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Article published In: Theory in Applied Linguistics Research: Critical approaches to production, performance and participation
Edited by Theresa Lillis
[AILA Review 28] 2015
► pp. 28–48

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Embracing connectedness and change

A complex dynamic systems perspective for applied linguistic research

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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 14 September 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.28.02cam
Complex dynamic systems (CDS) theory offers a powerful metaphorical model of applied linguistic processes, allowing holistic descriptions of situated phenomena, and addressing the connectedness and change that often characterise issues in our field. A recent study of Kenyan conflict transformation illustrates application of a CDS perspective. Key CDS concepts and tools for thinking are described. I argue that the CDS perspective can, and should, include an inherent ethical/moral dimension that applies to every choice made by researcher and participants. Adding the ecological notion of ‘affordances’ allows the CDS metaphor to better address human creativity. Methodological principles for a CDS perspective are described. The author’s Discourse Dynamics model is presented for further development and research.
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