| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation brings complexity theory to the investigation of collaborative language learning. The broad aims of the PhD are two-fold - firstly, to understand more about the process of collaboration, and how it affects the learners involved and their language learning; second, to test the merits of complexity theory as a working, on-the-ground approach to
collecting and interpreting data. A complexity stance is relevant for collaboration as it conceptualizes the learner as a constantly changing system, with input from initial starting conditions, the environment, and past experiences. Complexity theory, within a broader umbrella term of complex dynamic systems theories, is concerned with the interaction of components [or agents] within a complex system. Through these interactions, a system reorganises and achieves higher levels of order without any external imposition. Seen from a complexity perspective, collaboration, or the
sustained joint work of several members on a particular task, is inherently
unpredictable. Different groups reach vastly different processes and outcomes even working on the same task. For complex systems, there are no simple cause and effect mechanisms. For practitioners, once the cumbersome concepts are explained, a complexity approach resonates because it validates so many of our observations that can seem incompatible with existing theories of learning. The principal contribution to the field of applied linguistics comes from a longitudinal case study of four learners in an A1 beginner Spanish Language Module at Trinity College Dublin. Complexity theory guides the design and interpretation of the study, with specific emphasis on time, context, and variation across multiple levels. The broad research aim is to capture, describe, and explain the patterns of behaviour in the participants
and their groups over the course of the academic year. The dissertation seeks to answer the following questions, -- 1. What does collaborative language learning at a beginner level look
like? -- 2. Does group work help individual group members to achieve their goals? What does collaboration offer in terms of personal development? -- 3. What can we learn by looking at each participant as a complex system in his/her own right? -- 4. What common features do effective groups have? What factors appear critical to the effectiveness of a group? -- 5. How does a supportive social environment emerge in a group, and how important is it to the effectiveness of the group? -- 6. What are the advantages and challenges of collaboration at a beginner proficiency level, according to the study? -- 7. Based on the results of the present study, how can complexity theory offer applied linguists and language teachers a way to harness its theoretical prowess for practical applications? -- The four focal participants, undergraduate students from various disciplines, were interviewed, given repeated questionnaires, observed and recorded as they worked in three different groups to complete three presentations in Spanish over the course of the year. Looking at each participant as a complex system, the dissertation reports on their initial starting conditions, including previous language learning experiences and interest in the course. Their experiences with each of the three
consecutive groups are described and explained, using complexity concepts to understand the collaborative process. The dissertation’s principal contributions to applied linguistics are twofold. Firstly the insights gained in this study are intended to improve the pedagogical value of collaboration for language learning. Secondly, the design and interpretation of the study add to the new but growing research community utilising complexity theory in the applied linguistics field. It is hoped that the complexity paradigm continues to offer new explanations to the complexities of language learning, and to that end, the
dissertation concludes with several future areas of interest. | |
