Gary G Fogal

Research interest in Shakespeare studies in mainstream English literature classrooms is a constant (Keilen Moschovakis, 2017). However, outside limited geographic regions of study (e.g., Germany), little is known about how Shakespeare is used to aid second language (L2) development—despite the ubiquitous attention Shakespeare’s works receive in L2 learning environments (Eisenmann Lütge, 2014). To address this gap, this study employs complex dynamic systems theory as an explanatory framework and adopts a system mapping approach (Fogal, 2022; Ludlow et al., 2017) to investigate how relevant stakeholders are seen to view Shakespeare studies as a tool for mediating L2 development across the teaching, learning, and administrative landscapes of a set of secondary schools in the Canadian province of Ontario. Findings describe stakeholders’ views as variegated and outline meaningful differences in how constituent groups interpret L2 Shakespeare studies. This work outlines recommendations for steering change that may foster L2 learning and initiates an agenda for continued research into how best to operationalize Shakespeare studies in ways that foster co-adaptive and emergent processes in the service of localized educational contexts. This study appeals to education scholars curious about the value of complex dynamic systems theory, L2 researchers interested in how literary studies can assist L2 learning, and instructors and curriculum designers focused on better understanding the landscape of L2 Shakespeare studies (and by extension, L2 literature studies) in the secondary school context. Keywords: complex dynamic systems; simplex systems; system mapping; Shakespeare; language education

<title>Abstract</title> The claim that educational contexts are dynamic, complex spaces is hardly a novel one. Yet, to date limited explicit treatment in the literature engages L2 classrooms as such. This paucity is partially explained by methodological concerns with investigating diverse and contextually dense places in ways that capture the richness of these environments. While no single method can mitigate this concern, system mapping can help researchers explore system dynamics through a mapping technique that diagrams system variables through the interpretive lens of relevant stakeholders. Stakeholders engage with variables relative to a guiding statement, question, or objective meaningful to the system’s development or maintenance, thus providing insights into interactions across and beyond the conventional teacher–student interface. System mapping is particularly useful for problem solving and developing in-depth understandings of relations across system components. After describing and expanding on system mapping and its uses in education research, this work moves through a sample study in the L2 writing context to demonstrate its utility.

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Applying a complex dynamic systems view of writing development, this study explored how developmental variability can contribute to conceptualizing changes in L2 writing. Forty-two writing samples were collected from one Thai university student in Thailand studying actuary science in English. The writing samples were composed over four years and were holistically coded for degrees of appropriate authorial voice. Descriptive techniques, including linear and polynomial trend lines and a min-max graph, informed a visual inspection of the data. These techniques revealed quantitatively distinct projections of authorial voice that were marked by periods of progress and regress. A Monte Carlo simulation then tested the hypothesis that the variability was not due to chance. The analysis showed that variability played a statistically significant role in constructing authorial voice. This work demonstrates developmental behavior consistent with complex systems and how other measures of L2 writing mature and substantiates findings on the meaningful role variability contributes to L2 development. This study also expands the explanatory potential of complex dynamic systems theory for conceptualizing writing and more generally L2 development.</jats:p>

This volume integrates complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) and L2 writing scholarship through a collection of in-depth studies and commentary across a range of writing constructs, learning contexts, and second and foreign languages. The text is arranged thematically across four topics: (i) perspectives on complexity, accuracy, and fluency, (ii) new constructs, approaches, and domains of L2-writing scholarship, (iii) methodological issues, and finally (iv) curricular perspectives. This work should appeal to graduate students and academics interested in expanded discussions on CDST, highlighting its utility for theorizing and researching language change, and to L2 writing scholars curious about how this fresh approach to researching L2 development can inform understandings of how L2 writing develops. As a CDST approach to language change has matured and taken a place among the dominant epistemologies in the field, students and researchers of L2 development alike will benefit from this volume.