applied linguistics body of work, and then propose a more comprehensive framework centering on what we call "substantiation research," only one aspect of which is replication. Using this framework, we discuss three approaches to dealing with replication from a CDST perspective theory. These approaches are moving from a representing to an intervening mindset, from a comprehensive theory to a mini-theory mindset, and from individual findings to a cumulative mindset.

A quarter of a century has passed since complex dynamic systems theory was proposed as an alternative paradigm to rethink and reexamine some of the main questions and phenomena in applied linguistics and language learning. In this article, we report a scoping review of the heterogenous body of research adopting this framework. We analyzed 158 reports satisfying our inclusion criteria (89 journal articles and 69 dissertations) for methodological characteristics and substantive contributions. We first highlight methodological trends in the report pool using a framework for dynamic method integration at the levels of study aim, unit of analysis, and choice of method. We then survey the main substantive contribution this body of research has made to the field. Finally, examination of study quality in these reports revealed a number of potential areas of improvement. We synthesize these insights in what we call the "nine tenets" of complex dynamic systems theory research, which we hope will help enhance the methodological rigor and the substantive contribution of future research.

In this study we investigate the situated and dynamic nature of the "L2 learning experience" through a newly-purposed instrument called the "Language Learning Story Interview," adapted from McAdams' life story interview (2007). Using critical case sampling, data were collected from an equal number of learners of various L2s (e.g., Arabic, English, Mandarin, Spanish) and analyzed using qualitative comparative analysis (Rihoux & Ragin, 2009). Through our data analysis, we demonstrate how language learners construct overarching narratives of the L2 learning experience and what the characteristic features and components that make up these narratives are. Our results provide evidence for prototypical nuclear scenes (McAdams et al., 2004) as well as core specifications and parameters of learners' narrative accounts of the L2 learning experience. We discuss how these shape motivation and language learning behavior

In language teaching, current understanding of complex classroom contexts and post-methods L2 pedagogy encourages us to adopt a situated and dynamic perspective of the language classroom. Exemplary teaching in such contexts is characterized by critical moment to moment decision-making for building L2 classroom environments that are engaging, demanding, and supportive of learners' development. Parallel to this, the notion of teacher reflection (aka. reflective practice) has gained considerable momentum in the field, evidenced by existing work on the topic and its continued popularity in scholarship on language teachers. However, a review of this topical area reveals inconsistencies and unresolved dilemmas, suggesting that notions of teacher reflection and reflective practice in our field are ripe for reconceptualization. In response, we propose that the field of L2 teaching adopt the superordinate notion of "teacher metacognition" in order to better address the links between language teachers' inner worlds, their classroom teaching, and students' learning. We discuss the implications of adopting a perspective that is informed by current evidence in teacher education research and the learning sciences for understanding the interface between teacher thought and action, and students' development.

Metacognition is a topic of increasing interest in the field of instruction and learning, but its relation to actual teaching behaviors is seldom investigated in second language (L2) classroom research. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how language teacher metacognition and executive function are linked to high-leverage teaching practice. We recruited foreign and second language teachers (N = 937), including bilingual/ESL teachers, from public schools across the southern United States. We obtained a direct measure of teachers' executive function and an indirect measure of metacognitive capacity. Using the Tripod (7Cs) framework, we also assessed specific aspects of high-leverage teaching practice under 3 broad conceptual areas: personal support, curricular support, and academic press. We examined the mediating role of teacher metacognitive capacity between executive function and exemplary classroom practice, and tested an alternative model. Analyses returned stronger support for our hypothesized model over the alternative, indicating that teacher metacognition--teachers' adaptive capacity to monitor, interpret, evaluate, and intervene on L2 classroom events--constitutes an important mediating condition for building classroom environments that are engaging, demanding, and supportive of learners' L2 development.

This study investigated how students' self‐reported individual differences predicted second language (L2) spoken discussion task output, an objective behavioral outcome, in the Japanese university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Although numerous psychological theories are used as a rationale for task‐based language teaching (TBLT), few studies have investigated the impact of individual differences variables on task performance. To address this gap, a cross‐validation procedure was used with students (N = 439) from two different universities. They completed questionnaires to measure willingness to communicate (WTC), speaking self‐efficacy (SSE), and perceived communicative competence (PCC). They also engaged in a quasiacademic eight‐minute group discussion task (TBLT design). This discussion was recorded and transcribed, with the number of words produced used as an objective measure of L2 task production. In the better fitting mediation structural equation model, the influences of SSE and PCC on spoken L2 task production were fully mediated by WTC (R2 =.21). A one‐page Accessible Summary of this article in nontechnical language is freely available in the Supporting Information online and at https://oasis‐database.org [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Researchers have linked vivid mental imagery, particularly of the self in future states, to many desirable motivational outcomes for language learning. We report a preregistered conceptual replication and extension of You, Dörnyei, and Csizér (2016), who found a central motivational role for vision. We review essential considerations in structural equation modeling and discuss how the initial study addressed these, then describe a conceptual replication with a South Korean sample of secondary school learners of English (N = 1,297). Our analysis of the scales from the initial study in addition to second language achievement found support for an alternative model where the Intended Effort scale showed a better fit as a predictor of motivation than as an outcome variable. Our findings suggest the need for greater precision and rigor in structural equation modeling research on second language learning motivation and for more language researchers to take up replication and other open science initiatives.

Research on language learning motivation has typically focused on the strength of different motives in isolation and often out of context. The present study aims to explore the applicability of one global framework of motivation to integrate different perspectives. We investigated how adaptive interactions between learners' motivations for value, truth, and control effectiveness, and contextual factors led to varying motivational trajectories and patterns of emergent stability at different stages of the language-learning experiences of 6 Iranian graduate students learning English in the United States. Using a retrospective-longitudinal design, quasi-narrative accounts of key phases of the learners' language-learning histories were documented through interviews. These data were analyzed following an analytic inductive approach to identify the main events within different contexts, themes associated with each setting, and other bottom-up conceptual categories. Using a process-tracing procedure our results showed that dynamic processes and adaptive or competitive interactions between value-, control-, and truth-related motivations and the context in which they emerged resulted in specific motivational trajectories that shaped these learners' language-learning choices and experiences. We discuss the contribution of these novel frameworks for understanding the complex motivational development of language learners.

In this study, we examine the fundamental difference hypothesis in language motivation, which suggests that language learning--at the motivational level--is qualitatively different from learning other school subjects. Despite being a long-standing assumption, few investigations have directly examined it. Using a comparative cross-sectional approach, we adapted the L2 Motivational Self System and collected data from South Korean high school students (N = 644) related to their motivation to learn English (L2), Chinese (L3), and mathematics (a nonlanguage subject). Contrary to the fundamental difference hypothesis, the L2 Motivational Self System fit these three subjects well and did not reveal clear uniqueness pointing toward a qualitative difference in favor of language learning motivation. We use these findings to discuss the possibility of a more global and parsimonious learning motivation theory to accommodate multiple languages in addition to nonlanguage subjects. We also discuss the need for language learning researchers to reengage with other learning sciences.

An important shift in language learning research is the understanding that pronunciation instruction is necessary to ensure learners' balanced development in pronunciation and second language (L2) speech. Research focusing on understanding what types of pronunciation instruction are effective and what makes them most effective has grown dramatically over the past decade. Given the methodological heterogeneity apparent in this body of literature, however, many questions remain to understand the specific effects of pronunciation training paradigms on learners' L2 development. In this article, we make the case that replication is a productive means of validating findings and assessing the strength of existing evidence in L2 pronunciation research. As prime targets for replication, we review three studies that offer different perspectives on how L2 pronunciation instruction can be optimized. We have chosen each of these studies because they significantly advance the field conceptually, have broken new ground empirically, and point to areas in which replication studies can have a large impact. We describe a series of close and/or approximate replications of each initial study that would add detail to existing knowledge and provide a more comprehensive understanding of how and why L2 pronunciation instruction is effective, for whom, and under what conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the first attempt to test the relevance of buoyancy--the capacity to overcome the setbacks, challenges, and pressures that are part of the ordinary course of school life--for instructed second language (L2) learning. Questionnaire data from 787 college-level L2 learners in South Korea assessed their academic buoyancy and a set of six hypothesized predictors. A two-step cluster analysis of the data identified five prominent L2 learner archetypes, providing evidence for the existence of L2 domain-specific buoyancy profiles. Using structural equation modeling, we examined links among the six predictor variables, buoyancy, and L2 achievement and grade point average (GPA). The results showed that buoyancy significantly predicted both L2 achievement and GPA and mediated the effect of the predictors on these two outcome variables. Buoyancy, thus, captures a dimension of L2 motivation that is conceptually and empirically distinct from existing constructs, and represents an essential yet underexplored capacity for success in language learning.

Second language acquisition theory has traditionally focused on the cognitive and psycholinguistic processes involved in additional language (L2) learning. In addition, research on learner psychology has primarily centered on learners’ cognitive abilities (e.g., aptitude and working memory) and internal traits or states (e.g., dispositions, motivations, and affect). Language learning behavior, however, has remained largely neglected and under‐theorized. To address this gap, this paper proposes the proactive language learning theory, which delineates the agentic and strategic behaviors that learners employ to learn an additional language. These behaviors include input‐seeking behavior, interaction‐seeking behavior, information‐seeking behavior, and feedback‐seeking behavior. This paper presents theoretical arguments supporting the proposal, describes the four behavioral dimensions of the theory, and outlines general hypotheses concerning the contextual and learner‐related antecedents of these behaviors and their effects on L2 outcomes. Finally, the potential implications of this theory for advancing our understanding of L2 learning and instruction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns have recently been raised about the validity of scales used in the L2 motivational self system tradition, particularly in relation to sufficient discriminant validity among some of its scales. These concerns highlight the need to systematically examine the validity of scales used in this tradition. In this study, we therefore compiled a list of 18 scales in widespread use and administered them to Korean learners of English (N = 384). Testing the factorial structure of these scales using multiple exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic criteria revealed severe discriminant validity issues. For example, the ideal L2 self was not discriminant from linguistic self-confidence, suggesting that participant responses to such ideal L2 self items is not driven by actual–ideal discrepancies as previously presumed but more likely by self-efficacy beliefs. We discuss these results in the context of the need to encourage systematic psychometric validation research in the language motivation field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we introduce a new concept termed "teacher immunity". We propose that this immunity emerges from the accrued experiences of coping with disturbances and problems in stressful teaching environments, and that it functions as an indispensable protective armor allowing language teachers to survive the unavoidable hassles of classroom practice. We draw parallels with biological immunity and established constructs in psychology, while describing the development of this emergent immunity through the framework of self-organization from complexity theory. We further argue that, similar to biological immunity, teacher immunity can have potential negative consequences if it develops into a maladaptive form that is associated with a rigid and conservative practice as well as a general resistance to methodological change or innovation. Therefore, the article concludes by outlining how counterproductive teacher immunity can be "rebooted" through a three-step sequence that involves triggering the process through awareness raising, familiarizing teachers with productive coping strategies, and encouraging the formation of appropriate narratives that stabilize the transformation.

This article describes a validation study using Retrodictive Qualitative Modeling, a framework for conducting research from a dynamic and situated perspective, to establish an empirical foundation for a new phenomenological construct--language teacher immunity. Focus groups (N = 44) conducted with second language (L2) practitioners and teacher educators and a cluster analysis of questionnaire data with a larger sample (N = 293) of K-12 language teachers were used to identify and corroborate typical archetypes across the spectrum of language teacher immunity outcomes. Serial in-depth interviews were then conducted with representative respondents from each archetype (N = 18) to trace developmental trajectories and investigate how these profiles manifested phenomenologically in teachers' motivated thought and instructional practices. Results indicate that teacher immunity is associated with practitioners' psychological, emotional, and cognitive functioning in the social setting of the L2 classroom. These findings contribute to the field's understanding of how language teachers sustain their adaptivity, openness to change, psychological well-being, and their sense of purpose and investment in students' learning. Thus, teacher immunity has the potential to bridge individual and situative concerns in second language teacher education and the psychology of language teaching and learning.

At the turn of the new millennium, in an article published in Language Teaching Research in 2000, Dörnyei and Kormos proposed that 'active learner engagement is a key concern' for all instructed language learning. Since then, language engagement research has increased exponentially. In this article, we present a systematic review of 20 years of language engagement research. To ensure robust coverage, we searched 21 major journals on second language acquisition (SLA) and applied linguistics and identified 112 reports satisfying our inclusion criteria. The results of our analysis of these reports highlighted the adoption of heterogeneous methods and conceptual frameworks in the language engagement literature, as well as indicating a need to refine the definitions and operationalizations of engagement in both quantitative and qualitative research. Based on these findings, we attempted to clarify some lingering ambiguity around fundamental definitions, and to more clearly delineate the scope and target of language engagement research. We also discuss future avenues to further advance understanding of the nature, mechanisms, and outcomes resulting from engagement in language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the links between L2 linguistic knowledge, L2 listening strategy use, self-determined motivation, and L2 listening anxiety relative to L2 listening proficiency. Prior theoretical and empirical work suggests that these variables are interrelated in complex ways, and this hypothesis is tested here using structural equation modeling with a sample of 300 high school foreign language learners at the lower end of the proficiency spectrum. Our results indicate that intrinsic motivation yielded the strongest impact on L2 listening proficiency, and separately predicted greater self-regulated learning behavior, which in turn predicted lower levels of listening anxiety. L2 listening strategy use was additionally associated with higher levels of L2 linguistic knowledge, but did not directly predict higher L2 listening success. It was only through the mediation of L2 linguistic knowledge that L2 listening strategy use was linked to low L2 listening anxiety and higher overall L2 listening proficiency. These results are discussed, and we suggest that while L2 listening strategy use may be a key factor in reducing L2 listening anxiety, encouraging listening strategy use below a certain level of L2 linguistic knowledge may be of limited effect.

In this article, we introduce a template of methodological considerations, termed "the dynamic ensemble," for scholars doing or evaluating empirical second language development (SLD) research within a complexity/dynamic systems theory (CDST) framework. Given that CDST principles have yielded significant insight into SLD and have become central to the concerns of applied linguists in many domains, we propose the need for a practical blueprint to ensure compatibility between its theoretical tenets and empirical SLD research designs. Building on "complexity thought modeling" (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008a), we present a practical catalog of 9 considerations intended to inform research design at multiple stages. We contextualize the 9 considerations of the dynamic ensemble by discussing how these have been framed and addressed within one previous CDST study. Finally, we address the issue of what practical implementation of this dynamic ensemble would entail and introduce several case-based methods for building off of the considerations in our dynamic ensemble. We hope that this user guide will help orient researchers interested in working within a complexity framework and spur continued methodological discussion in the field.

In this study, we investigated how student engagement and disengagement change over the course of a semester in the L2 classroom. We modeled change at the inter- and intra-individual levels, using time-variant predictors to examine differences in student classroom engagement and disengagement trajectories. In addition to these temporal dynamics, we also examined what motivational antecedents are related to these changes in engagement and disengagement over time. We collected data from 686 students enrolled in general-purpose English courses at two publicly funded universities in mainland China at three waves in a 17-week semester, and tested a series of multi-level, mixed-effects growth models. Our analyses showed that students who reported higher initial classroom engagement or disengagement levels had lower growth rates than their counterparts as the semester proceeded. Students' classroom engagement in language learning dipped to its lowest point around the middle of the semester and peaked toward the end of the semester. Motivational antecedents were also strong predictors of student engagement and disengagement in the language classroom at both within- and between-person levels. We discuss the implications of these temporal dynamics of learner engagement in the language classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]