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Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective1 Marjolijn Verspoor, Wander Lowie, & Kees De Bot Department

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Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective1 Marjolijn Verspoor, Wander Lowie, & Kees De Bot Department To appear as: Verspoor, M.H., Lowie, W.M. and de Bot, C.L.J., “Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective” In Piske, T & Young-Scholten. Input Matters. 2007 (REVIEWED) MANUSCRIPT 1 Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective 1 Marjolijn Verspoor, Wander Lowie, & Kees de Bot Department of Applied Linguistics, University of Groningen Introduction Can one acquire a second language effectively only through meaningful input without providing opportunities for output, interaction, or explicit instruction? Verspoor and Winitz (1997) present data that suggest that it is possible for intermediate learners of English as a Second Language to improve their receptive English vocabulary, grammar and reading skills just as much through a pure listening comprehension approach as through an approach that involves output and meaningful interaction in a classroom setting. What factors could play a role in making such an approach effective? Linguists such as Krashen (1985, 1994) and Long (1996) maintain that meaningful input is one of the most important factors in language development in general and in second language development 2 (SLD) in particular. Without continued input, there is no acquisition and ultimately no retention of the skills in the second language. For a definition of “input” and “input processing”, we will follow VanPatten and Cadierno (1993: 46): Input is language that encodes meaning to which the learner attends for its propositional content. However, the relationship between input and learning may not be straightforward. For input to lead to acquisition or learning, it needs to be processed. Input processing involves using those strategies and mechanisms that help make connections between particular language forms and their meaning during comprehension. At the same time, comprehension is not limited to language processing, as one can comprehend a message by looking at a picture. In addition, subtle differences in the way input is processed may affect comprehension. For example, Anderson and Lynch (1988) point out that there are degrees in processing input, ranging from total non-comprehension due to an inability to segment a continuous stream of speech to full comprehension, enabling a listener to construct a coherent interpretation. In other words, the same input is not processed in the same way by all learners. Taking a dynamic perspective as a starting point, we claim that the same input is not processed in the same way by the same learner at different times because the learning process itself is constantly changing in a learning/ To appear as: Verspoor, M.H., Lowie, W.M. and de Bot, C.L.J., “Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective” In Piske, T & Young-Scholten. Input Matters. 2007 (REVIEWED) MANUSCRIPT 2 attrition continuum due to a complex, dynamic interaction between input and all other factors affecting language development. In this chapter, we will look at the role of input in language development and SLD from a dynamic systems theory (DST) perspective, which implies that development is non-linear, adaptive, interactive, resource dependent and self organizing and results from both interaction with the environment and internal re- organization (Thelen & Smith, 1994). In addition, language learning is an iterative process, which means that the present state of the learning system is the result of all previous steps or iterations (Van Geert, 1994). We will consider a number of specific learning mechanisms that have been proposed for language learning. In the end, we will come back to our initial question in more detail and explain how a DST perspective can account for the language acquisition that may take place in a comprehension approach. The basic characteristics of dynamic systems If the world were formed by stable dynamical systems, it would be radically different from the one we observe around us. It would be a static, predictable world, but we would not be here to make the predictions (Prigogine 1996: 55). We argue that just like the world, a language—a first or second one, in society or in an individual—is not a stable system and therefore it has not been possible to make exact predictions concerning a number of issues in the field of SLD. For example, despite years of rigorous research into the role of input in SLD, we still cannot predict exactly what and how a learner will acquire from it. However, before elaborating on the role of input in language development from a dynamic perspective, we will first explain what we mean by Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) and what some of its main characteristics are. The approach we present here is part of what has become known as ‘nonlinear dynamics’. It results from findings in astro-physics, economics and population studies that state that linear models predicting changes on the basis of a set of the parameters cannot explain what actually happens (Nicolis & Prigogine, 1989). In linear dynamics, systems tend to reach a stable equilibrium, but many real-life processes such as health, real-life human To appear as: Verspoor, M.H., Lowie, W.M. and de Bot, C.L.J., “Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective” In Piske, T & Young-Scholten. Input Matters. 2007 (REVIEWED) MANUSCRIPT 3 relationships and language development appear never to reach such a state. One of the crucial assumptions of nonlinear systems is that such a stable end state may never be reached (Lewin, 1999). In brief, DST is the science of the development of complex systems over time. Complex systems are sets of interacting variables. A striking example of a simple complex system is the double pendulum: while it has only two variables or degrees of freedom, the trajectory of the swing is very complex 3. Like in many complex systems the outcome of the development over time (the exact trajectory of the swing) cannot be predicted because the dynamic interaction of the variables keeps changing over time and therefore leads to unpredictable outcomes. Another characteristic of dynamic systems is that they are nested. Every system is always part of another bigger system, with the same dynamic principles operating at all levels. Consequently, dynamic systems are characterized by what is called ‘complete interconnectedness’: when one variable changes, this change will affect all other variables that are part of the system. As they develop over time, dynamic sub-systems have a habit of moving spontaneously towards specific states, which are preferred, though unpredictable, so-called “attractor states”. An example of different attractor states is the change of the gait of a horse: with increasing speed, the gait will change from a trot to a gallop. However, this transition is not only determined by the change in speed, but comes about as an interaction of speed, the surface, the horse’s motivation, the interaction with the jockey, and so on. States that are never preferred and settled in are so-called “repeller states”. Stable dynamic systems are those in which slight changes in the initial conditions produce correspondingly slight effects. But the development of a dynamic system may also be highly dependent on its initial state, where “small perturbations in the initial conditions are amplified over the course of time” (Prigogine 1996: 30) and minor differences at the beginning can have dramatic consequences in the long run. This is called “the butterfly effect”, a term proposed by the meteorologist Lorentz to account for the huge impact small local effects may have on global weather (Gleick, 1987). This observation is closely related to the notion of To appear as: Verspoor, M.H., Lowie, W.M. and de Bot, C.L.J., “Input and Second Language Development from a Dynamic Perspective” In Piske, T & Young-Scholten. Input Matters. 2007 (REVIEWED) MANUSCRIPT 4 non-linearity. The size of an initial perturbation of a system and the effects it may have in the long run do not normally show a linear relation. Some minor changes may lead to huge effects, while major perturbations may be absorbed by the system. The system will tend to settle into an attractor state from a variety of initial states. As systems are constantly changing in interaction with their environment, they will show variation, which makes them variably sensitive to specific types of input. The same input may have different effects at different moments in time. In natural systems, development is dependent on resources: analogous to the double swing in a natural environment with friction, all natural systems will tend to come to a standstill when no additional resources are available to them. So far, we have described the main characteristics of DST and how they may apply to complex systems in general. In the following section, we will argue that a language system can also be seen as a complex system in which sub-systems interact continuously with each other and with their environment. Therefore, language development can be seen as a non-linear process in which complexity is an emergent property. Another point is that at different stages in development, the system may be affected differently by specific factors, depending on available resources and the development and entrenchment of different attractor states. Language development as a dynamic process As several authors have now argued (De Bot, Lowie, & Verspoor, 2005; De Bot, Verspoor, & Lowie, in press; Larsen Freeman, 1997; Van Geert, 1991; Verspoor, De Bot, & Lowie, 2004), language in general and an individual’s language system in particular can be seen as a dynamic system in its own right as it includes the present knowledge of all the individual’s varieties and languages which continually interacts with internal and external forces and therefore is never the same at any two points in time. Unlike the generative linguistic view, which assumes that there are steady states in autonomous language systems, a DST view holds that within the larger system of a language used by a speech community, there are many interdependent sub-systems, among which are the unique language systems of individuals that continuously To appear as: Verspoor, M.H., Lowie, W.M.
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