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LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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Page 1: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY

Richard Johnstone

LLAS/SCILT SEMINARFriday 27th April, 2012

Page 2: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

• Introduction• Four projects:

China, Scotland, Scotland, Spain

• Research in an era of complexity

Page 3: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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Four Projects

• Teaching English at primary school in the People’s Republic of China

• Walker Road Primary School (Aberdeen): Early Partial Immersion in French

• Foreign Languages in the Upper Secondary School: Partners in Excellence (Three Local Authorities)

• Spain: The National Early Bilingual Education Project (Spanish Ministry of Education in collaboration with the British Council).

• A key issue: sustainability

Page 4: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

BEP Spain: P5/6 performance in class - Explanations

• Q: ‘Can you describe the smell?’• A: ‘It's repulsive and smells like rotten eggs!’• Q: ‘Can you tell me something about mercury?’• A: ‘It's toxic and therefore must stay sealed’• Q: ‘What is the difference between a mixture and a compound?’• A: ‘A mixture can be returned to its earlier state.’• Q: ‘What is the process called when we turn a solid into a gas?’• A: ‘Sublimation.’• The dialogue then proceeded in a more open way: • Q: ‘Who could tell me something about, for example, polonium?’• A: ‘Its symbol is Po, it is number 84 in the periodic table. Its mass is

209. It is highly radioactive…’

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Page 5: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

BEP Spain: P5/6 performance in class - Explanations

[light]• ‘We know that light travels in straight lines because ………

behind the opaque object, you cannot see the light, only the shadow. When you put a bottle or glass in front of a source of light, the light travels through it’.

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Page 6: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

BEP Spain P5/6 performance in class

• T: ‘What happens when you have a cold?’• P: ‘Mucus goes through the Eustachian tube into

the middle ear.’• T: ‘How does the doctor know this if he cannot see

into the middle ear?’• P: ‘He sees a change in the position of the

eardrum.’

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Page 7: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

BEP Spain P5/6 performance in class

• ‘If a liquid is not in a container, it will spill (spread) out.’ (boy)

• ‘If we pour a liquid from one container to another, it changes shape’(boy)

• ‘If you put the water from the jar into the beaker, it will take the shape of the new container. The shape of the water change’ (sic).

• ‘We can see that solids can be different. They have different volume and matter’ (girl)

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Page 8: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

Factors and Outcomes in Languages Education: A few examples only

Societal Factors Extent of L2 exposure Political will

Parental pressure Influence of media

Provision factors Teacher supply, training & development

National/regional support, development and evaluation

Time & Intensity Continuity primary to secondary Information Networks

Process factors Understanding & expressing L2 meanings (words/concepts …)

Internalising forms Explaining Interacting

Learning & Using Strategies Diagnosing Managing Consulting Informing

Individual factors Age, Aptitudes & interests Prior attainments & experience Prior language(s) Socio-economic status

Geographical location Ethnicity Gender Attitudes & Motivation

Outcomes (Inter)national) examination attainments

L1, L2, L3 … proficiency

Citizenship Intercultural competence Generic skills

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Page 9: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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SOCIETAL FACTORS PROVISION FACTORS PROCESS FACTORS: PUPILS INDIVIDUAL FACTORS: PUPILS

OUTCOMES: PUPILS

Internet & www, & other newtechnologies

Transnational policies, e.g. EU, CoE Input processing Age Plurilingual proficiency

Homogenisation National policies Output modification Gender Proficiency in particular language(s)

Internationalisation Teacher supply Interaction Socio-economic background Attainments in particular language(s)

Localisation Initial teacher education Noticing Prior language(s) Levels of literacy

Emergence of dominant languages &Threats to smaller languages

Continuing professionaldevelopment for teachers

Monitoring Level(s) of literacy Multiple identities

Mobility of employment & study Materials Feedback (positive or corrective) Prior educational attainments Attitudes & Motivation

Fast capitalism & elite bilingualism Equipment Rule-learning Metalinguistic awareness Qualifications

Large-scale financial crises Suitable rooms and facilities Incidental vocabulary learning Attitudes & Motivation Self-efficacy

Displacement of populations Starting age Explicit vocabulary learning Geographical location Aspirations

Declining(?) influence of nation states Amount and distribution of time Prefabrication Anxiety Citizenship

Enlargement of EU Support for innovation Backsliding Self-efficacy & confidence Cognitive development

Equal rights across EU Research & evaluation Fossilisation Ethnicity Critical thinking

Influence of the media National examinations Transfer (positive or negative) Cultural background Information-handling knowledge & skills

Attitudes to particular languages Levels of funding Drawing on first language Beliefs & Interests Intercultural development

Status of particular languages Degree of articulation from onesection to another

Negotiation of meaning Identity/Identities and values Social development

Extent of use outside education

School-industry links Early literacy development (top-down – psycholinguistic guessing)

Siblings & others as role models Beliefs & commitments

Perceived business needs andopportunities

School-school internationalnetworks

Early literacy (bottom-up) Parents / Carers Capacity for further study

Influence of particular groups, e.g. parents, associations

Quality assurance Use of non-verbal strategies Peer-group norms and values Mobility and employability

Political will in support of particularlanguages

Accessibility of up-to-date, relevantand reliable information

Repetition & rehearsal Aptitudes or disabilities Transferable skills

LANGUAGE EDUCATION AT SCHOOL: A SELECTION OF POSSIBLE FACTORS AND OUTCOMESNote: There could be many more additions to each column, and those shown here are only by way of example. ©RMJ June 2011

Page 10: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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COMPLEXITY / Dynamic systems theory

• The most common research paradigms in the social sciences tend to examine variables in relative isolation rather than as part of a system or network, and most established quantitative data analytical procedures (e.g. correlation analysis or structural equation modelling) are based on linear rather than non-linear relationships (ZD: 2011)

• In dynamic systems we usually cannot find straightforward linear cause-effect relationships where input leads to a proportionate output (e.g. the higher the motivation, the higher the achievement). In non-linear systems a huge input can sometimes result in very little or no impact, while at others even a tiny input can sometimes lead to what seems like a disproportionate ‘explosion’ (a phenomenon sometimes called the ‘butterfly’ effect). This is because the system’s behavioural outcome depends on the OVERALL CONSTELLATION OF THE SYSTEM COMPONENTS – how all the relevant factors work together.

• The behaviour of a complex system is not completely random, but neither is it wholly predictable (LF & C: 2011).

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COMPONENTS OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS:

Heterogeneity• The elements, agents and/or processes in a complex system are of many different types

(p28) Dynamism• In a complex, dynamic system everything changes, all the time (p29) Non-linearity• The interactions among elements and agents in a complex system change over time. This

makes for non-linearity (p 30)Openness• Open systems allow energy or matter to enter from outside the system. Being open can enable a ‘far-

from-equilibrium’ system to keep adjusting and maintain stability (p32). Adaptive• In adaptive systems, change in one area of the system leads to change in the system as a whole

(p33).Attractor states • ‘A key tenet of DST is the recognition that system development often involves stable and predictable

phases when the system is governed by strong attractors, resulting in settled, non-dynamic ‘attractor states’ (ZD: 2011)

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SOME IMPLICATIONS OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS FOR RESEARCH

Causality• ‘The unknowableness and interconnectedness of systems makes it much

more difficult, if not impossible, to isolate independent variables that act in causal ways ….. it is highly unlikely that a single cause will give rise to a causal event.’ (L-F & C: p232)

• ‘Let us understand clearly, once and for all, that variables don’t exist. They are not real. What exists are complex systems …..’ (Byrne, 2002: 31)

(L-F & C: p235).

Page 13: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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SOME IMPLICATIONS OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS FOR RESEARCH

Replicability• There can be no absolute replicability because the conditions

are always changing.The changed nature of context• ‘Context includes the physical, social, cognitive and cultural

and is not separable from the system. It cannot be seen as a frame surrounding the system that is needed to interpret its behaviour. ’ (L-F & C: p239)

• ‘We cannot separate the learner or the learning from context in order to measure or explain it. Rather, we must collect data about and describe all the continually changing systems involved.’ (L-F & C, p239)

Page 14: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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SOME RESEARCH METHODOLGIES WHICH GO WITH COMPLEXITY THEORY

Ethnography• ‘Studying real people in their human contexts and interactions rather

than aggregating and averaging across individuals as happens in experimental and some quantitative studies.’ (L-F & C: p242)

Retrodictive Qualitative Modelling• ‘The idea behind Retrodiction is that by identifying the main emerging

system prototypes we can work ‘backwards’ and pinpoint the principal factors that have led to the specific settled states. ….. By tracing back the reasons why the system has ended up with a particular outcome option we produce a retrospective qualitative model of its evolution’ (ZD: 2011)

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SOME RESEARCH METHODOLGIES WHICH GO WITH COMPLEXITY THEORY (cntd)

Longitudinal case studies• ‘We can use computerized databases, graphing and statistics to track complex

patterns of variation in second language learners over time’ (p245)• ‘We need to adopt and develop more appropriate ways of analysis to allow for

the non-linearity of the process, such as multivariate time-series modelling ….’ (p245)

Microdevelopment• We need … dense corpora that involve highly intensive sampling over short

periods of time • In traditional research, change is often inferred from an end-point

measurement. Conversely, an assumption of researchers using a microdevelopment approach is that there are moments in the evolution of behaviour where we can directly observe change happening. Furthermore, since change works at multiple timescales, these small-scale changes can illuminate changes at a longer time-scale.’ (p246)

Page 16: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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SOME RESEARCH METHODOLGIES WHICH GO WITH COMPLEXITY THEORY (cntd)

Computer-modelling• Computer simulations or models offer an important approach to

researching complex dynamic systems …. This approach builds a computer model of the real-world complex system under investigation and takes it through multiple iterations, replicating change over time. The model is designed and adjusted so that the outcomes over time reflect what is known of the real-world system ….’ (L-F & C: p247)

Brain imaging• ‘EEG (electro-encephalographic (EEG) and functional Magnetic-Resonance

Imaging (fMRI) are allowing detailed descriptions of the dynamics of brain activity, promoting a shift of emphasis from knowledge as static representation stored in particular locations to knowledge as processing involving the dynamic mutual influence of interrelated types of information as they activate and inhibit each other over time.’ (L-F & C: p249)

Page 17: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

Retrodictive Qualitative Modelling, as applied to:BEP (Spain) Key positive components of a successful Attractor State)

SOCIETAL PROVISION PROCESS

Political will

Parental interest & demand

Widely held view that the BEP (Spain) in those regions in which it took place ought to involve Spanish-English, in view of Spanish as national language and global status of English

An early start (in some cases from age 3)

Substantial time for English (40%)

Leadership at national level from Ministry & British Council together

Supernumerary teachers fluent in English

Agreed continuity across primary and secondary education

Supportive national Guidelines on BEP curriculum

In-service courses for teachers

Highly reputable external international examination for students at age 16

General teaching strategies, articulated through English

Language-focused strategies, covering grammar and vocabulary, plus the discourse of different school subjects

Activities which offer students cognitive challenge, integrating their knowledge across subjects

Creation of community atmosphere in class, in which students collaborate

Use of assessment in support of learning

Management approach based on consultation and collaboration with teaching colleagues.

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Page 18: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

BUT DST NOT ALL ABOUT BIG PICTURES OF APPARENTLY STABLE ATTRACTOR STATES

• The small things can make a big difference too, e.g.– Butterflies– Broken windows

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Page 19: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

Butterfly effect: PersonalClass 2A 1950s Reading

• C’était un hardi dessein qu’avait eu le capitaine Hatteras de s’élever jusqu’au nord, et de réserver à l’Angleterre, sa patrie, la gloire de découvrir le pôle boréal du monde. Cet audacieux marin venait de faire tout ce qui était dans la limite des forces humaines. Après avoir lutté pendant neuf mois contre les courants, contre les tempêtes, après avoir brisé les montagnes de glace et rompu les banquises, après avoir lutté contre les froids d’un hiver sans précédent dans les régions hyperboréennes, après avoir résumé dans son expédition les travaux de ses devanciers, contrôlé et refait pour ainsi dire l’histoire des découvertes polaires, après avoir poussé son brick le Forward au-delà des mers connues, enfin, après avoir accompli la moitié de la tâche, il voyait ses grands projets subitement anéantis ! La trahison ou plutôt le découragement de son équipage usé par les épreuves, la folie criminelle de quelques meneurs, le laissaient dans une épouvantable situation :

Page 20: LANGUAGES, CULTURES & SYSTEMS IN AN ERA OF COMPLEXITY Richard Johnstone LLAS/SCILT SEMINAR Friday 27 th April, 2012 1

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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN RESEARCH

• COMMUNITY RESEARCH• An invited colloquium of the British Association for Applied Linguistics

(BAAL) annual conference, 6-8 September 2012, Southampton, UK• A community-based approach has a number of defining characteristics. • The research is grounded within a community; the data are collected,

analysed and interpreted in situ with reference to the history and structure of the community.

• The research questions are of direct relevance to members of the community, in addition to the researcher.

• The research process is managed collaboratively and equitably between the community members and the researcher through active and reciprocal involvement in the research design, implementation and dissemination.

• The research, both the process and the outcome, is useful to the community in making positive social change and to promote social equity.

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KEY REFERENCES

Dobson, A., Pérez Murillo, M-D & Johnstone, R. M. (2011). Evaluation of the Natinal Bilingual Education Project (Spain). Madrid: British Council and Ministry of Education (Spain)

Dōrnyei, Z. (2011). Researching complex dynamic systems: ‘Retrodictive

qualitative modelling’ in the language classroom. Available at Cambridge Journals Online (CJO) 2011 doi: 10. 1017 S02614481100056

Larsen-Freeman, D. & L. Cameron. (2011). Complex systems and Applied

Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press