A Case Study Of L2 Writing Development: Dynamic System Theory Approach

Research on the development of second language writing(L2 writing)plays a significant role in the field of second language acquisition(SLA)both domestically and abroad.However,most of the research tends to focus merely on the static and synchronic comparison of the initial and final output samples between two or more learner groups,and the amount of data collected in the time series is too small,ignoring the dynamics and individual variability of the L2 development.Language,as a dynamic system,exhibits the characteristics of dynamic systems in terms of its development process.The same is true of the process of the SLA and the L2 writing process.According to the dynamic systems theory(DST),the developmental process is full of complexity,non-linearity and variability,which provides a new way for the development of SLA research.With respect to the empirical study,very few of the domestic application of DST on the study of L2 writing has been conducted,and furthermore,these studies,like those from abroad,concentrate mainly on EFL or ESL learners rather than CFL or CSL learners.Therefore,the current study intended to make up for this deficiency,by providing a new perspective and angle for SLA,especially Chinese as a second language writing research.Adopting a DST perspective and a longitudinal multi-wave research design,the current study was a 10-week(three Chinese written productions per week)case study on two Indonesian CSL learners.Through both the quantitative analysis of the developmental patterns of and the interactions among the CAF constructs and the qualitative analysis consisting of a refined interview,it was shown that the developmental patterns of Chinese language writing in terms of the CAF constructs displayed the characteristics of DST,complexity,nonlinearity,sensitivity to initial state,etc.Secondly,the developmental curves of fluency and grammatical complexity were shown to be with an upward tendency and developmental jumps were detected on that of grammatical complexity of Tan.No significant improvements were detected on the trajectories of vocabulary complexity or accuracy.Except the supportive correlation between grammatical complexity and fluency,no significant linear correlations among the other dimensions were found.Thirdly,it was also discovered that initial state,such as learners' L2 proficiency,may exert considerable impacts on the development of its subsequent L2 writing,resulting in a competitive correlation among the various dimensions of the learners' L2 writing development.Finally,several details of the development were also detected.Learners' emotion and aptitude,serving as the significant non-linear factors,had considerable effects on the efficacy of second language acquisition,which is worth further studying.